Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Another Barnes BangFlop

Troy_Tempest,

The TSX is not a TTSX. 140 from a 7-08 is not following directions. Should have been 120 or lighter.

I'm sorry but the Barnes web site list's 120 to 160 TSX loads specific to the 7mm08 and suitable for up to elk. I would have thought a medium red hind and a good solid red stag would have fitted in there somewhere. Maybe you should check before posting.

Have a nice day.

I shot a caribou with a 375 RUM using 270gr TSX shot was well over 300 yds shot clean through caribou went few feet fell over dead.. to this day felt a little undergunned for the hunt..

Last May I had a double lung, no shoulder, bang/flop with .270 Win firing TTSX 110. It weighed 236 pounds hanging.

And I had a bang-flop from a lung shot on a pronghorn buck with a 100-grain XLC from a .257 Roberts Ackley Improved. Which like any other "example of one" proves nothing.

Ive had 25 caliber 100gr TSX's pole axe a Pronghorn at over 400 yards with no bone hit, and another the same day with like placement run over 100 yards.

Been running x bullets since the x bullet was here. Much like others went thru the trends along with the pretty blue bullets. I use tsx in my 416
Exclusively. Nosler sent me
A pile of free partitions but my ultra light 416’s recoils flattened all the tips in my magazine and broke lead off. So I stuck with my x bullets. But the recoil will still “crimp” my tips and result is a basic solid bullet when shot. I have recovered them. And with the tips crimping my third shot is always high right, the bullet in the bottom of the mag ends up seated deeper after the recoil of the previous two shots.

As for the effectiveness of the Barnes X bullets? I’ve never seen a reason not to continue to shoot them. But have seen reasons not to shoot bergers/cor-lokts/game kings/etc.

I generally shoot lungs and avoid bone to save meat. I always shoot Monos anymore. I have no preference based on performance on game with different Monos. If I want a deer down where it stands I shoot CNS to get what I want. I have observed high shoulder hits that took both scapula and did not drop the deer with Barnes. Perhaps the most impressive was a fawn I shot with a muzzle loader. Through both scapula, shredded the top half of the heart, the biggest part of the lungs left was only a fist size chunk. When the bullet hit there was a loud, distinct crack of bone. The deer swayed back some and then turned and ran off flagging like nothing had touched it. I could have stuck a shovel handle all the way through that one and carried it out. I have no idea how it managed to run at all.

Dropping them where they stand without hitting shoulders or CNS depends on things that are not easily explainable like the deer above being able to run at all. What bullet you used for that is of little consequence, I just expect they will run some and trying to predict how much is a waste of time. I will say though that there is a difference between a cranium shot and one just below that takes out the brain stem. I have seen enough brain stem shots that there is a pattern. Usually the head drops just after the shot with the body following. After 3-5 minutes it is common to see legs move a little as the muscles run out of oxygen. The lashing around that sometimes accompanies cranium shots does not seem to occur. Like the inability to predict run distance, blood trails are similarly unpredictable in my experience with both lead core and Monos. That I attribute to the fact that I generally shoot to drop blood pressure to zero instantly making it much more difficult to get blood out. A decent bullet will shred enough tissue to plug holes pretty well.

Not a big surprise to me. After wildly different experiences - from great to horrible - with my 7mm RM and 160g X (XLC) bullets on coyotes to antelope, I never considered the TSX to be enough different to actually use them on game. Photos of nearly pristine TSX bullets recovered from animals didn't improve my opinion of the TSX design.

The tipped MRX had a wider cavity and a tip to help initiate expansion. That was enough of a difference that I tried them. Had consistently good results and switched to the similar TTSX when they became available. My hunting group is small (five and less) but now everyone else is using TTSX exclusively and most have done so for several years. No bad experiences with the MRX, TTSX or LRX for anyone in the group.

[Edited to correct the following]
This year we had three (75%) bang-flops on antelope and deer with TTSX and LRX. Loads were TTSX in .308 Win/130g, .300WSM/165g and a .300WM/175g LRX. We also had two runners. The first was an antelope my hunting buddy shot wiht his 7mmRM and a 140g TTSX. It went maybe 20 yards. The second was an antelope that ran about 35 yards after I shot it with my .257 Roberts and a 110g AccuBond. Does that suggest the 7mm RM/140g TTSX or the .257 Roberts/110g AccuBond are inadequate or poor choices Nope.

False fears. I have never seen any kind of proof, that lead fragments have ever had any detrimental effects on humans. I think the monos are great, when extreme penetration is needed. Otherwise, not so much.

You need to dig a little deaper. There is no argument that lead fragments injested by young children are anything but detrimental.

There have been cases of TTSX's failing to expand as well. Forum member Brad recovered one more or less intact save the tip missing and IIRC it was not a long shot either.
I have had a 30 caliber 180ttsx exhibit pretty poor performance on a cow elk that lead me to question of the bullet opened up. Never recovered the slug so I can say for certain although the exit woound and intwrnal damage was very slight.

I'm sure it has happened, we just have not seen it. The one elk I took (.300WM/180g MRX @ 400yds) made it about 15 feet and all five deer (three with the .300WM and 180 MRX, one with the .300WM/175g LRX, one with a .30-06/168g TTSX) have been straight-down bang-flops. Every animal my group has shot with the TTSX and tipped X kin have had lots of damage between the ribs, in spite of initial concerns they might not open on antelope. The entrance wound photo I showed for the 175g LRX was anything but a pencil-thru.

Small sample, I know, but a high percentage of bang-flops. If the ban-flop/runner percentages were reversed, I wouldn't consider using the TTSX or its kin.

I believe the LRX expands easier than the TTSX. I have 50 more TTSX loads to use uo in my 300 ultra, then I plan to switch over to either LRX or etips which ever shoots best.

Lead poisoning is a well understood reality and young children are particularly susceptible. My grandkids rarely eat beef but they do eat a lot of game. If using monos, which perform quite well for my group, eliminates lead in their diet, even minute quantities, I see only upside.

Lead poisoning isnt so much the issue as it takes a large amount of lead to cause it. However, it only takes a small amount of lead to effect cognative development of young children.

So that explains ME!

Fixed it for you.....

Must have ingested a little lead...

But you didn't fix effect...

OUCH!

It hurts when the spelling Nazi is caught!


Touche' !

My freshman algebra classes revealed a number of students who must have gnawed leaded paint from granny's windowsills.