TEXASBOARS.COM

[edro20]

True! I'd like to see the terminal effects on the lesser .224's. The .308's are a given as far as I know.
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[1911man]

I've shot a ton of game with Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets in 6.8SPC, .270, 7mm08, .280, .308, .30-06, .358, 9.3x62 and .375. Everything from Racoons to Cape/Australian Buffalo. I have had exactly one failure, a 200gr TSX shot into a water buff in Argentina, it was an early production 200gr .308 bullet which apparently was a little TOO tough and I was only shooting a moderate load so it failed to expand.

ALL others have killed game VERY efficiently and the few I have recovered could be used in a Barnes ad. This bullet allows you to shoot larger game with smaller calibers effectively. Using TSX bullets, calibers like .243, .260 and 6.8 are more than adequate for whitetail/mule deer and the largest hog. Last Sat I shot a 270# boar with a 6.8SPC, 110gr TSX at 2325fps MV from a 11" suppressed SBR and he didn't even take a step!!!

Everything being equal you normally seat Barnes TSX/TTSX bullets further off the lands for best accuracy and they normally create less chamber pressure than the same weight lead core conventional bullet.

If your after 100% weight retention and DEEP penetration for TOUGH game you just can't beat Barnes X bullets!!!! For deer in calibers larger than 7mm08 they are overkill.

Kevin, I'll send you a box of .308 168gr TTSX bullets tomorrow, load these up in your .300 and there isn't an animal in N or S America you can't cleanly and reliably kill from about any angle.
_________________
Bill Wilson
Circle WC Ranch
Cuthand, TX
www.circlewcranch.com
www.wilsoncombat.com
www.idpa.com

[Burt]

Note to everybody: I told you so.
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Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[s10goes10s]

[TexasBoars]

TEST RESULTS ARE IN

300 WIN MAG 150 yards.

LOADS;
168 Grn Barnes TTSX BT 68 Grns IMR4831 3,000 FPS
168 Grn Hornady A-Max and 168 Grn Siera MatchKing (Match)
68 grns IMR4831 3,000 FPS

All three loads were fired from the same gun at the bulls-eye.
As you can see, the IMPACT of the 168 Grn BARNES is exactly 1 inch left.
The barrel was NOT scrubed clean, I did bronze brush it before I started and ran one swab through it.

This is not to illustrate anything
other than I have my cake and I can eat it too
I can swap loads in the field and use one gun for all my shots from one extreme to the other.
I would say this is RARE but I'll take it.



AGAIN, my thanks to you guys and the TESTS are not over with but this is all I had time for this afternoon.
_________________
KEVIN RYER
OWNER TEXASBOARS and TEXASBOARS FEEDERLIGHTS.
WORK ALL DAY HUNT ALL NIGHT (TM)

[Burt]

Well, that should calm him down for a while.
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Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[edro20]

Pretty darned good for a first load test. Looks like the Barnes is right up there accuracy wise with the Sierras. I wonder if the Sierras have the killing power of the Barnes?? That was a rhetorical question BTW
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[TexasBoars]

You guys are killing me
Calm me down ohhh to the contrary,, I am PUMPED,,
UUMM, does the Siera have the killing power?
It may seem retorical to somw degree at first glance, but if you think about it:
,,, they both have almost identical ballistic "power" or energy, but, it is two totally opposite delivery packages
Aint that just S W E E T

Me and Burt gave this is almost ZERO chance of working -- that is -- two totally different bullets having similar are EVEN virtually identical impacts so they could actually be swapped in the field.
_________________
KEVIN RYER
OWNER TEXASBOARS and TEXASBOARS FEEDERLIGHTS.
WORK ALL DAY HUNT ALL NIGHT (TM)

[Burt]

Although kinda rare, there are some rifles that do that.
Now and then, I've seen different weight bullets shoot to
virtually the same spot at 100 yards even.
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[edro20]

[Burt]

What experiment ? He pulls the trigger, they go DRT.
Unless they are experimentally dead ?
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[TexasBoars]

OK,

Let me pass on some history in testing the BARNES TSX bullets in my 220 swift and AR Bushmaster SS Varmint.

FIRST, I tested the BARNES 53 Grn in both of my 220 Swifts as well as my AR 15. In general, I got a shotgun pattern that basically wouldn't even reliably print on the paper at 100 yards.
BARNES indicates these rounds will do best with 1 in 12 twist or more. My Swifts are 1 in 14.
THATS NOT the whole story

I have now received the 45 GRN TSX to test.
RESULTS,
in the AR-15 it was a 6 inch pattern at 150 yards. Unusable.
in the RUGER SS VARMINTER they didn't hit the paper at 150 yards. I didn't proceed any further. They may have been accurate?
in my back-up Ruger - a 13 yr old gun that has always been easy to please when it comes to accuracy,,


This is easily 3/4 MOA withoyt even working on it or even, really, putting much effort into it.

This gun is sighted in for the Siera 53 Grn Matchkings PRECISELY 1.5 inches high at 150 yards which will DRIVE TACKS
the BARNES 45 grn TSX impacts 0.5 inches left of the Siera IMO, that is also driving tacks and is certainly capable of doing what I don't RECOMMEND and thats hog hunting. BUT, ""IF"" I was yote hunting and saw a hog,, this round could take it down with a well placed shot.

GO FIGURE, now I have TWO GUNS in which I have my cake and can eat it to.

OH YEAH, the load data I used was --------
I don't have it right here in front of me and I can screw numbers up pretty bad so -- BURT knows the data.
Anyway, I am pushing that bullet at roughly 4,100 FPS

Question is, will the bullet actually hold together?

Let me go find out and I'll be back shortly,
_________________
KEVIN RYER
OWNER TEXASBOARS and TEXASBOARS FEEDERLIGHTS.
WORK ALL DAY HUNT ALL NIGHT (TM)

[Burt]

I noticed that in the case of the .300 Win Mag and the .220 Swift,
the Barnes bullets are hitting slightly to the left of the loads
the rifles are zeroed for. Starting to wonder if this is coincidence,
or not...in other words, maybe a predictable pattern ?
Too early to tell I suppose.
As I recall, the other .220 Swift also shot left of the zero
for the load normally used, except it was much further off
in that particular rifle.
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[edro20]

I am excited to see what the penetration will be as well as the bullet integrity. Kevin, I hope you nail a biggun!!
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[TexasBoars]

[edro20]

The video link doesn't work for me.

Great test! What was the weight of the main part of the bullet?
Also, would you recommend the 45grainers for hogs assuming correct shot placement?
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[TexasBoars]

[TexasBoars]

[Burt]

[edro20]

[analog_peninsula]

I tried both the 45 and the 53 in my 1:14 .22-250.

My rifle is a single shot Remington xr-100. Without any tuning, it will shoot about 0.5" groups at 100 yards with factory 40 gr non-premium ammo. It shoots the 60 gr Hornady (initially my preferred bullet) into about 1 1/4 inches at 100 yards. I only tested 1 load with 50 gr V-Max bullets, but it was at about 5/8" at 100, while the 55 gr Sierra Pro-Hunter shot slightly better than the factory 40 gr bullets at 0.5" or under. I haven't tried any serious load development or tuning with the rifle. The point to be made is that the rifle's an honest 0.5" shooter with a couple of loads.

I tried the 45 gr TSX because I was afraid the 53 gr bullet wouldn't stabilize. Unfortunately, my first loads with moderate charges shot even worse than the Hornady 60 gr bullets, at something around 1.5" at 100. That's acceptable for a deer rifle, but hardly what I had in mind.

At my next range session, someone was kind enough to give me some 53 gr TSX to try. I had heard from some that the TSX bullets shot best at maximum velocities so my next loads with a different powder were 0.5 gr under book max. While neither of these two loads are going to knock the Sierras out of the accuracy race, I was very surprised to find the 45 gr bullet shooting slightly over .700" and even more surprised to find the 53 gr bullet shooting slightly over .800.

I would never have guessed that the 53 would shoot so well in a slow twist rifle, but it just goes to show that you never know unless you try.
_________________
analog_peninsula

When did ignorance become an opinion?

[Burt]

I also have an XR-100, hmmm.
3/4 inch groups @ 100 yards with Federal factory, loaded with
60 grain Nosler Partitions.

Same thing here with a starting load and the 45 grain TSX though.
Namely, about a 1.5 inch group. But since I'm only shooting
80 yards, that would be good enough on a hog.
Problem right now is the hogs have cleared out for the
time being in my area pretty much.
My wife dropped a small hog with the 45 grainer some time
back though. I'm still waiting to get a shot on a larger hog
with it and see how that goes.

As for the 53 grain, it's still iffy I think. In hotter weather with
thinner air, it might not stabilize. Or - at distances beyond 100
yards after it slows down some possibly.

And, experience in a few other rifles and calibers has shown that
decent accuracy can be had without using close to max loads.
So again, it goes back to each rifle having it's own preferences.
I'd still tell people to work their way up if loading with a TSX
bullet, and not go right to the top to start with.
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[analog_peninsula]

XR-100 ftw.


_________________
analog_peninsula

When did ignorance become an opinion?

[TexasBoars]

Another note,, this go around I knew to seat the bullets DEEP as recommended by Barnes. I am "tempted" to try the 53 grn again just to see?
Its just so tempting
IN REALITY its only 8 grns The % here is not all that great
the difference in length of the 2 bullets isn't significant.

I probably will try the 53 grn again.
I am going to shoot a good size hog with the 45 TSX to compare and test.
_________________
KEVIN RYER
OWNER TEXASBOARS and TEXASBOARS FEEDERLIGHTS.
WORK ALL DAY HUNT ALL NIGHT (TM)

[edro20]

[460XVR]

jeeesh.... now you guys are gunna force me down the 45gr path now, just when I've loaded up on 60gr Partitions, aren't you

When I told the wife about this thread....well....let's just say that her & her check book weren't nearly as excited as you guys are. She threatened to post nonsense under my log in just to get me banned from participating in threads like this Evil, evil woman!!
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VP - Headache Delivery

[Burt]

It will cost her more to get you banned than the bullets cost.
Bwahahahaa !!!
The staff is easy, but they aren't cheap.

( Change your password, now ! )
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[460XVR]

yah, I've cleared history & unchecked the "remember me" radio button when I logged back in.

I'm a slow learner at times...should've known better than to bring it up the same day a mid-south box showed up on the porch full of Barnes & Nosler's
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VP - Headache Delivery

[Burt]

Talk about bad timing.
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.

[Burt]

More test results from Kevin:

@ 150 yards, it appeared the 53 grain TSX bullets were shooting
well enough in his .220 Swift to use. BUT - when he tried a few
more this morning @ 200 yards, they scattered. Only 3 out of 5 shots
hit the paper. As I suspected, they "lost it" as the distance increased,
and their speed fell off.

Now, even though a 50 grain TSX bullet is not listed on one part
of the Barnes web site, Kevin found them when he got into the
cart to buy some other bullets. So, we both just became aware
of the 50 grain .224 caliber TSX bullet this morning.
This might be as heavy as they can go and still get by with a
1:14 twist rate I suspect. Barnes needs to update the listings
on their web site.
_________________
Ban guns to eliminate crime ?
Let's ban cars, to eliminate drunk driving.
Makes as much sense.