Question about bullet selection

[B W E]

Hey guys,

Im wondering what y'all think of the Barnes TTSX for deer, specifically the 180gr. The reason I ask is I have a great load .30-06 recipe for this round that I'm using for moose, and would like to use the same for deer to keep things simple. Is this too heavy of a bullet for the MUCH smaller mule deer? I know it will be a passthrough shot, but am curious if there's enough time for it to expand completely before it passes through.

 

[Shmee22]

Hey guys,

Im wondering what y'all think of the Barnes TTSX for deer, specifically the 180gr. The reason I ask is I have a great load .30-06 recipe for this round that I'm using for moose, and would like to use the same for deer to keep things simple. Is this too heavy of a bullet for the MUCH smaller mule deer? I know it will be a passthrough shot, but am curious if there's enough time for it to expand completely before it passes through.

I shoot a 150 gr .270 bullet and I'll send you a picture of the Barnes bullet I shot a deer with last year. Expanded good and from experience if you are reloading, the Barnes are Better than Noslers. I had a hard time seating the Noslers vs. the Barnes in the casing which made it hard to chamber the round in the rifle.

 

[Lungpopper]

I'm shooting a 210 gr 338 TTSX at 3,000fps. Been very happy with the results. A few pics pulling it out of last years local deer. The first pic you can see a bump on the shoulder. That's the bullet just under the hide.

 

[B W E]

Thanks for the info guys, glad to know I won't have to work up a new round I am surprised you were able to recover the bullets. Hey, good souvenir!

 

[Shmee22]

I'm shooting a 210 gr 338 TTSX at 3,000fps. Been very happy with the results. A few pics pulling it out of last years local deer. The first pic you can see a bump on the shoulder. That's the bullet just under the hide.

That's a nice buck!! Nothing like the feeling of getting a local deer. Still working for my first 4 point buck

 

[NBK]

Awesome bullet on all game. It is all I've used..and has been since 1989.

Josh Pearson and SDbirds claim that when shooting coyotes they get far less runners using the Barnes X too! So it is amazing on soft boned predators as well.

 

[Bonejour]

Thanks for the info guys, glad to know I won't have to work up a new round I am surprised you were able to recover the bullets. Hey, good souvenir!

LP, Bear Tracks told me you always try to find the bullet, and most times you are successful. True?



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[Lungpopper]

Thanks for the info guys, glad to know I won't have to work up a new round I am surprised you were able to recover the bullets. Hey, good souvenir!

LP, Bear Tracks told me you always try to find the bullet, and most times you are successful. True?

Yes. if its there. With a 338 It doesn't happen very often. I've recovered two out of the last seven animals since switching to the Barnes TTSX.



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[ilovesprig]

With all due respect.....I don't know how I kill anything with my plain old Mod. 70 & factory loads......lol

 

[NBK]

With all due respect.....I don't know how I kill anything with my plain old Mod. 70 & factory loads......lol

Maybe it's just good karma Steve... ;D

 

[ilovesprig]

Yeah John..........I'd rather be lucky than good.........lol

 

[Snake Charmer]

Sprig ! had'nt you heard ? deer hunting was not possible until all copper bullets came out in the eighties ? Noslers were considered con artist stuff and you were better off using a smooth bore muzzle loader with rocks in the barrel

 

[NBK]

Sprig ! had'nt you heard ? deer hunting was not possible until all copper bullets came out in the eighties ? Noslers were considered con artist stuff and you were better off using a smooth bore muzzle loader with rocks in the barrel

Folks used horse drawn buggies to get around once upon a time. And they used binoculars without HD glass too! ;D

 

[Snake Charmer]

Two words- bullet placement, nuff said...

 

[ilovesprig]

Two words- bullet placement, nuff said...

Right on Brotha.......Of course, I've never liked shooting far either (I'm pretty sure I've never killed a deer farther than 200 yds.)......So bullet placement is a lot easier.

It seems everyone wants to be able to shoot 400+........I've always hunted deer like I was hunting with a bow.......I know there's a time and place for it, but just not in my comfort zone.

Hell, I can barely see 400 yds........Thank god for my Swaro HD's..............lol

 

[NBK]

Two words- bullet placement, nuff said...

Agreed...but as you know, we don't always execute a perfect shot on every trigger squeeze. I know I don't. This is where the Barnes can really make a difference.

There is nothing wrong with Nosler Partitions, Sierra Game Kings, Speer Grand Slams or even Remington Bronze tips or Core Lokt's. They all worked and still do to a certain degree. But they are high drag, low BC bullets that really weren't designed for today's super high velocity cartridges or the long range shots folks are now embarking on. And let's face it, the newer bullets have more integrity, create a more horrific wound channel and are designed to fly straighter for a longer period of time. This is why I am a fan of the Barnes bullets.

Old school is great - if you are a car collector! ;D
Just saying...

 

[MJB]

Ask any guide what he thinks of copper.........I want a bullet that stays in the animal and breaks into many wound channels with no exit. Copper pin hole in pin hole out......I want one hole in and no exit

When I have to use copper it's head/neck, qtr or high shoulder........if I was hunting big bone animals yea Barnes is the deal especially African DG which is in part why they went to copper it destroys bone.......it's more accurate than any lead bullet and that includes Berger bullets which are the best in lead.

Overall I hate copper but the VG are the bomb......I tried to anchor a yote last month to get some dog training in and damn thing died with a hip shot.

 

[B W E]

Ask any guide what he thinks of copper.........I want a bullet that stays in the animal and breaks into many wound channels with no exit. Copper pin hole in pin hole out......I want one hole in and no exit

When I have to use copper it's head/neck, qtr or high shoulder........if I was hunting big bone animals yea Barnes is the deal especially African DG which is in part why they went to copper it destroys bone.......it's more accurate than any lead bullet and that includes Berger bullets which are the best in lead.

Overall I hate copper but the VG are the bomb......I tried to anchor a yote last month to get some dog training in and damn thing died with a hip shot.

Do you really think the tiny fragments actually have any energy behind them when they separate and create notable wound channels? I could be wrong, but the massive wound channel, of either a copper or mixed metal bullet is in the first 4-8". From there, you either have a 180gr intact mushroomed slug continuing on to destroy more of the vitals, or, you have a handful of tiny slivers of metal you get to find when you're chewing on the meat.

 

[MJB]

Lead hunting bullets like the SST mushrooms the pedals break off and destroy soft tissue in the chest cavity. On a cow elk 115yds qtr. away....lead fragments thru out the liver & lungs they were done, the only part of the bullet I found was the copper jacket that entered at the aorta and it fell out of the heart when I was washing it. Bling in the sink!

Copper bullets like the TSX if they don't hit bone they won't loose any weight or very little and even at max expansion it passes thru.......unless you hit bone or travel 3' of body mass then, you'll find the bullet and the animal is dead and I mean dead. I want a bullet or what's left that stops just under the skin on the opposite side. That leaves not only fragments in the chest cavity but all of that energy is absorbed by the animal.

I love copper you just have to play the game a little different. My most impressive copper experience was with 130gr TSX 270...377yds 310 with the angle, head shot just behind the eye thru the spine in the neck and was just under the skin on the belly. The bullet weighed 107 after massive bone damage. No pedals left just stubs of torn copper.

Remember the rib cage is only 1-2" thick that puts your 4-8" right in the sweet spot.

 

[B W E]

Lead hunting bullets like the SST mushrooms the pedals break off and destroy soft tissue in the chest cavity. On a cow elk 115yds qtr. away....lead fragments thru out the liver & lungs they were done, the only part of the bullet I found was the copper jacket that entered at the aorta and it fell out of the heart when I was washing it. Bling in the sink!

Copper bullets like the TSX if they don't hit bone they won't loose any weight or very little and even at max expansion it passes thru.......unless you hit bone or travel 3' of body mass then, you'll find the bullet and the animal is dead and I mean dead. I want a bullet or what's left that stops just under the skin on the opposite side. That leaves not only fragments in the chest cavity but all of that energy is absorbed by the animal.

I love copper you just have to play the game a little different. My most impressive copper experience was with 130gr TSX 270...377yds 310 with the angle, head shot just behind the eye thru the spine in the neck and was just under the skin on the belly. The bullet weighed 107 after massive bone damage. No pedals left just stubs of torn copper.

Remember the rib cage is only 1-2" thick that puts your 4-8" right in the sweet spot.

The hydrostatic shock of the TTSX bullet will greatly surpass a bullet that fragments inside the animal. That hydrostatic shock will destroy tissue and organs more "thoroughly" than little copper fragments. Check out the first pics posted in this thread.... a TTSX bullet that stayed inside the animal and was recovered.....from a .338 There's a million ballistics gel videos on youtube that confirm that the wound channel created by the TTSX / TSX bullets is nasty compared to jacketed ammo. But, to each their own.