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Author Topic: Barnes TTSX Question  (Read 7298 times)

Offline Watimberghost

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Re: Barnes TTSX Question
« Reply #15 on: March 27, 2015, 05:53:00 AM »
Good info jrebel. Thanks

Offline RadSav

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Re: Barnes TTSX Question
« Reply #16 on: March 27, 2015, 06:17:49 AM »
I purchased five bags of 50, Nosler .270/150 Partition (color blems) the end of last year for $15.95 a bag!  Seem to find deals like that often around Thanksgiving 'till Christmas.  Just have to be diligent in checking websites regularly.
He asked, Do you ever give a short simple answer?  I replied, "Nope."

Offline stevemiller

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Re: Barnes TTSX Question
« Reply #17 on: March 27, 2015, 04:33:08 PM »
Thats what I would call a score Rad.  :tup:
You must first be honest with yourself,Until then your just lying to everyone.

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Offline RadSav

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Re: Barnes TTSX Question
« Reply #18 on: March 27, 2015, 05:24:42 PM »
Jim The Plumber tuned me onto some 8mm Accubonds I'd been trying to find for two years.  At that point I'd have paid double the asking price.  Ended up being dang close to what those .270 Partitions were :IBCOOL:  Sometime persistence and luck collide!!

I was even more lucky that two H-W members shared 8mm Accubonds with me until I was able to find that good supply.  This site can be amazing when a guy is feeling down and needs some help :tup:
He asked, Do you ever give a short simple answer?  I replied, "Nope."

Offline mazama

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Re: Barnes TTSX Question
« Reply #19 on: March 28, 2015, 08:49:09 AM »
I was using Nosler partitions,switched to Barnes TTSX,I had to go to a lighter bullet because they are longer and and ate up case capacity,something to keep in mind if you are running slower powders at max load.

Offline magnumb

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Re: Barnes TTSX Question
« Reply #20 on: March 30, 2015, 12:36:24 AM »
Yes, my 270 loads will be for deer. Mainly high country use. I haven't used the 270 for elk since I got my 300 wby in '09. I'm thinking these 130 grain ttsx's will be great!

First of all, the TTSX's work extremely well on deer.  In fact, in my 40 years of handloading and hunting big game, the TTSX's have proven to be the most efficient bullets that I've ever used on deer, while the TSX's have proven the same on elk for me.  Prior to the debut of these 2 bullets, Barnes bullets were far from my first choice for either deer or elk.

I load the 130gr. TTSX's in my .270, albeit a .270 WSM, and the 100gr. TTSX's in my 25-06.  The attributes are several for both the TTSX's and TSX's.  The TTSX's are designed for thin skinned animals of which all deer fit this description.  The polymer tip expands just enough when penetrating the thin skin of deer, causing the solid metal core to then mushroom just enough to cause a modest wound cavity.  The remaining core then penetrates the entire deer to allow for both an entrance and exit wound.  The TSX's are designed for the thicker skinned animals (bear, elk, etc.) as their much thicker hides naturally start to mushroom these bullets, so there's no polymer tip needed.  I have taken blacktail bucks and bull elk (less one bull) each year since both bullets debuted and have yet to recover any bullets, so far.  These pass through results are not uncommon given many of the reviews that I've read and also contributed to on perhaps the most active hunting site in the US - '24 Hour Campfire'.

The polymer tipped, solid copper construction of the TTSX's and the solid copper TSX's allow's for the use of bullets lighter than what one might choose in a cup and core bullet.  The standard method of choice with either the TTSX's or TSX's is to go one bullet weight lighter than one might consider optimal for their cup and core counter parts.  This is due to their average weight retention being somewhere in the range of 96% - 98% as opposed to 55% - 70% of many cup and core bullets......all things considered equal (gellatin/media testing) and results reported from various hunting forums.

Cup and core bullet construction relies on a certain amount of fragmentation to get the desired effects which is to cause massive destruction ASAP just beneath the skin.  Fragmentation certainly does that, but consequently, leaves very little of the bullet to continue to penetrate more deeply if other than less dense sections of meat are encountered....such as double lung shots which clears all ribs.  Cup and core bullets are still very reliable bullets and can kill very spectacularly, but they have more limitations based on their design.  Producing a reliable and accurate cup and core bullet is an art and not easy as it involves several more steps in the manufacturing process than a solid core bullet.  They are 2 very different types of bullets which are both very effective, but I have found the solid core bullets to be much more reliable in a terminal sense and more efficient, overall.

Prior to using these solid core bullets, I was always finding myself carving out plate sized blood shot sections of both the bucks and bulls that I had shot.  For 30 years or so, it was more common than not that this was just part of the deer/elk processing regime.  Carve out 3-5 pounds of blood shot meat (and any of the bullet fragments that you can find before you and your family either breaks their teeth on a lead fragment or worse, ingests some without knowing it....year after year after year).  Feed the 'yotes and ravens the wasted meat and and then clean up the messy, bloody hole as best you can.  As an aside, years ago I read an article which detailed the findings of researchers who placed themselves at the base of a popular hunting area and used a transportable X-ray machine to take X-rays of all of the deer harvested over several days.  This was a study to determine how much lead remained in the deer after being gutted/skinned and cleaned up.  They showed only one picture of an X-ray, if I remember correctly.  This deer had been shot in the front left shoulder and what remained of the bullet was recovered by the hunter, who thought that his bullet had mostly stayed intact.  The interior outline of that deers body in that X-ray looked like how the stars look like on a mountain top on a crystal clear, cold evening.  No less than 40 bright lead fragments littered this deers body, from the wound area forward into it's neck all the way back to it's upper left, rear hip.  I had no idea that was even possible......it was an incredible picture which, as a young husband and father, certainly impressed me.  Just.....FWIW..... ;)

When I stated earlier that I believe that the TTSX's and TSX's are more efficient than the cup and core bullets, I was talking about the big picture.  It is both my opinion and experience that the solid core bullets retain almost 100% of their original weight (I've never found any of the tiniest of fragments in some 10 bucks and/or 9 bulls), never recovered a single bullet, always had both an entrance and exit wound channel (optimal for tracking a blood trail, if necessary), I've never had but one buck or bull go further than 10 yards after being shot (and that was a bull 2 years ago that covered those 10 yards as would a very drunk sailor) and I have never had to carve out more than a 50 cent sized piece of blood shot meat on but maybe 3 animals, otherwise, just a hole in and a hole out on all of the rest.

The designs and manufacturing of bullets has come a loooong way.  Up to 10 years ago, the Nosler Partition was still the bullet all other bullets aspired to be and for good reason.  I took my first 20 or so bulls and 30 some bucks with the NP's and swore by them.  The 'ole' dog, new tricks' saying certainly applies to me as I've many more years behind me than what's left ahead of me.  But the overall concept of the TSX's and TSX's very much intrigued me and I got on board immediately, which as anyone who knows me, is not my style.  Dropping both my buck and bull here and then a 175 mulie in The Bob Marshall a week later, all with either the TTSX's or TSX's and as 'efficiently' as they did.....it certainly got my attention.  The subsequent years just solidified my beliefs and even though I am a very dedicated handloader, my total acceptance and reliance on these particular bullets has somewhat stifled my need to look elsewhere for this handloaders 'Holy Grail'.

To late to make a long story short..... ;), but suffice it to say that a few more $'s per box isn't too much for what you get with these bullets.  The blood lost meat, per pound, would cost more than the difference between a box of these TTSX's and a standard box of cup and core bullets.

The 130gr. TTSX's would be a fine choice in your .270 for deer, in fact, I believe that the first bull taken with a .140gr. TSX was by Boddington using a .270.  One shot......dead bull.  Since most bucks are about 1/4 - 1/5 the size/weight of an average bull, the 130gr. TTSX should be more than adequate.  My 25-06 shooting the 100gr. TTSX is a virtual sledge hammer on bucks.  I've used the 120gr. Partition and the 110gr. Accubond in previous 25-06's as I, like you, thought a 'bit heavier' is better.  Neither of those 2 bullets was as terminaly impressive and efficient as that little 100gr. TTSX.

Yes.......placement is key and has no rival, so please, no sermons on that as I very much ascribe to that, as well.  As it should be, to each, their own.  I don't often tout any item or product, but in this instance, I find myself 100%, all-in with these bullets.  I hope that others find them just as........'efficient'. 

     

« Last Edit: March 30, 2015, 12:41:46 AM by magnumb »

 


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