Barnes TSX

[Curly]

I have heard that many rifles shoot very accurately with TSX bullets even if loaded to have a jump to the lands as much as 0.200".  It would be worth trying even if you can't get close to the recommended 0.050" jump.  I believe that earlier Barnes bullets (original X and XLC) were more finicky regarding bullet seating depth and the closer to the lands the better.  Experimenting with length lead me to find a sweet spot at 0.030", but it did shoot well seated at 0.150" from the lands also.  Some rifles may like a little bit more of a jump........its hard to know until you try.

I don't crimp mine either......and the 300 Win mag has such a short neck that you would think that if any cartridge would cause an uncrimped bullet to move, it would be in the 300WM.

[Intruder]

I remember when I was first working up my load that I followed Barne's recommendation about distance from the lands.  My loads shot very well but the COL was too long for the clip mag on my A-bolt.  I was afraid that shortening would effect the load.  In the end it didn't seem to matter at all.  I just checked my loads and all the rings are definitely inside the case.  I'm not sure how far off the lands I am but it's a ways.

[jeff100]

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate the information.  Attached is what I ended up with.  The Barnes tech data recommends a gap of .050 between the bullet and the lands, I had to settle for .030.  I will find out in the morning at the range what performance is possible with this load.  I thought about the penetration of these bullets and agree with the person that suggested 150 grain bullet would probably perform close to what the 165 does in lead.  If I had not already stocked up on the 165's, I'd switch to the 150's.  I do really like these bullets, so I hope to continue using them...

[jeff100]

Just back from the range, where I spent the morning testing loads in my Ruger .30-06.  The Barnes bullet shot very well.  Deviation was about 20 fps at the velocity I was hoping for, and groups just over an inch at 200 yards.  Approx 2800 fps/165 grain TSX.

I'm happy.

[bobcat]

That's great shooting, especially from a Ruger! 

[jeff100]

That rifle was new last year, I've been breaking in the barrel, and I've done a partial trigger job on it.  Partial, meaning it still needs some creep removed....but it's not bad as it is.  Probably won't mess with it again until after hunting season is over.

Oh..wait.

Hunting season...is NEVER over....

[jeepasaurusrex]

We loaded up a 10 round batch of .270win with 150gr Barnes TSX Flatbase #27746 with 54 grains of Hogdon 4831 powder.

Here is the muzzle velocity's for the 10 rounds. Chrony was about 12' in front of bench.
FPS
2523
2563
2566
2558
2561
2543
2614
2616
2539
2564
Average of the group was 2565fps.

I'm wondering if the brass had something to do with the inconsistency in the FPS.
It was all brass that had been reloaded a couple of times. We're going to load up another batch with brand new brass and see if that makes a difference.

We also just loaded up a batch of Nosler 150gr Ballistic Silver Tips. Cant wait to give them a try (See Avatar).

The regular hits were either 130gr Hornady, or Nosler 130gr.

The gold color (copper) hits were from the Barnes bullets.
The little nicks are from a .22 my 7yr old daughter was shooting.... not bad for a kid putting rounds on target at 110yds.

Target material is 3/4" A36 steel @ 110yds.

[jeff100]

I'm wondering if the brass had something to do with the inconsistency in the FPS.

It's hard to say, I don't know what max load is for that powder/bullet/caliber combo is.  I can tell you though, that today at the range shooting my Barnes TSX reloads, I was getting more deviation in velocity than I like to see, UNTIL, I got to the higher powder charge/velocities.  At the top end of the velocity, my deviation really dropped off to almost nothing.  Accuracy was real good too at the highest velocities.  I always look for pressure signs getting too high, and could see NO evidence of too much pressure.  In fact, I was a bit surprised how reasonable pressures seemed given the velocity I was getting (2800+ fps).

At 2500+ fps velocity in a .270, seems to me you've still got some room to pump your loads up a bit and that may help reduce your deviation by quite a bit with the Barnes bullets.

My  worth... 

[jeepasaurusrex]

Sounds like a good place to start. With this next batch I will bump up the powder a bit.