Barnes TTSX 180g report

Clemensp06

Active Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
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28
Location
Helena Montana
Hey guys, i been a member for a while but have not posted. I shoot a remington 700p in .300 RUM with a factory 26" barrel. I bought some Cor-Bon factory ammo loaded in barnes 180g TTSX for a Mule Deer hunt in Nebraska last year. they shot great out of my gun and i could not get much else to work. I am not hand loading yet. I got my shot at a great deer at 300yds. i shot him right behind the shoulder and expected him to drop. he never wiggled. i put another one in him and he ran down the hill. I crept up to the top and there he was standing at about 25yds. I shot him again and he took off. I put a 4th bullet in him. i wathed him go over the hill about 50yds away. I got to him and he was dead, but when i examined all the holes, they were all .30 cal size going in and out the other side. I never hit bone other than a couple ribs, but i was very dissapointed in this bullet. I just thought i would let everyone know my experience with them. Take it with a grain of salt, this is just my experience. I love the accuracy but will be looking for something else for long range. This is such a wonderful website with great information. thanks
 
The TTSX is a great bullet. I've used them since they came out. BUT, I ALWAYS aim for bone, and you should to if you continue using this bullet. It is a tough bullet. Barnes has some videos on youtube and you can see that they predicted that the entrance and exit holes would be similar. Don't let that disappoint you.

I have probably 1500 TSX and TTSX bullets on my bench. But they are not my bullet of choice for what I would call the beginning of a long poke, which happens to be 300 yards. I'd take a shot at game inside 400 yards with one but I'd be aiming square for the shoulder. These bullets work best when hitting bone, IMO.

I'd recommend the Berger VLD, or Nosler Btip for long range work. I've taken many deer and pronghorn with these 2 and they have never "failed" from point blank range to beyond 300 yards. The Nosler Accubond is also a very popular hunting bullet for long range.

Because they are a picky bullet, the Swift Scirocco seems to linger behind the pack, but I've taken black bears and deer with this bullet as well and it performs very well. It has a pure copper jacket and takes a bit more work to get a load in my experience but they do very very well once you find that load.
 
What was the total distance that the deer ran? Also, what did the insides of the deer look like?

Thanks,

Steve
 
Here is a little more info on the hunt. I ran the bullet through the chrony at an average of 3180fps. The deer only ran less the 100yds so i know dead is dead, but i was expecting him to drop right there. The inside of the lungs were pretty messed up after 4 bullets in the chest cavity. I have used this bullet out of a .308 win on a new mexico elk hunt with wonderful results, but it was different because i hit bone on the elk at 340yds. he dropped like a ton of bricks. I am not saying its a bad bullet, only reporting what my results on that mule deer . I have always shot behind the shoulder, but i think from now on I will be taking shoulder shots to try and anchor them better. It was open country in nebraska, so tracking was easy, but in heavy brush country like parts of colorado where i live, i would like some better results. I know that you could shoot 10 animals with the same bullets and gun and get 10 different results. Thanks for listening.
 
Not uncommon for the exit holes in the hide to be small. You do not mention the internal damage, nor do you mention the internals that were hit or missed.

I have used the TSX ullet on a lot of game and have seen them used on a lot more game and they were extremely well

Antelope that I took at 777 yards DRT with the 180 grain TSX from my 300 win mag



fa7vxj.jpg
 
So did it look like the bullets opened and you just had one that wanted to live past his expiration date. I haven't shot the TTSX much because of the TSX performance, great meat bullet but that's about all the praise I have for them.
 
I have shot a lot of animals with a 180 tsx in my 300 rum and I think that are a very good bullet. The worked great on nilgai in south texas. Most of them dropping where they where. Deer on the other hand all run off after shooting them seems like for me. Some of which leave little to no blood due to the small hole the bullet leaves in the animal. I will say most every deer I have shot with them had a chest full of slush when they are gutted. All The animals where found with in 50 yds or so from where they where shot.
 
Hey guys, thanks for all the replys. I went back and looked at the pictures of my deer. the deer was quartering slightly to me because all 4 shots entered in the lungs and exited about middle of the deer where the liver is. It probably just cought the back part of the lungs. Thats why the deer kept going. I dont remeber the lungs being jelly except the back 1/4. the liver was gone. the heart was still good. That probably explains why he did not flinch. never hit anything solid and he finally pumped out enough blood to die. The bullets look like they expanded just fine. I just remember this deer as huge. It was the biggest deer i ever shot, so i guess i was a little excited, and when he did not fold, i kept shooting him till he went down. I was not taking any chances. As soon as i figure out how to post pictures, i will get some on here. I never had any of the entrance, but only the exit side.
 
ExitholesonNebraskadeer1.jpg
NebraskaMuleDeer2.jpg

Here are the pics guys. I think i need to shoot the shoulder if i want drt performance. I do believe it was the shooter now, not the bullet. Funny how you remember things and then look at pictures and go oh ya, now i remember. I hope i did not get anyone too stirred up. I should have posted this a year ago when it was fresh. Please dont flame me too bad. lol
 
I'm not going to flame you at all! **** fine muley!!

So, your point of entry was BEHIND the shoulder on a deer slightly quartering TO you. There in lies a good cause of what happened.

When a game animal is quartering to, even if slightly, it is my opinion that aiming behind the shoulder is no longer a place for good bullet placement. I'm aiming towards the front of the shoulder or even in front of it, just the opposite of a quartering away shot.

Try that next time you have the opportunity and see what happens. Quartering to shots are among my favorites with a rifle as the game usually drops on the spot.
 
NICE buck, I love mule deer! Ya, 8in forward and it would have been a different story! Not many bullets look that good that far back, they get em dead but not with the dramatic DRT effect.
 
Nice buck! Youd id the right thing just keep shooting until they are down. No need to chance it
 
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