Anybody load 168 TTSX in 308 Win?

[SuperBruce]

I've been reading through posts and got the wild idea to try the 168 TTSX in a 308 win but I see very few examples of people loading them. I know mono's love speed and I've loaded up the 130 TTSX's which shoot fantastic, but they shed energy fast so I'm wondering if I can get better effective range with the 168's. I know the 150's are another option but I'm just real curious about the 168 TTSX.

If you've loaded the 168's in 308 win, what velocities are you getting with what powder in what length barrel? Also if you've used them on game at distance with any chambering, I'd be interested in how they worked out for you.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

You can run the 150 TTSX at 2,900 ft/sec with any of the common powders used in a .308Win. The 168 TSX bullets only ran about 2,650 ft/sec during my testing. It's possible you could get a bit more but that was about it in my 22" bbl.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I've loaded about a thousand for my .308s. I use it mostly on my R700 AAC-SD, and it loves 42.5g of IMR4064. I use NATO brass and get one hole at 100 yards.

 

[SuperBruce]

Thank you for the reports! That's very helpful. I know Barnes also loads these in 308 as factory rounds but I don't know how popular those are.

The 168 TSX bullets only ran about 2,650 ft/sec during my testing. It's possible you could get a bit more but that was about it in my 22" bbl.

The slow speed is what I was most worried about. You run our of case room pretty fast in a 308 using monos... I'm using a 18" barrel so things would likely be even more grim. Cfe223 looks like it gets good speeds according to Barnes data but it's oddly inconsistent with the Hodgdons data so I suspect I wouldn't get near what the numbers suggest. I'd have TAC and that looks relatively promising too, I wonder if anybody's tried it with the 168's.

I've loaded about a thousand for my .308s. I use it mostly on my R700 AAC-SD, and it loves 42.5g of IMR4064. I use NATO brass and get one hole at 100 yards.

What velocities were you getting?

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

Thank you for the reports! That's very helpful. I know Barnes also loads these in 308 as factory rounds but I don't know how popular those are.


The slow speed is what I was most worried about. You run our of case room pretty fast in a 308 using monos... I'm using a 18" barrel so things would likely be even more grim. Cfe223 looks like it gets good speeds according to Barnes data but it's oddly inconsistent with the Hodgdons data so I suspect I wouldn't get near what the numbers suggest. I'd have TAC and that looks relatively promising too, I wonder if anybody's tried it with the 168's.

What velocities were you getting?

I never measured the velocities. I developed the rounds for hog hunting over small clearings and ag fields in South Carolina. My farthest possible shot was under 250 yards, so once I got to one hole accuracy, I was happy with my process.

 

[FreddyG]

The fastest I got was 2750 using win 748 in a 22" bbl. No other powder was anywhere close. Pretty compressed load though.

 

[Recon$$]

I ran them in Africa out of a .308 and had zero issues to include a 60" kudu. I forget velocities but I know I paired them with RL15.

 

[alaska]

308 Win
Bergara Ridge 22"

45.0 of Varget
168gr TSX
WW Cases
BR-2 primers

44.1 of Varget
175gr LRX
WW cases
BR-2 primers

 

[SuperBruce]

308 Win
Bergara Ridge 22"

45.0 of Varget
168gr TSX
WW Cases
BR-2 primers

44.1 of Varget
175gr LRX
WW cases
BR-2 primers

Thank you! In the time since I initially asked I tried close to both of these loads. Only significant difference is I am shooting a Bergara ridge SP 18" and using Lapua brass. The 175 load worked up really well for me (ended at 43.8 gr @ 2604 fps) but the 168 TTSX didn't group well. Do you know what kind of jump you're using? I don't have my data with me but iirc it was a pretty long one as I'm stuck with book length due to the internal mag and presumably you are too.

 

[alaska]

2.810" coal

 

[alaska]

I've been reading through posts and got the wild idea to try the 168 TTSX in a 308 win but I see very few examples of people loading them. I know mono's love speed and I've loaded up the 130 TTSX's which shoot fantastic, but they shed energy fast so I'm wondering if I can get better effective range with the 168's. I know the 150's are another option but I'm just real curious about the 168 TTSX.

If you've loaded the 168's in 308 win, what velocities are you getting with what powder in what length barrel? Also if you've used them on game at distance with any chambering, I'd be interested in how they worked out for you.

Thanks in advance.

Thank you! In the time since I initially asked I tried close to both of these loads. Only significant difference is I am shooting a Bergara ridge SP 18" and using Lapua brass. The 175 load worked up really well for me (ended at 43.8 gr @ 2604 fps) but the 168 TTSX didn't group well. Do you know what kind of jump you're using? I don't have my data with me but iirc it was a pretty long one as I'm stuck with book length due to the internal mag and presumably you are too.

Bergara Ridge 308 Win
168 TSX @ 2.805"
44gr Varget
CCI BR2 primer
WW Brass
Mild crimp using Lee Factory Crimp Die
It's seems I am having better luck in this particular Bergara at 44.0.

 

[SuperBruce]

Bergara Ridge 308 Win
168 TSX @ 2.805"
44gr Varget
CCI BR2 primer
WW Brass
Mild crimp using Lee Factory Crimp Die
It's seems I am having better luck in this particular Bergara at 44.0.

I used Lapua brass and CCI 200, but otherwise I don't see why I would have gotten 2 MOA groups from such a similar setup. Since I still have projectiles I may try one more time to see if something was up that particular day.

 

[copper still]

I've been reading through posts and got the wild idea to try the 168 TTSX in a 308 win but I see very few examples of people loading them. I know mono's love speed and I've loaded up the 130 TTSX's which shoot fantastic, but they shed energy fast so I'm wondering if I can get better effective range with the 168's. I know the 150's are another option but I'm just real curious about the 168 TTSX.

If you've loaded the 168's in 308 win, what velocities are you getting with what powder in what length barrel? Also if you've used them on game at distance with any chambering, I'd be interested in how they worked out for you.

Thanks in advance.

Here are the min opening speeds(fps) Barnes gave me when I called and talked to them last week. Notice their 168 opens much slower. The tech said this is bc the designed the bullet for 308 and 30-06 and the 150 was used often in Magnum cartridges such as the 300 mag and 300 WSM

110 TSX 1900
110 TTSX 2000
130 TTSX 1800
150 TSX 1800
150 TTSX 2000
168 TTSX 1500