Barnes TTSX 150 or 168 gr in .308 Win?

SArnold30

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Hello all,

I'm in the process of developing a hunting load for my Remington 700 SPS in .308 Win with the factory 20" 1:10 barrel to be used primarily on blacktail deer, pronghorn, and/or black bear. I've had consistent sub-MOA groups in this rifle when using factory Remington loads with the Barnes 168 gr. TSX, and being a California resident, I'm restricted to lead-free bullets and have thus settled on using Barnes for developing this handload.

In regard to overall accuracy switching from the TSX (1.318") to the TTSX (1.406"), I'm not too concerned about the TTSX being .088" longer because the twist on my rifle should theoretically be more than adequate to stabilize the longer bullet. I've read tons of great things about the TTSX, but I've recently heard about a few other hunters' issues using it in .308 Win for lack of optimal expansion. Given the already reduced case capacity of the .308 Win compared to other .30's, the increased length of the 168 gr. TTSX, and Barnes bullets liking a good jump/deeper seating, I'm wondering if the 168 gr. TTSX limits the charge capacity and simply can't be pushed fast enough out of a .308 Win to get ideal expansion. Has anyone else had any similar issues to this, or are these just some anomalies I've read?

I've considered loading up the 150 gr. TTSX for the same purpose to see if pushing it faster would result in better terminal performance. I don't foresee any problems with my twist being too fast for the 150 gr., it's only .018" shorter than the 168 gr. TSX that shot very well out of my rifle, but in the realm of ballistics that .018" is a world of difference.

For further reference, I'm using Lapua brass with Federal GM210M primers; and have on hand Win 748, Reloader 15, Accurate 2520, and IMR 4064 to try for this load if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks in advance for any input and help!
 
the difference is negligible. Going heavier for black bear would be wise, but you're only talking 18 grains on a bullet that typically does not lose any mass. If you were asking about frangible nosler ballistic tips, I'd say "definitely" go heavier; but Barnes is a good bullet. I use them by choice
 
I have been shooting the 130gr in both tsx and ttsx in my .308 wins for about 5 years now anywhere around 50 grains of varget provides great accuracy at close to 3100. Turns my .308 into a 270.

Not a long range bullet but works great on VA and Nova Scotia whitetails out to 300.

Check out the reviews at Midway.

Good luck and shot straight y'all

 
FWIW - I've been shooting the 130gr TTSX in my .308Win and have found it to be exceptionally accurate. Groups of 1.6"- 1.8" were achieved at 400yds. My current load is 46.5gr of Benchmark in a Lapua case with a Fed 210M primer. Velocity is 3,130 ft/sec.

A frontal shot on a nice 8 point buck pole axed him to the ground. Quickest kill I have ever seen.
 
Because of mono bullet length, and the small capacity of the .308 Win., even with the 150's, you're crowding powder capacity. Many people go to the 130 grain monos. That said, I recently loaded 300 rounds of Barnes 150 TTSX's for my son! memtb
 
Thanks for the input from all! I picked up some 130 gr. and have a few of the 150 gr. on hand already to try out. I also snagged some Varget to work up for loads with both. Might have to shelve the 168's for 300 Win Mag loads. Are my concerns regarding the stability of these lighter bullets in the 1:10 twist unwarranted?
 
I know a guy who tested quite a few of the TSX vs same weight TTSX in dead hog carcass for expansion -- despite the claims of Barnes that say "the tip" helps the ttsx expand faster" --- he found that the TSX actually expanded to a larger diameter and down to slower speeds than the comparable weight TTSX (he did test the 130, 16&168 but not the 150's)-- makes you look at the barnes claim of " the tip makes it expand faster" --- faster than what? actually they state that "the tip initiates rapid expansion" I cant seem to find on their web page the "expands faster" claim any more

out of my 1:10 twist 16" barrel 308w-- my accuracy node is 2850 with the 130 tsx, and 2600 with the 150 tsx -- I was able to hit 2930 with the 130's and 2680 with the 150's but was not happy with the accuracy at those speeds

You might also consider the 124 Hammer hunter, 152 HH or 166 HH too, they are more accurate than the barnes in my rifle and are also CA legal
 
Thanks for the input from all! I picked up some 130 gr. and have a few of the 150 gr. on hand already to try out. I also snagged some Varget to work up for loads with both. Might have to shelve the 168's for 300 Win Mag loads. Are my concerns regarding the stability of these lighter bullets in the 1:10 twist unwarranted?
actually the 165's might be better for the 300wm than the 168's --here is what Barnes says about the 165 vs the 168:
These bullets have different ogive geometries. The 165-grain TSX incorporates a shorter tangent ogive in the nose profile. It's designed for cartridges with short magazines such as the .300 WSM and .300 Win Mag. The 168-grain TSX BT has a secant ogive which lengthens the nose profile and has shown superb accuracy downrange. It offers the best of both worlds because it's also a premium hunting bullet offering exceptional terminal performance. It is best suited for cartridges such as the .308 Winchester, .30-06 and .300 Weatherby.

you can use the twist rate/ stability calculator that berger bullets has on their web page to figure out the stability factor for your conditions
 
Thanks for the input from all! I picked up some 130 gr. and have a few of the 150 gr. on hand already to try out. I also snagged some Varget to work up for loads with both. Might have to shelve the 168's for 300 Win Mag loads. Are my concerns regarding the stability of these lighter bullets in the 1:10 twist unwarranted?

I think your going to like that combo its hard to go wrong with Varget and Lapua brass and 210M is just what I'm using. put a light crimp in the shortest channel and shoot em. I started just like Barnes says at 48 grains and worked up to 52 accuracy was so good at 49, 49.5 and 50 I just stuck with 49.5.

Good luck and shoot straight y'all.
 
I've used the 150 TTSX BT and the 168 TSX BT for elk in a NULA .308. Both bullets work very well. I'd go with the one that shoots most accurately in your rifle. I've found H4895 powder will consistently provide a little better accuracy than the more popular Varget in a couple of .308s, though I may have to give up a little velocity.

I load the 150 to around 2850 or slightly less and I think the 168 is just under 2700.
 
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