Recovered Barnes bullet

[rharfo]

Posting for discussion. My buddy and I hunted mule deer in New Mexico in October. The pic is his bullet recovered from the hide of his 170 inch buck. He shot the deer quartering away at 75 yards. Once hit the deer started to run. As it was near dusk he quickly put another one in the rear ham. Second hit dropped the buck. I was not standing with him but was close enough to hear the two shots. It sounded like a semi auto but was a Rem 700 LTR in 308 20" barrel. The bullet is a Barnes 168 TTSX loaded by me. Fed primer 44 gr Varget. Not sure if this is shot 1 or 2. Either way. Is his muzzle velocity of 2550 too slow for this tough bullet? What would happen if this was 300 yard shot? Im thinking we drop down to 150 grain and/or use a another bullet so he has a lil more velocity and maybe run a softer bullet so it opens up a lil more. Our taxidermist found the bullet. We didn't poke around after the kill. Wish we did I would probably have more info. Anyway let the discussion begin.

 

[Pdvdh]

That's about normal for Barnes TSX bullets I've recovered. Never recovered a TTSX, but I wouldn't expect anything different.

Try a Hammer bullet if you want a monolithic copper/alloy bullet that come apart a bit more aggressively.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

In my 308 Win I found the 130 TTSX to shoot under 1/2 moa at full throttle. Barnes data list several loads that exceed 3,200 ft/sec.

I shot a medium whitetail from stem to stern. Bullet was not recovered.

 

[Catahoula]

You will never see Barnes or Bergers on my reloading bench. Had train wrecks with both. Go to Hornady, Nosler or Sierra. They make great hunting bullets.
Thanks, Kirk

 

[Ltsheets]

I've read Barnes recommends one weight lower for their bullets vs lead. I'd use 130-150gr max in a 308 IMO.

 

[N2TRKYS]

You should be loading the 130s in a 308 Win.

 

[sambo3006]

I agree. That muzzle velocity is way too low for a Triple Shock. The faster you drive them the better they expand.

 

[rharfo]

Agreed it's too slow. Ran them hard in my 300 WM with great results.

 

[WildRose]

I'm not seeing a problem here. The bullet expanded and apparently gave great penetration as well and I assume the deer was recovered with no problems.

Without seeing the wound track we can't see what the shot placement was like.

I've shot a few pigs and several coyotes with their factor Vor-TX 5.56 ammo and if the placement is there, they go bang flop just like they are supposed to.

 

[just country]

morning, I shoot Barnes 130gr. TTSX. very accurate bullet in my custom

308 mauser action and my ruger 77V. will not mention the powder load

but the powders is RL15-W760. push this bullet hard. on hogs

exit hole thru the head is 3". shots from 35yrs-150yrds. I favor barnes bullets.

the TTSX and LRX r accurate very good bullets. very good performance.

lightbulbgun)

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

When the word penetration and bullets are used in the same sentence, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better than the Barnes X-bullet...the only other off the shelf readily available bullet is the Nosler Partition..that's all folks !

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I agree with Rose. The bullet looks like it should. Hard to say what happened terminally, but the deer is down. I personally like higher muzzle velocities, but that is a personal thing. Our Hammer Hunter will be a bit more violent on impact than what you see there simply because we have a much deeper hollow pt and softer material.

Just did load development on a customer 308 yesterday with the 152g Hammer Hunter and the load ended up at 3050fps using CFE223 powder. Nice and consistent with a 12fps es and 5.8fps sd.

Weather you stay with the Barnes or try ours I think the lighter bullet with higher mv will extend your effective range in "normal" hunting distances. Or in other words max point blank range and higher vel impacts for more terminal performance.

Steve

 

[rharfo]

The bullet(s) worked. Deer dropped at the second shot and it's at the Taxidermist! But it's still too heavy for his rifle.

 

[toddc]

Everything in life is a compromise. ESPECIALLY BULLETS. BC, SD, WEIGHT, STABILITY. So many factors to consider and NO IDEA exactly what a bullet will encounter when launched.
In general the Barnes idea is lighter weight, hard construction for a balance of penetration and expansion. Most would go with the lighter TTSX in a 308. Also would kick less.
HOWEVER, if the 130 had hit the hip bone in that critter and not made it past the diaphragm, this thread could be about a lost animal.
Every bullet has a PERFECT niche. I think about how a bullet is going to perform WHEN I am making the shot.
For example, Deer is standing at 300 yds at dark in a small opening surrounded by dense cover and its fixing to rain. With ANY bullet I am going for the high shoulder. Same deer in short grass in the morning? With a Swift A-frame I'm going after the shoulder, a Berger? Ribs.
I take a second and consider PROBABLE bullet performance BEFORE I shoot. That's a MUCH BETTER time than afterwards on a forum
Back in the day when Elmer Keith was writing, there were no SUPER BULLETS. He leaned heavily towards long for caliber, high SD bullets. With conventional stuff I shoot the longest heaviest VLD I can and call it good. I let the SD do the work, not the construction. That is PHYSICS beating CONSTRUCTION.
With super bullets I would pull the weight back and let the CONSTRUCTION do the work.