Anybody use 150 gr. TSX for hunting in their .308?

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I have a couple boxes of these 30 cal. TSX bullets and thought I would develop a load for both my adult kid's .308s since I have all the components already. Just wondering if anybody uses these in their .308 for hunting because that's all they'll be used for? Personally, I use 130 gr. TTSX in my .308 which is my "go to"#bullet for deer in mine. I have a 300 WSM for the bigger stuff. Because the .308 is the only rifle each of them owns and what they'll use to shoot all game with, mostly deer but with the possibility of moose, elk, and black bear, I thought maybe 150 gr. TSX may fit the bill.

That being said, usually when you shoot copper monos you go down in weight for greater velocity and more reliable expansion,,,,,,,so do you think 150 gr. TSX is too heavy since you're going to get almost 100% weight retention from them? I figure I can get in the 2900-3000 FPS range using Win 748 powder,,,,not sure what kind of accuracy they'll get in their rifles, though. I can't see them ever taking a shot over 200 yards,,,,at least they haven't, yet.

What do you think??
 
I load 150 gr TSX in front of 46.5 gr of Varget ( just over max recommended by Barnes load data) for my Sako 85 Finnlight .308.
MV avgs 2825 but my barrel is only 20.25 inches so I lose about 100fps vs a 24 inch barrel. ..ymmv.
Mule deer, elk, and moose don't care, they all drop. You might find that a lower velocity than 2900 will let them shoot more accuratley without losing any game kill effectiveness.
What I like about the TSX is that you can drop down in bullet weight, and still hammer game...heaviest Ive tried is 168 gr.
I tried the TTSX as well, but prefer all copper if I can find them. it should be good out to 500+ and maintain enough energy as a hunting round, but I keep my hunting range inside 300.
I'm still playing with seating depth...its MOA now at 100 yds but I think it could be better... hoping for ragged holes.

Hope this helps...if you decide you dont want to use your 150 gr TSX I can help :)
 
I like to see what results are with the 150 g as I have used 168 with 18.5 - 20 inch barrels for starting velocity of 2500-2600fps and I have done a lot of tracking after the shot
 
I prefer the TSX to the TTSX. I shoot 150's as well. Bang. Flop. Just push monolithics as fast as you can to ensure reliable expansion without sacrificing accuracy.
 
keith mokry said:
I like to see what results are with the 150 g as I have used 168 with 18.5 - 20 inch barrels for starting velocity of 2500-2600fps and I have done a lot of tracking after the shot
Click to expand...
Did your 168s open up? Passthru? What did the exit hole look like? Where was shot placement on the animals that ran?

I only used the 168s at the range, not on game, but I didnt like the drop out to 300 yds.
I sight in the 150s at 200yds, so I can still hold on the upper third of the body at 300 and be confident, and its only 1.75 inches high at 100... hence anything inside 300 is a confident shot.

Im pretty happy with the 150 tsx game performance.
Since they cloverleaf and don't grenade, I find meat damage is reduced, yet ballistic shock stiil seems deadly.
With 150s, 3 coastal Blacktail and 1 mulie buck were bang flop, complete passthru, no tracking required, with shot placement just behind the shoulder. Another mulie buck ran 40 yds and tipped over. Exit holes were about one inch.
This years elk took one in the brisket facing me head on at 30 yds that didn't exit...wasnt my preferred shot but its all he gave me... and ran 60 yds, stopped, staggered, and the 2nd hit the neck....didnt take another step.
 
One took another shoot after travelling a great distance after through the shoulders exit and other did a bang flop on top hill and bleed then got up and ran away after stopped kicking. Tracked for over still not caught up to it.
Did it expand or not is the question. Believe it didn't do to velocity and will use use the standard cup and core bullets for the use. After 30yr haven't lost animal to them yet
 
keith mokry said:
One took another shoot after travelling a great distance after through the shoulders exit and other did a bang flop on top hill and bleed then got up and ran away after stopped kicking. Tracked for over still not caught up to it.
Did it expand or not is the question. Believe it didn't do to velocity and will use use the standard cup and core bullets for the use. After 30yr haven't lost animal to them yet
Click to expand...

Shooting 165-168 TSX is like shooting a 200 gr cup and core bullet once you take bullet weight retention into consideration. You likely didn't have enough velocity to get reliable expansion. My go to bullet for my .308 are the 130 gr TTSX,,,, gives me all the speed I need to get good expansion for the distance I feel comfortable shooting at. I just want to use up those 150 gr TSX and since my kids will be using their rifles for all ungulates I figured the 150 gr would be a good compromise.
 
You have nothing to worry about these bullets ... they do a good job.... hit hard and don't leave lead fragments all over in the meat.....nothing else I hate more is when you go to cook what ever you harvested and start eating and you bit into a piece of lead! Dio cane!!!.... I've had great results with these from my bar in 25-06... 30-30...... m14 .... benelli .300 winmag and wsm I find they do a heck of a lot of damage as well..... just my .02 cents well I did load a hot round for bear !!!! But everything else was on normal side of things and still did lots of damage I love my bar and benelli .... eh man have fun
 
Used a 150 TTSX to take a small bull a couple of years ago using my browning BLR 308 - 70 yard broadside thru the heart. Found fully expanded between hide and body (petals expanded to bottom of cavity). Velocity 15 ft from muzzle with this load is 2650 fps (43.5 H4895).

I have since moved up to 168 TTSX - not because I was unhappy with performance of 150 TTSX but because i found a just as accurate load with the same velocity using CFE 223 and the 168 TTSX is what I use for my 300 WSM as well.

My primary game is moose - if it was deer , I would stick with regular or bonded lead core options.
 
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