Excellent recommendation, thank you. I’ll try them out!
150 gr. .30-06 Underperformance?
- Thread starter Outdoorsman308
- Start date
I will definitely try them, thank you!
Interesting comment. I have steered clear of heavier Barnes mono bullets because I could not drive them fast enough as what seems to be recommended for fast kills.
What have you shot with them? At what range and where did you place the bullets?
Redneck the 30-06 will push a 165 - 168 easy in the 2900 plus FPS with the right load and Ive pushed Hornady 165 SST s to 3050 FPS out of a 22.5 inch barrel .ALL at Safe pressures . RJ
It is my bullet of choice due to the success I have had, and my gun likes them.
All my mule deer, and one bull moose have fallen victim to the 168gr ttsx. Moose taken at 130yards, lunged him broad side, 20 steps and down. Mullies have been inside 275yards, most inside 100yards. Placements vary here, but all vital shots taken, the animal dropped in place. Have had some deer wonder but that would be on me not doing my job. Have yet to loose one animal with Barnes (didn't want to type that)
I bump up to the 180s for black bear and I have had 100% success. My guide buddy has a lot of black bear under his belt and he uses 180s as well.
Have you hunted with them or on paper?
Yea Barnes lists max velocity at 2850 with a 24 inch barrel and I run shorter barrel rifles. I’m sure someone has published data at 2900 but I’m not expecting to get that really out of a short barrel. I’m sure a load at 2750 or 2800 would work fine but from my research it’s not my first choice.
Also I shoot 130s and they have no issues with penetration. Actually I would prefer if they expanded a little qucker.
I had a load of 168 tsx for a 30-06 that was not that accurate. I didn’t put much effort into load development so that’s not the bullet it’s on me. Never took any game with it.
So now I shoot 130 grain ttsx. It’s ripping out of a 308 at like 3150 fps. I have taken 2 bears with it and it performed decent. I have no worries about under penetration they can pass through big bones like nothing.
I would actually prefer if they expanded a little quicker. I shot a large bear clean through both shoulders and it still could run on the shoulder where the entrance was. It didn’t go that far but I was surprised while skinning and processing it how long it took for that bullet to expand. Shot was 40 yards.
thanks for sharing your experience. I’m still on the fence with these Barnes bullets. I shoot mostly lead.
I’ve shot game at just under 400 yards with the 168 TTSX out of the 06 with zero problems. I have a friend that has literally hunted the world with that combination. Again zero problems.
Here is what he has to say.
“I know you will be surprised, but I used a 30-06 with 168 TTSX's in Tajikistan. There are only three flights per week to Dushanbe on Turkish Airlines, which is the route nearly all American and Canadian hunters take. So, during the hunting season, there are always 6-8 hunters on each flight that are going to various hunting units throughout the country. The method for getting cleared by customs with a firearm is straight out of Soviet times, so they herd the hunters into a room for about 2-3 hours while they all get cleared
As you can imagine, this leads to much discussion of where everyone is going, what you are hunting, what rifle you brought, etc. I was asked what I was shooting and said a 30-06 on a Mauser type action. They literally made fun of me, to the point that when we ran into one of the groups at a gas station on the way to the Pamirs, they referred to me as the '30-06' guy. The leader of the pack had a super-cool rifle in something called a 6 Dasher or some such thing, which seemed sort of crazy in a country where the only ammo I saw was in 300 Win Mag, 30-06 and 7.62x39.
We all ended up back in the same room at the airport on our way out two weeks later. I had killed the biggest ibex by about six inches, so they were much more muted than on the way in.
In all seriousness, I had to shoot the ibex at 425 yards. I center punched the shoulder, as you can see in the photos. The ibex collapsed at the shot and rolled into a snow slide. The boar was 415, shot through the shoulder, ran 15 yards and collapsed. All with a cartridge that I can find ammo for in any reasonably well stocked Tim Horton's from here to Bulawayo. Not sure a lot can be gained as far as actual hunting goes.
I am all for having fun with obscure cartridges locally, but if I'm flying to the hunt, I'll take a 30-06 or 300 Win.
”
Here is what he has to say.
“I know you will be surprised, but I used a 30-06 with 168 TTSX's in Tajikistan. There are only three flights per week to Dushanbe on Turkish Airlines, which is the route nearly all American and Canadian hunters take. So, during the hunting season, there are always 6-8 hunters on each flight that are going to various hunting units throughout the country. The method for getting cleared by customs with a firearm is straight out of Soviet times, so they herd the hunters into a room for about 2-3 hours while they all get cleared
As you can imagine, this leads to much discussion of where everyone is going, what you are hunting, what rifle you brought, etc. I was asked what I was shooting and said a 30-06 on a Mauser type action. They literally made fun of me, to the point that when we ran into one of the groups at a gas station on the way to the Pamirs, they referred to me as the '30-06' guy. The leader of the pack had a super-cool rifle in something called a 6 Dasher or some such thing, which seemed sort of crazy in a country where the only ammo I saw was in 300 Win Mag, 30-06 and 7.62x39.
We all ended up back in the same room at the airport on our way out two weeks later. I had killed the biggest ibex by about six inches, so they were much more muted than on the way in.
In all seriousness, I had to shoot the ibex at 425 yards. I center punched the shoulder, as you can see in the photos. The ibex collapsed at the shot and rolled into a snow slide. The boar was 415, shot through the shoulder, ran 15 yards and collapsed. All with a cartridge that I can find ammo for in any reasonably well stocked Tim Horton's from here to Bulawayo. Not sure a lot can be gained as far as actual hunting goes.
I am all for having fun with obscure cartridges locally, but if I'm flying to the hunt, I'll take a 30-06 or 300 Win.
”Awesome. Yea I would fully expect monos to perform great on shoulder shots.I’ve shot game at just under 400 yards with the 168 TTSX out of the 06 with zero problems. I have a friend that has literally hunted the world with that combination. Again zero problems.
Here is what he has to say.
“I know you will be surprised, but I used a 30-06 with 168 TTSX's in Tajikistan. There are only three flights per week to Dushanbe on Turkish Airlines, which is the route nearly all American and Canadian hunters take. So, during the hunting season, there are always 6-8 hunters on each flight that are going to various hunting units throughout the country. The method for getting cleared by customs with a firearm is straight out of Soviet times, so they herd the hunters into a room for about 2-3 hours while they all get cleared
As you can imagine, this leads to much discussion of where everyone is going, what you are hunting, what rifle you brought, etc. I was asked what I was shooting and said a 30-06 on a Mauser type action. They literally made fun of me, to the point that when we ran into one of the groups at a gas station on the way to the Pamirs, they referred to me as the '30-06' guy. The leader of the pack had a super-cool rifle in something called a 6 Dasher or some such thing, which seemed sort of crazy in a country where the only ammo I saw was in 300 Win Mag, 30-06 and 7.62x39.
We all ended up back in the same room at the airport on our way out two weeks later. I had killed the biggest ibex by about six inches, so they were much more muted than on the way in.
In all seriousness, I had to shoot the ibex at 425 yards. I center punched the shoulder, as you can see in the photos. The ibex collapsed at the shot and rolled into a snow slide. The boar was 415, shot through the shoulder, ran 15 yards and collapsed. All with a cartridge that I can find ammo for in any reasonably well stocked Tim Horton's from here to Bulawayo. Not sure a lot can be gained as far as actual hunting goes.
I am all for having fun with obscure cartridges locally, but if I'm flying to the hunt, I'll take a 30-06 or 300 Win.
After seeing what the 130 grn ttsx does in 308 I would imagine the 150 grain in the 30-06 would deliver good performance in the way of penetration and limited expansion.
WE 30-06 handloader guys can load a 150 TTSX to the same speed as a 130 TTSX out of a 308 - so Yea it will Perform ! RJ
There is no such thing as 100% predictable performance with hunting bullets.
If you want to guarantee a pass through, you are at risk of your shot not doing enough damage inside.
If you want to guarantee to dump all the energy inside the animal, you run the risk of not getting enough penetration.
There will always be outliers.
If you want to guarantee a pass through, you are at risk of your shot not doing enough damage inside.
If you want to guarantee to dump all the energy inside the animal, you run the risk of not getting enough penetration.
There will always be outliers.
If a muzzle velocity averaging 2774 will allow a 150 grain .311 TSX to exit a white tail at over 300 yards with an accurate shot through the heart and lots more one shot kills at distances near and far, I don't see an issue with a .30 cal. 150 TTSX or LRX .
one of my hunting friends kills moose, elk and deer with a 150 TTSX out of a 708 with no issues as well.
Sometimes we tend to fuss over little things that are not nearly as important as we think they are .
My favorite deer rifle also shoots C&C bullets just fine as well.
Cat
one of my hunting friends kills moose, elk and deer with a 150 TTSX out of a 708 with no issues as well.
Sometimes we tend to fuss over little things that are not nearly as important as we think they are .
My favorite deer rifle also shoots C&C bullets just fine as well.
Cat
It is very, very common to find the bullet under the far side hide. For some hunters, this is considered perfect performance.
That bullet is perfect for deer if you are looking for maximum damage and near instant kills. I stopped using the 150gr bullet because it caused too much damage and meat loss.
I switched to the 180 gr bullet and am happy with the result.
That bullet is perfect for deer if you are looking for maximum damage and near instant kills. I stopped using the 150gr bullet because it caused too much damage and meat loss.
I switched to the 180 gr bullet and am happy with the result.
