243 Winchester

I have killed about 6 deer with the 243 and 85 gr Barnes TSX. A couple were does, but there were also several mature bucks.
Anyone who tells you that a barnes X or TSX is not one of the best game bullets out there is simply WRONG! I have probably shot close to 20 animals now with the TSX in 6mm, 7mm, and 308. Some were on the long side of 400m and they still expanded and killed the animal quickly and humanely. The X bullet does not need much resistance or even high velocity to open to its full potential. The majority of the animals that I have taken with this bullet have been shot behing the shoulder and through the lungs. No heavy bone encountered what so ever. On each occasion there is a reasonably small entrance and exit wound, which is completely unproportional to the devistation inside. Inside looks like chunky soup!!

If the 85Gr TSX load shoots accurately from your rifle use it with confidence on deer sized game.
 
Why not? said:
Has anyone here actually killed any big game with the 85 TSX in the 243?
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I have seen them work great on exactly 4 deer.

Snoepie said:
I have no doubt that any one of those bullets can kill a deer.

I have my reservations about the Barnes Tripple Shock bullet which is 100% copper and contains no lead.

My experience in hunting over many years tought me that the best bullet to use on game, is a premium bullet that will hold together well and that will mushroom well.
On the low end of the scale you will find bullets that will tend to break up before it reaches the vitals and then you have a wounded animal.

On the other end of the scale, you have a bullet of such strong construction, that it will never break up, but at the same time it will not mushroom unless it hits heavy bone. This does not mean the animal will not die from a shot through the enjin room - it will most definitely die.

The problem that I experienced with Barnes bullets, however, is that the wound channel through soft tissue is often so small that the animal will still run for quite some distance and at the same time it will not leave much of a blood trail. When that happens, you are at risk to be unable to find the very dead animal.
This happened to me and when I consulted the experts, this is what I was told. I was then recommended to use Rhino bullets, but since coming to Canada, I can only get Rhino's with great difficulty. As a result I switched to Nosler Partitions and I am not advocating them to be the one and only bullet. I am merely saying that I have had spectacular kills with these bullets and they have not failed me once.

Many guys hunt with Barnes bullets very successfully, but to my mind, they act too much like a solid and this holds certain risks that I do not like to take when hunting.

Happy hunting to all!
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Snoepie said:
Yes, shot and lost and shot and almost lost - Impala, Rhebuck and Warthog
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OK my frend, I highlighted nearly all the issues that I have with your post and will go through them for ya I highlighted the first statement I would like to discuss in blue. This statement described the TSX (and my experience with 130gr Barnes X's in a .270WCF) perfectly without a doubt. I have easliy witnessed and shot over a dozen animals with Barnes bullets and all of them recieved extremely effective internal damage. Only a handleful actually hit something more substantial than a rib. We almost never recover bullets, but when we do, they are a four petalled "mushroom' with a well developed frontal area (kinda like Carmen Electra:cool:).
In the red highlight, I find the statement could only be if you had shot these animals at long range (I've had wicked expansion out to 444yds on game) or you were using X's from 18 years ago when they admittedly had issues with this. The damage recieved by all animals I've seen was equivalent to Partitions, Accubonds or A-Frames. All bullets you would seem to prefer as they have lead in them. You described the animal as "very dead" and I could not agree more.
In the green: I will tell you right now, that if the people you talked to claimed to be, or you hold them in that status, they are most defintely not anything close to experts. I don't care if they were PH's, gunbuilders, gun store owners, whatever. If a person has seen more than a dozen animals properly shot with a TSX, they will come to the conclusion they are a bullet worthy of a great reputation.
I would use a 85gr TSX on any animal up to cow elk without hesitation, and eat well for doing it. It is not that I don't like lead core bullets (Hornady Interlocks, Bergers and Nosler Accubonds hold a spot on my shelves as hunting bullets), but if I had a once-in-a-lifetime hunt coming up, I'd probably have a TSX in my spout.
 
or you were using X's from 18 years ago when they admittedly had issues with this.

I fully accept what you say and admit that my experience was with Barnes X and that it happened quite some time ago.

I stated from the very beginning, however, that this was just my experience and because of what I experienced, I am reluctant to use Barnes bullets. I have never used the TSX bullets, but my impression from looking at their website was that the construction is still the same, hence my personal reluctance to use them. It's a question of once bitten, twice shy.

As a result I will continue to use Rhino's if I can get them or Nosler Partitions as a substitute - it is simply a matter of having had good results with these bullets as opposed to my experience with Barnes bullets.

As a final word from me on the issue - the experience had nothing to do with my shooting or shooting distances and I value the advice that I received at the time - it certainly worked well for me.
 
the new TSX has improved so much over the original X bullet. Better accuracy, less fouling, more consistent expansion...it's not even close to the same bullet~!
 
Well it's settled then, TSX shoot great out of the rifle now, so I will start by building up a load for them. Time is ticking by, so she may just end up with the factory Federal's for this fall, but as long as she does her part, I have no reason to believe the Barnes won't do its, and the gun, well no issues there!

Thanks again everyone for the feedback

One more question for you Barnes shooters, much issue with fowling? It is my understanding that the problem has been basically resolved with the TSX over the original X bullet?
 
Either a 100 grain Grand Slam or 100 grain Nosler Partition and a stiff charge of H1000. Have used this on a number of large Saskatchewan whitetails. Never recovered a bullet as they always pass through from just about any angle. This combination usually shoots MOA and clocks right at about 2975 fps out of a 22" barrel. It has also been used on moose in a pinch and the bullets still passed right through and the moose only went a few yards. I have no plans on changing this load unless nosler unveils a 100 grain accubond.
 
RUM,

My pet load was as follows:

BULLET: 85Gr. Barnes TSX
CASE: Winchester
PRIMER: Federal 210M
POWDER: 45Gr H-414
VELOCITY: 3300FPS

Let me tell you those little TSX's really thrive on velocity.
 
this is whats working in my wife's SPS Varmint

70gr sierra mtchkings
45.5 gr IMR 4831 remington large rifle primer

80 gr sierra sp
43.5 grIMR 4831 with remington large rifle primer

100gr sierra BT
42 gr IMR 4831 with cci mgnum primer/remington large rifle magnum

The remington primer's cups seem softer and show pressure signs quicker for me than the CCI's. I switch to CCI's post load development as they tend to be a little more consistant overall
 
I reloaded some 95 grain Nosler Partions for the wife, with 40 grains of IMR 4350. This load in my savage model 10 did well with 1" groups @100, and she managed to take down 2 deer last year both were passthroughs, the big doe she shot 1/4ing away went through about 2 1/2ft of deer and exited out between the neck and shoulder. The recoil of the 243 is very comfortable to shoot for her. I think partitions are the way to go, but I have never tried the TSX. Moose with a 243 EH! Wow, how far was the shot, very interesting. I have thought about useing the 243 for moose but thought it was way undergunned.
 
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