Barnes TSX in Question

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Danny Boy

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This season I started using 200 gr TSX for my 300wm replacing the Partitions.

My moose hunt this week was successful. I shot a 600 lb young bull at 75 yards as he was quartering away from me.

My partner got there first as I had to take a long detour (can't cross the marsh). He couldn't find any moose. After I got there I thought I saw blood trail but that was only wet maple leaf (I didn't have my glasses on). 15 minutes into looking for blood trail, I began to doubt my shooting. It was so hard to find anything in the woods that I had to go back out to the marsh and look back in to pin point the spot I shot the bull.

I gave my partner the direction and he immediately found the bull. It piled up within 15 feet from where I shot it. There was no blood trail at all. Only the blood that it coughed up which indicates to me his lung was shot up.

It wasn’t easy to find the bullet hole but I did. Upon gutting it, I found that the one liver and the side of lung was shot up. The shot placement was perfect given the quartering shot. The bull must have died from drowning from its own blood. I looked for exit hole but couldn’t find any. That explained why there was no blood trail. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough to see anything.

I had to leave for the work the next day, so I left the skinning to other partners. I hope they can find the bullet or exit hole.

Dead is dead. I can’t fault the TSX. But I surely expect a through and through shot from a 300wm 75 yards. Blood trail is essential in this part of the country. :confused::mad::confused:

I will give the TSX another opportunity before I decide to stay with it in the future.

Your thoughts please!
 
Your bullet did the job it was designed to do... It's energy was deposited on target, causing the bull to drop 15 feet from where you intially shot it. Your looking for faults in the projectile you used and just cause there was not an entrance and exit wound doesn't mean the round failed... In my humble opinion, it worked as designed...

Enjoy the moose meat, and congrats on the successful hunt!

Cheers
Jay
 
I think the point was that if it had gone much further, it wouldn't have been recovered due to the lack of a blood trail.

FWIW, that's pretty much the same performance I saw this year with my TSX (first time using one). Tiny entrance wound, and no visible exit. Went in through the back of the shoulder and took out the top of the lungs. We though maybe it lodged in the shoulder or something. Actually, it had exited, but we couldn't tell until we'd skinned the animal. I have no complaints on the performance of the bullet inside the critter, the lungs were turned to soup. But if he hadn't crumpled on the spot, recovery would have been difficult, as no blood leaked out of either the entry or exit wound.
 
TSX bullets leave some sort of blood trail:

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But you rarely need to look for them...since the animal is usually dead wihtin a few yards.:)

I guess it comes down to what you want in a bullet? Good blood trail or just walk up and find the animal dead.
 
I too question the TSX bullets. And I too am willing to give them another try. But, the extra cost, the reloading considerations, more copper fouling have me questioning...are they really worth the extra money spent, so far my results say...NOT. I sti;; get good performance and kill shots from plain ol' Hornady's :)
 
My personal feeling on the matter is that TSX's are useful on smaller calibers; 7mm on down, and in applications where a 'light for caliber' bullet is used such as in the 7.62x39. In these cases, weight retention is of paramount importance.

Otherwise, I'll stick to Partitions, and I've been meaning on trying accu or inter-bonds as well.
 
I'm curious why you decided to replace the Partitions? Not intended to flame, just curious what the decision making process was...####s and giggles or something else?

Quartering away is a tough shot...lots of real estate between the back of the ribs and the front shoulder. I can't imagine any other bullet doing much more. Maybe the 180 gr would have hit faster and penetrated more?
 
prosper said:
I think the point was that if it had gone much further, it wouldn't have been recovered due to the lack of a blood trail.
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I couldn't have described it any better.

I wonder if it has to do with close distance and high speed that caused the bullet not to wide open?

Glad that I hear others charming in. I still have a supply of the TSX in 200 and 180 gr and will give it another try the next moose season.

Cheers!
 
Danny Boy said:
I couldn't have described it any better.

I wonder if it has to do with close distance and high speed that caused the bullet not to wide open?

Glad that I hear others charming in. I still have a supply of the TSX in 200 and 180 gr and will give it another try the next moose season.

Cheers!
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Close range shots would tend to open the bullet more due to higher velocity.
It appears the TSX did what it was designed to do, dead critter.
 
I am still toying with my TSX loads, up until now I have been a 180gr shooter for pretty much everything... but I figured I could go to a lighter bullet in the tsx. previously I was shooting nosler partitions and there was no problem in the animal killing department. but I am a constant tinkerer. I have TSX bullets in 150, 165, 168, and 180 for my 300h&h still deciding what I am going use as my go to load.. I am leaning towards the 168s
 
I too question the TSX bullets. And I too am willing to give them another try. But, the extra cost, the reloading considerations, more copper fouling have me questioning...
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I find that both the tsx and mrx produce no more fouling(I actually believe less fouling) than partitions or ballistic tips in my rifles..

I wonder if it has to do with close distance and high speed that caused the bullet not to wide open?
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My experiences tell me that the higher the velocity,the more the tsx expands.Out of my 300ultramag,the 180gr tsx expanded to as much as .800".
 
shoot half a dozen more critters with it then get back to us

personally I wouldnt go with a 200 grainer anyways, 168 or 180 is lots
 
So far my experience with the TSXs has been just the opposite. Only shot three Deer with them so far. All hits produced extreme destruction and exit wounds. All three were good sized 4 pt Mulies, the closest being about 175 yds one at about 325 yds and this years 400ish. Granted all bullets started at over 3300 fps but at those ranges extreme speed shouldn't be a problem. This years went in behind one shoulder and exited through the other. It fell off when I skinned it. Hate to say it but they performed like balistic tips but with exit holes.
 
I also wouldn't use a 200 gr TSX, I shoot the 168 from my 300 and my son's 06, velocities are 3200 and 2800 fps. We have killed between us 13 deer, one moose, 2 wildebeest, 1 zebra, 2 gemsbok, 2 kudu, 2 impala, 2 springbok, 2 blesbuk, a mountain reedbuck and a black bear. In all cases the bullets opened fine, penetrated like hell, and did massive internal damage. These bullets are very accurate in every gun I've seriously loaded them for, they don't foul barrels any more than any cup and core bullet, and they look cool.

I re-read this post, and you mentioned the shot was high in the lungs, my son shot a deer a few years ago that way and we had to track it with very little blood for about 400 yards, when it finally tipped over the blood pored out, but the exit wound was over the curl of the ribs, so the blood just stayed inside. Could this have been what happened in yoru case?
 
A few years back I put a 200 grn Barnes X through both shoulders of a 5 point bull elk. DRT (dead right there). This from a 300 Wby at 300+ yds. Have not tried new TSX but if they perform like the original X bullets there will be no complaints. GW
 
todbartell said:
shoot half a dozen more critters with it then get back to us
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Tod, you are funny! If I have shot half a dozon games I would have formed an opinion and wouldn't need to ask questions. The purpose of the posting is sharing information on the bullet. ;)

I re-read this post, and you mentioned the shot was high in the lungs, my son shot a deer a few years ago that way and we had to track it with very little blood for about 400 yards, when it finally tipped over the blood pored out, but the exit wound was over the curl of the ribs, so the blood just stayed inside. Could this have been what happened in yoru case?
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The 200 gr TSX is very accurate. As I said I couldn't find any exit hole which is why there was not blood trail. And again, I wasn't look very hard in the field for an exit hole. You need to skin the animal and look really close. For sure, there was no golf ball size exit hole as others have experienced.

Both the 180 and 200 TSX shoot well in my 300wm. My preference is a heavier bullet with a higher sectional density for any given calibre for deeper penetration. In my case I didn't get great penetration (at least I couldn't find any) which is disappointing. The good news is that I didn't see any blood shot meat either.

On that thought of using a lighter bullet, if I was to use the 165 gr bullet I would have used my .308 or .270 if I were to use 150 gr bullet.

From reading this forum and other forums, TSX bullets are well known for opening up as such many are opting to use a lighter bullets. Is that the reason why you suggested a lighter bullet?
 
Banes reccomends dropping down in bullet weight from lead bullets.

They don't usually shed 40% or more of thier weight on impact, so there isn't much need for the extra weight for penetration.

Last year I did a newspaper penetration comparison- 140gr TSX @ 7-08 velocities vs 200gr Sierra Game King @ 30-06.

The 140gr TSX FAR out penetrated the 200gr bullet.

It seems the faster you push the TSX bullets, the better they work, so using a lighter bullet may be a great advantage, since you will have less recoil, flatter trajectory great expansion and penetration.
 
I am sure that the "problem" you describe has zero to do with the TSX, and everything to do with your shot placement. Now, I'm not saying your placement wasn't effective, but where it hit prevented the bloodtrail....not the bullet. Here's a good example:Last year I double lung'd a decent deer with my bow.....complete pass through. Now I KNOW there is a 2 1/2" hole going in, and I KNOW there is a 2 1/2" hole going out, and I KNOW that there is blood flowing (2 1/2" of razor blade at 330 FPS tends to do that ;) ) yet there was no blood trail....why? 'Cause I shot him from the ground, and the arrows path was completely horizontal: The deer bled inside instead of outside (like it would have if I had of shot down from a treestand). The lungs are infront of the diaphram filled completely with blood, but none came out until the deer fell over.
 
It seems the faster you push the TSX bullets, the better they work, so using a lighter bullet may be a great advantage, since you will have less recoil, flatter trajectory great expansion and penetration.
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Exactly why I use the 180gr tsx in my 300ultramags and the 140gr mrx in my 7mmstw rifles.
 
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