Barnes TTSX 150gr 308 and moose

If I am close I rarely get monometal bullets back - they are complete pass throughs, at least on Elk, deer, and Bighorns in my experience.

Longer distance and Moose seem to retain a few.

In the first instances (pass throughs) I guess I don't mind getting not getting any petals, or any bullet at all back.
 
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And one other thing to the original poster - that 150 grain barnes will be a sweet load in the 308.

Loaded some 130 grain tsx for a friends wife in her 308 - she had velocity to 3000fps, and the recoil was tolerable for her in her light 308.

She has killed a few animals with that load - including a very nice Bull Elk around the 340" mark.

Norskie.
 
bearkilr said:
That right there is funny sh!t. This coming from someone who constantly praises the Berger and its explosive nature.
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Really depends on the range you are shooting....each bullet has its performance envelope. At 600 yards, the mono metals would indeed be a poor choice. I'm a huge fan of the mono metals when you can keep impact velocities above 2,000fps...beyond that a different bullet is required. Oh wait, I already stated that in this thread. As for constantly praising the Berger, I doubt I've mentioned it more than once or twice on this board......but whose counting ;)
 
sheephunter said:
Stubble, I find it comical that you won't look at the design of the TTSX and how it was designed to perform but you will rely on the word of a bullet salesman. Common sense says that with a bigger hole in the nose that its less durable and more prone to shedding petals. Experience says the same. Go back and look at the original advertising for the TTSX, they marketed it as the faster expanding brother of the TSX that was better suited to whitetails. If you ever recover a TTSX, I suspect you'll see what I'm talking about. BTW, I didn't assume anything...I simply asked a question. Are you going to start preaching the salesman's energy expelling theory too....lol That letter makes it sound like the only difference in the two bullets is the polymer tip but we both know that's not remotely true....don't we?
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It would seem to me that Barnes would be pushing someone to buy both bullets if they werent going to be entirely truthful, not just one of them.

Regardless, thanks for the replies everyone.
 
blasted_saber said:
It would seem to me that Barnes would be pushing someone to buy both bullets if they werent going to be entirely truthful, not just one of them.

Regardless, thanks for the replies everyone.
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From what I was told, sales of the TTSX were not as good as hoped so they needed to ###y it up a bit. There were no lies in that letter, just a dance around the facts. If you go to Barnes own web site they say "The tip and a re-engineered nose cavity provide even faster expansion." ie they made a bigger hole in the nose. It is a different bullet than the TSX for more reasons than just the polymer tip....that is a fact. It shed petals easier, that is a fact. Will it kill a moose....of course.

The original X bullet was a piece of crap and was introduced to the market way too soon and unfortunately Barnes has had to live with that stigma of poor expanding bullets because of it. The TTSX was another move to overcome that reputation and original marketing was centered around how well it expanded on thinner skinned game but obviously that didn't produce the sales they wanted so they are now trying a new approach. It's a good bullet but it's not a polymer tipped TSX.......
 
Some things never change LOL!
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Exactly why I avoid certain television programs, and certain outdoor magazines, I see enough of that nonsense in the forums, without having to see it on television, or in magazine articles.
 
sheephunter said:
Really depends on the range you are shooting....each bullet has its performance envelope. At 600 yards, the mono metals would indeed be a poor choice. I'm a huge fan of the mono metals when you can keep impact velocities above 2,000fps...beyond that a different bullet is required. Oh wait, I already stated that in this thread.
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I don't generally know what range I'll be shooting at until the opportunity actually presents itself, hence the reason I prefer to use bullets that perform at all ranges I'm comfortable with. Barnes fits the bill, I've never lost an animal due to over-penetration.

I'll have to make sure to run the other way a good distance if I'm too close for the Bergers, thanks for the tip. :)
 
bearkilr said:
I don't generally know what range I'll be shooting at until the opportunity actually presents itself, hence the reason I prefer to use bullets that perform at all ranges I'm comfortable with. Barnes fits the bill, I've never lost an animal due to over-penetration.

I'll have to make sure to run the other way a good distance if I'm too close for the Bergers, thanks for the tip. :)
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LOL...if only there were a bullet that performed at all ranges....the maker would be a multi millionaire. The Barnes is a great choice for impact velocities above 2,000fps....after that not so much but that does offer up a pretty big range. Even with a 30-06, you are still good to around 500 yards. Where bullets like the Berger start to shine is well beyond that. The dynamics of bullet performance are pretty complex and there are a lot of factors to consider to get optimum performance. The good thing is, even with average performance, if the shooter does his part the animal is likely to die. It's when you really start asking a lot of bullet that selection becomes critical. Few hunters will ever find themselves in that position. For those that do, then they likely choose their bullets with a little more consideration.
 
From my experience with the TTSX and the TSX, I have found more petals broken of the TTSX. The whitetail I shot last year had a complete pass through broke both shoulders, when we were skinning we found a petal from the bullet. With my testing in phone books and in logs, if I had to bet one way or the other, from what I can tell the TTSX will lose petals quicker. I think the TTSX will expand quicker, but for whitetails that's a good thing.
 
sheephunter said:
LOL...if only there were a bullet that performed at all ranges....the maker would be a multi millionaire. The Barnes is a great choice for impact velocities above 2,000fps....after that not so much but that does offer up a pretty big range. Even with a 30-06, you are still good to around 500 yards. Where bullets like the Berger start to shine is well beyond that. The dynamics of bullet performance are pretty complex and there are a lot of factors to consider to get optimum performance. The good thing is, even with average performance, if the shooter does his part the animal is likely to die. It's when you really start asking a lot of bullet that selection becomes critical. Few hunters will ever find themselves in that position. For those that do, then they likely choose their bullets with a little more consideration.
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You don't really understand sarcasm all that well, eh? Thanks for the ballistics "lesson". :rolleyes:
 
I use the 180 ttsx on moose and id say that bullet even in the 150gr is more suited to heavy skinned animals. I had full pass through at 300yards on a moose didn't find the bullet.
 
I use the 180 ttsx on moose and id say that bullet even in the 150gr is more suited to heavy skinned animals. I had full pass through at 300yards on a moose didn't find the bullet.
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How was the wound channel? Did the moose die quickly? If the wound channel caused a quick, clean death, then who cares if you found the bullet? As for the 300 yards, as the velocity drops off, the bullet expands less, resulting in more chance of a pass through.
 
Sheephunter, your deer design rhetoric is nothing like Ty Herring told me on the phone. I was told they designed the TTSX to expand more readily at lower velocity. Nothing about deer.
Also, do you like the Nosler Partition? Accubond Maybe? They shed their front end at high velocity as well........

And relative to the question: I haven't recovered a TTSX or TSX to measure any weight but I have recovered every animal, and I've shot at least 8 animals over 400yds with both. I expect my monometals to expand and make two holes and these always have. That would be identified as success.
 
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