GMX or TTSX

Wynot

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What would you consider the best for black bear out of a .308 win and what grain ... ranges 250 max
 
I agree with buckbrushoutdoors. Either will work fine, but I don't think a mono is needed for a black bear.
 
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Depends on how you're hunting and how big the bear is. Spring bear or fall bear bear makes a BIG difference too.

Over bait, with the chance to get a nice broadside shot almost guaranteed, you don't need heavy bullets.
 
Any 150gr load will work just fine. If your a hand loader give the 110gr ttsx a try. Black bears aren't hard to kill and give up fairly easy. I would personally try a 150gr ballistic tip or sst

Not so. I've shot several blackies with 150SST out of a 30-06. With a shoulder hit they explode, even on small bears. Luckily some pieces penetrated the lungs. A black bear will run just as fast with a front shoulder only attached with skin as on 4 legs. I watched it happen. Now I use 150GMX. SSTs stay at the range.
 
i shoot the gmx.

passed through my doe at 75yds with a 139gr 7mm rem mag. my buck at 15yds hit the shoulder on the way in, and i found it buried in the hide on the far side. the body cavity was destroyed by the energy.
about 1/2 of the bullet was recovered
 
GMX or TTSX?

If you have your heart set on shooting a mono then either of them is fine.

The GMX loads don't use special load data (if you are loading your own) - the composition is a little different than the TTSX's but they both require higher velocity impacts to properly expand.

But, because they retain weight better, as suggested if you would typically use say a 150 grain cup/core that maintains 70% of it's weight (105 grains) you can move down to a 110 or 120 grain mono, keep your speed up and since they retain 98-99% of their weight you are still in the ballpark.

Barnes parent company is the Freedom Group (who also own Remington/Marlin) - run by shareholders - shareholders only care about "return on investment".

Hornady is still a private family company - family companies "usually" understand that providing the best product possible for the customer is what keeps them in business.

For that reason alone I would choose GMX over TTSX...
 
GMX or TTSX?

If you have your heart set on shooting a mono then either of them is fine.

The GMX loads don't use special load data (if you are loading your own) - the composition is a little different than the TTSX's but they both require higher velocity impacts to properly expand.

But, because they retain weight better, as suggested if you would typically use say a 150 grain cup/core that maintains 70% of it's weight (105 grains) you can move down to a 110 or 120 grain mono, keep your speed up and since they retain 98-99% of their weight you are still in the ballpark.

Barnes parent company is the Freedom Group (who also own Remington/Marlin) - run by shareholders - shareholders only care about "return on investment".

Hornady is still a private family company - family companies "usually" understand that providing the best product possible for the customer is what keeps them in business.

For that reason alone I would choose GMX over TTSX...

great info..thanks .... keep it comin with first hand shooting
 
If using a mono drive it thru the shoulders they often don't give good blood trails. For broadside shots I prefer bullets that I know will expand like the partition or interlock
 
The GMX did very well in BC STEVE'S recent .375 bullet test... three nicely mushroomed and perfectly uniformed bullets.

I am sure the TSX/TTSX bullets are good as many like them... my experience is limited to two boxes in .243... but I do shoot the GMX in .257, .284 and .308... they have all proven to be accurate, and none were recovered on WT'S.
 
GMX. Barnes makes quality product, at least, they did last time I checked. However, their parent company being Freedom Group, who I dislike, I won't give another dime to any of their subsidiary companies, including Barnes.
 
If using a mono drive it thru the shoulders they often don't give good blood trails. For broadside shots I prefer bullets that I know will expand like the partition or interlock

Yep...good advice. Ive had to track bears in the woods...large wound channels and lots of blood helps. Ive never had that with Barnes.
 
If using a mono drive it thru the shoulders they often don't give good blood trails. For broadside shots I prefer bullets that I know will expand like the partition or interlock

I've found that solid double front shoulder shots on black bears are also fairly likely to kill immediately. More likely than with any other species I've hunted, anyways.

Apart from double front shoulder shots with a tough bullet, blackies easily go down with faster and more frangible bullets in the boiler.

I know the OP never asked about it, but I've found a .270 win, loaded with basic C&C 130 grain bullets at 3150+ fps are a death ray on black bears with solid boiler shots. I mean they literally die faster than if shot with a .338 win mag or and .375 H&H, which I have also done lots of times...
 
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