Someone Convince me to Reload/Hunt Big Game with Barnes TSX

[Johnn Peterson]

Still not understanding why people shoot the shoulder, i have not shot for the shoulder once and have only tracked one animal more than 75 yds, that one was shot with a TSX.

The thing is i put a shot behind the front leg with partitions the animal goes down, seems a lot of people who use the tsx shoot the shoulder, then the animal goes down.

Just curious why waste any meat with a shoulder shot?

My Dads tact, if the animal was quartering towards you, hit the close side shoulder. If quartering away, aim roughly to hit the off side shoulder. Keep in mind, this was from the pre-metric and pre-TTSX era. That was the rule of thumb he had and passed on to me.

I've hit a few Deer, Moose and a Black Bear with shoulder shots and it usually 'anchors' them, virtually instantly. When I've punched the lungs, it stops them, just not quite as quickly.

 

[Dogleg]

When you shoot shoulders you are hitting both the parts that keep it alive, and the parts that are holding it up.Chances are it will also take out the whole electrical system, many shoulder shot animals act like they are spined even when they are not.
I prefer any bang-flop to any bloodtrail, and don't care about the meat loss if thats what it takes.

 

[Neo]

I find it interesting to read of the trouble some have had with the TSX. I've yet to see that myself, but given time I suspect I will. But that's true of every bullet. Search around on this site, and you'll find one or two well documented horror stories of Accubonds or Interbonds coming apart on a deer's shoulder. Name a bullet, and someone's had one fail in one fashion or another. Shoot it enough, and you will too.

I do think the TSX has a very real and valuable role to play in the hunting field as a "shoot everything" bullet. On my first trip to Africa, I shot a whack of plainsgame (34 critters, I believe) with a .270 using 130 grain Interbonds. For the most part, the animals fell quickly. Exit wounds were rare. When they happened on smaller animals, the exits tended to be fairly dramatic. I still use that bullet exclusively in that .270 -- I've yet to see an Interbond fail to do what I expect of it, and for certain they put deer-sized game on the ground quickly.

However...

On my second trip to Africa, I carried an '06 loaded with 168 grain TSX pills for my plainsgame hunting. It was a very different experience compared to the Interbonds. When hit, the game did tend to run further -- though I don't recall anything running more than 70 or 80 yards. Exit wounds were the norm however, even when the shot angles were less than perfect or the animals were on the large side. Shots that would have been "iffy" with the Interbond were "gimme's" with the TSX. Yes, the animals ran further when hit -- but they still fell over reasonably quickly. And when shot with at TSX, the smaller critters were left in a state that kept the taxidermist happy.

For the time being at least, I still see the TSX as one of the very best options for a light rifle that will be asked to shoot game ranging from 30 pounds to over a thousand. Within that spectrum, there are certainly better bullets for some portion of it -- but there are few, if any, that can do as good a job over the entire range. I still load TSX bullets in that '06, as that load and rifle are near-perfect in how they fill the role of "shoot anything". They may not be the absolute ideal combination for any particular game animal, but they'll kill it with boring predictability. I like that. A lot.

 

[Jordan Smith]

Still not understanding why people shoot the shoulder, i have not shot for the shoulder once and have only tracked one animal more than 75 yds, that one was shot with a TSX.

The thing is i put a shot behind the front leg with partitions the animal goes down, seems a lot of people who use the tsx shoot the shoulder, then the animal goes down.

Just curious why waste any meat with a shoulder shot?

Because with a TSX driven at moderate to high velocity, you don't waste much meat at all with a shoulder shot. Of course, with a hyper-velocity impact, you'll still waste meat, just like with any other bullet...

 

[Jordan Smith]

I find it interesting to read of the trouble some have had with the TSX. I've yet to see that myself, but given time I suspect I will. But that's true of every bullet. Search around on this site, and you'll find one or two well documented horror stories of Accubonds or Interbonds coming apart on a deer's shoulder. Name a bullet, and someone's had one fail in one fashion or another. Shoot it enough, and you will too.

I do think the TSX has a very real and valuable role to play in the hunting field as a "shoot everything" bullet. On my first trip to Africa, I shot a whack of plainsgame (34 critters, I believe) with a .270 using 130 grain Interbonds. For the most part, the animals fell quickly. Exit wounds were rare. When they happened on smaller animals, the exits tended to be fairly dramatic. I still use that bullet exclusively in that .270 -- I've yet to see an Interbond fail to do what I expect of it, and for certain they put deer-sized game on the ground quickly.

However...

On my second trip to Africa, I carried an '06 loaded with 168 grain TSX pills for my plainsgame hunting. It was a very different experience compared to the Interbonds. When hit, the game did tend to run further -- though I don't recall anything running more than 70 or 80 yards. Exit wounds were the norm however, even when the shot angles were less than perfect or the animals were on the large side. Shots that would have been "iffy" with the Interbond were "gimme's" with the TSX. Yes, the animals ran further when hit -- but they still fell over reasonably quickly. And when shot with at TSX, the smaller critters were left in a state that kept the taxidermist happy.

For the time being at least, I still see the TSX as one of the very best options for a light rifle that will be asked to shoot game ranging from 30 pounds to over a thousand. Within that spectrum, there are certainly better bullets for some portion of it -- but there are few, if any, that can do as good a job over the entire range. I still load TSX bullets in that '06, as that load and rifle are near-perfect in how they fill the role of "shoot anything". They may not be the absolute ideal combination for any particular game animal, but they'll kill it with boring predictability. I like that. A lot.

Excellent post!

 

[Johnn Peterson]

Excellent post!

X2. Very helpful and informative, especially for someone like me in the process of changing over to Barnes bullets.

 

[track]

I find it interesting to read of the trouble some have had with the TSX. I've yet to see that myself, but given time I suspect I will. But that's true of every bullet. Search around on this site, and you'll find one or two well documented horror stories of Accubonds or Interbonds coming apart on a deer's shoulder. Name a bullet, and someone's had one fail in one fashion or another. Shoot it enough, and you will too.

I do think the TSX has a very real and valuable role to play in the hunting field as a "shoot everything" bullet. On my first trip to Africa, I shot a whack of plainsgame (34 critters, I believe) with a .270 using 130 grain Interbonds. For the most part, the animals fell quickly. Exit wounds were rare. When they happened on smaller animals, the exits tended to be fairly dramatic. I still use that bullet exclusively in that .270 -- I've yet to see an Interbond fail to do what I expect of it, and for certain they put deer-sized game on the ground quickly.

However...

On my second trip to Africa, I carried an '06 loaded with 168 grain TSX pills for my plainsgame hunting. It was a very different experience compared to the Interbonds. When hit, the game did tend to run further -- though I don't recall anything running more than 70 or 80 yards. Exit wounds were the norm however, even when the shot angles were less than perfect or the animals were on the large side. Shots that would have been "iffy" with the Interbond were "gimme's" with the TSX. Yes, the animals ran further when hit -- but they still fell over reasonably quickly. And when shot with at TSX, the smaller critters were left in a state that kept the taxidermist happy.

For the time being at least, I still see the TSX as one of the very best options for a light rifle that will be asked to shoot game ranging from 30 pounds to over a thousand. Within that spectrum, there are certainly better bullets for some portion of it -- but there are few, if any, that can do as good a job over the entire range. I still load TSX bullets in that '06, as that load and rifle are near-perfect in how they fill the role of "shoot anything". They may not be the absolute ideal combination for any particular game animal, but they'll kill it with boring predictability. I like that. A lot.

You have me convinced on your post. As previouly mentioned, I will purchase the TTSX and give them a go at the range, and if satisfied, on game. Thanks for your thoughts and experiences.

 

[bearkilr]

I can really only see advantages to a shoulder shot on certain species like sheep or mountain goat when you want to put them down right there in order to prevent a fall and damage to horns.
On a broadside shot, it's natural for me to aim for the point directly behind the shoulder,center of body. That way, a bit too far forward gets the shoulder and a bit too far back gets liver.My thinking has always been that aiming for the shoulder to begin with leaves more room for error. A little too far forward results in a miss or brisket wound.

Here's another 100gr. TSX out of a 257 Wby. I can only imagine what a "regular" bullet would have looked like if the 257's velocity did this to the TSX. Distance was about 150 yards.

 

[crazy_davey]

I can really only see advantages to a shoulder shot on certain species like sheep or mountain goat when you want to put them down right there in order to prevent a fall and damage to horns.

If a sheep or a goat is given the chance to make a break for it after the shot they can end up in places that can be extremely hard to get to by a hunter, sometimes almost impossible and very dangerous(or as you said they can fall). If they do make it to the next valley or god forbid two valleys away it could take you two days to get to them.

I myself would rather take the shoulder shot and wreck a few pounds of meat than take any chances. I was always taught when hunting sheep, shoot until they are down for good, or you could be in for a world of hurt like you never experienced before...

 

[Dogleg]

Here's another 100gr. TSX out of a 257 Wby. I can only imagine what a "regular" bullet would have looked like if the 257's velocity did this to the TSX. Distance was about 150 yards.

You'd likely find a little remnant of the bullet at the end of a huge wound channel,in a real dead animal that never knew what hit it. I see it many times a year.

 

[bearkilr]

You'd likely find a little remnant of the bullet at the end of a huge wound channel,in a real dead animal that never knew what hit it. I see it many times a year.

That hasn't always been my experience. I've seen some dismal performance from hyper velocity calibers and frangible bullets, such as Ballistic Tips and SST's fired out of the likes of the 257 Wby,30-378 Wby, 300 RUM,etc. Many of these literally exploded on impact, ruined a pile of meat and had very little penetration and led to exhausting chases. Some animals were finished off with another rifle/caliber, often one which wasn't nearly as "powerful".
For these high speed calibers the TSX really shines.

 

[Dogleg]

That hasn't always been my experience. I've seen some dismal performance from hyper velocity calibers and frangible bullets, such as Ballistic Tips and SST's fired out of the likes of the 257 Wby,30-378 Wby, 300 RUM,etc. Many of these literally exploded on impact, ruined a pile of meat and had very little penetration and led to exhausting chases. Some animals were finished off with another rifle/caliber, often one which wasn't nearly as "powerful".
For these high speed calibers the TSX really shines.

Funny thing is, I've used TSXs calibers from .25 to .416 and found that I had to follow the TSX shot ones more often. I like my high velocity rifles as much as anyone.

 

[Johnn Peterson]

Funny thing is, I've used TSXs calibers from .25 to .416 and found that I had to follow the TSX shot ones more often. I like my high velocity rifles as much as anyone.

To help clarify things a little more for me concerning Barnes bullets, have your experiences and results been the same with both the TSX and TTSX? Or, have you noticed any significant performance difference between the two?

 

[coyne_5]

how many yards?

Track,

Nice deer. I notice you are hunting open country in your pic. I know from experience that the Barnes ttsx has a minimum velocity that it will expand at. I shoot 168 gr ttsx from a 30-06 and while I don't recall the exact # from the factory, I do keep a 400 yard limit on game because of it. 2000 fps as a minimum velocity for reliable expansion sticks in my head right now.

Food for thought.

P.S. Need a hunting partner?

 

[track]

Track,

Nice deer. I notice you are hunting open country in your pic. I know from experience that the Barnes ttsx has a minimum velocity that it will expand at. I shoot 168 gr ttsx from a 30-06 and while I don't recall the exact # from the factory, I do keep a 400 yard limit on game because of it. 2000 fps as a minimum velocity for reliable expansion sticks in my head right now.

Food for thought.

P.S. Need a hunting partner?

Thanks for the tip Coyne, I'll keep that in mind. BTW, I have the best hunting partner in the world.................my son!!! Here are a couple of photo's of him. Bucks were killed with Noslers but I have an open mind for Barnes.

 

[bearkilr]

Funny thing is, I've used TSXs calibers from .25 to .416 and found that I had to follow the TSX shot ones more often. I like my high velocity rifles as much as anyone.

When a bullet doesn't perform as I expect or prefer, I generally stop using it. You could always give that a try.

 

[Dogleg]

When a bullet doesn't perform as I expect or prefer, I generally stop using it. You could always give that a try.

I'm tapering off slowly. Just 3 animals with them this year, seven the year before, way down from the high point of around 20. By next year I could be down to none.

I'm debateing doing a volume bullet test on my Ausie cull hunt next summer. Kill a few hundred of anything and patterns are bound to emerge. Do it in a week and there shouldn't be much doubt.

I've got an Australian volunteer that offers to load me anything I want, and basically they can get anything we can get.

 

[glang1]

500 yards on a double lunger? hard to imagine...

I've shot deer with 45gr TSX from a 221 Fireball and had them go down within 25 yards

Yeah, but that's on those wimpy little West Coast deer. Eastern Whitetails are much harder to kill. You need big magnums

 

[tylerjwitty]

i hunt for meat and i don't like wasting it. i hate hitting bones and wasting meat. i slip a vmax into the lower half farther away for the heart.

I don't understand tsx lovers. we have a fellow here that hunts serious and writes in with reviews and PROOF and yet you all shoot him down and call him a lair.

my old man shot a big black bear "claims" it reared up and stumbled around and ran into the swamp.

we searched and searched and could not find a spot of blood.

never was found. .

so i can't say for sure if he hit it or not but he hasn't missed a animal often and he was using a tsx out of a 30-06

 

[drummerboy73]

i hunt for meat and i don't like wasting it. i hate hitting bones and wasting meat. i slip a vmax into the lower half farther away for the heart.

I don't understand tsx lovers. we have a fellow here that hunts serious and writes in with reviews and PROOF and yet you all shoot him down and call him a lair.

my old man shot a big black bear "claims" it reared up and stumbled around and ran into the swamp.

we searched and searched and could not find a spot of blood.

never was found. .

so i can't say for sure if he hit it or not but he hasn't missed a animal often and he was using a tsx out of a 30-06

I shot a bull elk with a 140gr ttsx this past fall. I hit him high in the shoulder, broke both of them and he went straight down. Upon butchering the meat cutter comented on how little meat was wasted. he also stated that this bull was as large or larger than most of the moose he cut this year.

Anyone who use a Vmax bullet for big game .....well I wont comment .

As for the bear...your dad missed.