ejpaul1

I am trying to choose a hunting bullet, I read the latest issue of petersons mag and they go over 10 bullets and describe what they do. The barnes triple seems to be the stuff. Anyone use this? ANyone have experience with this? ballistics?Lemme know, EJ

Solitary Man

I don't have enough experience with it on game to form a solid opinion. I've shot exactly one whitetail deer with the TSX and it dropped on the spot, which is encouraging. That was with a 168 gr. 30 caliber TSX in my .300 Wby.

I have shot it through a couple of rifles quite a bit on paper, though. It has been very accurate, as accurate as practically any other bullet I've ever used.

So, I like it based on what I've seen so far. I do have a concern that it's more bullet than I need for whitetail deer, but for the time being I'm going to keep using it and hopefully after a season or two I'll know for sure.

bigcountry

I think they are much better bullets than the X. Much more dynamic than the X bullet. Shoots better in a variety of guns from a tad loose bores to tight bores. I worked up a great load for it for a 300RUM but never got to shoot anything with it. Still worried about small expansion. Which there has been a few bad reports of penciling thru a elk here and there.

ejpaul1

Yeah, I am thinking of using this in my 30-06 for elk. The reasoning here is that it might have a tendency to open up a bit more quickly in the animal with the06 due to it not having the velocity of a magnum. Does this sound credible? EJ

Mark whiz

I've used the 168gr 30s in .308Win on hogs and got great performance and accuracy too. They have become my hunting bullet of choice for anything.

Roskoe

I have shot several elk with these bullets. The 165 gr. out of a .300 Win Mag seemed to have a lot of penetration at the expense of a smaller wound channel. I shot a big cow elk at 100 yards as she walked toward me - hit the near shoulder and it came out the last rib. She turned and tried to walk away. Shot her again; this time in the last couple of ribs on the other side and it came out the other shoulder. She stopped and wobbled a little - finally went down as I was preparing to shoot a third time.

Also shot another cow at about 250 yards broadside. She ran off as if nothing had happened. I followed her tracks to the edge of some dark timber about 200 yards away. Walked along the edge of the timber for about 20 minutes looking . . . . finally spotted a hoof where she had slid under a big spruce tree about 25 yards into the timber. Lucky . . . Bullet went through the center ofboth lungs and exited.

Some of my companions have used these bullets. They say thebest scenariois on an animal looking right at you. Generally a "lights out" shot.

stubblejumper

That actually is not credible.A bullet such as the tsx can fail to open up properly if the velocity is too low.As the velocity is increased,they open up more rapidly.The only problem that can occur with extreme velocity is if the bullet strikes something solid and petals break off which will reduce the wound diameter.

RedAllison

IMHO they simply are THE baddest big game bullets in history! They do it all VERY well. This fall will be the third season shooting the 150Lazerhead in my 308 Lazzeroni Warbird (a tweaked TSX). I have YET to have one fail, even when driven at 3800fps. I haven't taken elk with it yet, but it has performed flawlessly on 50+ whitetails, 1 mulie and 1 antelope. Before the TSX came out I shot 130 Xbullets @ 4k fps from the same gun and the only difference between it and the 150TSX was that the old Xbullet would only shoot 1.5" groups @ 100yds. With the TSX I get .5" @ 100yds and 3.5" @ 400yds. I have taken animals from inside of 40yds too well over 400 with it and the result is always the same, get out the skinning knife!

You AINT gonna blowup a Barnes bullet, I have been trying for 5 years with my Lazz. Even double shoulder shots @ 40yds wont do it. Likewise they drive am lenghtwise at over 300yds. I just don't think you can ask for a better performing hunting bullet! I shoot 180TSX (Fed Vital Shok) in one of my 06s and they work flawlessy from it as well (and shoot also .5", but that gun was worked and has always been a great shooter). I wouldn't hesitate to take it for elk and that for sure would be the load it would have in it.

Good luck,
RA

ejpaul1

stubblejumper, Thanks for the info. So, with that in mind, balanced with what redallison said, I need to keep the load in my 30-06 probably close to 60 grains of 4350 when using the TSX to avoid a slower bullet. Could a 165 grain be a little more effective than a 180 due to increased velocity with this bullet? I know the trajectory would be better. I dont have loads of cash and wanna buy a box of these things, I might start with the 165's. Let me know what you all think. EJ

RedAllison

ej, either bullet will be a FINE selection for an all-purpose big game pill. Personally I would stick with the 180, there wont be 2"-3" difference in it vs the 165 at 400yds. Penetration will be maximized by the heavier bullet, but again we ARE talking about Barnes' so if you want the 165 then go ahead, they will still out penetrate other 180s like Nosler Partitions, Accubonds etc...

Good luck,
RA