My Model 70 S/S Classic in .300 WM shoots tight groups with factory Win 180 gr Fail Safes. I have 36 rounds left. Since they are no longer made I need to work up a good handload with some other bullet.

The Fail Safe is a complex design and was costly to manufacture. I would like to handload a bullet that is closest to the Fail Safe in design as is possible. Would the Barnes TSX or MRX(tipped) come closest? Or, are there others more similar? (I know that the Barnes is solid copper.)

Yes, and before some suggest their pet bullets or other premium bullets, I know also that there are other good to very good premium bullets available, I want to stick to something close to the Fail Safe. For this rifle I get very good accuracy and performance from the Fail Safe, in both 165 & 180 gr bullets.

Barnes TSX or TTSX or MRX should work.

Hey olguy, Tough question. There are a bunch of Bullets which will work well at Killing. But, I do not know of any with a "design" similar to the old multi-part Fail Safe.

The good news is, you will easily find one you like just as well because of the on-game performance.

Best of luck in your quest.

I'd say Barnes Tipped TSX (TTSX), I think it's the best thing out their right now for small diameter, high velocity applications.

I have TSXs I'm working up for a 30-06 right now.

they are LONG for weight, so I'm using 150s where I would use 165s otherwise, but that also allows more velocity, which is nice to really get expansion started quickly with a "tough" bullet.

olguy:

Where are you? I bought 3 boxes of 150 grains for my son about 6 months back in Washington, PA. They were half the old price, nobody wanted them. Hit the web and small gun shops, all kinds of junk can be found. Going back up to Washington next week, I will post if they have em.

Olguy, PM me with your address and I will see if I have any of the Fail Safes left. None of my rifles liked them. It has been a LONG time since I looked at, or for them, but I will see what I have. All I had were the 30 cal 180s.

Am I confused but isn't Fail Safe the same as a Partition but with some sort of cup on the bottom of the bullet???

Similar to the partition, but it has a steel cup that lines the rear half of the core with the "bottom" of the cup against the partition wall to reinforce it.

Try the Hunting Shack

http://www.thehuntingshack.com/specials.htm

scroll about half down the page

quote:

Originally posted by stillbeeman:
Am I confused but isn't Fail Safe the same as a Partition but with some sort of cup on the bottom of the bullet???

Not arguing with Bob Hansen, but I "beleive" the original Fail Safe Bullets went through a couple of Design iterations.

One of them had a Steel Cup shoved in the back, then Lead and then another Cup. The first Cup was to stop "Rivoting"(spreading, widening) of the side-wall behind the Partition.

They were very epensive to make so they would fly true due to "Tolerance Stacking" of all the separate parts.