Okay, like the rest of you I am getting exceptional accuracy from my TSX bullets.

I have a Sig SHR 970 (270 Winchester) that I bought very cheaply as a close-out, and which delivered acceptable but ho-hum accuracy.

A few weeks ago I loaded up some 130 grain TSX bullets (59 grains RL-22, 2950 fps), and got 0.5 inch on the first 2 shots, and the third opens up to 1 inch (3 shot groups). What is interesting is it prints the exact same pattern (with the first, second, and third shots) over and over again (like a rubber stamp).

This past Sunday I took a free range Fallow deer in west Texas, using those handloads.
I shot him facing straight on, 125 yards, off shooting stix. I didn't have a good hold, and the bullet entered low in the front chest, nicked the left ventricle of the heart, and exited where the thoracic cavity meets the abdomen, towards the left.
The entrance and exit wounds looked identical (quite small), and the deer ran 25 to 50 yards, dropped, and expired in about 5 minutes (the guide asked me not to shoot a second time).

He died soley from blood loss into the mediastinum. No bone was struck.

I will continue to use these bullets almost exclusively, but I am going to be more careful about my shots.

It remains the same: shot placement is everything.

Garrett

Sounds like FMJ performance .

Good thing you got the heart.

Reloader

Garret,

As much as I am in favor of TSX bullets in the larger calibers 35 caliber and higher, I hear of too many situations like the one you describe with the smaller caliber TSX. In any caliber under 30, I have used almost exclusively Nosler Partitions with good success.

Now to defend the TSX a little, even in the best of times you will not get a large exit hole. Even with a 35 caliber TSX bullet, exit holes are maybe nickel size.

When you did the autopsy, did you see much internal damage? Did you hit lung tissue?

Another bullet I have been playing with a lot lately in the smaller calibers is the Nosler Accubond. They seem to shoot accurately enough(under an inch) in my 7x57 and 270win. Though I
have not tried them on game yet.

BigBullet

BigBullet,

I agree with you! "I like the x-bullets in the larger calibers" - for me that is .375 & .416. I have shot a lot of smaller animals in Africa (including duiker, impala, warthog, hartebeest, wildebeest, zebra, sable, reed buck, waterbuck as well as lion & buffalo) with the 400 grain .416 x-bullet with great results (i.e., expansion). Penetration isn't an issue with the x-bullets - rarely recover one!

I have had erratic x-bullet performance in the smaller calibers (.308 diameter) - including one lost deer. In my opinion, the smaller caliber x-bullets do not (at least in my experience) give 100% reliable expansion. For the smaller calibers I use Nosler Partitions or my favorite - the Northfork. I think the smaller nose cavity opening on the smaller calibers is the culprit of this erratic expansion.

My friends and I experienced much the same thing on 3 mule deer bucks last year. Shooting 168gr TSX in a 30-06, 300WSM and 300 Wthrby. All deer died quickly, no question, but I think Barnes are more impressive on either bigger game, or if you use small calibers.
I have witnessed 8 elk shot with TSX's, and 5 dropped at the shot, 2 went about 10yds and 1 went about 30yds.
I really like Barnes.

I know what you mean, I've had 18 of such 'failures' all while using Barnes X or TSX in 'smaller caliber' including 25/06, 260, 7/08, 284 and 280. And I could prove they "penciled through" because I had the deer to show it. Must admit though, I don't miss the big gaping, bloody exit holes.
PS If you're looking for perfectly formed mushrooms, keep looking. If you're looking for dead deer, you may be onto something.

With a high velocity cartridge, it may have lost a petal or two and caused a lot of damage inside with a small exit hole. A lot of times the Noslers leave a nickel sized exit with the whole nose gone and a big wound inside.

.

Being ahead of one's time is always a hard lot .

lawndart

quote:

I have had erratic x-bullet performance in the smaller calibers (.308 diameter) - including one lost deer. In my opinion, the smaller caliber x-bullets do not (at least in my experience) give 100% reliable expansion. For the smaller calibers I use Nosler Partitions or my favorite - the Northfork. I think the smaller nose cavity opening on the smaller calibers is the culprit of this erratic expansion.

I have been using 175 gr/7mm Barnes-X bullets (not the TSX version) in my 7 x 57 mm at modest velocity of 2,390 fps. They do open up reliably in a wetpack of soaked newspapers. On game they go straight through and recovery is going to be a remote chance.

I am of the opinion that it is not so much the cavity size, but the annealing that is more critical as I have seen it in another brand.

Chris Bekker

I am a big bore fan of all xbullets... but in small bores, aiming FOR a hard spot (spine, shoulder, etc) is highly advised.

the ran 25-30 yards part is the same performance you have, 50% of the time, with a heart shot..

I would have told the guide to get stuffed, AFTER I had shot the second time, at least were he could put his tips!

then again, words from frangible bullet fans, "at what point did the bullet fail if the animal was dead?"

jeffe

I've never been much of a Barnes bullet fan, and after an incident in the 90s in which .25 caliber, 85 grain X bullets refused to expand -- and when I was totally ignored by their so-called customer service -- I simply wrote them off for good. There are plenty of bullets out there that aren't finicky and aren't problematic -- and heck, most even cost a good deal less than the Barnes projectiles.

And for me, well, I still remember the good ol' days when it didn't take a premium bullet and a half-pound of powder to kill a 175 pound deer...

Hornady Inter Loc and Nosler partitions, the only two bullets you need for N American hunting....or for 99% of the rest the worlds game.

I tend to agree with Joe. I really like the partitions. They are half core-lokt, half solid. I only fooled with the X-bullets in 338 lapua on game. The only thing more impressive than the hole created is the amount of hair loss on the animal around the area of impact and exit. Makes a white halo around portions of whitetail does.

I just returned home from my elk hunt.I took an mature elk using the 180gr tsx out of my 300ultramag.The shot was a little high and the bullet smashed through the spine and lodged under the hide.The bullet mushroomed perfectly to .800" and the retained weight was 160.4gr.The muzzle velocity was 3380fps and the range was 200 yards.

Interesting how experiences vary but I could in no way concur with the idea of the smaller dia TX's not working too well.

Of the game we've taken since they've came out we've used the 22/250,6/06,270,25/06,30/06,7 Mashburn Super and maybe one or two I can't remember.

I have been totally impressed with the accuracy and how effective they are when unleased on game from here to the farthes of 520 yds so far. The last 3 elk were one taken at about 490 and 2 taken in the 520 range. The 490 one took a couple of steps and tossed over (140 TX 7 Mashburn Super). Of the ones taken at the 520 range one was with the 140/7 Mash Super load thru both shoulders and exited and he just bounced! The other was with a 130 TX out of my 270 and he took it on the point of the shoulder it exited towards the far hams. He took a step or two and pitched over.

Personally I've seen nothing but stellar performance out of the smaller (sub 30 cal bulelts).

Just my 12 cents worth.

Mark D

now the old Barnes X's is a whole nother story!!!

Mark, my experience mimics yours. I've shot a 6.5X55 and a .257AI with X bullets of some flavor and my results have all been positive. I had one incident on a smaller mule deer in which the exit was the same as the entrance. I thought that it had penciled through as well, but the internal damage seemed to indicate otherwise (massive wound channel). This was my only use of the 120 grain XLC on game. Ty at Barnes thinks that the high impact velocity (close range shot) probably ripped the petals off as the bullet passed through the deer, resulting in the small exit. Although he didnt' confirm them, there were rumors about that time that Barnes had gotten a brittle lot of copper that may have led to this problem. I've shot other deer, antelope, and hogs with that rifle (the 6.5) though and the results were always excellent. In fact, I've never recovered a bullet from something shot with that rifle and 140 grain Barnes XLCs. All exit wounds are about quarter sized and the wound channels show dramatic and devestating expansion.

My dad used a .270 WSM in Africa with 140 grain TSXs and the results were the same. Performance was textbook in nature. He was sold and now uses that bullet on everything except varmints. He even uses the TSXs when coyote hunting. That rifle/bullet combo has become his favorite, with the others just sitting in the cabinet.

I have heard about Nosler Partition bullets "pencilling through" also, leaving a small exit wound. Many have concluded that these bullets "didn't expand at all" based on the appearance of the exit hoel. However, iun none of these cases did the shooter recover the bullet, so could not prove the lack of expansion. I vave only found three Nosler partiton bullets in an animal since I started using them in 1964. All three expanded, but hat was left as not a whole lot bigger around than the original diameter and the front core was completely gone. I suspect that if these three bullets had gone completely through, the exit holes would have been poretty small as well.

It seems to me that the Barnes "X" vartiety of bullets often end up rather small around after expanding, since the petals fold up againmst the shank or even break off, even if they have expanded as intended....... Such bullets would also leave rather small exit holes, even after doing a lot of damage and creating a massive wound channel.

Perhaps the answer can be found on this website

http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/wounding.html

or on this chart on that website



small exit holes don't necessarily mean narrow wound channels