After killing an Elk last week with the 180XLCBT (no problem with killing the Elk, but was curious), I posed this same question to the Barnes techs earlier this week. They both answered 168gr. You will get 100-150fps more speed which is not a problem for the Barnes. ALL .308 TSX's are now desigend with a C-Cant (basically a match design) that is not as aero as some of the other Barnes, but is more accurate. The cavity of the TSX has also been redesigned to open up quicker then the walls thicken quicker making it more difficult to lose pedals. Sounds like the beginning of the end to most X's and XLC's to me. Will probably try out the TSX's next year.

Deke.

I'm no longer interested in tinkering with bullet load combinations; it's been fun and a great learning experience but now all I am interested is developing a 1 bullet do-all load for deer and elk. I've never used Barnes bullets b4 and I would like to concentrate on the Barnes TSX. Question is, what is the better do-all TSX bullet weight for the 30-06: 150 gr. or 168 gr?

I like the 165 gr. XXX bullet and have been shooting it a lot recently...but in the end I will more than likely go back to my old standby the 180 gr. Nosler partition, I always do, and it will never fail me and I base that on using it for 40 years on all manner of game.....

I'd vote for the 168 gr.

168 Triple Shock for me. Geronimo has a good load worked up with the 180 TSX. Here is my target with the 168TSX in my .06:



I didn't know they made a 165 TSX. < !--color-->

I have always felt that the 180gr bullets get the most from the 30-06. They will open up sufficiently on light game such as deer, yet have sufficient clout to do a good job on heavier game like elk, black bear, pigs and the like. I have used the 30-06 on several varieties of African plains game with very good results. All with 180gr bullets. you might be interested to know that most African PH's hold the 30-06 in high regard too. My favorite load is 62gr RL 22 with 180gr Barnes TSX. I get 2750fps and sub MOA accuracy with this load.

Geronimo

The 150 gr. will be alittle bit flatter shooting than the heavier bullets and will still penetrate Elk. The Barnes bullets can be loaded lighter than conventional bullets. They lose very little if any weight when penetrating animals. You can tailor the round to get the best accuracy possible from your rifle by changing OAL, powder, and powder amount. Be sure and get your information from a Barnes manual and use the load information for the regular X bullet as that will be the safest levels, according to Barnes. Good luck!

Also be sure to load the bullet at least .050 from the lands of your barrel so as to reduce any possible pressure spikes. This is also recommended by Barnes.