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I want to work up a load with 168 gr TSX in a 308 for hunting use. I heard once that the TSX won't open reliably if speed gets too low. Any negative real world experience with this combo that I should be considering? Shots would be kept under 300 yds, I'm thinking I should be fine. | ||
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Use it and report back. I used the 165 barnes xbt in a 308 on a moose about 30-50 yards. I hit it 3 times and the moose ended up in my freezer. I recovered one of the bullets nicely mushroomed just like the pictures. -------------------- THANOS WAS RIGHT! | |||
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I just checked my records, I shot six roe deer between 20 and 40 pounds and four boar between 50 and 90 pounds with this bullet at about 2,650 fps. One roe and one boar ran about 50 yards after the shots, the others went down where they stood. All had good sized exit wounds (maybe 1.5"); those that ran left a good blood trail. Ten kills are not really enough to judge a bullets performance, but I am still confident the TSX will work just fine in this velocity range. | |||
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Why not use the 150gr TSX? Or even the 130gr? I've gotten complete penetration with the 130gr TSX in 270Win on every elk I've shot with them, and I started using Barnes in 1992. | |||
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On a trip to Botswanna last year my cousin used his .308 with 168 Gr. TTSX bullets. Worked very well on Gemsbok and Blue Wildebeast. Tom Z NRA Life Member | |||
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I've got a couple hundred 168s, was going to use them for this rifle. I may have to buy more bullets now. | |||
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This makes me wish I would have kept more detaied recrds. It would be fun to review years later. | |||
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I have used a number of TSX bullets in different weights and several different calibres. I have not had any problems with the TSX bullets not opening up. However some claim they would like a little more expansion. So if your velocity is going to be a little lower I would suggest you use the TTSX version. The plastic tip will act like a wedge and promote expansion even at lower velocities. | |||
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Barnes spec is minimum impact velocity is 1600 fps. Your 308 should push the 168 grn TSXs to at least 2650 at the muzzle if not low 2700s. You will have plenty of impact velocity out to 550 yards. I have taken a 1/2 dozen wild boar with 168 grn TSXs out of my 308 Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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168TSX + 308 = Deadly combination As long as they are accurate in your rifle, use 'em up and don't worry. Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark | |||
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Thanks for the replies guys, I will load some up and see how they perform. | |||
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are they that small? | |||
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Yes. 40lb would be very heavy for a doe in my region; a big buck might weigh up to 50lb. Of course, we also have red stag at 400lb here; I just have not used a .308 on them. I typically use a .375 H&H for all my hunting. | |||
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I used the 168 grain TSX as a culling bullet in a few 30-06s at a velocity that could be reproduced in a .308. It didn't take long to prove that ordinary cup and core bullets like Hornady 165 Interlocks killed considerably faster on broadside shots, and had far more visible signs of hits. Although it only takes a short time to prove it, several hundred animals in a short time definitely drives the point home. The TSX is close to being in a league of its own for penetration, but it trades it's deep wound channel for a narrow one. Sometimes that's a desireable trade-off and sometimes it's not. If you never take a shoulder shot or a THS by choice you are playing to the TSXs weak side. If you do, then there are few bullets better suited to shooting through animals lengthwise. That's not to say that TSXs don't work, but they do work differently. Whether different is better or worse is a matter of application and opinion. Belting an animal through the ribs and being told you missed gets old fast. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,bang etc, you missed, you're shooting high better hit him again, Ok you hit that one, oh wait a minute they're all dead. I'll be damned, did you change bullets again? Wanna change back? The first time it isn't funny, then it gets sort of funny, then goes back to not being funny again. | |||
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Just returned from Namibia using Barnes 168g TTSX in my Model 70 Featherweight .308. All bullets recovered were perfectly mushroomed. A headshot on a warthog did produce the loss of a few "petals". I believe Barnes lists their MV as 2650 this load. | |||
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