Last summer I hunted the Zambezi Valley and shot leopard, waterbuck and bushbuck; all with 180 gn Swift A-frames in Remington Safari grade ammo. A good, tough bullet; maybe too tough for the smaller game as they passed through without much expansion, judging from the exit wounds. The advantage is you can use A-Frames on any plains game. It was also the most accurate load in my Dakota 30-06.

Well today I tried the Barnes TSX 180's and to my dismay they shot slightly better. 3 round grouos again with the last being a shot group. When I measured today and before I used outside to outside.

1st---2.5"
2nd---2"
3rd---2.25"
4th---1.5"
5th---2"
3 shot groups averaged 9.12"

6th---3"---5 shot group

I did check base/rings and they were ok, using a new leupold scope. I also checked the recoil lug and it does have a indentation you can feel with your fingernail. The recoil lug fits loose in the stock and also is not a snug fit in the receiver, there is some play. Not much play and I'm sure it snugs down when the action is tightened. When I originally took the action out of the stock, hunter model with the wood stock it fell out with little resistance. From what I've read is that the T3 lites have the recoil lug epoxied in place. A dollar bill slides all the way to the receiver. The action screws are torqued to 50 and well as proper torque for the base/rings. I'm a little clueless and running out of time. Maybe the 180's aren't going to work??

Some rifles just do not like certain bullets. Why not try a different one(s)?

I did try the Fed accubonds and today I tried the Barnes TTSX. Starting to think its the 180's, may try some lighter ones.

quote:

Originally posted by Bayou:
I did try the Fed accubonds and today I tried the Barnes TTSX. Starting to think its the 180's, may try some lighter ones.

I have a M700 in -06 that doesn't like 165's. I have tried just about every brand and the only one it will shoot is the TTSX which of course are very close to the length of other's 180's.
It shoots everything else great. Some rifles are just finicky that way. The 165-168 should work fine.

Bayou,i have had problems getting accubonds to shoot good in 3or 4 different rifles.The only luck I had was with a 7mm ultra mag.
The barnes tsx is a different story,they seem to shoot good in everything. good luck

My new order will be picked up from UPS on Monday, ordered barne's ttsx and fed partitions in 165. Will shoot them Monday afternoon. The 180 in ttsx did shoot better than the accubonds but not better. This rifle doesn't like 180's, the only thing I can figure out.

My main point with reference to the BT bullet is I've never noticed any gain in accuracy. In fact, the opposite seems to be true.
Not to get too wound up in the science behind the BT bullet, I understand it was developed by the Germans in WW2 to aid in ranging machinegun fire beyond 800 yards.
FWIW, I understand that competitors shooting at long distances, use BT bullets; bench shooters, shooting at 100 and 200 yards, use flat based bullets. When I was competing in factory bench matches, I found in several rifles that the Sierra MK in 53grs(flat base) was more accurate than the Sierra MK in 52grs(BT). Not by an amount that would be significant to a fellow shooting Pdogs or Ghogs but enough to perhaps win a close match.
I understand that we're talking about hunting bullets but I found the same to be true among my hunting rifle loads.

Well today I shot the 165 partitions and the 168 ttsx's, one box of each. Today I got some of my best groups and some not so great. What I did differently is adjust my grip by grasping the front of the stock with my off hand and pulling it into my shoulder. It could be since it's a light rifle with a light profile compared to the two heavy barreled rifles that I own. What I was doing before was just resting the front on the bag and using a squeeze bag on the rear like my other varmint rigs. What I noticed were great groups with my first shot would be pulled an inch-inch an half away but my second and third shot would be stacked. I don't know if it was anticipating the shot or possibly flinching. I had two remarkable groups with the 168's the rest it seemed like the first shot was a flyer. I could see that if it was the first shot from a clean bore but I would assume it settle down. Also while cleaning afterwards I only used a carbon cleaner and didn't touch any copper remover. When looking down the muzzle end it was obvious copper was in the grooves. Pardon my ignorance but in the past I've always cleaned all carbon and copper and I don't have much experience with rifles except AR's and and a 22-250, 22's. All shotguns and handguns here, Ohio. So I'm guessing from what I've learned from reading is just remove carbon until accuracy degrades, then both. SO back to the 168's ttsx which were the last box I shot today and had the best groups except for the couple fliers that must be me as everything is torqued correctly. It also looks like if I wasn't pulling and causing the errors the 180's wouldn't be bad also. Since I've got the best groups whether it was me or the rifle I'm gonna take the 168's until I load my own next year.

I think you'll be quite happy with the results you'll experience with the 168 TTSX's.
I have no experience on game with that bullet but in my water jug tests the 168 penetrated 30 to 36" of water jugs at 100 yards.
If you place your bullets in the kill zone you will have dead animals.
Good luck and have a great time on your trip.

The 168 TTSX will serve you well. I've switched almost all of my rifles over to some sort of Barnes bullet. Everything but my varmint rifles are currently seeing a Barnes loaded in it with the exception of my 35 Whelen AI, which I'm still playing with.

You'll be happy with the results provided you do your part.

Good luck!

I have several light rifle and have found for best accuracy they need firm hold/grip. If I lightly hold them groups can easily increase from a 1" group to up to 2 or 3 inches. Sounds like you have solved the mystery. Good luck and good hunting..

quote:

Originally posted by TJAY:
I have several light rifle and have found for best accuracy they need firm hold/grip. If I lightly hold them groups can easily increase from a 1" group to up to 2 or 3 inches. Sounds like you have solved the mystery. Good luck and good hunting..

I also find that light rifles need a little "dampening" from the operator. I still use one hand, but pistol grip pressure of around that of a very firm handshake. Just bought a farm firm. Or drive one out of the park baseball bat firm.

Heavier weight rifles I barely touch, just let them fly.