Didn't I see somewhere on here that you loaded for a couple of 300 SAUM rifles? I tried to find it again, but couldn't. If I'm mistaken, I apologize.

My questions though are:

1) What cartridge OAL did you settle on?

2) You seem to like the Barnes TSX bullets. I'm not familiar with those. What is it that you like?

Yes, I've loaded for 2. I never concern myself with OAL so long as it fits in the mag and doesn't jam into the lands. I take note of base to ogive measurement and seat bullets about ten thousandths off the lands. Barnes recommends starting at 50thou off and work from there. I've found that they shoot very well when close to the lands. OAL can be different, while base to ogive is same.

I am fond of the TSX for several reasons. Part of the attraction is the night and day difference between the original X bullet and the TSX simply by adding the relief grooves. The new hollow point is very sensitive to hydrostatic forces. I've always liked the concept of a solid bullet because concentricity is less of an issue.

I'm sure that the bullet design was originated to outdo bullets like the partition. While the NP bullet is a heck of a penetrator, the thought was, what can be done to retain even more bullet weight, penetrate further, and use a lighter bullet in a smaller caliber but still do the same amount of damage?

The TSX is on par with many other premie bullets and I don't need to name them all. It is, for me, deadly accurate, very consistent, and definitely hits hard. Plus, with a TSX bullet, you can reduce bullet wt per caliber and not have the penetration issues similar to a standard bullet.

Generally, working up a load with this bullet has taken about half the time as with any other. I like that. I'm sure if you were to ask all of the members, you'd see that there are those that love it and some not willing to try it, for fear that it will act like the standard X bullet. I'm sure someone would post that they don't care for it too. I've dumped quite a few game with it now and it is simply a great performer no matter the range.

hey Doc,
Have you ever had a TSX not perform? I switched over to them this year in my 257 Roberts and a 7x57 and love the accuracy and performance. I've shot about 20 animals this year and all died on the spot or with in 15-20 yards. Neither load is hot, both at 2800fps and I have only recovered one slug. It looks exactly like the one in your photo.

Honestly, when I started loading the TSX, I tried to pay special attention to the hit, and death of the animal, looking for anything out of the ordinary, or unusual.

I admit, I was nervous as to whether or not these bullets would open on deer due to all the hype from the original X.

I'm getting ahead of myself. To answer your question Perry, NO. I've never had a TSX not perform EXACTLY AS EXPECTED. The results always exceeded my expectations.

Psychological or not, I believe these bullet hit hard. I cannot ever recall witnessing an animals body ripple from the hit until I started shooting these. Secondly, the "whack" is always distinctively louder.

And all of my loads are nowhere close to as hot as they can go. I find that 1-2 grains under max seems to be a good charge of powder, and it's easier to find a load.

As I said, I couldn't find the thread again, so here's a couple more questions. I remember it was 60 or 62 grains of powder, but which powder. And what's the longest shot you've had to reference long range expansion?

In one rifle, I used both 62 and 63 grains of IMR4350 with the 168 TSX. Both shot the same groups and only about 40 fps diff.

The other preferred a couple of powders, but Varget at 56.0 grains did well. Re22 was the second powder that did very well.

Longest shot is something I cannot claim. My friend took a caribou at 396 yards with his 168 bullet.

Thanks for the info, Doc!