I already posted in the Reloading forum but didn't get much feedback, so I decided to give it a try here.
I'm loading the 130 grains TSX for my 6.5x57 but I still can't get decent accuracy. According to Barnes the seating depth of the bullet should be about 0.05 inch off the lands but due to the long throat of my chamber I can't get anywhere near that distance. I know that other Euro-calibres like 6.5x57 6.5x68 7x64 and 8x57 have a similar long throat.
Can anyone who's loading the TSX in those calibres give me some info on accuracy and COL?

Hi, i run a swede and have tried the TSX and get great accuracy from it, my rifle is a custom so i know whats going on with the barrel,
what i did notice though was the faster i ran it the tighter the groups.What do you accuracy do you expect from the round? and what do you get from your other loads? i dont have a barnes manual to hand but what powders do you have etc
Are you expecting to much, some people say they get good, bad and indiferant acc but you can get the same from any bullet, IMO if you have a decent load that works well in your rifle, measure the depth and start from there.
FWIW i would start with some RL22 and CCI primers and see what you get.
B

Until now accuracy is about 2 inch or worse(4-shot groups at 100 m). My target load always shoots sub MOA (5-shot groups) and I would like the TSX to shoot 1.5 inch groups, just like the Partions and RWS cone points I used before.
I've tested with Viht N140 and N160 (which is somewhere between R19 and R22).
What's the COL you use for your swede and which velocity you get?
BTW Do you notice a difference when shooting the TSX through a weel cleaned vs a dirty barrel?

What rifle are you using? have you checked your scope for parallex are you seating your heads straight etc etc.Although the powder you are using is somwhere between RL19/22 its still not RL, i would get a group of powders together and start their, i would also start with CCI primers.
In my rifle which is a custom, with a shilen barrel, i have had it short throated so my COL will be irrelivant for your needs, but i can seat the head up close or far out and it has little effect on accuracy,i am loading a heavy dose of RL22 for +3Kfps but again its a custom tube and a modern action with no obvious pressure signs ( i did an experiment with 5 Lapua cases, after 5 firings primers were still tight so i gave up) i have never had any fouling probs because again its a good barrel.
From re-eading your post i would say you have a factory rifle, but i am very surprised that you cannot get near the lands with the TSX because it is a very long bullet.
If you dont achieve what you wish dont worry about it, i dont think you would gain anything over what you get from the NOS Part anyway, unless of course you are shooting in a lead free hunting area.

Keep in their and enjoy the time at the range because when the time comes in the feild you will Know what to do.
B

gus,

I don't load for the 6.5X57 but have used the TSX's in .308", (.308 Win. & .30/06 Sprg.) and .284" in 7X575R, 7X64 Brenneke & 7mm Rem Mag.

These bullets have been loaded and shot in a Savage, Blaser R93, K-95, Steyr & a Mauser 66, none of these rifles have particularly long throats or leade.

My expereince has been the exact opposite of yours. The Barne TSX's have given me fantastic accuracy with VV N-160 & VV N-560 in these (Euro) cartridges and that without any initial attention to detail regarding cartridge OAL whatsoever.

Other bullets I load in these cartridges, especially the NBT's, NP's & Sierra's all required some minor tweaking to get the best accuracy but the TSX's I simply crimped into the last band (the one towards the tip of the bullet) with a Lee Factory Crimp Die resulting in a relatively "short" cartridge in comparsison to the others bullet mentioned. All shot well under one inch without any further load development.

I clean the barrels of these rifles a couple of times a year but don't get all wrapped up the alleged copper-fouling syndrome so prevalent with the old model Barnes"X" bullets; which resulted in mysterious pressure peaks, occasionally didn't expand and fouled barrels terribly.

While I'm sure there are plenty of cases of individual rifle preference regarding cartridge/load/rifle; IMO the TSX's have not depicted any of the previous "X" bullet issues; rather quite the opposite, quickly developed, super-accurate loads.

Your rifle clearly has the potential since it does well with your target load. What bullet weight do you use for the target load? With my Tikka T3 in 6.5x55SE, I use the 130TSX seated 0.05 off the lands with an OAL of 78.6mm. My load chronos at 2810 with 45.5g H4350Ext. The best 3 shot 100 yd group was .36, but I can consistently count on no larger than .75. Vary the charges to find the sweet spot. Good luck.

120gr TSX in my 7x57 was about 2" or so, I played around with seating depths and charge weights of VVN150 until I'd not got enough left to hunt with and gave up. This rifle shoots 120gr BTS and 120gr hornadies into a ragged hole. Montero used some 130gr TSXs in his 6.5x57R but I don't know the powder. He shot some large African animals with a shot apiece and was very impressed with the results.