130 GR TSX Performance Field Report on Elk last week

[Laramie]

Good discussion Laramie. Appreciate your thoughts and sharing your knowledge.

To you as well.

 

[S.Clancy]

We've shot Barnes, Hornady and now Hammer copper bullets. I will say the hammer performance is the best of those three, but I still like the performance of the Barnes and Hornady. And with the copper, at least in my experience, your meat loss is significantly reduced. Thats why I switched.

 

[35WhelenAI]

We've shot Barnes, Hornady and now Hammer copper bullets. I will say the hammer performance is the best of those three, but I still like the performance of the Barnes and Hornady. And with the copper, at least in my experience, your meat loss is significantly reduced. Thats why I switched.

Thanks for a comparison, what element of the performance do you like best with the Hammers, what makes that differentiation for you? I'm curious which rendition of the Barnes you have used, TTSX, TSX, LRX, original X, etc?

 

[S.Clancy]

Thanks for a comparison, what element of the performance do you like best with the Hammers, what makes that differentiation for you? I'm curious which rendition of the Barnes you have used, TTSX, TSX, LRX, original X, etc?

I've used TSX and TTSX. The Hammers expand really well and still penetrate great. For example, my brother shot a cow years ago with a 130 gr TTSX out of a 270 at 385 yards. Heart shot, cow dropped, got up and ran 70 yards and died. Exit wound was maybe a quarter sized or slightly bigger. This year, brother shoots a spike at just over 370 yds, (still .270) quartered away with a 126gr Hammer Hunter. Bullet passes through, exits offside with a hole slightly less than a coffee cup. Bull goes 60 yards and dies. Same result, but better blood trail and exit with the Hammer. I also shot my muley at 470 yds with the same bullet (Hammer) and same results. Plus, you can push the Hammers at higher velocities, better BC than Barnes and shoot tighter groups. They are about 2x the cost however, but worth it in my opinion

 

[35WhelenAI]

I get similar Barnes TTSX exit performance as you if it goes between ribs. If it hits or nicks a rib, it's a bigger hole but not coffee cup size. I am shooting a 35 Whelan AI with a 200 TTSX, however my sons use the 130 TTSX and 110 TTSX from an '06 and .270 Win respectively. All three are "light for caliber" and good results all around on elk.

What are the muzzle velocity's with your respective loads mentioned above?

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I guess the elephant in the room remains, the shot was good, bullet performance was decent (first shot and second shot did what it was supposed to but had bad placement due to other circumstances), but i hope everyone takes a lesson from this story:

When conditions make it dofficult to get a good track job, make sure the animal goes down and stays down. I dont fault anyone here for the quick get up off the sticks and minor celebratory session, but you need to make sure the animal is dead before you celebrate. Especially when dealing with a heavy rain situation where tracking is going to be very difficult. There are numerous other situations where the celebration needs to wait until confidence is near 100% that animal is down and planted down, once the animal is confirmed to he dead thats when the celebrations can occur. Emotions get the best of us, but the lesson needs to be told, and this is not exclusive to elk, all animals (including humans) have a strong will to live and many times multiple shots are needed to plant an animal.

I dont want to come off sounding pretentious or “better than thou” because that is not the case. I have lost animals for this very reason and have learned the hard way to stay on the sights until movement has ceased and it is obvious the animal is dead.

 

[S.Clancy]

I get similar Barnes TTSX exit performance as you if it goes between ribs. If it hits or nicks a rib, it's a bigger hole but not coffee cup size. I am shooting a 35 Whelan AI with a 200 TTSX, however my sons use the 130 TTSX and 110 TTSX from an '06 and .270 Win respectively. All three are "light for caliber" and good results all around on elk.

What are the muzzle velocity's with your respective loads mentioned above?

Muzzle velocity with Barnes was around 3000 fps, Hammer was 3200 fps.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Muzzle velocity with Barnes was around 3000 fps, Hammer was 3200 fps.

Is there any load data for the hammers, sounds like they have less pressure all else equal and must be safe to use heavier powder charges to get that velocity.

 

[S.Clancy]

Is there any load data for the hammers, sounds like they have less pressure all else equal and must use heavier powder charges to get that velocity.

You are correct. The Hammers are designed with a lower bearing surface, so they dont experience the pressure spikes which means you can use more powder. My loads is 57gr of 4451 IMR Enduron, CCI 250 primer and 126 gr Hammer Hunter. I can load hotter but the accuracy of this load was pretty ridiculous, ~0.3 MOA. I shoot a Win Model 70, 24" barrel.

 

[S.Clancy]

@35WhelenAI Another data point for the 130 gr TTSX. This morning my GF shot her first elk, a cow. They were on winter range country en masse, but we were able to creep to 100 yds. Hard quartering to shot, entered point of the shoulder, never exited. This shot killed her, but she ran 30 yds and stopped, so she put another one behind the shoulder (I believe in shooting elk till they fall down). 2nd shot exited with a quarter sized hole. Lungs were mash, shoulder broken. It was good she got busted up and didnt run with her 500 comrades, cause it was calamity once the herd got going.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Thanks for the data point! I've shot light for caliber X-bullets for the last 20 years.

Started with "standard" weight original X bullets back in the day but once I saw the 200 TTSX was more aerodynamic than the 225 TSX, and I could push the lighter ones pretty dang fast out of my 35 Whelan AI, I haven't looked back. Could be part of the reason I've had good success, I keep the impact speed up by default using the lighter bullets. I was going for the trajectory advantage and may be stumbled into the benefit of higher velocity with respect to performance on game with monos.

That's what led me to the 130 TTSX in the 30-06 that my oldest son uses and the 110 gr TTSX in the 270 Winchester my other son uses.