300 grain Barnes tsx for brown bear

[Trees91]

Would be shot out of a 375 H&H. Factory ammo...choices are slim.

I've never used a barnes or any other mono bullet...for any game.

Ive stuck to soft point cup and core style 300 grain for my last bunch of bears.

Barnes should have plenty of penetration, but is there any worry about not expanding at closer ranges?

Let me know if anyone has first hand experience.

Thanks

 

[thinhorn_AK]

If you are set on Barnes, I much prefer the 250g ttsx for bears. My go to though is the 260g accubond. I’ve shot a lot of 375HH over the past few years, killed moose and brown bear with it. I have more faith in the accubond than pretty much any other bullet. The 260g partition is good too if you can find them.

I don’t like the 300g stuff for shots past about 200yds, other may have different opinions.

 

[Trees91]

Pretty limited options now for factory ammo. If I could find dies, brass and powder I could load up some partitions I have left over from my 375 ruger.

I have seen the hornady outfitter ammo in stock. It has a 250 grain cx bullet, their version of a ttsx from the looks of it.

 

[Northpark]

I am not a Bear expert. I would guess that a 300 gr ttsx would do just fine on a bear. That being said the trajectory past 200 yards probably isn’t ideal.

Will it work? I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. Is it perfect? Probably not.

This opinion is worth what you paid for it.

 

[Fogalo]

Barnes bullets need velocity to expand so the closer the better.

 

[Trees91]

I'm kinda leaning towards the Barnes, mostly due to availability.

I've never shot a bear much over 100 yards, I'm not too worried about ballistics.

300 grain have done the job in the past, I was just curious switching to a mono bullet. Some people swear by them, I've just never used them..

 

[VernAK]

The old guides that I knew wouldn't allow shots much beyond 100 yards.
The 300 TSX should do fine!

 

[Bighorse]

Okay I'll bite...The TTSX in the .375 appears to only be offered in the 250g variety. It has a BC of .424
The venerable 270 in a 130g TTSX has a BC of .392

The TSX flat base in the .375 is offered in the 300g variety and has a BC of .357

Think....rocket science, The TTSX is the rocket. The TSX is the bullet. If you want .375 H&H performance at extended range (IE accuracy and terminal performance) than you'll wannna get your hands of some of them there wizz bang 250g TTSX. The H&H case doesn't lend itself to huge capacity so you'll wanna refine the powder type and load to maximize velocity to get longer range capabilities. Coupled with a significant barrel length there's no reason a 250g TTSX wouldn't be a capable round with muzzle velocities of 2,800fps. I haven't ran it through a ballistic calculator but I suspect because of the .424 BC it's gonna still be moving along nicely at 500 yrds.

Then go corner a brown furry thing and shoot it.

In regards to your original concern....A whole hole through a bears heart will kill it. Big explosive hole, small hole...it' don't matter sir. Kill with authority

 

[VernAK]

We need Joe Want to weigh in on this thread as he has been involved in the taking of a pile of brown bears on Kodiak and I know he is not an advocate of long shots on bears.

 

[AKDoc]

I've carried a 375H&H every fall up here for the past twenty-five years. I handload 270grn TSX's, and I've cleanly taken many moose and several grizzly bears with it over the years.

It became the only bullet I load for that cartridge after seeing how well it performed. I have recovered very few bullets...they all enter, expand and exit the other side. Below is a picture of a rare retrieval from the bull I shot last year...it was a very atypical 200yd shot for me...a neck shot that entered the spinal column at the top cervical area, traveled a couple inches within the spine and exited to lodge under the skin on the far side of his neck...an atypical shot for me because almost all of my shots are well within 100 yards...one grizzly was at 15. That bullet is an excellent choice for bears...period. (BTW...RL-15 is a perfect match for that bullet with my rifle.)

Similarly, I had my son's rifle re-barreled to a 338-06, and we loaded 210grn TTSX's. He took his first grizzly a few years ago with it (a nine and a half footer)....one shot through the heart at 50yds...bullet entered, expanded, and exited the other side.

 

[MJB]

The navy seals use the tsx as there bullet do to the accuracy.

Just hit bone and it won't pass through as easily. I'm in the boat to leave all the KE in the animal.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The navy seals use the tsx as there bullet do to the accuracy.

Is that true? Where did you see that?

 

[Wigeon kryptonite]

Like mentioned above, as long as you aren’t trying a longer shot, you’ll be solid.

I killed a 9’ brownie with that exact bullet, 300gr TSX, 2 years ago. Shot was at 50 yards. Bullet didn’t pass through, and that bear soaked up every ounce of energy. He was dead less than 100 yards away.

Dad and I handload and I have various weights of accubonds, partitions, and TSX all loaded up. When I start chasing after big brownies here in a couple weeks, I’ll have the 300gr TSX in the chamber.

If I recall, the magic number for the TSX to open up is 2000fps. Run the ballistics for your round, but I think that round will mushroom out to 200 yards just fine. Which in my opinion, you should be thinking really hard about shooting beyond that anyways.


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[Trees91]

Thanks for the info, nice to hear from someone that's used it on a bear. I think I'll order a few boxes and run them for a while.

 

[Wigeon kryptonite]

Thanks for the info, nice to hear from someone that's used it on a bear. I think I'll order a few boxes and run them for a while.

Just don’t stretch the range too far and you’ll be very happy.


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[VernAK]

I've carried a 375H&H every fall up here for the past twenty-five years. I handload 270grn TSX's, and I've cleanly taken many moose and several grizzly bears with it over the years.

It became the only bullet I load for that cartridge after seeing how well it performed. I have recovered very few bullets...they all enter, expand and exit the other side. Below is a picture of a rare retrieval from the bull I shot last year...it was a very atypical 200yd shot for me...a neck shot that entered the spinal column at the top cervical area, traveled a couple inches within the spine and exited to lodge under the skin on the far side of his neck...an atypical shot for me because almost all of my shots are well within 100 yards...one grizzly was at 15. That bullet is an excellent choice for bears...period. (BTW...RL-15 is a perfect match for that bullet with my rifle.)

Similarly, I had my son's rifle re-barreled to a 338-06, and we loaded 210grn TTSX's. He took his first grizzly a few years ago with it (a nine and a half footer)....one shot through the heart at 50yds...bullet entered, expanded, and exited the other side.

Off topic a bit but Doc's about shooting a bull in the neck needs a bit of comment.
The neck of a large bull moose is a mass of dense muscle and can soak up bullets. I once shot a crippled bulll twice in the neck broadside with a 300 WSM and 180 TSX at <100 yards. Neither bullet exited nor did I hit the spine. The bull simply grunted and shook his head at each shot and stayed on his feet. Both bullets were recovered.

 

[AKDoc]

Off topic a bit but Doc's about shooting a bull in the neck needs a bit of comment.
The neck of a large bull moose is a mass of dense muscle and can soak up bullets. I once shot a crippled bulll twice in the neck broadside with a 300 WSM and 180 TSX at <100 yards. Neither bullet exited nor did I hit the spine. The bull simply grunted and shook his head at each shot and stayed on his feet. Both bullets were recovered.

Excellent and valid point Vern...I'm glad you added your experience for other folks to keep perspective when shooting.

For clarification...as I noted, this shot hit the top of the cervical area (probably C-3 or 4...maybe three inches past where the skull attaches to the spine, which was my aim for point of impact knowing the bullet drop at that distance). I shot another bull in that same anatomical area previously with good results, but he was much closer. The majority of past bulls I've shot directly in the head, which is my preference because I like calling them up real close to me and anchoring them on dry ground in the predominantly wet area where I hunt...an atypical shot at distance for me with this guy.

A good standing broadside shot through the lungs is a great go-to for sure...and that's a big target area!

 

[highstepper]

Bear in my avatar with a 270gr TSX at 100 yards. Anchored him. Bullet recovered under offside hide after going through shoulder and breaking neck was a perfect mushroom. Finishers through the chest whistled right through with a nice size exit hole.
Similar results with 300 gr TSX on Cape Buffalo. Very popular bullet for buffalo that can weigh twice what a mature brownie does. Use them with confidence.

 

[Wigeon kryptonite]

Off topic a bit but Doc's about shooting a bull in the neck needs a bit of comment.
The neck of a large bull moose is a mass of dense muscle and can soak up bullets. I once shot a crippled bulll twice in the neck broadside with a 300 WSM and 180 TSX at QUOTE]

A bull moose neck is like 2 blocks of that shooting gelatin or whatever stacked endo. You don’t give the neck meat credit until you are breaking down a bull and realize that’s a full load to pack out on its own.


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[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Don't forget the good ole purpose-built "Trophy Bear Claw" from Federal.

If you have the reloading components, Federal does have the bullets in stock on their web site.