308 copper bullet experience (or other moderate speed cartridges)

[Sodbuster]

30-06, 130 grain barnes, fairly hot load.
Pretty good buck jumped out of a ditch with a hot doe and ran straight away across a grass crp field.
Crosshairs were on him at about fifty yards.
Bullet hit him at the base of the tail,took out about a foot of spine, traveled completely through his body and the x in his nose is the exit.
In and out,the long way.

Using 175 grain LRX in my 300 WSM for elk this fall.

 

[JeffRaines]

30-06, 130 grain barnes, fairly hot load.
Pretty good buck jumped out of a ditch with a hot doe and ran straight away across a grass crp field.
Crosshairs were on him at about fifty yards.
Bullet hit him at the base of the tail,took out about a foot of spine, traveled completely through his body and the x in his nose is the exit.
In and out,the long way.

Using 175 grain LRX in my 300 WSM for elk this fall.

Talk about a Texas heart shot!

 

[GIS]

GIS - Where are you hitting them with these shots?? Is that with a high-shoulder shot or the behind the crease? Thanks!

I prefer behind the crease to get both lungs but it doesn't always happen that way. One bull I shot him a little high and the bullet went through the near shoulder blade both lungs and exited the other side. Another was a frontal and I found the bullet in the hide by one of the rear quarters. Last year the bull was quartering to and I shot him behind the front shoulder and it excited in front of the opposite rear quarter. The ttsx is truly devastating and I couldn't be happier with the performance.

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[PowellSixO]

We tried the copper bullet thing. After seeing 2 deer get pin holed at 100 yards or less, and never recovering them, I've sworn them off. Both my dad and little brother lost NICE bucks on the Kaibab, in AZ, due to copper bullets. Both ended up killing deer with copper bullets, but both of their next shots hit shoulders first. I believe if they hit bone they work great. But if you're lucky enough to slip one in between the ribs, you might just have a pin hole. I've heard this from MANY other people too. They've pushing the lead free thing on the Kaibab for some time now, and I honestly do not know a single person that prefers to shoot them to this day.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

145s in 7mm have dropped elk for me no problem, as noted keep the speed up and don't worry as much about what grain bullet you are starting with. Think of them like high speed broad head arrows that can punch through bone when picking shot placement.

That seems to be a common choice. It is my first season with my 6.5CM and will be using copper. Going after Blacktails in CA and was concerned with the potential meat loss with a shoulder shot. I was also concerned with punching right through at close range... A shoulder shot would eliminate that.

The 120 TSX works well with my rifle.

Meat loss is noting like when a lead core hits a shoulder bone. If broadside I tend to shoot centered up on the shoulder or a little high which depending on leg position can actually thread the needle through shoulder muscle only, but its still not bad if you hit the blade. If going through muscles there will be a 1-2" dia of meat to trim out when butchering.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

30-06, 130 grain barnes, fairly hot load.
Pretty good buck jumped out of a ditch with a hot doe and ran straight away across a grass crp field.
Crosshairs were on him at about fifty yards.
Bullet hit him at the base of the tail,took out about a foot of spine, traveled completely through his body and the x in his nose is the exit.
In and out,the long way.

Good lord that sounds messy even gutless! How bad?

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

We tried the copper bullet thing. After seeing 2 deer get pin holed at 100 yards or less, and never recovering them, I've sworn them off. Both my dad and little brother lost NICE bucks on the Kaibab, in AZ, due to copper bullets. Both ended up killing deer with copper bullets, but both of their next shots hit shoulders first. I believe if they hit bone they work great. But if you're lucky enough to slip one in between the ribs, you might just have a pin hole. I've heard this from MANY other people too. They've pushing the lead free thing on the Kaibab for some time now, and I honestly do not know a single person that prefers to shoot them to this day.

What was the impact velocity? Yes they can certainly pinhole if folks don't keep the velocity up (go down in bullet weight if nessary these aren't lead core and the old wisdom of Xgrs doesn't apply) which tends to be the common theme in these stories, not saying it was or wasn't for you.

I've shot elk quartering away, entering behind the shoulder and exiting in front of the opposite shoulder without hitting bone, they drop. I don't shoot rear lungs and I keep the impact velocity above ~2200fps for the barnes LRX.

 

[DerkPerk]

We tried the copper bullet thing. After seeing 2 deer get pin holed at 100 yards or less, and never recovering them, I've sworn them off. Both my dad and little brother lost NICE bucks on the Kaibab, in AZ, due to copper bullets. Both ended up killing deer with copper bullets, but both of their next shots hit shoulders first. I believe if they hit bone they work great. But if you're lucky enough to slip one in between the ribs, you might just have a pin hole. I've heard this from MANY other people too. They've pushing the lead free thing on the Kaibab for some time now, and I honestly do not know a single person that prefers to shoot them to this day.

This is what I’ve been finding as well, however haven’t lost any game.

I have 4 instances where the bullet has stopped on the exiting side hide of a whitetail. Once a quartering away shot from a stand, the round ended up at the base of the skull. We prefer the copper to the lead and shoot the Barnes bullets in our .270 win 130gr. I’ll keep shooting them but not seeing the damage done like a lead round.


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[PowellSixO]

What was the impact velocity? Yes they can certainly pinhole if folks don't keep the velocity up (go down in bullet weight if nessary these aren't lead core and the old wisdom of Xgrs doesn't apply) which tends to be the common theme in these stories, not saying it was or wasn't for you.

I've shot elk quartering away, entering behind the shoulder and exiting in front of the opposite shoulder without hitting bone, they drop. I don't shoot rear lungs and I keep the impact velocity above ~2200fps for the barnes LRX.

They were both factory loaded Barnes, in a 243 win (shot 50 yards), and a 30-06 (100 yards give or take 5 yards). So I don't think velocity was an issue.

And I'm not saying that they won't perform if they don't hit bone, but there is that chance. I've seen it with my own two eyes, and have a lot of credible friends that have seen the same.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

They were both factory loaded Barnes, in a 243 win (shot 50 yards), and a 30-06 (100 yards give or take 5 yards). So I don't think velocity was an issue.

And I'm not saying that they won't perform if they don't hit bone, but there is that chance. I've seen it with my own two eyes, and have a lot of credible friends that have seen the same.

Out of curiosity TSX or TTSX (IE non-tipped or blue tip)?

I certainly agree expansion isn't the same as a lead core which is good or bad depending on shot placement. Those bullets create a 2-3" wound channel in the tissue and don't rip open huge holes in the hide. They're not great in my opinion shot behind the shoulder because if they end up hitting liver and such rather than heavily trashing the lungs its going to take a while to kill the animal (just like an arrow) yet the hide doesn't have a great hole in it to let the blood out. Where as if a lead core it breaks apart a lot more on that shot and also tends to tear open the hide more. Gotta keep the way they perform in mind when you choose to hunt with them and do not expect a shot behind the shoulder a bit to perform the same. I shoot for front of the heart/aertial bundle/front of the lung area and have had solid success with animals dropping quickly (if not immediately when there is some shock to the nervous system also in that zone).

There are some other monos on the market now that fragment more heavily after impact which might appeal to folks that like that type of bullet performance, FYI.

BUT obviously hunt with whatever you are comfortable with.

 

[PowellSixO]

out of curiosity tsx or ttsx (ie non-tipped or blue tip)?

I certainly agree expansion isn't the same as a lead core which is good or bad depending on shot placement. Those bullets create a 2-3" wound channel in the tissue and don't rip open huge holes in the hide. They're not great in my opinion shot behind the shoulder because if they end up hitting liver and such rather than heavily trashing the lungs its going to take a while to kill the animal (just like an arrow) yet the hide doesn't have a great hole in it to let the blood out. Where as if a lead core it breaks apart a lot more on that shot and also tends to tear open the hide more. Gotta keep the way they perform in mind when you choose to hunt with them and do not expect a shot behind the shoulder a bit to perform the same. I shoot for front of the heart/aertial bundle/front of the lung area and have had solid success with animals dropping quickly (if not immediately when there is some shock to the nervous system also in that zone).

There are some other monos on the market now that fragment more heavily after impact which might appeal to folks that like that type of bullet performance, fyi.

But obviously hunt with whatever you are comfortable with.

ttsx.

 

[rileybassman]

Interesting reading these comments... I've killed lots of critter with ttsx. Always had two holes. Always died within 50 yards. Bucks, does, elk... prolly 10-12 critters and all had sufficient expansion.

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[akspudus]

I've developed a load for my Kimber Mountain Ascent 308 with the 150gr TTSX bullets. Pushing them out at an average velocity of 2950fps. They land in a group at just under two inches at 200 yards. 3 round groups and 5 rounds groups are all very consistent.
I haven't shot any game with these loads yet....but have shot various animals with TTSX bullets from my 300 win mag and 338 win mag. Every time the bullets either passed through or stopped just under the off hide. One moose took two bullets in the chest. A bison took one. With these two animals I recovered the bullets and they all were very much intact.
On various caribou and deer, I have never recovered a TTSX...they have just passed right on through. All dead animals..in the freezer.

 

[mtmuley]

Hard to blame lost animals on a bullet. Many different things could have happened. Hammers fragment. Not much bad out there about them. mtmuley

 

[Tod osier]

My experience has been very good with copper bullets (that is all I shoot for the same reason you state). I've shot many deer with the 150 TTSX in 308 Win, ranges from point blank to nearly 300 yards. Bullets seemed to work well in all cases. I had a couple deer with no blood trails, but they were dead within 50 yards, don't know why that just happens. The farthest I've had one run with a good hit is I shot a small doe in the lungs that ran 150 yards (her rib cage had a perfect 1" hole in it that looked like it was cut with a hole saw - she just wanted to run). I think I've always had exits with the 150 grain in .308 on deer. I'm transitioning to 130s for the 308 because this is a deer only gun, but I'd stick with 150s were elk on the menu. I've shot a handful of deer with the 120 TSX in the 7mm-08 and that worked well too. The only TTSX I've recovered was a 180 grain from a 35 Whelen on a large buck. I shot a large elk with a .270 win and 130 grain ttsx at 450 yards and they did not exit on a broadside shot, which is the only experience on elk. I'd use something I thought would exit in the future, so something heavier and that may need to limit shot distance.

Find out what the min velocity is for your bullet of choice (I've had good luck with Barnes email customer service).

 

[McGilvra]

Another satisfied customer with Barnes TTSX. I’ve shot whitetails with 95 grain TTSX out of 6.8 SPC ARs with excellent results and quickly dead deer. 130s out of a 308 also perform extremely well- I shot a decent size buck last year at 75 yards and it was dead within 10 yards. I caught a flash of white in the brush he ran into, which I believe was him back flipping stone dead.

This year I’m going to try 180s on elk out of my 300 WSM, and maybe brew up some 308 150 GMXs for deer just to tinker.


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[AkMtnRunner]

+1 more great result from a 308 with the 130 ttsx. Mine broke a 400 lb grizzly's shoulder, vitals, and exited. Bear was dead in 5 seconds and made it 10 yards. Contrast that to a center double lung shot moose with a 300 grain A-Frame from a 375, which took almost 10 minutes to expire. These copper bullets really have changed the way to think about bullet weight.

 

[Sodbuster]

pods8

Quote Originally Posted by Sodbuster View Post
30-06, 130 grain barnes, fairly hot load.
Pretty good buck jumped out of a ditch with a hot doe and ran straight away across a grass crp field.
Crosshairs were on him at about fifty yards.
Bullet hit him at the base of the tail,took out about a foot of spine, traveled completely through his body and the x in his nose is the exit.
In and out,the long way.

Good lord that sounds messy even gutless! How bad?

Wasn't that bad. Trimmed out some bone meal was about it.

 

[Sodbuster]

I posted this in the longest kill thread also. 150 grain TTSX in a 300 WSM at a shade over 3200fps.
Bullet hit the crease on a Whitetail going in and broke the off shoulder bone going out.Lungs looked like they had been pressure bombed.
The deer spun in a circle and dropped on the spot. 526 yards.

 

[MillCreekMike]

I shot a 300 lbs Black Bear 4 years ago down in the Sierra Nevada's with the Barnes VorTX 150gr ammo. out of an older than me Winchester Model 88 in .308, at 75 yds steep down hill. It passed thru both shoulders (I hit him high) He tumbled down a ways, a follow up shot hit him kidney area & exited out the front of the chest, He was dragging himself over a log facing away & downhill. 1st shot shattered a shoulder 2nd shot blew out a lung & the heart. Both shots were pass throughs. I use 150gr in the .308 & 165gr in my 300WSM.