Copper bullets

[Shootinsurveyor]

I've never hunted with Barnes or Hornady GMX type bullets. I have heard they punch through differently than a lead core bullet. Would they have the power to punch through a elk shoulder under 300 yards with a 308 or 6.5CM? Not looking for that shot, just curious as I have hunted whitetails in areas where we took that front shoulder shot so they couldn't run because it was so thick and hard to find if they ran. I have seen some reports of breaking both shoulders on a elk with a lighter caliber rifle and these type bullets. Then there are others who say you need a 338 Lapua to kill elk. Just looking for people who have experience in this area.

 

[Dcrafton]

I've never hunted with Barnes or Hornady GMX type bullets. I have heard they punch through differently than a lead core bullet. Would they have the power to punch through a elk shoulder under 300 yards with a 308 or 6.5CM? Not looking for that shot, just curious as I have hunted whitetails in areas where we took that front shoulder shot so they couldn't run because it was so thick and hard to find if they ran. I have seen some reports of breaking both shoulders on a elk with a lighter caliber rifle and these type bullets. Then there are others who say you need a 338 Lapua to kill elk. Just looking for people who have experience in this area.

You shouldn’t have any problems with the CM as you should still be above 2000 FPS at 300 yards.


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[Laelkhunter]

Yes, they will punch through. I haven't been able to recover a bullet yet from an Elk using the Barnes TTSX. I have recovered Nosler Partitions, and Swift A-Frames, but no TTSX bullets. They don't shed any weight during expansion, so they continue to penetrate.

 

[MThuntr]

The rule for running those types of bullets is to drop down in weight to keep velocity up for expansion plus they're long for weight so you need to drop a bit of weight to make sure they stabilize with rifling twist.

At 300 yards both should work just fine. Shoot the rifle you shoot best

My personal preference is to use a softer nonlead bullet like Hammer Bullets however they are a bit spendy

 

[NoWiser]

I won't take shoulder shots because I don't want an extra ounce of meat lost. That said, under 300 yards I doubt a copper bullet would have trouble doing what you are asking of it, out of the cartridges you mention. I switched to Barnes about 9 years ago and I doubt my rifle will ever see another lead bullet shot out of it again. They are that good.

 

[wildwilderness]

In a 308 a 150 TTSX works well. Generally speaking faster is better, and aim for bone. The main complaint against them is they zip through with a smaller hole than lead core bullets if you only hit soft tissue.

I’ve had excellent results on elk with a 168 Ttsx going 3185fps mv. That’s a bit faster than a 308 but keep your distance reasonable and will be fine. I do not like cup and core bullets for elk in the 308/6.5 just too weak and less penetration on angling shots and elk are tough.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

I've been testing the 127LRX and it seems to be grouping under a inch. Probably going to run that and see how it goes for my Montana Combo tag. Probably going to be a bit of overkill if I shoot a mule deer or whitetail. I generally ran AMAX bullets in my 243 and those were perfect for Whitetail so I'm in uncharted waters with a bigger animal.

 

[Thoff1989]

I've been testing the 127LRX and it seems to be grouping under a inch. Probably going to run that and see how it goes for my Montana Combo tag. Probably going to be a bit of overkill if I shoot a mule deer or whitetail. I generally ran AMAX bullets in my 243 and those were perfect for Whitetail so I'm in uncharted waters with a bigger animal.

Are you referring to Hornady Amax Bullets? Those are a match/target bullet.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

yes, but they work great in whitetails

 

[Thoff1989]

yes, but they work great in whitetails

I wouldn't have expected them to expand very well. Good to know!

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

I've even used VMAX on deer and they dump everything inside with no exit. Devastating. AMAX is more durable and some guys use them for long range hunting with alot of success. Mine were all less than 100 yards.

 

[TauPhi111]

A Barnes should do a better job punching through an elk shoulder better than any lead core bullet. I use them for everything.

 

[CO-AJ]

Take a look at Fort Scott Ammunition. That is what I carry in my CCW and they are designed to tumble creating a large wound channel. I get that pistol and rifle ballistics is very different but they also produce rifle cartridges and I carry Fort Scott in my 45-70.

 

[Tobey]

127 LRX is a great all round hunting bullet in the creed. My daughter used it on a large bull oryx a couple seasons ago, completely penetrated both shoulders at 200 yards he piled up pretty quick, recommend bigger guns for those things but with good shot placement it's extremely capable. I use the 120 GMX in my ridgeline, kills stuff and keeps on going. Will be using the 110 hammers this year for deer and antelope, let you know how it goes. Good luck on your hunt

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Barnes is awesome, I started trying them out a few months ago, now I’m all in, 150/168g ttsx for my 308/30-06, 127g LRX for my 6.5 and 250g ttsx for my 375.

 

[ElPollo]

I shot a pronghorn a few years back with a copper mono out of a .270 Winchester at 350 yards. The goat was facing me about 1/8th off straight on. The bullet broke the right shoulder, two ribs behind the shoulder, all the way through the body cavity, broke the pelvis, and came to rest under the skin two inches to the left of his bingo. It was impressive. It was the only shoulder shot I've ever taken on any game because I hate to waste meat, but that rifle has taken a few elk and mulies with the same bullet over the years. I have no concerns using them as long as the impact velocity stays above about 1800 fps. Some prefer 2000 fps and I won't say they are wrong.

My mono of choice is the Barnes TTSX. I'd love to try the LRX, but they are hard to come by these days. I hear the TSX can be a little more inconsistent, but have never shot them myself. I've played around with Hornady GMX, the Federal copper monos, and Nosler e-tips, but have stuck with the TTSX for game since they came out way back.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

I tried the 120GMX super performance the other day and couldn’t get it to group better than 2-3 inches at 100. Wished it had been better.

 

[JakeSCH]

I've used my 308 with 168 gr TTSX to take two elk, recovered bullets were perfectly mushroomed at 250 yards. I've use the hornady superperformance 165 gr GMX to take an elk at 200 yards and it worked as advertised.

If you handload I would take a strong look at hammer bullets as well.

 

[Jonoton]

Sample size of one for me thus far. 143gr Hammer Hunter, 7mmWSM at 100 yards, broadside double lung on a big cow elk. It broke ribs on entry and exit and the blood loss through the exit was extreme. I like these bullets quite a bit! Load workup was extremely easy. Ive seen plenty of other hunter's results to know that a double shoulder anchor shot on a big bull would be no issue at all.

 

[AK_Skeeter]

For 30 years I used partitions, then switched to TTSX about a decade ago.
The price is right at ~$30 per box of 50 and my rifles like them.
Barnes TTSX will penetrate further than most hunting bullets.

I hand load them for .270 Win (110,130gr) and .300 H & H (180gr)
Typically they shot best seated away from the lands.
Barnes recommends start at 0.050" and test different bullet seating depths.
I've used them on small deer (Sitka blacktails) and big moose and have had excellent terminal performance.

I am not a long range hunter and almost all of my kills have been less than 200 yards.

Especially with my old 1976 Remington 700, they do not group well after a thorough barrel cleaning.
Then precision improves and plateaus for over 100 rounds and then gradually deteriorates.
So I don't clean the barrel prior to hunting and keep it at that precision plateau.
Here is an example after cleaning and after 50 shots down the tube at 100 yards:

3 shot group after clean 5-shot group after 50 shots