How far are you shooting monos?

[Macintosh]

what do you all use as your personal minimum acceptable impact velocity? I have seen everything from 1800fps to 2400 fps all referencing the same barnes bullets, all just in the last week or so.
Best I can gather from talking to others I am using 2200 for lrx, higher for ttsx, to achieve reliable expansion even in a soft hit. (2300-2400 for ttsx was suggested to me). A guy like me (east coast hunting mainly in thick woods where anything over 100 yards is “long range”) just doesnt have the opportunity to test the outer limits enough to have much of an opinion on it though. This fall I did have a pronghorn I would have shot in a heartbeat standing broadside at 504 yards for a long time, I had a great rest on the rockpile I was sitting behind, no wind, and there were 25-30 other antelope milling around looking for dudes in orange hats, and zero terrain to hide behind to get any closer. Thats a shot I am perfectly capable of making, but impact velocity would have been below 1900fps (Factory copper 6.5cm 120gr). That was by far the best buck I saw that week, and we never saw him again. Made me rethink my cartridge selection for copper.

 

[SDHNTR]

Man you guys overthink this stuff. I’m as technical as they come with most things and I almost exclusively shoot monos. I worry about accuracy and field practice. The critters die.

 

[35WhelenAI]

As a catch-all, 2000 fps for Barnes TTSX is my goal on the low end. Barnes says 1800 fps for the TTSX in general and the LRX is 1600 fps if I am correct. It has to get past the 530 yd mark (200 gr TTSX , 35 Whelen AI, 2940 fps MV) to get below 2000 fps. Won't be an issue for me. As well, the same load has taken 3 whitetails with 3 shots this season in NC, all 200-215 yds. Goes without saying they opened up just fine from looking at the vitals. Not the mush vitals and lost meat of my friend shooting an '06 with 150 gr cup and core factory loads, but very dead.

 

[TheHammer]

With my 300wm 200gr lrx, my cut off is 700yds. Fortunately I have never taken anything at that distance and hopefully never have to.

I’ve taken several game with 168ttsx out of my 308s ranging out to 457yds on an elk and 504 on a white tail. Closest was 42yds on an elk and it also travelled the furthest out of everything I’ve harvested, several deer have fallen dtr on impact in the 150-300yd range. Federal 165gr trophy coppers seem to work well on a white tail at 134yds. All my 308s have 18-20” barrels.

450 bush master I’ve harvested hogs and white tails with a barnes 250gr, max range 220yds, I wish these were still available.

223 using Remington hog hammers aka 62gr barnes tsx, have taken hogs and white tails, performance on white tails was not as well as I was hoping to see when the bucks were within 75yds. I wouldn’t take a shot further than 150 with this setup.

My experience with barnes bullets has been nothing short of impressive in comparison to other projectiles I’ve used. With the barnes I have more confidence knowing that the shot angle will be forgiven and if I hit that shoulder or ribs that bullet isn’t going to explode and deviate from it’s coarse.

 

[Newtosavage]

With my 300wm 200gr lrx, my cut off is 700yds. Fortunately I have never taken anything at that distance and hopefully never have to.

I’ve taken several game with 168ttsx out of my 308s ranging out to 457yds on an elk and 504 on a white tail. Closest was 42yds on an elk and it also travelled the furthest out of everything I’ve harvested, several deer have fallen dtr on impact in the 150-300yd range. Federal 165gr trophy coppers seem to work well on a white tail at 134yds. All my 308s have 18-20” barrels.

450 bush master I’ve harvested hogs and white tails with a barnes 250gr, max range 220yds, I wish these were still available.

223 using Remington hog hammers aka 62gr barnes tsx, have taken hogs and white tails, performance on white tails was not as well as I was hoping to see when the bucks were within 75yds. I wouldn’t take a shot further than 150 with this setup.

My experience with barnes bullets has been nothing short of impressive in comparison to other projectiles I’ve used. With the barnes I have more confidence knowing that the shot angle will be forgiven and if I hit that shoulder or ribs that bullet isn’t going to explode and deviate from it’s coarse.

What powder are you using under those 168's in your .308's?

I have CFE 223 and the Barnes load data shows an impressive 2877 fps. with that powder. Almost too good to be true, but then my 150 TTSX's are going 2960 out of my .308 with CFE and that seems too good to be true too.

 

[JFK]

My furthest kill with monos is 480 yards on a bull elk this year. 270win with 129gr lrx hand load. Muzzle velocity of 2990 from a sauer 100, which is slow for this load. I’m at book max with H4350 but the gun shoots everything slow. My other 270 shoots it north of 3100fps. Impact velocity maths out to 2235fps, and the bull fell where he was shot.

 

[Shraggs]

My 200 hammer in 358 (which has changed names) but it is the 2mm hunter nose has taken 2 nice bucks. Before I use on elk I wanted to see. A 50 yard, now 167 yard and I have a few days left to test pushing to 400. 1800 fps their claim of opening reliably would be 415 at my elevation.

So far it seems consistent with other premium controlled damage. Not tmk by any means.

These are from the 50 yard snap shot as it happened fast. Entered between left shoulder and neck thru tough stuff, top heart and clipped bottom of right lung with exit just behind right leg. Second pic is exit. Was disappointed with the pattern about 1.5” - the shank and 3 petals and if you look you’ll see the 4th about 2” up but no exit and did not find petal. Deer traveled 50 yards - he was nearly 300 lbs dressed.

Third forth pics are second buck at 167, also happened fast. Entered behind right leg missed heart but shredded wind pipe and exited in front of left shoulder, shown. Again exit after skinning was 1.25” exit that’s hard to see with one petal and shank. You see above a hole where one petal exited thru brisket area. Never found other 2 petals. Might have been in shoulder. Disappointed in the shot, damage was acceptable- but he went 40 yards and dropped.

If blood trail is important to you, could have followed either one in the dark without a light.




Partions accubonds ballistics tips and now tmk, I’m used to more damage visually. I’m pleased with 50 yards or less on any kill. I dabble with tsx in 308 years ago sbd not for me. This was more.

I plan to take a doe between 350 and 400 snd want a broad side middle or high ish lung to get a better feel for how this opens

My longest with a mono is 254 with my Muzzle loader. This is an are I feel Barnes rules. Lot of restricted rifle my way and I’ve killed lots with MZ or 12g and shoot Barnes designs with confidence. Those things open very reliably to 1100 fps and shred soft tissue with the hideous expanded sabot.

 

[willfrye027]

Longest was about 525 with a 151 absolute hammer out of my tikka 30-06. Wasn’t planning to shoot that far but had practiced out to 600 and the conditions were perfect. 2000fps impact velocity and quite a devastating wound. Blew a large chunk of liver and lung out the exit.

Do a fair amount of hammer reloading and shooting. IMO 600 yards is where things start to get iffy, across a several guns and a variety of calibers/chambers.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I'll post again what I posted on the other thread, as it's relevant here.
A new Rokslide Sponsor, G9 Defense, is releasing their 6.5 Creedmoor 113g. Long Range Hunter ammo soon.
The Brass bullets look very promising. With a claimed .585 BC and upwards of 3,000 fps in a full length barrel, they could very well up the performance of mono's out of the 6.5 CM. The 127 LRX worked well for me on the 500 yard sheep kill from a couple years ago, but being able to carry even more velocity out to that range & further would be great. The problem with light mono's is that they generally have lower BC's than bonded bullets. If the .585 is even close to accurate, it will put these in the same range as an ELD-X or M, but at significantly higher velocities.

You’ve got my attention!!!

 

[AK Troutbum]

633 yards with a .270 and 130gr. Barnes TTSX.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TheHammer]

What powder are you using under those 168's in your .308's?

I have CFE 223 and the Barnes load data shows an impressive 2877 fps. with that powder. Almost too good to be true, but then my 150 TTSX's are going 2960 out of my .308 with CFE and that seems too good to be true too.

At this point I have not dabbled much in reloading 308s, I bought 300 20rd* boxes of 168s when I heard Remingtons debacle knowing barnes was included in that. All my rifles seem to shoot them well. When I’m getting a 4shot clover @200yds off a bench out of bags about every time I set up my lightweight 308, I haven’t a need to fulfill with reloading. Muzzle velocity on my lightweight setup is 2608-2612 at 800’ elevation.

 

[Kurts86]

I killed an antelope at 450 yards with a 80 gr TTSX with a muzzle velocity of 3450 fps (243 win) and an impact velocity in the 2100 fps range. It was dead right there and the bullet open up some but it was limited to the front 20% of the bullet.

I killed a deer with a 127 gr LRX at 428 yards last weekend and a calculated impact velocity of 1928 fps. I didn’t recover the bullet but it opened up well based on the wounding and was dead right there.

 

[bgipson]

I'll probably be a bit of an outlier here but I run a .270 Sherman with a 140gr Badlands Super Bulldozer 2 at 3,240fps MV. I shot a bull elk at 700 this year and had no doubts about its ability to do the job and it did. I shot another bull (different state) at 390. I also shot a doe antelope at 775 and the bullet performed exceptionally well. My wife also has a .270 Sherman but shorter barrel so MV is 3,060fps. She shot a cow at 500 without issue, a doe antelope and a buck mule deer each around 400. This bullet has been nothing short of fantastic.

Another rifle we have running a mono is my dad's 7mm Rem Mag with a 151gr Patriot Valley Arms Cayuga. My mom shot a bull at 675 and dumped him in his tracks. My cousin shot a cow at 700 and she only made it about 50 yards sprinting before she piled up. I wouldn't hesitate to use either of these bullets down to 1,800fps and still have reliable performance since they don't operate on an expansion model but instead on fragmentation causing secondary wound channels and the shank punching clean through giving an exit for a better blood trail (not that it's been needed for the short distance to death).

All said and done we shot 8 elk, 10+ antelope, and a muley with these 3 rifles this year.

For those of you interested in the ballistics of it, I've attached a chart of my rifle set to the atmospherics we typically hunt at. Needless to say, it still has plenty of energy and velocity for elk to 1,000 yards.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

You’ve got my attention!!!

I don’t know how you can get to .585 with a 113gr bullet. It looks crazy.

 

[ljalberta]

View attachment 485336
I don’t know how you can get to .585 with a 113gr bullet. It looks crazy.

If the pricing of $4+ per bullet is accurate, these will likely be out of my league.

 

[SDHNTR]

View attachment 485336
I don’t know how you can get to .585 with a 113gr bullet. It looks crazy.

Yeah, how is that mathematically possible?

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

If the pricing of $4+ per bullet is accurate, these will likely be out of my league.

They will also be producing Match ammo with the same B.C. and M.V. that are Brass, but not 2 part expanding like the Long Range Hunters, for around $3 per.

Yeah, how is that mathematically possible?

Hopefully we will get more info in the near future. They have a Rokslide account so maybe they will weigh in at some point. When I spoke with the guys at G9, they were able to give me more info than what is currently available on their website.

 

[JFK]

I'll probably be a bit of an outlier here but I run a .270 Sherman with a 140gr Badlands Super Bulldozer 2 at 3,240fps MV. I shot a bull elk at 700 this year and had no doubts about its ability to do the job and it did. I shot another bull (different state) at 390. I also shot a doe antelope at 775 and the bullet performed exceptionally well. My wife also has a .270 Sherman but shorter barrel so MV is 3,060fps. She shot a cow at 500 without issue, a doe antelope and a buck mule deer each around 400. This bullet has been nothing short of fantastic.

Another rifle we have running a mono is my dad's 7mm Rem Mag with a 151gr Patriot Valley Arms Cayuga. My mom shot a bull at 675 and dumped him in his tracks. My cousin shot a cow at 700 and she only made it about 50 yards sprinting before she piled up. I wouldn't hesitate to use either of these bullets down to 1,800fps and still have reliable performance since they don't operate on an expansion model but instead on fragmentation causing secondary wound channels and the shank punching clean through giving an exit for a better blood trail (not that it's been needed for the short distance to death).

All said and done we shot 8 elk, 10+ antelope, and a muley with these 3 rifles this year.

For those of you interested in the ballistics of it, I've attached a chart of my rifle set to the atmospherics we typically hunt at. Needless to say, it still has plenty of energy and velocity for elk to 1,000 yards.
View attachment 485326

I’ve always been interested in the 270 Sherman. How much of a pain in the ass is the brass and die situation?

 

[country_20boy]

I've killed a number of whitetails with a 7mm-08 using 120 TTSX out to 400 yards. My handloads at that time were only running 2870fps, but I've since changed powders and now they are more like 3150 fps.
Many of them had an impact velocity between 1900 and 2200fps and they killed just fine, but for any larger game, I would be uncomfortable with an impact velocity below 2200fps based on the few I recovered.

 

[jeremy.b]

For those asking about shock hammers (formerly sledge hammers) I've used them in my 270 win before rebarrelling to a faster twist 270 win and swapping to 139 absolute hammers.

The shock hammers shot well out to 400 and took two pronghorn does, one at 35 yds and one at 200. Identical performance on both, moderate meat damage and very significant internal damage.

I've shot 3 pronghorn and 2 whitetails with the absolute hammers from 60 to 325 yds. Entrance wounds are relatively small, but exit wounds ranged from 1"ish up to 3+" on the 60 yd shot.