Which weight barnes in .30-06?
- Thread starter Acm
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alberta boy
Well-Known Member
I've only used the TSX in my 06 . The 165 gr is a great all round bullet , everything from White-Tails to Moose . I'm not sure what game you'll be after , but a 150 would probably work well on most larger UK species .
AB
AB
EMcC
Well-Known Member
I'm not familiar with all these letters after the bullet but can quite happily recommend Sierra Game king 150gn for all UK species from Fox to Reds and 180 round nose for driven boar or any other European Quarry as that is what I have used in the past to good effect in my 30-06 for my reloaded ammo.
deerstalker.308
Well-Known Member
The barnes TSX and TTSX are tipped and not tipped (extra T referring to the polymer tip) lead free bullets. Generally you want to go down a fair bit of bullet weight with lead free rounds to see them perform to their best, sounds counterintuitive but it’s true. Faster lighter projectile creates the intended expansion.
Andy, no personal experience with 3006 but with .308 a 130gr was plenty so would assume the advice above about 150-160gr would be pretty spot on for most Uk stuff.
I use 130gr ttxs in the 30-06 at about 3100 FPS. Not brutal at close range, helpful trajectory out to UK stalking distances and forgiving if you have a guest/you use suboptimal shot placement.
Used extensively on roe, Muntjac and red.
Now need to use factory for the next trip to Scotland, so going to try the 150s.
Used extensively on roe, Muntjac and red.
Now need to use factory for the next trip to Scotland, so going to try the 150s.
Rutland lad
Well-Known Member
I use 180 grain TSX in my .300 Winmag and with about 65 grains of H4350 it chrono's at about 2,750fps and is extremely accurate and devastating on all deer.
Really helpful replies thanks everyone. I’ll try both the 130 and the 150 I think.
Appreciate the opinion on the gameking too. Used them in 165 in my .30-06 for 6 years and really like them. But I’m up for lead free, want to have one rifle setup with them and I’m keen to try them out.
thanks for the message though.
Appreciate the opinion on the gameking too. Used them in 165 in my .30-06 for 6 years and really like them. But I’m up for lead free, want to have one rifle setup with them and I’m keen to try them out.
thanks for the message though.
JohnCZ
Well-Known Member
This is a bit late adding this however for the internet search benefits -
The Barnes TTSX 168gr is a great bullet for the 30-06, although not the fastest load it holds up well (good BC 0.470) at stalking ranges out to 400m. I have shot the 30-06 Barnes TTSX 168gr in my Blaser R8, R93 and Mauser M12 (all with a 1:11" twist) at 2800fps with sub MOA results. I have also loaded it well north of 3200fps in a 300Wby with 1:10" also sub MOA. I was advised that the 168gr is a softer bullet than the 165gr and will expand down to approximately 1800fps however, I like to limit lower velocity to around 2000fps with all bullets.
Favourite 30cal bullet for medium game.
Cheers
John
The Barnes TTSX 168gr is a great bullet for the 30-06, although not the fastest load it holds up well (good BC 0.470) at stalking ranges out to 400m. I have shot the 30-06 Barnes TTSX 168gr in my Blaser R8, R93 and Mauser M12 (all with a 1:11" twist) at 2800fps with sub MOA results. I have also loaded it well north of 3200fps in a 300Wby with 1:10" also sub MOA. I was advised that the 168gr is a softer bullet than the 165gr and will expand down to approximately 1800fps however, I like to limit lower velocity to around 2000fps with all bullets.
Favourite 30cal bullet for medium game.
Cheers
John
Interesting you should revive this old thread on a day that I’m loading up some more of my 06 fodder!
I settled on the Barnes 175 LRX, great BC at .508 and substantially softer than the ttsx range in that it is designed to expand down to 1600 fps, loaded over superformance I’m getting just a shade under 2800 fps. I’ve only killed 25-30 fallow with it so far, but it works well on them, hope to use it on reds and sika in the future too
Have you ever tried the 130 or 150g TTSX and if so how did they compare with the heavier LRX?Interesting you should revive this old thread on a day that I’m loading up some more of my 06 fodder!
I settled on the Barnes 175 LRX, great BC at .508 and substantially softer than the ttsx range in that it is designed to expand down to 1600 fps, loaded over superformance I’m getting just a shade under 2800 fps. I’ve only killed 25-30 fallow with it so far, but it works well on them, hope to use it on reds and sika in the future too
JohnCZ
Well-Known Member
HiInteresting you should revive this old thread on a day that I’m loading up some more of my 06 fodder!
I settled on the Barnes 175 LRX, great BC at .508 and substantially softer than the ttsx range in that it is designed to expand down to 1600 fps, loaded over superformance I’m getting just a shade under 2800 fps. I’ve only killed 25-30 fallow with it so far, but it works well on them, hope to use it on reds and sika in the future too
I was wondering if the LRX was softer, what twist barrel are you running? I noticed that Barnes lists the twist as 1:11T minimum, as I normally chase fallow, goats and pigs I might have to give them a go.
Cheers
John
I tried with the 165 and they killed animals really well, but the LRX definitely opens up faster and further out.
Mines a 1-11 twist Mauser
I use the tTSX a lot ( not in 30-06 ) The best is the lightest in your calibre , the bullets are longer than lead and weights are very different . I shoot the 260 rem (6.5) 100 grain and it will rip through the biggest stag at over 300 yards when hit just behind the shoulder.
I would really like to try an 85 if there was one . Remember copper is long for calibre , its defo not a match the weight thing and your looking at very close to 100% weight retention
I would really like to try an 85 if there was one . Remember copper is long for calibre , its defo not a match the weight thing and your looking at very close to 100% weight retention
This isn’t true bowland, Barnes don’t make a lightweight LRX, which is a bullet that is designed to expand down to 1600fps, your 100 grn 6.5 has a bc of .359, the 175grn .30 cal LRX has a bc of .508,from my 06 it’s a few fps under 2800fps not only will that bullet overtake yours pretty quickly due to retained speed from a highly efficient projectile, when it gets to the target it will have a lot more energy due to being almost double the weight, it will penetrate way more due to its higher sd, and it will open up to well over a .60 cal due to its better design. These are all facts. In my rifle, I still have the minimum expansion speed of 1600 fps out to about 850 yards. Way further than I have ever shot at deer.
@Acm I agree with you. The frontal area increase between 6.5mm and 30 calibre is substantial and much undervalued in my opinion. If both bullets increase to double diameter the 6.5mm becomes 13mm diameter and the .308 (7.62mm) becomes 15.24mm. The frontal area of these bullets then becomes 132mm2 for the 6.5 and 182mm2 for the 30 calibre, an increase of almost 38% if my fag packet is working. That extra frontal area puts the brakes on the bullet much more effectively and transmits more energy to the tissues much faster. The extra bullet weight increases momentum and therefore penetration which is not necessarily needed for smaller deer species but in this case also increases BC which is desirable. In my experience very few things seem to kill red deer at range like a 300 magnum with appropriate bullets!
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