95 gr Barnes TTSX Gel Test.

[slim_shady]

Since the purchase of my LWRC 6.8 A2 I've been on the hunt for the most accurate and effective ammo. As much as Id like to use the 120 sst's the lighter weight ammo seems to be the most accurate in this gun.

Long story short, after trying several types of factory loaded ammo, and reloading a few myself I got in a box of Barnes 95 gr TTSX. Now I don't recommend you try this at home. I took careful measurements of the bullet touching the riffling and determined I could pull the blue plastic tip off the bullet, seat the bullet much longer out. While being able able to load them into the mag, chamber into the riffle, and pull off a more accurate loaded hunting round. So far, Ive only been able to get 1" groups out of "hp match" factory ammo, not what one would want to use hunting. This 95 gr Barnes TTSX round also produced 1" groups.

My bigest question however, would the barnes bullet preform and expand without the tip. What to Do...... OK Do it yourself ballistics gel. Over the last month I cooked up 8 gallons of Jello and Knox.

While chilled in 2 1/2 gallon jugs in my fridge I finally built a box this week to for testing. Now that I've gone this far I would stay away from Jello with sugar, and stick with Knox alone. Its not as clear as one would like for viewing the "Wound channel" but it did slow the bullet down enough It didnt even tear a hole in the blue jeans at the back of the Jello block.

Im Not going to toss what I have but will only add Knox to keep up the volume. Yes, you can "Melt it back down" to make a new block. I sure wish I had a high speed camera, but the Gopro sure did a nice job.

Results, over 24" of penetration @ 100 yards, and the .277 dia expanded to over .500!

View My Video

 

[JPK]

I can't see the video, and fwiw, I couldn't see the last one you posted either.

JPK

 

[rgilbert]

The video looks pretty cool.

 

[djones]

doode. has anyone ever told you you look like... nahhh, nevermind

 

[ZenArchery]

I've got mine ripping out my 18" .277 Wolverine at 2710. They've been devastating to hogs and yotes'!

 

[Brian Shaffer]

doode. has anyone ever told you you look like... nahhh, nevermind

Shhhhh!

 

[JPK]

Ok, so how do I see the video? When I follow the link nothing but an add shows.

JPK

 

[FrankT]

the video played for me...did not look like it opened much, not like the barnes 110TSX anyway

 

[slim_shady]

doode. has anyone ever told you you look like...

It was below freezing. I was just trying to keep warm.

 

[slim_shady]

the video played for me...did not look like it opened much, not like the barnes 110TSX anyway

I have some of the 110's that I plan to test as well. Im pleased with the expantion on the 95's

 

[slim_shady]

Ok, so how do I see the video? When I follow the link nothing but an add shows.

JPK

Im not sure what to tell ya

 

[JPK]

I have some of the 110's that I plan to test as well. Im pleased with the expantion on the 95's

I think I figured out the video problem, need to watch on my desktop and not my iPad, my iPad doesn't have the required player.

I have used the SSA 110gr TSX load on hogs and it works great. Not so good on coyotes and fox, just doesn't seem to open up enough.

JPK

 

[theblakester]

I can't see the video, and fwiw, I couldn't see the last one you posted either.

JPK

Same issue here not able to view your vids from iPhone 7

 

[pruhdlr]

I use the 85gr TSX. Out of my 18" bbl I can drive them really fast and when put on bone going in,they expand really great,even on coyotes. The square on the shoulder shots on the biggest hogs end with grest results. Most bullets are not recovered but the ones that are,are typically >83grs unless they loose one petal which has happened,however very rarely.
I feel that IF the 110's could be driven another 150fps faster,they would perform better when bone was not hit going in. In fact . . . I have a buddy that uses the 110's in his 270Win and has effectively killed some of the bigger Maine deer,bear,and moose,with his weapon. ---- pruhdlr

 

[slim_shady]

I use the 85gr TSX. Out of my 18" bbl I can drive them really fast and when put on bone going in,they expand really great,even on coyotes. The square on the shoulder shots on the biggest hogs end with grest results. Most bullets are not recovered but the ones that are,are typically >83grs unless they loose one petal which has happened,however very rarely.
I feel that IF the 110's could be driven another 150fps faster,they would perform better when bone was not hit going in. In fact . . . I have a buddy that uses the 110's in his 270Win and has effectively killed some of the bigger Maine deer,bear,and moose,with his weapon. ---- pruhdlr

I cant say my block of Jello/Knox has the proper consistency to say its "Ballistics Gel" however I was very pleased to see nearly all the energy of the 95 gr round was absorbed. Barnes also makes an 85 gr "Frangible" bullet. Its designed to more or less completely break apart upon impact. Im seriously thinking on loading up a few of these for a try, and ship a few off to TLM for some testing with his clear jell & high speed camera.

 

[JPK]

I use SSA loaded 85gr Barnes RRLP (RRLP = Reduced Ricochet, Lower Penetration) frangibles for predator hunting. They work much, much better than the 110 TSXs on coyote and fox and they work on raccoon size critters too, but not as well as the Fioochi 223 50gr VMAx load I use in my 5.56.

I think the 85gr RRLPs would make a fine deer round and do well on small hogs, I wouldn't want to count on it for shooting sounders at night where shot angles are catch as catch can. I also think it would make a great home defense round.

What I like best about the 110's performance is that they have enough penetration to not be concerned about shot angle when shooting sounders. I have dropped hogs with Texas heart shots using the 110s. But if I could find loaded 85 TSXs at the same price I would switch.

Slim, there are videos of all of these loads shot into ballistic gel using the different FBI criteria, denim, no denim, auto glass, plywood, dry wall, etc, posted in the archives of ARFCOM. I found them a couple of weeks ago when I was searching for RRLP penetration data.

Also, there is a ton of info on the TSXs and TTSX in a long thread on bullet performance on 6.8 forums. The boiled down version is that the 85s are tops and the 110s great performers too. Iirc, the TTSX didn't open well at 6.8 velocities. Removing the tip might have changed that though, eh?

JPK

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

What kind of group are you getting with SST? I think the SST will well outperform the 95gr on game. Unless you are getting something like 6" groups you should be fine within normal hunting distances.

 

[JPK]

I know you asked Slim, but I went with the 110 TSXs because my 16" WOA barrel wouldn't shoot the 120 SSTs. Not 6" at 100yds, but not far from it. My 11.5" WOA barrel really likes the 120's though, so I will be using them in the SBR, and have a stock of the Hornaday ammo from when I was hopeful with the 16" barrel.

 

[pruhdlr]

Most of the bullet makers (including Barnes)will tell you the "optimal " opening velocities and/or characteristics. We 300BLK hunters deal with this all the time. Same for anyone that deals with exceptionally slow OR fast bullet speeds for the chosen chambering. A good example of this is the 7.62X39 shooters and the 30-30Win shooters. "Just any" .308" bullet will not do if using these guns to humanely dispatch animals. Do not think that if you exceed the "optimal" velocity by 100fps,the bullet will not work. Same if you drive it slower even by more than 100fps.
The thing that keeps the 6.8SPC shooters "honest" is the mag length. Pretty much a 130gr .277" bullet is about the heaviest bullet that you can use if you will be putting the loaded rd in a magazine. Especially if the bullet does not have quite a bit of lead in it's makeup. For some of these applications a solid copper or even a Nosler Partition will be too long if seated properly.
I would really like to see Nosler come out with a .277" . . 95-100gr Partition that we could use in our 6.8/AR's. I have had really good luck with the NosParts in other calibers including coming out of pistols. I would rather shoot these than a bullet of the solid copper makeup. ---- pruhdlr

 

[JPK]

Yes, one of the issues to be wary of is .277" bullets designed to work at 270w, WSM or Weatherby velocities. That's why the 85 and 110 TSXs work at 6.8 velocities, low minimal/optimal opening velocities.

That is also one reason why I want to use the 120 SSTs in the 11.5" SBR rather than the 110 TSXs. It's a "softer" bullet.

I would love a Partition for the 6.8 as well. The Partitions are, IMO, the perfect mix of traditional cup and core attributes and controlled expansion attributes for the lower 48.