Thread: Barnes tsx 160gr FB

G'day all i'm wondering if any of you would have used or have any info on using the Barnes 160gr TSX flat base in a 7mm rem mag
with AR 2217
I'VE just bought a box and nearly had to mortgage the house $98 for 50 projectiles
Recently worked up a load of 62gr 2217 @ 2756fps for 1'' @ 100yd no pressure signs so far but was wondering whether to push it further
I'm hoping for more speed to make the tsx more effective when opening up and with accuracy but speed not always give more accuracy
So was hoping to get some hands on experience info from one of you good people on here
Thanks for any help

Cheers and thanks

According to the Barnes manual number four the max load with that bullet is 66 grs for 2842 with 2217 or H 1000 which are the same powders. BC of that bullet is .392. A starting load of 59 grs is supposed to give 2621 fps which makes your load about right for 62 grs. Not sure on accuracy with the heavier charge but you can only but try a few for speed and accuracy.

Thanks mooseman
I had actually tried 64gr but the recoil was more substantial than the 62gr so I didn't push it any further without knowing
much about min and max loads for that bullet also the group opened to 2'' so judging by your info I must be some where close
to the node
Thanks for that again mate ''cheers''

No worries, by going a bit higher than the 64grs you have gone to you may find the group closes up again, but you will increase recoil the faster you push them. The only advantage with the extra speed is you will have better expansion especially as the range increases.

Ok then mate I might slowly edge up half gr at a time and see how they go at max or until they open the group too much or pressure signs
but usually book max is ok within reason
They're totally new to me and I can't find people over here that have used them and all the info about them show other powders and not 2217
feral cattle can be a little tough and I've decided to step up to a tougher projectile and the tsx sounds like it can fit the bill
A little more speed might be beneficial for me to get a better knock down effect from better expansion
Mooseman mate you have been a big help and I appreciate your help and when I have done the testing I will put a post on here and let you know how
it went

Cheers

Good luck and look forward to your post. Those Barnes bullets should be really good on Feral Cattle.

Just reporting back on the 160gr Barnes TSX haven't stepped up the speed but done a little shooting and found they are fowling the barrel after all ( And badly )
Took hours to remove it from the barrel so after that I don't think i'll stay with them i'll pull the loaded ones and I think i'll run with the 154gr Hornady sp
its only a little faster but seems to hit harder
Shot a full grown bull with one the other night chest on @200yds he only took 2 steps further then dropped and never moved so it looks like the old basic sp
does the trick after all I should have tried it earlier also its deadly accurate in my 7mag
A few shooters around here have said that they are returning back to the old projectiles if they shoot well in their rifles as they're having too many failures
and bullets not living up to their reputations
So Mooseman thanks for your info early on but I don't like cleaning my barrel for hours after shooting only 5-6 tsx's although I do think they would have done the job

CHEERS

Hay there rigga that's a shame they fouled the barrel that bad. Sounds as if the 154 gr Hornady works OK. Have you tried the 160 gr Noslar Partition bullet, you should be able to push them to around 3000 fps and they are a good penetrating bullet, once again good on those big scrub bulls.
I used to load them in my 7mm Mag with AR 2217 at 72 grs and the 160 gr partition for 2995 fps average, this is over the book max but safe in my rifle. If you try this load work up from say 65 grs and see how it goes. Another good load is 65 grs of AR 2213SC with the 160 gr partition for about 3000fps. Once again over book max so work up from say 62grs watching out for pressure signs. My rifle is a 24 inch barreled Mod 700 Rem.

G'day Mooseman ,no mate I haven't tried partitions yet but I suppose I should eventually . I'm running the 154gr with AR 2217 68gr for 2970 fps I also have the
ORYX 156gr with AR 2217 69gr but I haven't chronied it as yet but it shoots .7 where as the 154gr shoots .5
I've only had the rifle for a little while and would like to find two good bullets to use a softer one and a harder one for tougher animals like scrub cattle i'll stay with the 154gr
for one and it will be a toss up between the oryx or the partition for the other one once I've tried the partitions
My rifle is a Sako Roughtech Range 7mm rem mag 26inch barrel . So far it's been magic shoots well but just need to get this bullet thing sorted
I've tried eld-x , eld-m , Berger vld's but to me none of these live up to their reputation although they're very accurate in my rifle
So i'm reverting back to the old style bullets like the 154gr sp Hornady and finding they are doing the job good enough and to add to that Partitions have been around for a long time
and will certainly be worth trying. I might even try fiddling with the AR 2213sc as I have plenty I used it in a 25-06 I had
Anyway Cheers mate thanks for the info

No worries, the partitions have been around for a very long time and you don't hear to many horror stories about them. They are designed to open up quick after impact to create a good wound channel then when the expansion reaches the partition the remaining bullet can penetrate deeply. I have shot a few deer with them in my 7mm Mag with good results and we have used them a lot on deer in the 85 gr weight in 243 also with good results. In the 270 Win the 130gr bullet is great. I think they would be better allrounders than the 154 Hornady as they are a controlled expansion bullet but in saying that you have had good results on scrub bulls with the 154gr bullet so who knows, only one way to find out do a comparison of the two. The ORYX is meant to be a tough bullet so should be ok on Bulls.
Good luck keep us posted chuck in a few pictures of the bullets performance on the bulls , would be real interesting.

Yep ok Mooseman but it may take awhile as we've had bush fires and good rain after and the scrubbers will stay up high over the ranges so i'll have to wait for one to
come down . I shot my last bull about 8 days ago but was lucky to find him still here with good pickings over the top no need for him to be down here
Here is a young bull I got a month ago as I didn't take a pic of the last one as i'm not a picture taker at heart
Cheers

Are they any good for eating? I remember over here a mate shot a young bull in the Motu many years back and they cooked some up but it was to tough to eat. Maybe if it had been aged it would have been ok ?

Are the scrub bulls a problem in your area?

Yes Mooseman they can be a big problem when it's dry they come down from the ranges (hills) and eat the crops of sugar cane they're as bad if not
worse than pigs , pigs tend to eat the mature cane and the wild cattle eat both the mature and the regrowth after harvesting these we call ''Ratoons''
by eating the ratoons down to the ground it retards the growth of the cane and there's a big loss to crop size and income for the farmer
It's not a wide spread problem it's confined to certain properties closest to the ranges

As for eating, well yes they are good but like you said age the meat for awhile I normally age it for 1-2 weeks in a cold room depending on the age of the animal
Over here we can kill the cattle but we can't sell or remove the meat from the property but they're skinny and full of ticks so they can sometimes have a taint in their meat
get one in good condition and no problems this may show the poor condition of some of these wild cows this one was full of ticks

Cheers

Yes I could imagine a mob of cattle would make a horrible mess of the sugar cane. That one in the picture sure looks a bit skinny.