Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 308 Winchester & 110 grain Mono

I’ve loaded the 130-grain TTSX over TAC in the 308, but not anything lighter. I get 270 Winchester speeds, even in 20” barrels, and superb accuracy. I’d use it on a black bear.

TAC burns cleaner and groups better with charges near max. I’d look at H4895 for lower-velocity loads.


Okie John

I use the 110 grain Tac-TX in my 30-06. I was looking for a lower-recoiling load than the 180 grain loads I had been using. I ordered TTSXs but was sent Tac-TXs. The Tac-TX is intended for the 300 Blackout and its lower velocities, but JB has written that he can't tell the difference in killing effectiveness when a mono sheds its petals vs. when they don't, so I kept them. 110 grain TTSXs were also out-of-stock everywhere at the time, anyway. I loaded them with a mild charge of TAC. Muzzle velocity is around 3200fps. Three-shot groups were just under an inch, which is more than good enough for me. I shot this buck last November at a later-lasered 184 yards. He was between broadside and quartering towards me. I hit him low and just behind the shoulder. The bullet took out the bottom of the heart. Exit is visible in the picture. He ran just 10 yards but fell over in a mass of deadfalls, and was a PITA to drag out.



I shot what my dad calls "Mr. Big" with my grandfather's 722 in 257 Roberts in 2019 with an 80 grain TTSX, also loaded to around 3200fps. Biggest whitetail I've ever seen where we hunt (VA and NY). Drilled him through the ribs at 75 yards. He dropped at the shot and wiggled for maybe 30 seconds. Estimated at 220# on the hoof. Thankfully he died in the road, and we could drive my dad's pickup right up to him. YMMV, but I'm a fan of lightweight monos, driven fast-ish. Not a gunwriter.

Thanks to Mr Barnsness I tried a 130 grain TTSX in my 308. Healing from posterior cervical fusion I can’t take much recoil. Loaded then to 3100 and went hunting. Smacked a 6’ bear at thirty yards. Bullet entered left lower jaw with the head turned hard right. Bear was uphill from me. Bullet exited through the atlas joint, entered the body about the base of the neck and exited just in front of the pelvis and was lost in the timber. Bear fell down and rolled towards me until he hit a log.
This spring I’m healing from a whiplash injury and may have to shoot the 130 again. Don’t know if you can keep one of those bullets in a Wyoming or Montana black bear.
And thank you Eileen for using that bullet. Sorry for your neck issues. Hope you are well.

Looks like those light for caliber monos just flat out kill stuff. It's a whole new lighter recoiling world out there boys. Jump aboard.



41

I woukd not "assume" too much regarding the difference between the weights and brands of the mono metal bullets There CAN be quite a difference- especially given the wide range of velocies they can be driven in varios cartridges.

The two videos below are expansion tests on water jugs at 100 to 500 yards.They are done by a group of guys from Oregeon who have put a lot of effort into bullet expansion testing during the lsst few years.

Both both bullets were started at .308 velocities (3,100 to 3200) FPS, so your .300 Savage loads would produce initial expansion like those vids show at the 100 to 200 yard mark.

That Hornady 11Og CX seems to be constructed to expand at lower .300 Blackout velocity levels. The Barnes 130g TTSX looks to be a better penetrator at all velocieies with reliable exansion- when driven at 3,000 + from the rifle.

The good news with the Hornady 110g CX bullets is that you will not have to drive them at top speeds from your Savage to get good energy transfer /expansion.

The pics of the expanded bullets start the 4:50 mark on the Hornady 110g vid and at the 2:50 mark on the Barnes 130g video.


The Hornady 110g CX driven at 3,200 FPS muzzle velocity.


The Barnes 130g TTSX at 3,100+

Don't put too much stock into bullets fired into nothing but water. I've tested countless bullets over the years and can tell you that what happens with water versus what happens when the projectile meets flesh and bones is generally not one and the same.

With TAC, I run the 110 grain GMX at just over 3200 fps from a 20" bull-barreled .308 WCF. The wound channels in game indicates the bullet opens VERY quickly and to a VERY wide frontal area. On hogs, I've only noted one single instance when the 110 grain CX shed any petals, and that impact was a shoulder-to-shoulder shot, which featured not only a thick, mud-caked hide, fat, a shield that ran right at an inch thick on each side and the bones of a large, mature boar. Even so, it very nearly exited and was recovered between the shield and the hide on the opposite side. And for those who don't know, the shield on these boars has the consistency of hard rubber and can be tough on bullets.

Below is are photos of a Barnes 120 grain Tac-TX that had an impact velocity of app. 2800 fps. The petals had thinned, but they did not shear off.





The frontal diameter was beyond impressive:





This is a photo of a 110 grain GMX that was taken out of test medium. Impact speed was just a shade over 2800 fps.





Here's a 110 grain Hornady CX taken from a hog last summer. I don't have those notes in front of me but want to say the impact speed was in the 2300 fps range.





And while this isn't .30 cal, here's a light-for-caliber 95 grain TTSX that recovered from a large boar I shot about 10 days ago. MV was 2920, meaning the velocity at impact should have been in the 2550 fps range. This bullet was designed for the velocities of the 6.8 SPC and thus is a good match for my 20.5 inch Van Horn Contender barrel in .270x.225 Imp (aka .270 JDJ). The bullet hit on the front portion of the shoulder, penetrating the thick shield, breaking the bone, wrecking the lungs, passing through the edge of the opposite shoulder, breaking a rib and then lodging in the hide and very nearly exiting.

Impact speed should have been about 2550 fps. It lost a couple petals but still weighed 78.4 grains. The widest point measured .536”. Even with no CNS impact, the hog folded on the spot.

I asked a Barnes rep on the phone what the difference is between the construction of the TTSX vs the TAC-TX.

His answer was: "the color of the tip".

That "rep" obviously needs to get familiar with the company's products.

I agree! The 80 TTSX has worked very well on deer for me in a 257Bob. Ditto the 110TTSX in a 270. The 110TTSX has proven accurate in my 280. Gonna try that this fall!

Okay, what IS the difference in construction of the TAC-TX vs the TTSX?

I'll use the 110 and 120 grain Tac-TX in .30 caliber as examples. They were designed with .300 BO muzzle velocities in mind.

They have a more cavernous hollow point and are specially-annealed, allowing them to expand significantly even down to 1400 fps. You'll still see expansion as low as 1300 fps. Barnes also gave these a different geometry so that the BC doesn't suffer.

I can assure you that these Tac-TX bullets will expand at velocities much lower than what the comparable 110 grain TTSX will do -- and they will generally expand to a much wider frontal diameter given equal impact velocities.






Tac-TX vs TTSX at similar impact speeds: These are .30 cal Tac-TX and 6.5mm 100 grain Tipped TSX bullets. Somewhere I have a more appropriate .30 cal comparison photo, and if I locate it, I'll post it. But the results are quite similar.




Here's a 120 grain Tac-TX that had an impact speed of right at 2800 fps:

Thanks, Bobby. The 115 TAC-TX is reasonably accurate in my 6.5CM at about 2900fps. Sounds like it should be effective on bambi...

It's like when E. F. Hutton speaks....

I listen when Bobby, J.B. and others who've "been there, done that" speak.

I agree with what they're reporting. My experience is no where theirs, but I've killed stuff with mono's and they do work.

The 100 TTSX that J.B. mentioned is a killer. It's accurate, too. COAL is longer, gun has a long action.

I've posted this .257R load before. Gunner500 said it's a "little buzz saw" and he's right.

I've not used the 110 gr. TAC in my .308, but have some to try. Bobby posted some good stuff. When it comes to low light scopes and killing hogs, I defer to him.

There are other good mono's, Hammer, CEB and Lehigh to name a few.

I've had good luck with the 135 gr. Raptor by Cutting Edge Bullets in my .308. It frags and is very accurate.

DF

It will definitely do the job and is a good match for your 6.5CM. The 115 grain Tac-TX -- designed for Grendel speeds -- doesn't open as widely or to quite as low of a velocity as the 110 and 120 grain .30 cal offerings, but it still does very well. With a 6.5 Bullberry and a 6.5 BRM in my Contenders, I've used the 115s on several hogs, coyotes and a buck. The muzzle velocities ranged from 2585 to 2603 fps. The ranges were from just over 100 yards to app. 190. Performance was excellent in each instance.

I now have the 115s loaded in a 6.5 CM at 2872 fps.

I run the 110gr ttsx in a 300 Win Mag at 4100 fps. Shot a 350 lb black bear with one a few years ago. Texas heart shot running away, complete pass thru with the bullet exiting the bears mouth.

this has been a good read and nice pictures too ! i have never shot a bear with a rifle , my friends , family and myself have always just killed black bears with a bow most of us used Zwickey broadheads on our arrows and always had good blood trails. but this year because of my age of 70 now and a beat up body i plan on using a rifle with my hand loads for black bear probably load some 200 gr. FTX Hornady in my new to me rebore Ruger #1 35 Whelen . my reason for this is where i will be hunting in Minnesota in the N.W. by border area we have some very big black bears up there 400-600 lb. black bears we just don`t have as many bears . i feel i would rather smack a bigger black bear with a bigger grained bullet and i have a bunch of these 200 gr. FTX Hornady bullets i bought when bullet prices were much cheaper. good luck with what ever bullet you use,Pete53

This thread affirms what Groove Bullets out of South Africa was advocating 35 years ago.