Copper bullets

[gman1]

I need the groups help or experience with a bullet I am looking at for my 300 Win Mag for an upcoming elk hunt.
The bullet / shell is the Federal Vital Shok in the Barnes Triple Shock which is a lead free all copper bullet. Any thought or suggestions from the members would be very much appreciated. Has anyone had any experience with the all copper bullet?

Thanks

Gman

 

[WVhdnWest]

gman1 I'm shooting the Barnes ttsx in the vortex, 300WM sub moa to 500 yds out of a weatherby vanguard ,shot one elk at 350 yds,dropped in his tracks

 

[HiMtnHnter]

I need the groups help or experience with a bullet I am looking at for my 300 Win Mag for an upcoming elk hunt.
The bullet / shell is the Federal Vital Shok in the Barnes Triple Shock which is a lead free all copper bullet. Any thought or suggestions from the members would be very much appreciated. Has anyone had any experience with the all copper bullet?

Thanks

Gman

The Barnes bullets are good based on my experience. They are deadly but do not damage meat like some other bullets, as they retain a great deal of their weight. I have taken everything from antelope, deer, and elk with no complaints. With the right rifle/load combo they are very accurate too. If your rifle shoots them well I wouldn't hesitate to use them.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Barnes Triple Shock is one of the best elk bullets out there. You are in great shape.

Last year we took the following with that bullet:

Three blacktail bucks (two at 400+ yards)

One cow elk

One 435 black bear

Add another antelope already this year.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I shot the same in 338 ultra mag. The performed perfectly.

 

[dan maule]

Great bullet I have used it in many different calibers. The only downside is copper fouling. Not the biggest deal but you'll want to use a good solvent a clean a little more often then with lead bullets.

 

[Kentucky hunter]

300 rum 168 gr ttsx barnes 508 yd shot with pass though one leg bone over the hart out the oppiste side

 

[gman1]

Thanks group for the help. Sounds like the copper bullet is a keeper but I need to be aware that it may pass all the way through an animal and to also pay close attention to the fowling issue when it comes to cleaning the barrel.

 

[gman1]

fouling it should have read ...

 

[Kentucky hunter]

Barnes cut lands in the bullet to reduce fouling. They also test 300 rum 168 gr in 36 inch of ballistic gel with only 20 foot pounds of energy left on exit

 

[ulmer]

I shoot the 185 Barnes ttsx out of my 338 win mag. No experience on elk 2 years ago shot a whitetail buck at little over 150 yards. Straight on shot went in his chest took out almost every rib on the one side and exited out the back right before the hind quarter .Never found any bullet fragments so it must've stayed together pretty well. That's the only one I have shot at a animal haven't dew a tag I could use that rifle for since


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[Tim McCoy]

Shoot the same factory loaded bullet out of a 30-06, works well. Barnes bullets love speed, so should only work better out of your 300 WM. Have just started using the LRX in my 280, designed to open at lower velocity for longer range work. So far only used it on deer at moderate range, dropped them pretty fast.

 

[JimP]

I have been shooting nothing but Barnes bullets our of my rifles for about the last 20 years. In that time I have killed antelope, elk, and a bear with them here in North America. I also took them to South Africa on a safari and brought home a kudu, gemsbok, springbuck, blue wildebeast, and a impalla. All with one shot kills except for one where I messed up and not the bullets. The shots ranged from 90 yards out to 479 yards.

 

[HiMtnHnter]

The one criticism you hear about Barnes bullets is that they just blow through critters without causing much damage. In terms of wound channel, this is partially true compared to other bullets that are made to expand more and even fragment.

If you want something that causes massive damage, the Barnes are not for you. If you want something that hits with big energy and penetrates very deep, then solid copper is the way to go.

 

[shootbrownelk]

I've used Barnes X bullets in my 30.06 and .375 H&H for 20+ years also. I made the switch from lead/copper bullets years ago and never looked back. Most of my recovered bullets (3) have held 90% of their loaded weight. I'm sold on solid copper bullets.

 

[Brianh]

I took out an antelope at 350 yards with a Barnes ttsx Savage 25-06. Recovered the bullet in a perfect mushroom. Absolutely flattened the goat. When I was sighting it in, at 200 yards, I had one inch groups. I can't even see that well and somehow the bullets were that close.

 

[magnum12]

I have shot hand loaded 150 TTX in my 308 and was very impressed with the accuracy. I'm pushing these at around 2730 fps out of my crony and took a buck, slightly quartering away, at 325 yards. Now this was a CA blacktail but it was a complete pass-through, destroyed the left front shoulder because it hit bone but did drop him. The one thing I did notice and sorry for the details, when I gutted the deer right after the shot, all the internals were like liquid. Also when I was skinning him, I did find one of the petals from the bullet broken off in the shoulder where it hit bone but I wasn't to concerned.

Overall an excellent bullet and have never shot more that was more accurate.

 

[GKPrice]

fouling it should have read ...

the caveat with moving to all copper bullets is to begin with a clean barrel but from then on I wouldn't worry about fouling any more than with any other bullets - If you have the time and inclination shoot, from a clean barrel, all of your TTSX rounds (keeping a round count) to see where you lose accuracy - If you haven't lost accuracy by the time hunting season is here clean the bore again, foul it with 2 or 3 shots and hunt
It's also worth mentioning that carbon fouling is just as dirtying to the barrel as bullet fouling and should be taken out regularly - that's the dust that wafts out of the muzzle when you push a bore brush through, what is still in there will eventually harden and cause all sorts of trouble

 

[libidilatimmy]

I've shot 2 elk the last couple years with the 175gr LRX in 300 WSM with great results. The barnes bullets are excellent choices for elk.

 

[buckbull]

The one criticism you hear about Barnes bullets is that they just blow through critters without causing much damage. In terms of wound channel, this is partially true compared to other bullets that are made to expand more and even fragment.

If you want something that causes massive damage, the Barnes are not for you. If you want something that hits with big energy and penetrates very deep, then solid copper is the way to go.

This has been my experience. I shot a bull back in 2010 with the barnes tsx from my .300 win mag. at 80 yards. Double lung shot but never hit rib bone. Both holes looked identical in size. I don't think the bullet ever opened up.