168 gr Barnes TTSX for 30-06

[Redram]

My brother want's me to work up a load for an upcomming mule deer hunt. He bought 2 boxes of Barnes 168 gr TTSX bullets. I have Hodgen V1000, Varget, H380, and 4350. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should try first?

[Larryjk]

I would recommend starting with 4350 since I am familiar with it and use it very often with those weight bullets in the 30-06.

[PJgunner]

Originally Posted by Redram

My brother want's me to work up a load for an upcomming mule deer hunt. He bought 2 boxes of Barnes 168 gr TTSX bullets. I have Hodgen V1000, Varget, H380, and 4350. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should try first?

I'm going to go along with H-4350 mainly because there is no data for the other powders in the latest Barnes manual. You might contact barnes on the other powders. They may not consider them suitable with that bullet.
H-4350:
Start: 52.0 gr. 2651 FPS. Maximum: 55.5 gr. 2825 FPS case is 97% filled.

Personally, I would have gone with the 150 gr. Barnes bullet for Mule Deer. They ain't all that hard to kill. I've taken them with the Sierra 150 gr. Pro-hunters in .308 Win. and 30-06 so many times that I can't keep count. I later went to the 180 gr. Sierra Pro-Hunter to lessen meat damage.
The only Barnes bullets I have done anything with are the 100 gr. TSX in a .257 Roberts and a 225 gr. bullet in my .35 Whelen. In both rifles the bullets were very accurate. The only reason I used them then was the area I drew for a hunt is considered a part of he Condor fly area and the state of Arizina asked hunter in the Kiabab and Arizona strip hunts to voluntarily use that type bullet. The even gave a free box of bullets for handloading or two boxes of factory ammo with monometal bullets to get people to use that type bullet.
Can't say how they worked on deer as I only got a crack at one deer and by the time I could see he was a legal buck, he was long gone into the brush. Too many dead branches behind him that hid what was on the top of his had.
The .257 averaged about one inch at 100 yards and the .35 Whelen put three shots into a half inch, twice. I didn't shoot anymore as those 225 gr. bullets cost a dollar each.
Paul B.

[Larryjk]

PJgunner, What powder are you using in the 35 Whelen? I was having miserable groups with the same bullet until I tried Ball C2. At 60 grains they go into 3/4 inch and I didn't go the extra 1/2 grain that may have gotten a little smaller group. I read articles on the 35 Whelen and can't stand it when they feel 2" is an adequate group.