Yes, I did the search but I still have questions.
It seems that SSA makes a 70gr TSX load but it has been out of stock for a while.
Does anyone else make this load in the 70gr TSX? Commercially available?
Doc K has covered the 62gr TSX load, but is there any new info on 70gr loads?
I just received 100 rounds today from Asym Precision but won’t be able to shoot any of it for quite a while. Even if I did, I know almost nothing about ballistics so hopefully someone with even a thimble full of knowledge can comment on the 70 gr. round as I don’t have that much knowledge.
http://store.chencustom.com/223_SOLID_DEFENSE_X_70_gr_Barnes_Copper_TSX_s/92.htm
Got a few buddies who use that bullet to hunt with. They say its deadly effective on deer and hogs!!!
SSA makes a load using that bullet.
http://www.ssarmory.com/556ammunition-70gr-leadfree.aspx
It’s supposed to be pretty good.
I see it’s still out of stock.
Some TSX bullets are always hard to find. I’ve often wondered if leo/.gov contracts get a lot of them.
I’ve been going back to the SSA site and also doing Google search and have not been able to find anyone that has it in stock. I’d love to get ahold of some it
I got a few rounds of the real deal Brown Tip from a friend. I have gone hunting a few times in hope of trying them out on a deer with my 10" SCAR, no deer to be seen. I am going to try my luck with some wild hogs this month. I have shot this load into a 55 gal drum of water and it expanded beautifully. From hunting all my life and seeing what different bullets do to animals, I imagine this bullet will be a stellar performer. I personally would much rather have this load as a SD load than most everything that is available now. With the petals that form, if it did not completely penetrate, I am sure there would be a cutting effect (similar to that of a stuck broadhead) with every movement the animal (or person) makes after being hit. This may not be too important, but in the right spot could not hurt either.
If you’re just talking about the 70gr TSX bullet components, I normally keep some on hand so lemme know if you’re interested in picking some up and I can get em to you.
Grafs has the reloading component bullets in stock. It aint cheap for 50 round boxes, but they have it.
Wahoo,
Unfortunately I don’t reload. I’ve seen the actual bullets all over the place. I cannot find the ammunition itself though.
They work just fine on deer out of a 10.5" AR.
I may have to pick up some of these bullets and do my own loads. Got to SBR’s that would love a round that still expands “at distance”.
The 70 gr TSX is a good projectile, especially if you have to shoot longer distances. For folks shooting primarily at 300 yds and under, especially using shorter barrels, then the 55 gr TSX may be a better option.
The Barnes 70 grain TSX is a very long bullet for its weight and caliber. At a nominal length of 1.037” it is longer than the heavier 77 grain Sierra MatchKing.
Besides being a long bullet, the 70 grain TSX has a specific gravity much lower than a copper jacketed/lead core bullet due to its sold copper construction. For example, the Hornady 75 grain BTHP has a specific gravity of approximately 10.3, while the Barnes 70 grain TSX has a specific gravity of only 8.9.
The Barnes 70 grain TSX will be unstable from a 1:9” twist barrel with a gyroscopic stability factor of less than 1 at all velocities. The 70 grain TSX will only be marginally stable in a 1:8” twist barrel with a G.S.F. of 1.05 at 2500 fps. A 1:7” twist barrel will produce acceptable stability with the 70 grain TSX with a G.S.F. of 1.37 at 2500 fps.
Can you tell the difference between the Barnes 70 grain M/LE TAC-X Tactical Bullet and the Barnes 70 grain TSX Triple-Shock X bullet?
Silver State Armory’s 70 grain TSX load easily matched the reported muzzle velocity of the 5.56mm Optimized load. From a 16" Colt barrel with a NATO chamber, chrome lining and a 1:7" twist, the SSA load had a muzzle velocity of 2788 FPS with a standard deviation of 15 FPS. From a 20" Colt barrel it had a muzzle velocity of 2899 FPS with a standard deviation of 21 FPS.
As I previously posted, the Silver State Armory 70 grain TSX load had a muzzle velocity of 2899 fps from a 20" Colt barrel. This is a hot load. Factory loads using equivalent weight bullets, for example the Federal Gold Medal 69 grain Sierra MatchKing, generally run around 2750 fps from a 20” Colt barrel.
Since the SSA 70 grain TSX load is such a hot load, I decided not to use my Krieger barrel, with its match chamber, to evaluate the accuracy of the SSA load. Instead, I used my 20” Noveske HBAR which has a chamber designed to fire the military pressure MK262 load safely, on full-auto, in hot environments. This barrel has a 1:7” twist. Using match grade hand-loads, this barrel turned in a 10-shot group at 100 yards that had an extreme spread of 0.726”.
Previous accuracy testing using hand-loads of the 70 grain TSX bullet proved the bullet itself to be capable of some fine accuracy. A 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15 at 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.12”.
The SSA 70 grain TSX load was tested shooting from a bench-rest at a distance of 100 yards. A Leupold Competition scope with a magnification of 45X was used for sighting. Wind conditions were monitored using a Wind Probe.
Just for kicks, I did something a little different this time. I fired two 5-shot groups! Those groups had extreme spreads of 1.22” and 1.91”. I then fired a traditional 10-shot group, which had an extreme spread of 1.93” and a mean radius of 0.61”. I over-layed the two 5-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 10-shot composite group. The 10-shot composite group had an extreme spread of 1.93” and a mean radius of 0.63”.
As I posted previously in this thread, a barrel with a 1:9” twist theoretically will not stabilize the 70 grain TSX. I put the theory to test using a Colt 16” HBAR with a 1:9” twist.
I fired a 10-shot group of the 70 grain TSX round at a distance of 100 yards using the 1:9” twist barrel. Accuracy was terrible; the group had an extreme spread of over 3 inches. Several of the bullet holes were slightly oblong in shape and a coulple of the bullet holes were clearly “key-holed” demonstrating that a 1:9” twist barrel will indeed not stabilize the 70 grain TSX.
…
would you recommend the 55gr TSX over the 62gr TSX?
Yes.
For LE and civilian self-defense purposes, the 55 gr TSX is likely the better option; for long range shooting the 70 gr TSX is superior. I don’t see much need for the 62 gr TSX in my world…
As we have previously discussed, with non-fragmenting bullet designs like the TSX, heavier bullet weights are NOT necessarily better, especially at closer ranges and from shorter barrels. As long as penetration and upset remain adequate, it is possible to use lighter weight non-fragmenting bullets and still have outstanding terminal performance, along with higher velocity and flatter trajectory. The heavier bullets do have an advantage at longer ranges due to better BC and less wind drift and may give better penetration on larger animals when hunting.
awesome, thanks for the info.
Molon, Doc; once again you guys are awesome.
Molon, having done an indepth write up on here, I know what goes into putting something together. You go above and beyond my friend. We appreciate your work.
Shot this boar through the shoulder with the Barnes 70 grain TSX over 25.0 grains of Hodgdon BLC-2, Wolf SRM primer, and LC '09 brass at a distance of 60 yards.
Bullet penetrated the scapula, both lungs, heart and exited the other side through the ribs taking out two ribs.
Entry and exit wounds were the size of a pencil.
Hog was DOA and fed dozens.
That’s a big pig. How much did he weigh?
I understand that the bullet itself is very long. All copper bullets are compared to lead/copper bullet. As far as overall length of the cartridge is concerned is it longer than a round with a 77gr bullet? If so would this possibly cause feeding problems?