[ccoker]

I have been extremely pleased with the performance of the tipped tsx 110s on game.
flawless performance

as far as on game performance I see no reason to run anything else frankly, other than the price

My question is has anyone truly had a prohunter "fail" on game?

My definition for failing is if the bullet was put in the right spot you were unable to recover the animal
not exiting is not failure if you got to eat it in my opinion unless it was a "good shot" but the bullet exploded on contact and didn't reach the vitals and it was a long tracking ordeal

anyone care to comment?

 

[emsemt911]

I had the opposite, a horribly placed shot. I found the deer about 50 yards where I shot it. The bullet had massive internal damage. That is the only reason I found it.

The deeer was quartered to me at a greater angle than I thought. The round went in behind the left shoulder, barely nicked a lung, and went into the abdomen. The damage in the abd was massive. The round was recovered sitting on the right quarter.

 

[owenslee]

I also had a quartering away shot on a moving 8 pt @ 80 yds.

The 110 Pro Hunter entered at the base of the right lung taking our both lungs, and fully penetrating the left front shoulder, where the bullet was found just under the skin.

The buck did not take a single step after being shot, but just dropped to the ground.

The Pro Hunters....work...and work VERY well.

Kerry

 

[ccoker]

thanks
I never used "premium" bullets growing up huniting, neither did my dad, uncles, etc..
I grew up hunting in South Texas and dad worked on our guns, handloaded, etc..

I was handed a gun that was loaded with a softpoint, usually a Sierra in a 243, 22-250 or 25-06 and killed everything that I put the crosshairs on.
My dad still shoots an old Sako 22-250 and uses 63g Sierra SPs and he drops everything he shoots with one shot, I offered to load up some barnes for his gun and he said "why change what works?"

I wonder if we get all too obsessed about this stuff (I have OCD so I KNOW I do!"

 

[joshuades]

I also grew up with nothing but soft point Speer bullets in all the rifles (all hand loaded by my dad from a lot he bought before I was born). SO far the only times we havent recovered an animal has been due to poor shot placement, missed vitals, etc. I'd assume the PH would stand to the same measure, and the bullets aren't 30+ years old.

 

[HTR]

It is a reasonable question, and I am sure that I do gt quite obsessed to find that "holy grail" of perfect performance.....knowing all the while that the law of Entropy says that there can be no perfect performance, no matter how much we test, and develop.

OTOH.....what I have found through 35 years of hunting, is that one can do some homework, to find some "edges," let's say. My friends and neighbors all say "if it aint' broke..." but every once in a while it breaks.

So, when they hear me say, "hey, have you guys tried these Barnes TSX's on pigs?" they usually say, oh, we just use FMJ's...." But, after a bunch of them run off, they occasionally will ask, about them and what load I used, etc.

I personally use the 110 SPH for deer. It is simple, brutal and it just plain works. It did not take a lot of scientific study to find that out. Just a few massive holes and DRT's. Given that target , it SHOULD work and it does not disappoint.

But, for pigs, well, they are a totally different milieu. They are 100% tougher than a deer, and your bullet must be, too. The SPH will work on them in a pinch, but if I had my choice, I am going into the field hunting pigs with the 85 TSX or the new 85 TTSX if / when it comes out.

 

[ccoker]

agree on deer, not tough to kill at all
hogs are tougher unless you hit them behind the ear then it almost doesn't matter what you use at reasonable differences...

when actually hunting, I don't really care what the bullet costs, it's such a small percentage of the total hunting cost

I like to shoot a lot and like to be able to use one load for everything, that's when the barnes gets to my pocket book

I will probably get some 85g barnes and some 90g TNT or Sierras and see if I can get develop a load that shoots to the same POA

the 110g TTSX are wicked good and perhaps I could spend more time (and money, primers, powder, gas, etc..) trying to find a 110g prohunter load that hit the same spot...

I have always been a fan of fast and flat so the 85g barnes seem ideal, ah, it's only money right?
or would that money be better spent on hunts?

 

[RedTx]

I personally use the 110 SPH for deer. It is simple, brutal and it just plain works. It did not take a lot of scientific study to find that out. Just a few massive holes and DRT's. Given that target , it SHOULD work and it does not disappoint.

But, for pigs, well, they are a totally different milieu. They are 100% tougher than a deer, and your bullet must be, too. The SPH will work on them in a pinch, but if I had my choice, I am going into the field hunting pigs with the 85 TSX or the new 85 TTSX if / when it comes out.

I totally agree that hogs are tougher than deer, but there not made of lead or anything. I mean they are an animal with organs, and if you rupture one of those main organs its going to die. It pretty simple a marginal shot will get a marginal kill, a good shoot will get you a good kill.

Hey HTR why do you perfer the Barnes over the Pro hunters? Yes I know its a better bullet in many ways, but why do you perfer it? Is it longer range performance or something like that.

At 200 yard shots I just dont see the Barnes being that much better considering the cost, and yes I know the cost is not that significant.

Just curious of your opinion

 

[ron169]

I think I can answer that for HTR. The Barnes is a solid piece of copper, and retains as close to 100% of mass after expansion. So the result is if you shoot a hog in the shoulder, which is really really strong, you typically get complete pass through with full retention of bullet weight. Most other bullets are going to break up and not exit. Thats as simple as it gets. 2 holes in an animal are easier to track that one with 1 hole.

 

[ccoker]

right..
that's the compelling reason to use them..
so... perhaps my question now should be has anyone shot into the shoulder of a pig and had it "fail" and lose the animal or spend a ton of time having to track one?

 

[RedTx]

I think I can answer that for HTR. The Barnes is a solid piece of copper, and retains as close to 100% of mass after expansion. So the result is if you shoot a hog in the shoulder, which is really really strong, you typically get complete pass through with full retention of bullet weight. Most other bullets are going to break up and not exit. Thats as simple as it gets. 2 holes in an animal are easier to track that one with 1 hole.

Yes I get that, and understand that complete pass throughs are what we are striving for. With that being said if you make a good hit on an animal it doesnt matter if it goes 8" or 18" the animal is still going to die in a relative short distance to where it was shot

right..
that's the compelling reason to use them..
so... perhaps my question now should be has anyone shot into the shoulder of a pig and had it "fail" and lose the animal or spend a ton of time having to track one?

I just started using the prohunters as well the 6.8. I have a thread up where I shot a hog just last week with the pro hunter. It was not a very good shot being forward and high on the shoulder. The shot was 127 yards and the hog weighed in at 242 lbs. I thought he weighed around 180 but the scales said something else. Defnitely not a huge hog by anymeans, but a good sized adult or atleast where im at.

I think I would love the Barnes bullets but I guess it boils down to that im just to cheap. I can definitely see using them from the other prospective of shooting deer and other game animals that I prize more valuable. I hate hogs they are destructive animals that can wreak havoc on agriculture fields. I would rather have more bullets than quality bullets when shooting hogs, because in the end if I hit it its going to DRT or it going to run off and die either way Im happy about it.

 

[paulosantos]

Yes I get that, and understand that complete pass throughs are what we are striving for. With that being said if you make a good hit on an animal it doesnt matter if it goes 8" or 18" the animal is still going to die in a relative short distance to where it was shot

I just started using the prohunters as well the 6.8. I have a thread up where I shot a hog just last week with the pro hunter. It was not a very good shot being forward and high on the shoulder. The shot was 127 yards and the hog weighed in at 242 lbs. I thought he weighed around 180 but the scales said something else. Defnitely not a huge hog by anymeans, but a good sized adult or atleast where im at.

I think I would love the Barnes bullets but I guess it boils down to that im just to cheap. I can definitely see using them from the other prospective of shooting deer and other game animals that I prize more valuable. I hate hogs they are destructive animals that can wreak havoc on agriculture fields. I would rather have more bullets than quality bullets when shooting hogs, because in the end if I hit it its going to DRT or it going to run off and die either way Im happy about it.

The Pro-Hunters are great hunting rounds. I remember speaking with Tim Hicks and he told me the Pro-Hunters worked great on hogs. Sure, they aren't as tough as the Barnes, but they are half the price, more accurate, work on deer better, and get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate to use the Pro-Hunters.

 

[owenslee]

The Pro-Hunters are great hunting rounds. Sure, they aren't as tough as the Barnes, but they are half the price, more accurate, work on deer better, and get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate to use the Pro-Hunters.

What some of us would call "cost effective"...and why they remain my #1 bullet choice.

Well said Paul.

Kerry

 

[HTR]

I think I can answer that for HTR. The Barnes is a solid piece of copper, and retains as close to 100% of mass after expansion. So the result is if you shoot a hog in the shoulder, which is really really strong, you typically get complete pass through with full retention of bullet weight. Most other bullets are going to break up and not exit. Thats as simple as it gets. 2 holes in an animal are easier to track that one with 1 hole.

Ron has it exactly right. The SPH is designed, classically as a soft point, to deform rapidly on impact, and when striking a thick skinned animal or bone like the shoulder of a pig, is subject to jacket / core separation. I have seen this happen with pigs shot with them. One such pig was recovered only because I shot a second and third time, finally hitting it in the head. The Barnes TSX goes right straight therough, so you can shoot when they are running, at center of mass, and count on a pass-through with full expansion, and enough weight retention to kill the animal with one shot. There is no jacket to separate. thus, I find I shoot fewer rounds of the Barnes 85 TSX, because one shot usually kills them.

Don't get me wrong. I Love the SPH, but moslty for deer. I shoot more hogs in a year than most people do in a lifetime, and while I would gladly take a mag full of SPH's afield for pigs, I don't really consider the 85 TSX as less "cost effective" by any means. About 85-90% of my hog kills with TSX or TTSX's are one shot DRT's, and I shoot alot of them running, so I simply cannot corroborate the idea that "well, you can always shoot them in the head..." No, you can't.

I will also add this: the 85 grain TSX gets more muzzle velocity, which makes it flatter, out to about 300 yards. I hunt in soybean fields sometimes shooting pigs, and when zeroed to MPBR, I can hold "dead on" from 50 to 250 and never be more than about 4-6" from the POA. This is another situation where a torso shot is more desirable and practical. You aren't exactly going to have an easy time hitting them in the head at 250 yards, through a NVD, especially if they are moving.

 

[ron169]

Although I agree that the Prohunter is cheap, accurate and effectice, I personally look at it this way: I will probably use the PH as my plinking/SHTF ammo due to its effectiveness and accuracy, as well as price. As for hogs, I will use the 85g barnes, or a 85-100gr TTSX if they ever make one. My reasoning behind that is that a box of 50 round should last two years of shooting. That includes the 20 rounds to work up loads, then 30 for zeroing in scope and the actual hunting. Also would use the Barnes if I knew I needed to shoot through a motor or something of that nature.

 

[HTR]

Yes I get that, and understand that complete pass throughs are what we are striving for. With that being said if you make a good hit on an animal it doesnt matter if it goes 8" or 18" the animal is still going to die in a relative short distance to where it was shot

I just started using the prohunters as well the 6.8. I have a thread up where I shot a hog just last week with the pro hunter. It was not a very good shot being forward and high on the shoulder. The shot was 127 yards and the hog weighed in at 242 lbs. I thought he weighed around 180 but the scales said something else. Defnitely not a huge hog by anymeans, but a good sized adult or atleast where im at

I think I would love the Barnes bullets but I guess it boils down to that im just to cheap. I can definitely see using them from the other prospective of shooting deer and other game animals that I prize more valuable. I hate hogs they are destructive animals that can wreak havoc on agriculture fields. I would rather have more bullets than quality bullets when shooting hogs, because in the end if I hit it its going to DRT or it going to run off and die either way Im happy about it.

Actually, if you study Hog anatomy, this is a perfectly good shot on a hog. this transects a large part of the thoracic spine and it paralyzes them from the chest down. They always go down with this shot and the scapula is actually pretty thin at its crest.

If you shot that same pig square in the side of the shoulder, that bullet might have stopped just under the skin. I have seen this many times with all soft points, including some fired from 30-06, .270. .243, etc. in my many years of guiding.

Bullet construction and shot placement are the 2 things that determine kills. You can use the very dainty, fragile (and awesomely accurate) Speer 90 grain TNT and kill hogs with head and neck shots, but H and I watched one fall, and then get up and run off after being hit right square in the shoulder with one, which also happened to be going 3030 FPS, BTW. Reasonably good placement of a fast bullet, but wrong bullet construction = lost meat.

We wanted the meat.

 

[arteacher]

I use Barnes and prohunters with good success but I have another one to throw out there. The Speer 130 gr Hotcore bullets have knocked down some really big pigs for me. No, they are not going at light speed but they don't need to. They group pretty well (not as good as prohunters) They penatrate well and make a mess or the internal organs. I intentionally shoot at the shoulder just to see if I can loose one but have not yet. H335 is a good powder and I think I chronoed about 2500fps before I shot my chrono (I know, what a dumb ass)

 

[Equalizer_2]

I think I chronoed about 2500fps before I shot my chrono (I know, what a dumb ass)

That's why I like to have a piece of 3/4 steel plate between my chrony and me.

 

[ccoker]

interesting on the 130g hotcores
I have used the 80 out of a 243 with great success on deer

I spoke with Sierra tech yesterday and he said the 130g Prohunter has a tougher jacket than the 110s

for what I use the 6.8 for most shots are 75 yards, rare for a 200 yard shot

I may need to try some in my 270

 

[Falconer]

Load Data

Sounds like some of you may be handloading this nice small cartridge! I'm new to the site and cartridge so any help you can offer would be welcome.

I'm presently using a 100 VMAX pushed by 29 gr of H322 and a large rifle primer for my Ruger mini. I'm thinking abut going to a small primer case hoping to improve accuracy. So far I haven't hit a "Sweet Spot" for this cartridge. Any help with a stable load would be greatly appreciated. This is for deer and or varmits. I would concur with info about either a bonded 110 or a Barnes HP fo pigs. Too darn tough for a bullet that expands quickly however the load dfata should transfer!
Thanks
Falconer