I loaded up ten rounds with the Barnes TSX 70 grain bullet last night.

These bullets look totally awesome and man are they long, longer than anything else I have loaded.

I took out my micrometer and measured the length of some of the different .224 slugs I've been using just to see how long the copper Barnes TSX really is, here are the results:

Barnes TSX 70 grain - 1.040"

Hornady Match 75 grain - 0.992"

Sierra MatchKing 77 grain - 0.985

Nosler Competition 77 grain - 0.982

Barnes TSX 62 grain - 0.945

Nosler 69 grain - 0.900

Sierra 69 grain 0.890

As you can see, the Barnes are the longest slugs on the market.

Do you have problems meeting OAL specs with the Barnes TSX 70 grain bullet since it's so long?

Thanks for sharing the data you've collected. I hope to get up-to-speed this summer with a little reloading.

I have not fired any of the ones I loaded yet, but basically I set them to the same OAL (2.250)as my previous Hornday 75 grain BTHP reloads.

When doing this, the final top land in the Barnes TSX 70 grain bullet slips right under the lip of the rim of the case and disappears, leaving a nice copper point sticking out on top.

I don't think the bullet is compressing my powder load from visual inspection prior to seating the Barnes bullet but it is getting close....

Have you nailed any feral "bacon" with the Barnes yet? Looks like they have a great "mushrooming" effect -- why am I getting hungry all of a sudden? That might be a great deer hunting round too!...

Not yet but I am getting close.

First I have to target 10 of the reloaded Barnes 70 gr TSX at 100 yards and finish reloading the rest up after that, then I'll be ready for the next hunt.

I did see a coyote at about 225 yards right before sundown tonight but did not have a clear shot at him so I let him walk.

Just a quick update:

I'm now up to 24.0 gr of TAC (Wolf SRM primers/mixed brass). No signs of high pressure.

Unfortunately, I'm still waiting on replacement parts for my chronograph. As mentioned before, 23.6 gr gave a velocity approximately midway between TAP FPD and TAP 5.56. Hopefully, the new loading will bring it up closer to Hornady's 5.56 loading. It did seem to smack the shoulder a bit harder...

Here is my first porker with the Barnes 70 grain TSX and 25.0 grains of BLC-2. No signs of pressure at all, I will work this load up to about 25.5 grains in the future.

One shot at about 75 yards and the boar dropped dead.

Hit him in the shoulder underneath the 556 forearm, no exit.

I'm now up to 24.1gr of TAC, yielding 2665 fps out of my Sig 556.

Also chrono'd my "old" load of 23.6gr, which yields 2637 fps.

I don't seem to have gained much by increasing the charge .5 grains. Recoil was noticeably increased, though. Guess that is a good indication that it is time to stop...


FWIW: My chrono repair parts were shipped promptly from Chrony, and they doubled my order free-of-charge.

From what I have read, 2750 fps for a 75-77 grain bullet out of a 16" barrel is about the max attainable. I would be quite happy with a 2650 fps handloaded round just to be on the safe side.

Yeah, I think I'll call it good. Was hoping to equal factory TAP 5.56, but it is close enough.

Am currently at my East Texas hideaway; awaiting the piggies to come ambling along. (save some for me!)

You are correct. Do not use 75gr A-Max or heavier 80gr and 90gr 223 cal match bullets if you intend to load from a magazine. These are special purpose bullets meant for single shot loading for AR15's using a Bobsled or single round follower inserted into the magazine.
Loading them seated that deeply will cause serious pressure spikes that the rifles aren't designed to handle. Its unsafe.

Here is a short video of the 556 shooting the handloaded Prvi 69 grain BTHPs @ 75 yards into some water jugs, I almost missed the first can and then nailed the next two water jugs!

Right click and download the 29 MB WMV video file to watch it.


http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20556%20Commando/Reloading/Sig%20556%203%20Targets.wmv