Hornady GMX vs Barnes TTSX

[tarbe]

I had a chance to pick up 200 of Hornady's 250gr .375 GMX a while back, for less than half the normal price. I also have 200 Barnes TTSX 250 gr on the way.

Did a search and could not find any threads on the GMX.

Curious if anyone has shot game, or even done any penetration tests with the GMX?

I would expect them to perform similarly to the TTSX, but with the slightly different metallurgy and (I hear) smaller cavity, who knows for sure without whacking some critters!

I might take my 375 on a PG hunt next year, and the hunt will include game up to Eland in size (unless my wife frees up another $11k and I get to hunt buff!). Yeah, right........

Any data points out there on the GMX, especially in .375?

Thanks,


Tim

 

[Bsto270]

I know this is an old thread, but figured I would chime in. I got the chance to use GMX one time, hunting feral hogs in Georgia (USA). We shot them in 308, unsure of grain as outfitter supplied ammo. I will say I really was impressed with them. Our guide, who shot a 6.5 creedmoor, said as soon as he exhausted his current supply of reloaded A-Max was going to start handloading GMX.

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

i have only used GMX bullets on a .223 rem and shot allot of jackal with them, never recovered a single bullet to see expansion. I must say that with the high bc i did not get a good group on 100m but had a better group at 200 and 300 meters.

 

[Roan]

I have shot everything from Springbuck to Eland with GMX many times over and without fail they have delivered!

Perfect mushroom and awesome weight retention.

I mainly use them in my 270 and 30-06.

The only other bullet that can compete with them in my opinion is the A frame.

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

I have shot everything from Springbuck to Eland with GMX many times over and without fail they have delivered!

Perfect mushroom and awesome weight retention.

I mainly use them in my 270 and 30-06.

The only other bullet that can compete with them in my opinion is the A frame.

I don't think you can compare the performance of a Lead core bullet with a Monolithic bullet......Monolithic all the way

 

[Roan]

What I have seen an A frame do to Buff and Hippo I think they more than compare.

 

[ActionBob]

My wife shot all her critters in Africa with 150 grain GMX out of her Ruger Guide gun in 30-06. That bullet performed perfectly. It does not expand as much as the softer lead bullets but it expanded perfectly and penetrated deeply. Big zebra quartering away and it entered about last rib, made total mush out of the whole chest cavity and lodged up in the front off side ahead of the shoulder. My first thought for a brown bear hunt is to take the 375 Ruger Guide Gun and use 250 grain GMX's. Could easily decide to take my M70 375 H&H but not sure I want to expose it to those elements? Still might use a 250 grain GMX if I did.

 

[shuter]

My wife shot all her critters in Africa with 150 grain GMX out of her Ruger Guide gun in 30-06. That bullet performed perfectly. It does not expand as much as the softer lead bullets but it expanded perfectly and penetrated deeply. Big zebra quartering away and it entered about last rib, made total mush out of the whole chest cavity and lodged up in the front off side ahead of the shoulder. My first thought for a brown bear hunt is to take the 375 Ruger Guide Gun and use 250 grain GMX's. Could easily decide to take my M70 375 H&H but not sure I want to expose it to those elements? Still might use a 250 grain GMX if I did.

So Bob, would you use the .375 250 gr GMX over the 250 gr TTSX? I'm just starting to look at the GMX line as well. Thanks!

 

[Wheels]

I use TSX because I am happy with performance and don't know much about GMX. @James Jeffrey - HuntingAgent.com uses GMX quite a bit if I remember correct and seems to like them. Hopefully James will chime in on his experience.

With the issues we have read about concerning DGX, I have wondered if GMX is a good substitute for the 375 while using Hornady. I prefer 300g vs 250g however. If Hornady took GMX up to 300g I would be willing to try it.

I too am interested in hearing this discussed.

@tarbe it just takes us a year and a half to catch up with you regarding the discussion. You must be on the cutting edge.

 

[ActionBob]

So Bob, would you use the .375 250 gr GMX over the 250 gr TTSX? I'm just starting to look at the GMX line as well. Thanks!

No don't take me seriously on this, especially if you are a hand loader... I'm not a reloader, so I use what I can find to buy. And the 250 grain GMX have been more available to me locally.

As far as Hornady Ammo goes, I think the GMX is as good as they have for a tough hunting bullet.

I have had good results with the Interbond and others as well. I used their 270 grain lead bullet loads for PG in my 375 H&H, but for DG I used 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, A-Frames and Woodleigh hydro solids ... But of course the H&H has lots of options. Now if I was going hunting tomorrow with the 375 Ruger, I would grab a couple boxes of 250 grain GMX's and (depending upon the targeted game) a box of DGS solids off my shelf and go. Now they won't regulate for crap but I would have more faith in the GMX than the DGX. I got to see first hand that handful of scrap metal that came out of @gizmo lion and I plan to use all my remaining DGX ammo to punch holes in some mean paper

 

[gizmo]

No don't take me seriously on this, especially if you are a hand loader... I'm not a reloader, so I use what I can find to buy. And the 250 grain GMX have been more available to me locally.

As far as Hornady Ammo goes, I think the GMX is as good as they have for a tough hunting bullet.

I have had good results with the Interbond and others as well. I used their 270 grain lead bullet loads for PG in my 375 H&H, but for DG I used 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, A-Frames and Woodleigh hydro solids ... But of course the H&H has lots of options. Now if I was going hunting tomorrow with the 375 Ruger, I would grab a couple boxes of 250 grain GMX's and (depending upon the targeted game) a box of DGS solids off my shelf and go. Now they won't regulate for crap but I would have more faith in the GMX than the DGX. I got to see first hand that handful of scrap metal that came out of @gizmo lion and I plan to use all my remaining DGX ammo to punch holes in some mean paper

I agree with Bob. I know some have had good luck with DGX, I and many others didn't. I will never use DGX or DGS ammo again for DG and this is coming from a life long hornady fan. I love their other stuff but DONT risk yours or anyon else's lives on that junk. Not worth it. Use A frames or something. DGX and DGS are fine for paper punching or possibly hogs if your wanting to do it with big bores. They absolutely are not a good choice for those things that bite back.

 

[ActionBob]

The great thing about those factory 250 grain GMX 375 loads is that they shoot almost as flat as laser beams. But all things in the correct application.

And listening to your chosen PH goes a long ways... I was thinking a fast load like the 250 GMX Superformance for lion, but my PH asked me to bring 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws so that is what I took. and they worked great, as expected.

 

[Grady]

Tarbe,
I had the same questions between the GMX and TTSX (250 gr). I recently shot both of them out of my 375 and was able to recover the slugs out of the dirt berm behind my target. I reloaded them with the same powder (will have to check my recipe, but it came from the Hornady web site) and they both produced similar in the muzzle velocities...I think the TTSX was a little slower, but again would have to check my records. Both performed as advertised and mushroomed nicely. I did recover one TTSX that one petal broke off of, but the others had the classic look. Of the GMX I recovered they all looked good with a 4 petal peel back look to them. I have not been able to weight them yet, but will do that the next time I set up my reloading stuff. There was a difference in the point of impact but once I decide which load I will take to Africa this summer, I will zero in the rifle for that slug. My plan is to shoot them both at 200 yrds to make my final decision. Either way, I think I will be happy with either. My set-up is a 375 H&H Blaser R-93, with a Mag-Na-Ported barrel, Leuopold 1.5x4 VX-R Scope and iron sights.

 

[tarbe]

Haha...just goes to show - sooner or later virtually every question becomes relevant!

 

[Wheels]

Haha...just goes to show - sooner or later virtually every question becomes relevant!

Your probably on to other more important things by the time we catch up to you.

Were you able to answer your own question through trial and error?

 

[tarbe]

Your probably on to other more important things by the time we catch up to you.

Were you able to answer your own question through trial and error?

Nope...I changed my mind in that intervening 18 months more than a teenage girl. Ended up selling the 375. Now waiting for an excuse to build a big bore!

 

[AZDAVE]

My wife used the 185gr GMX in her 338 RCM in May 15 on nayala, red hartebeest, Gemsbok, and warthog. Only recovered one bullet from the Gemsbok and it looked like a advertisement for how a bullet should expand. One shot kills 20-160yards. I have used ttsx in several calibers with the same kinds of results. So shot the one that shoots best in your rifle

 

[Desert Dog]

I have tried the 165gr GMX vs the 168gr TTSX in both of my pre-64 M70s in 30-06. I worked very hard and wasted a lot of money trying to work up a load that my rifles liked with the GMX, but they were either too slow or lacked accuracy. The TTSXs were very easy to get to shoot good and seemed extremely tolerant of jump, max pressure loads, FCD crimps, and just about any other variable. The GMXs were very touchy in those rifles, hated to go fast, didn't like most of my powders, and lacked consistency.

I also loaded the 120gr GMX for my 6.5 Creedmore, and did a very accurate load for my custom stiller/brux build. I bought a box of 127gr LRXs earlier this year, and they were soooo accurate and consistent with H4350 that I made the switch. I weighed and measured a bunch of the 120gr GMXs to compare to the Barnes bullets. The quality and concentricity of the Barnes bullets are better than the Hornady bullets. before anybody accuses me of being too anal about a hunting rifle load, this is my long-range antelope/deer rifle, so I am very picky about accuracy for this particular rifle. I owe it to the animal that will be killed from 500 yards to do my part.

I am currently working up loads for the 250gr TTSX for my M70 Alaskan in 375H&H. I am having the best luck with 70.6gr of H4895, but am still playing around with jump and whether or not I want to use a FCD crimp or not. I will crono and post results when I find the right load.

I would go with whatever shoots the best in your rifle with your preferred powder.

Also, a note on Copper fouling: Regardless of what the manufactures claim, both the GMX and the TTSX foul your barrel about the same - which is A GREAT DEAL!!!! These are not target shooting or plinking bullets that can be shot for hundreds of rounds before accuracy degrades; accuracy will fall off at less than 20-30 rounds with these bullets. I usually clean my barrel with Boretech Eliminator, shoot a 3-shot group to foul the barrel a little bit and confirm zero, THEN go hunt. If you have been shooting normal lead-core bullets, Get your barrel 100% clean before making the switch to these bullets, or you will spend HOURS trying to remove the crap these bullets leave over the layer that is already there. The faster you run these bullets, the worse the fouling becomes. BUT these bullets are deadly, fast, accurate, flat, favor lighter weights, love bullet jump, and retain 100% of their weight - so the copper fouling issue is well worth it for a hunting bullet IMHO.

 

[shuter]

I have tried the 165gr GMX vs the 168gr TTSX in both of my pre-64 M70s in 30-06. I worked very hard and wasted a lot of money trying to work up a load that my rifles liked with the GMX, but they were either too slow or lacked accuracy. The TTSXs were very easy to get to shoot good and seemed extremely tolerant of jump, max pressure loads, FCD crimps, and just about any other variable. The GMXs were very touchy in those rifles, hated to go fast, didn't like most of my powders, and lacked consistency.

I also loaded the 120gr GMX for my 6.5 Creedmore, and did a very accurate load for my custom stiller/brux build. I bought a box of 127gr LRXs earlier this year, and they were soooo accurate and consistent with H4350 that I made the switch. I weighed and measured a bunch of the 120gr GMXs to compare to the Barnes bullets. The quality and concentricity of the Barnes bullets are better than the Hornady bullets. before anybody accuses me of being too anal about a hunting rifle load, this is my long-range antelope/deer rifle, so I am very picky about accuracy for this particular rifle. I owe it to the animal that will be killed from 500 yards to do my part.

I am currently working up loads for the 250gr TTSX for my M70 Alaskan in 375H&H. I am having the best luck with 70.6gr of H4895, but am still playing around with jump and whether or not I want to use a FCD crimp or not. I will crono and post results when I find the right load.

I would go with whatever shoots the best in your rifle with your preferred powder.

Also, a note on Copper fouling: Regardless of what the manufactures claim, both the GMX and the TTSX foul your barrel about the same - which is A GREAT DEAL!!!! These are not target shooting or plinking bullets that can be shot for hundreds of rounds before accuracy degrades; accuracy will fall off at less than 20-30 rounds with these bullets. I usually clean my barrel with Boretech Eliminator, shoot a 3-shot group to foul the barrel a little bit and confirm zero, THEN go hunt. If you have been shooting normal lead-core bullets, Get your barrel 100% clean before making the switch to these bullets, or you will spend HOURS trying to remove the crap these bullets leave over the layer that is already there. The faster you run these bullets, the worse the fouling becomes. BUT these bullets are deadly, fast, accurate, flat, favor lighter weights, love bullet jump, and retain 100% of their weight - so the copper fouling issue is well worth it for a hunting bullet IMHO.

Thanks for the excellent, detailed response!

 

[ActionBob]

I feel compelled to update this thread with my recent experiences with Hornady 250 grain GMX Superformance factory loads in my M70 375 H&H. They are very fast and flat shooting for a 375. I used them this past spring on two black bears up in the mountains of British Columbia. Both bears dropped in the tracks but both offered near perfect quartering to shots that went in at the front of the shoulder and exited the other side at the rear of the shoulder. No bullets recovered.

So I took those loads to Africa for my leopard hunt. first day shot an Eland, should have been a killing shot but he ran off and I followed up with a couple more... Bullets recovered were less than ideal. One was bent and hardly expanded at all, another was smashed off blunt showing minimal expansion and probably lost all the petals. I'll try to get pictures posted in a few days.

The leopard literally had a fist sized hole with half a lung hanging out... But it was an entry wound! The cat did not present any semblance of a perfect shot angel and looked about ready to jump the tree so when I got a shot at a slightly quartering tree, I took it. The bullet had to have struck a branch which in that very green tree, I would have expected to not effect it much, but the bullet broke into at least 4 pieces and must have tumbled to make such a big hole, with another hole right behind it and a scrape mark behind that. 3 pieces were recovered after traversing the chest and ending up in the back of the digestive tract. (paying the skinner $5 per bullet helps recover them Successful as far as a dead cat fell out of the tree.. .But not what I would call great bullet performance....

IMHO, Hornady ought to be more concerned with product development, quality control and honest assessment including serious follow up on hunters complaints rather than all the advertising, marketing claims, and denials............