Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX – Superb Short Magnum

Description

Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX is the short action answer to the .300 Winchester Magnum. The Short Magnum case is fatter and stubbier, which lets it hold comparable powder in an action an inch shorter, and the practical result is a lighter, handier rifle with very similar ballistics.

What the Short Magnum Actually Buys

The engineering argument for a 300 Winchester Short Magnum load is efficiency of shape. A short, wide powder column burns more consistently than a long thin one, and the shorter action saves weight and stiffness where a mountain rifle needs it. On paper the WSM gives up very little to the belted .300 Winchester Magnum.

In practice the difference between them is smaller than the argument suggests, and the .300 Win Mag won on availability rather than ballistics. If you already own a WSM the cartridge is excellent; if you are choosing between them, factory ammunition selection favours the older round.

What Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX and the short action genuinely deliver is a rifle that carries better. For a hunter walking ridges all day, a pound saved and a stiffer action are worth more than the last fifty feet per second, and that is the honest case for the cartridge.

Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX Specifications

Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX is a 150 grain hunting bullet in .300 WSM using the Barnes Tipped TSX, 20 rounds to the box, from Barnes Bullets. It sits in the standard VOR-TX line, the company hunting ammunition built around its own copper projectiles.

The 150 grain weight in Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX is light for a .300 magnum, where 165 to 180 grain bullets are the usual choice. The all copper Tipped TSX bullet is what makes it work: because it retains essentially all its weight rather than shedding a lead core, 150 grains of copper penetrates in the territory of a considerably heavier conventional bullet.

What the lighter weight buys is velocity and a flatter trajectory, which suits the open country this cartridge tends to get carried in. It also softens recoil slightly against a 180 grain load, and in short action magnum ammunition fired from a light rifle that is not a trivial benefit.

• Caliber: .300 Winchester Short Magnum
• Bullet weight: 150 grain
• Bullet type: Barnes Tipped TSX
• Construction: all copper, polymer tipped
• Lead free: yes
• Action: short action
• Intended use: deer, elk and open country game
• Rounds per box: 20
• Manufacturer: Barnes Bullets
• Product line: VOR-TX

Recoil, Elk and Supply

Recoil from Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX in a short action magnum is sharper than the same energy in a heavier long action rifle, because the rifles chambered for these cartridges are usually built light. The WSM in a seven pound mountain rifle kicks noticeably harder than a .30-06 in an eight pound one, and that is worth knowing before you commit.

On elk, Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX works well with the copper bullet, though a 165 or 180 grain load gives more margin on a bad angle. The 150 grain bullet is the better choice if deer and open country shooting dominate your season and elk is an occasional opportunity rather than the main event.

Supply is the practical caveat. The Short Magnum family never displaced the belted magnums, and factory ammunition selection has thinned over the years. If you hunt with one, buy enough of a single lot to sight in and hunt rather than assuming you can restock mid-season.

Hunters who want Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX in a light short action rifle who want copper bullet penetration with a flat trajectory for open country.

The same cartridge is offered with a heavier bullet in the VOR-TX 300 WSM 165gr TTSX if elk are the priority. For a milder cartridge with similar reach, the VOR-TX RR 30-06 130gr TTSX is considerably easier to practise with.

Store Barnes VOR-TX 300 WSM 150gr TTSX indoors, dry and out of heat, and hunt the lot you sighted in with. Short magnum cases are efficient but they still hold a lot of powder, and temperature-driven velocity shifts show up at the distances this cartridge is carried for.