Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr Barnes TSX – Magnificent Lead Free Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr Barnes TSX is the heavier of their two lead free 45-70 loads, and the one to pick when the animal is larger than a deer. A 350 grain solid copper flat nose at 2150 fps carries about 3591 ft-lbs, and because the bullet is machined from a single piece of copper it opens wide and keeps nearly all of its weight on the way through.

• Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr Barnes TSX Overview
• Lead Free 45-70 Hunting Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 350 Grain Copper Flat Nose Bullet Penetrates Further
• Specifications
• Rifles Approved For This Monolithic Bullet Lever Gun Load

Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr Barnes TSX Overview

Buffalo Bore item 8G is part of their Buffalo-Barnes line. The 350 grain Barnes TSX flat nose runs 2150 fps for roughly 3591 ft-lbs. Twenty rounds per box.

It is loaded to 45-70 Magnum pressure and shares its published numbers with the 350 grain jacketed flat nose in the same catalogue. What separates them is bullet construction and what that does after impact.

Against the 300 grain copper load in the same line, this one gives up 200 fps and 87 ft-lbs in exchange for fifty extra grains. On paper that looks like a wash. In practice sectional density decides how deep a bullet goes once it starts meeting resistance, and fifty grains is a real difference.

Buffalo Bore built the Buffalo-Barnes range for hunters required to use non lead ammunition and for those who simply prefer a monolithic bullet. California has required non lead ammunition for hunting statewide since 2019, and a growing list of other areas restrict it in specific places.

Lead Free 45-70 Hunting Ammo Ballistics

At 2150 fps a 350 grain bullet produces about 3591 ft-lbs, from grains times velocity squared divided by 450437. That is within a few foot pounds of every other magnum load Buffalo Bore builds in the cartridge, which tells you the case is at its ceiling.

Momentum separates them. At 350 grains and 2150 fps the figure is 752,500 grain-feet per second against 705,000 for the 300 grain at 2350. For a bullet that holds its weight, momentum is the better predictor of how far it travels.

Trajectory is still good. A 45-70 at 2150 fps is flat enough for any honest lever gun distance, and the flat nose costs less in ballistic coefficient than you would guess at these ranges.

Recoil is heavier than the 300 grain copper load and lighter than the 430 grain hard cast. Most shooters find heavy non lead rifle ammunition in this weight a reasonable compromise between what the rifle delivers and what the shoulder will tolerate.

Why The 350 Grain Copper Flat Nose Bullet Penetrates Further

The Barnes Triple Shock X is turned from solid copper bar stock. No lead core, no jacket, and therefore no interface that can fail. On impact the hollow nose peels into four petals that remain attached to the shank for the length of the wound channel.

Weight retention runs ninety five percent or better as a rule. A cup and core bullet driven to 2150 fps into heavy bone can lose a third of its mass to fragmentation, and those fragments do not contribute to reaching the vitals.

Copper is less dense than lead, so a 350 grain copper flat nose bullet is physically longer than a 350 grain lead one. Barnes cuts relief grooves into the shank to manage the additional bearing surface, keeping pressure and bore fouling under control.

The flat meplat is deliberate and important. A pointed bullet sitting nose to primer in a tube magazine is a genuine hazard under recoil, so Barnes builds the lever gun version of this bullet with a flat face. It also cuts a wider hole before expansion begins.

Accuracy is generally excellent. Machined bullets vary far less in weight and concentricity than swaged or cast ones, and lead free 45-70 hunting ammo of this construction tends to group well even from iron sights.

The result is a monolithic bullet lever gun load that covers elk, bear and moose as comfortably as it covers deer, which is not something most expanding bullets can claim.

Specifications

Rifles Approved For This Monolithic Bullet Lever Gun Load

This is magnum pressure 45-70. Buffalo Bore approves it for Marlin 1895 rifles made since 1972, Browning 1885 and 1886 copies, the Rossi Rio Grande, the Thompson Center Encore, and falling blocks of modern steel such as the Ruger No. 1 and No. 3.

It must never be fired in an original or reproduction Trapdoor action. Buffalo Bore 45-70 ammunition is dimensionally identical to SAAMI specification ammunition, so it chambers in anything and is safe only in a specific list of rifles.

The flat nose feeds well through tube magazines. At 350 grains the copper bullet is long, so cycling a full magazine by hand in your own rifle before a hunt is a sensible five minutes.

Sight in with the exact load you intend to carry. A 350 grain copper flat nose bullet at 2150 fps lands in a noticeably different place from a 430 grain hard cast at 1925, and at two hundred yards that difference is measured in feet.

Heavy Non Lead Rifle Ammunition Availability

This Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr Barnes TSX is in stock and ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer, and orders of this heavy non lead rifle ammunition normally leave within one business day.

For a lighter, faster copper bullet see the Buffalo Bore 45-70 300gr Barnes TSX. The jacketed equivalent at this weight is the Buffalo Bore 45-70 350gr JFN, and for maximum penetration the Buffalo Bore 45-70 Magnum 430gr Hard Cast. Approved rifles are listed by Buffalo Bore Ammunition.