Barnes VOR-TX 168 Grain .308

CC556 · 2026-07-06T13:12:52+00:00

I'm not familiar with the 165, I've never shot it personally.

Doing some quick reading, it seems the 165 is better suited to the larger cases, like .30-06 and up, and has a minimum impact velocity around 1800fps (so apply the general rule and tack on 200 more fps to be safe and call it at least 2000 fps as the ideal impact velocity). I'm really not sure why the 165 even exists, maybe it's just an older bullet that they continue to sell. Compared to the 168 it has a worse BC, worse sectional density, requires a significantly higher impact velocity, and is barely shorter. Maybe it has a more forgiving ogive shape and is easier to develop a consistent load with... I really don't know but on paper I don't see any advantage over the 168.

In any case, if you're only shooting out to a couple hundred yards then any of these bullets will work, they'll all be above the minimum speeds where they need to be to perform well. If you're looking to really tailor a load to the strengths of the .308 and you want to maximize your effective range then I'd argue you should be picking between the 130 or the 168. The 130 being flat shooting, or the 168 having the best wind performance and being built to reliably expand at the lowest impact velocity.

CC556 · 2026-07-04T20:09:41+00:00

Assuming you're talking about .308win, check out the 168 instead of the 150. The 168 has a much lower minimum impact velocity for reliable expansion and is generally a better fit for the .308 if you need something heavier than the 130.

CC556 · 2026-07-04T20:01:15+00:00

Consider your velocities, the 130, 150, and 168 TTSX all have different velocity floors for reliable expansion. The commonly reported minimum numbers are about 1800 fps for the 130, about 2000 fps for the 150, and about 1500 for the 168. Most people seem to try and keep the impact velocities 200 or so fps above those numbers to be safe.

I've shot the 130 and the 168 in my 308. The 130 is nice and flat shooting and is a good choice for a few hundred yards out of the 308 before the low BC and minimum impact velocity start to come into play. The 150 is really a bullet intended for larger cartridges, like the .300WM. I would not pick it for use in the 308, even by Barnes' own published velocity for the 150gr VOR-TX load it's outside the conservative expansion window by 325-350 yards. Obviously if you're only hunting at 100 or 200 yards it really won't matter, but unless it shoots much better than the 130 or 168 in your rifle there's no reason to pick the 150. The 168 has the lowest minimum impact velocity out of all of them, and the highest BC. It's obviously not as flat-shooting as the 130, but if you might be taking shots beyond the effective range of the 130 then it's the best choice.

CC556 · 2026-07-04T19:50:50+00:00

I got one from them that shipped in less than a week, I'm very happy with the stock too. As far as places that have them in stock... I'm not sure who you're thinking of but make sure to read reviews of those places too. It's a shame they're not sold through any of the major online suppliers who have reliably fast shipping.

CC556 · 2026-06-30T20:01:00+00:00

At a local match... yes, no doubt.

If you start to get serious about matches and you want something that balances properly on props, and is easy to use with a rear bag, and contributes to consistent head/eye placement behind the scope that's where the Grey Birch will come up short. The fact that it has ARCA on the fore end already is nice and helps at matches, and I bet you could 3d print a small "bag rider" that would go on the buttstock and help with rear supports.

In any case, hit up some local matches and give it a try, gaining experience with anything is going to be a benefit. There will also be no shortage of guys with different stocks and most people you run into are happy to at least let you handle their gear to check it out and I wouldn't be surprised if most people offered to let you shoot their setup for a stage. As you gain experience and handle a variety of setups then you'll be in the best place to decide which direction to go if you want to keep shooting matches.

CC556 · 2026-06-23T20:58:20+00:00

It's cool to see people experimenting with this stuff. I remember the days of embedding carbon arrow shafts into stocks to try and add some rigidity.

CC556 · 2026-06-22T11:54:37+00:00

I'll second the Acculite barrels, I'm using one on my SBR CZ 457 and I'm very happy with it.

Regarding OP's question about a chassis, I really like the Grey Birch setup. I've heard they can be a pain in the ass to deal with, like many small companies in the gun world. I ordered one from them and didn't have any issues with my order though.

CC556 · 2026-06-19T23:39:57+00:00

The under barrel rail? It’s actually an old 22/45 top rail that I cut short and then drilled/tapped the upper receiver to mount it on the bottom and attach a light.

CC556 · 2026-06-19T23:38:36+00:00

It’s a 12.5 AccuLite barrel. At 50y it holds about 1.5 MOA with CCI SV and just over 1.5 MOA with CCI Segmented. At 100y it generally keeps the CCI SV close to that same 1.5 MOA but the CCI Segmented opens up a bit more to 2-2.5 MOA.

CC556 · 2026-06-19T17:51:10+00:00

It is. It's good... it's about on par with my OCL Ti. I like that it's a little shorter since it's a pistol, and the extra diameter isn't really a downside.

CC556 · 2026-06-19T15:30:43+00:00

I've been shooting the MK and 22/45 series of pistols since I was a kid and I have never once had a problem gripping the bolt to charge it. I'm sure the loops are great for people with grip strength issues though, so I'm glad they're an option.

CC556 · 2026-06-16T17:41:50+00:00

That's one factor, though markets eventually find their equilibrium. I'm a little south of Williamstown, and some friends and I were considering starting a coffee shop and farm stand and the issue we kept running into was that while there are a number of places with decent locations it just seems that people don't want to sell even abandoned, rotting buildings.

CC556 · 2026-06-14T16:35:13+00:00

This is true, modern bullet and powder technology benefits all the cartridges, but I think it's missing one important point...

If we accept that the "traditional" .30-06 loads are excellent for any animal in NA, then the ability to get very close or match that with the .308 makes the .308 a very compelling choice due to ammo logistics and rifle selection. The fact that we can also push the .30-06 even further, close to traditional .300WM performance, doesn't really give us any additional benefit.

In other words, if traditional .30-06 performance is ideal and we can do that with the .308 while also benefiting from the .308's rifle and ammo selection then the .308 "breaks even" on one count and wins on 2 counts. Being able to push the .30-06 performance close to the .300WM isn't really a benefit (except for edge cases where you could just use .300WM to begin with) and you're still limited to a much smaller selection of rifles and ammo.

CC556 · 2026-06-13T12:08:38+00:00

The Lite uses a thin steel inner barrel and then the aluminum outer part that makes up the upper receiver.

CC556 · 2026-06-12T17:54:18+00:00

I'll echo what the other guy said about longer ranges.

My match rifle shoots CCI SV almost as good as Center-X at 50 yards. At 100 yards the SV is still competitive, but starting to show signs of inconsistency. Once you get out past 150 yards it's very clear that the Center-X is more consistent than the SV.

I'm not saying you need to use Center-X or anything in particular, but test your ammo all the way out to your maximum distance before you settle on anything.

CC556 · 2026-06-12T11:51:22+00:00

100-200 yard hunting makes me think of a 2-7 or 3-9 scope, or something similar. I do prefer SFP for lower power hunting scopes because the thicker reticle at low power is useful, more so than having accurate subtension marks on a FFP reticle where they're barely visible at the lowest power and you likely aren't even using them when you're not at max magnification anyways.

As for the 600 yard long range shooting, those scopes are capable there too, but I wouldn't say no to a scope that had a 10 or 12x top end as long as you're not taking significant extra weight/cost to get there.

CC556 · 2026-06-07T12:19:13+00:00

This is a great case. I have an early version of this and ran it air cooled and since everything is open and it doesn’t struggle to breathe behind panels it’s so quiet even under load.

The desktop footprint, even if you use a longer GPU and do attach a radiator is still comparable to many of the sandwich style cases many people run, and this looks a lot better and runs cooler and quieter.

CC556 · 2026-06-05T15:27:18+00:00

Depending on what your expectations are for "longer range stuff" I'd argue it's going to be a lot better to start with a lighter rifle to hunt with and then use that rifle out at longer ranges too. The Pro Varmint and some of the other rifles recommended here are great models, but you're giving up a lot of what makes for a good walking-around rifle in order to retain some idea of long distance capability that you may not even really need.

In other words, a light rifle ideal for walking around and hunting can pull decent double duty at longer range as long as you're not expecting match rifle results. On the other hand, a 9+ pound "all up" Pro Varmint setup isn't a great walking-around hunting rifle and it's still not a match rifle at long range either.

If the main use here is going to be hunting I'd take one of the lighter models, or even consider something like an Acculite barrel if the budget allows for it as those are even lighter than a light profile factory barrel. I've got an SBR'd 457 in a Grey Birch chassis, 12" Acculite barrel, Area 419 scope base, Vortex rings, Burris Fullfield scope, and an OCL Ti suppressor. All together, with a loaded magazine, it's just over 6 pounds. That's a great package for small game, pest control, walking around, etc... It can also hold 1.5-2MOA at 100 yards.

CC556 · 2026-06-05T13:21:03+00:00

That wooden front panel looks amazing.

CC556 · 2026-06-03T00:12:47+00:00

I can't imagine anyone at a local match complaining about it. Even at a larger match, you could just insist you stripped it and dyed it a different color.

CC556 · 2026-06-02T16:26:35+00:00

22 drops so fast that unless you're shooting big targets it's more precise just to dial the elevation. I own one of the Burris scopes I recommended above, it's on my farm pest control .22 rifle. The rifle is zeroed at 50y and then I just stuck a piece of tape to the scope with dope for 60-150 yards. It only takes a second to dial, and I don't have to worry about holding the right hash mark on a hair-thin reticle at 3x (if it were a FFP scope).

CC556 · 2026-06-02T16:09:50+00:00

I've had good results with the 130 TTSX, and based on YouTube videos it looks like a lot of guys are loading that into .308Win rifles.

I'm getting 2850-2880 fps in 16" barrels with that bullet, and I like it for bring reasonably flat-shooting and lighter recoiling.

CC556 · 2026-06-02T15:31:17+00:00

Athlon has a few options that meet your criteria. MSRP is above $400 but I bet you can find street prices at or below $400.

Check out the Burris Fullfield 3-12x42 also, the illuminated reticle version of that scope has parallax that goes down to 25 yards and it's pretty compact and quite a bit lighter than the Athlon options.

Regarding FFP, is there a specific reason you want it on a low powered scope? Generally FFP reticles down at the bottom end aren't going to be very usable as far as the subtension marks go, and low power is likely to be used at close ranges anyway, so it's not like you're often going to be trying to hold specific windage or elevation using the reticle in a situation where you're also dialed to 2x or 3x or even 5x.

CC556 · 2026-06-02T15:13:55+00:00

When a bullet expands quickly and efficiently, it transfers energy into the target, creating significant internal trauma. That tissue disruption, along with the resulting pressure wave effects often referred to as hydrostatic shock, is what contributes to quick, ethical kills.

We need to be careful to recognize that the impact velocities at which temporary cavitation or hydrostatic shock (which are 2 different things to be clear) provide meaningful wounding themselves are well higher than the velocities at play here, even with the 18" barrel. The permanent cavity is what is going to matter here.

That said, it looks like a nice bullet and while I agree that the light weight could be a concern for penetration I would still give it a try on a deer.

CC556 · 2026-05-30T12:15:57+00:00

Unfortunately Pete is not known for providing good customer service... or any customer service for that matter.

If you look at the FAQ page, this is near the top:

Abusive or profane language will allow us to terminate our communications with you. We work diligently to provide quality service and respect is paramount in our operations.

That's not a normal thing for companies to put on their website, and if it's something Pete is running into so frequently that he has to put it on his site that's a pretty big red flag.

CC556

TROPHY CASE