Barnes ttsx on Colorado cow

[Jusgunn3]

• Well boys, I was able to take a cow for third rifle near Meeker. I used my 300wsm loaded with 168gr ttsx. They were right around 3100fps at the range here. I made a bad shot too far back and nicked the stomach and went through the liver and exited. I hiked for miles before I found her. The exit hole was maybe and inch and a half and didn’t hit any bones. I will try to upload pics soon. I feel like the bullet didn’t do as much damage as it should of. What do y’all think? It was a 225yd shot off my knee.

 

[rkcdvm]

I had a strange shot too this year. Hit right in the bread basket with a 200 grain nosler accubond from my 300 win mag and it didn’t penetrate to the other side. No blood trail . Ek dropped after about 50 feet .
Bullets do some strange things sometimes . My distance was similar .

 

[Nubs]

I have killed 4 antelope and 1 whitetail with that bullet out of a .308 and only ever recovered 1 out of the animals.

Wife has taken 4 antelope with them out of her gun.

Buddy also killed one with my gun.

The one I recovered looked like the pictures. It was a frontal shot and the bullet was recovered and stopped by the femur.

From reading I've done, it can take 3 plus hours for a whitetail to die from a liver hit. Not sure about an elk.

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[tuffcrk14]

I used a 180 gr accubond out of my 300 win mag on a bull who gave me a frontal shot at 75 yards (came around a corner on a logging road and surprised each other) it went into his chest and he tumbled off the logging road and down the hill 40ish yards and was dead. My bullet annihilated his front leg just below the socket of his shoulder. The fragmentation ruined very little shoulder meat, but his lungs were a mess. Never did find the bullet or the exit wound when I dressed him out. Bullet performance with the accubond has always been explosive for me and animals haven’t made it far if I do my part.


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[Erict]

Not sure what you expected, but hard to blame the bullet after poor shot placement through only soft tissue. You did get two holes for tracking, one about 5x bullet diameter.

 

[durangobrad]

Chalk it up to bad shot placement, not bullet performance.

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[Jbehredt]

Another thread with an admitted gut shot blaming the bullet for not dropping an animal fast enough. Deja vu up in this piece.

 

[Hunt4lyf]

I’ve killed 15+ animals with that bullet out of a 308, all under 300 yds, all pass throughs, all good hits, none of the them have gone more than 50 yards and most are DRT. Put the bullet where it’s supposed to go and they die quick.

 

[hibernation]

I've got three elk down with the 150gr TTSX out of a 30-06. Two were broadside double-lung and crashed within 25 yards, exit wound was just like OP described. One was quartering toward and I hit a little back, only took out one lung and liver, found the bullet lodged against the top of the opposite hindquarter. Crashed at 100 yards.

Stomach and liver hit, I don't really know how much damage you were expecting. Seems a little hasty to blame the performance on the bullet.

 

[roosiebull]

i wouldn't blame the bullet... all bets are kinda off when a poor shot is made. every bullet is some type of compromise.... find the compromise that works best in your head and roll with it. i like monos, but i understand their downsides, and when i have shot them, i accepted their potential downfalls.

sounds like the exit hole was actually pretty dang good, so can't even chock it up to the bullet under performing due to shot placement. sounds like the bullet did a good job considering the shot placement.

make sure you have a rest to shoot from next time, bullets work better through the lungs (not being a smart ass or high horser, i have made bad shots too, but blame myself for them, not the projectile)

 

[sndmn11]

Guts and innards on the tail side of the diaphragm don't offer as much resistance as muscle, ribs, and tissue that compose the cavity surrounding the lungs. I wouldn't expect the same bullet expansion between a gut shot and a rib cage shot.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Aim for the shoulder on elk, especially with a mono. Glad you found the elk.

 

[11boo]

Not the arrow, it’s the Indian. Glad you recovered her.

 

[CAElkhunter]

Barnes X are good bullets but they do tend to punch a hole through rather than create wound channels like Nosler Partitions. Ultimately like everyone has said, if you hit vitals they are going to die fast. If you put a marginal shot on any elk with almost any bullet you may not find him. I like Barnes X for accuracy. I love Nosler Partitions for putting an Elk down fast. I am splitting hairs if both shots are in the same place......

 

[rkcdvm]

I used a 180 gr accubond out of my 300 win mag on a bull who gave me a frontal shot at 75 yards (came around a corner on a logging road and surprised each other) it went into his chest and he tumbled off the logging road and down the hill 40ish yards and was dead. My bullet annihilated his front leg just below the socket of his shoulder. The fragmentation ruined very little shoulder meat, but his lungs were a mess. Never did find the bullet or the exit wound when I dressed him out. Bullet performance with the accubond has always been explosive for me and animals haven’t made it far if I do my part.


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Yeah that was pretty much my experience .

 

[rootacres]

So after recovering a TTSX from a 250 yard shot out of a 300 WM (2900 ish MV) I would say that what you got is what I would have expected. Those TTSX are penetration kings, the tip expands and slightly rolls over, they have great weight retention but not huge expansion. A bonded bullet like an Accubond is going to have better expansion but not as good penetration. I actually have a thread asking what peoples preference is on bullets, copper vs bonded vs cup and core etc. Many people like the bullet you are using. With the performance of that bullet and your MV Id start putting the crosshairs on the animals shoulder and calling it a day. It anchors them and you'll get the penetration you need.

TTSX and Accubonds are both excellent elk bullet options

 

[Newtosavage]

Same bullet I carried in my '06 for 2nd rifle, traveling 2800 from the muzzle. Wish I'd had the chance to see it perform, but I had no question about it's ability or it wouldn't have been in my magazine.

Glad you found her. Don't let the critics get you down. Takes a man to admit he made a weak shot on an animal.

 

[5MilesBack]

1.5" exit hole........that's pretty awesome. That's what I expect to see from my broadheads, and the elk will drop in a real hurry........when I put them through the vitals.

 

[Jusgunn3]

Just to be clear here I am not blaming the bullet. This was the first Elk for me and the first time with the ttsx. I stated I made a poor shot and I just wanted to hear others thoughts. Thanks to everyone that gave a real response, glad I found her too. Tastes great!

 

[YZF_88]

Awesome you found it. I'm a big fan of the TTSX. Found a 165gr load my 30-06 likes and it's taken down (4) decent bulls on (4) hunts and blew a buck of it's feet when my daughter was behind the scope! The exit hole on this bull was about 1". Maybe a little more...but I shot it at ten yards. He bolted 45 yards and tipped over...just like the others.