May have just witnessed my first copper bullet failure…

[coast range]

So long of the short…

Buddy son had a damage control elk tag. Shot was 80ish yards completely broadside. Laying prone and waited like a pro for a clear shot on a mature cow. Well done and said the shot felt good and thought the shot was good. He has not killed an elk but several nice blacktail, cougars and coyotes.

Elk are in a large field and immediately group back up not allowing a follow up. They go 200 yards and single file over a fence into the thick stuff. At that spot blood was there but not a large spot, smaller than a basketball for sure. At this point head into a swamp ankle to knee deep water. Last nights searching ended there, working out tracks and blood with 100 animals is a little different.

Anyway at first light head in and start at the beginning to make sure we didn’t miss anything. We zip zag the swamp and loop back to the far side for the second time were I end up finding her. She followed the others and made it through the swamp and into the woods by literally like 10’… very thankful for that! But she traveled 750 yards and crossed a swamp!


As I walk up on her I can see a little bulge right behind her shoulder(4”?) I take my knife and pop out the 120gr ttsx. This is coming out of a tikka chopped at 16” and suppressed.

After digging, shot went through both lungs just missing the heart. “Perfect” petal copper bullet.

You can see the “exit” on the elk and its location.

I and my daughter have killed alot of animals from Rosevelt elk to black tails to antelope with this bullet in this caliber but most died either in sight or after a short blood trail.

Just thought it interesting…

 

[Soj51hopeful]

If you found a “perfect petaled” bullet under the offside hide I fail to see the failure. Sounds like it did its job and that individual elk was a tough gal.

 

[Nick4050]

It sounds like the bullet performed to full expansion and dumped 100% of its energy into the animal. There's not much more you could ask for, my guess is it was a lower lung shot that just took longer to fill up/collapse the lungs.

 

[92xj]

There is no way she went 750 yards with a mushroomed bullet through both lungs. One or more of those three things didn’t happen.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Failed bullet pulled outta a dead animal?

 

[streamerfish]

Sounds like it performed exactly as its built to perform. Definitely not a failure, just part of the choice of shooting a TTSX.

TTSX isn't going to make a very big/wide wound channel so your chances of an animal going further before expiring is definitely higher then other options.

You didn't mention what the cartridge is, but with a 16" barrel I'm going to guess your not running super fast either.

It's not a judgement on the choice, it just....is....Good job on tracking it down.

 

[streamerfish]

There is no way she went 750 yards with a mushroomed bullet through both lungs. One or more of those three things didn’t happen.

I'm not sure if i've ever seen 750yds. But I've seen a couple elk go a long ways double lunged from copper bullets. Just not that big of a wound cavity. Not something I would expect all the time or anything. But it happens.

 

[Pwb199]

Well it’s a sample of one. But I’d no longer use that bullet if I did in-fact make a good shot, and an elk went 750 yards.

 

[coast range]

There is no way she went 750 yards with a mushroomed bullet through both lungs. One or more of those three things didn’t happen.

Ha I’m on here every day I know the canned responses. Line of sight with OnX put her 570 yards, tracking their path right puts her right about 750. Take or leave it, I have nothing to gain here bud just putting this out there.

 

[coast range]

It sounds like the bullet performed to full expansion and dumped 100% of its energy into the animal. There's not much more you could ask for, my guess is it was a lower lung shot that just took longer to fill up/collapse the lungs.

Agreed on the lower lung, but damn she covered some ground! You can see the “exit”

 

[coast range]

Well it’s a sample of one. But I’d no longer use that bullet if I did in-fact make a good shot, and an elk went 750 yards.

Yeah I was the one that got him to start shooting the ttsx and we have had great luck with it. We know its limitations but the kids are not shooting long distance. We live in the Oregon coast

 

[Glimmerman151]

What was the cartridge and velocity ?

 

[coast range]

7 08 I think he is about 2650

 

[PLhunter]

Hard to say from a sample of one. I always try and base performance on the wound channel/penetration and not how the animal behaves post shot because that’s all over the place. I’ve seen deer drop stone dead from a .50 cal muzzleloader ball to the liver. I’ve seen deer with a baseball sized hole through both lungs make it 100+ yards. I’ve seen a deer continue feeding after having a hole put through an artery. I’ve seen a whitetail doe survive and be unrecognizable as hit with a tennis ball sized hole through the shoulder for more than 2 minutes before dropping dead grouped back up with the herd. On a muzzleloader hunt with a buddy I saw a blacktail buck drop from a center punch and the next day I shot one through the heart and it went 100 yards

All that said I don’t think the Barnes mode of action is well suited to punching above the calibers traditional weight class.

 

[Matt5266]

It performed like ttsx do..... which is why I no longer use them

 

[wildwilderness]

7 08 I think he is about 2650

That’s why I don’t prescribe to the Rokslide smaller is better for elk! I’ve seen plenty of tough elk that don’t know they are hit.

Barnes do way better with max velocity, and I prefer hitting bone- breaking front shoulder.

Glad the elk was found

 

[1000yards]

Very typical performance right there, and anyone who doubts your claim simply lacks experience. Your problem is impact velocity, which needs to be kept high with these bullets. This is a 168 TTSX fired from a 30-06, impact velocity ~2,100 feet per second. The cow was quartering towards, bullet entered just forward of the left shoulder, and stopped in the hide on the right ham. The left lung was smashed and the liver was hit pretty well. She also ran several hundred yards.

I saw better performance from the 130 TTSX. Still nothing like a good fragmenting lead core, but the 130 is my 'meat saving' option.

 

[Smtn10pt]

hey at least it formed petals, that's a step up!

 

[eamyrick]

There is no way she went 750 yards with a mushroomed bullet through both lungs. One or more of those three things didn’t happen.

I shot a bull with 4 ELD-X out of a 30-06 this year. 3 were in a fist sized group, one through the heart. Elk went 4-500 yards before I caught it trotting through a meadow and shot it in the neck to drop it. There was a ton of damage inside. With that said I’ve switched away from copper to get more damage but I 100% believe a well shot elk can go 100s of yards.