LAST EDITED ON Oct-24-08 AT 04:37PM (MST)[p]Killed a 4x5 raghorn this year with my .270 WSM with a 130 gr Barnes TSX bullet. We called him in and he was facing directly toward me and was the only shot he presented. I have never shot anything directly in the center of the chest while facing me but I took the shot anyway because of the confidence I had in the legendary penetration of the TXS bullets. He only went 20 to 25 yards after the shot.
As we field dressed him, I was struck with how little damage there was to his vitals. The bullet definitely hit his lungs and he had massive internal bleeding, but not near the devastation that I expected from an elk that only made it 25 yards. My 16 year old son Tarrin also wanted to find the bullet to see what happened to it. We could see the entrance hole but no clear exit hole. So Tarrin set out to find the bullet. We could vaguely make out the bullet's path and it ended at a hole in the front of the stomach. My curiosity ended with the statement, "Well, I bet it is still inside the stomach." However, this did not damper his curious nature. I slit the stomach wide open for him, he donned the latex gloves and dove in. After about 15 minutes of playing in the soup, he comes running over to us with a big grin in his face! "I found it!", he said as my dad and I just laughed and shook our heads.
The 130 gr bullet had shed one petel and weighed 122 grains after traveling nearly the entire length of the inner cavity. It came to rest in the very rear portion of the stomach. I really like the new bonded bullets because that are cheaper than the Barnes and I feel that they are just as effective. But after trying all summer to come up with a good load, I was resigned to the fact that the Barnes TSX bullets are the only bullet that my gun will shoot accurately and consistently. These bullets do not have the explosive, jelly making effect of a traditionally constructed bullet, but so far, I can't fault their effectiveness. This was the second bull that I have killed with these bullets. So far, I am very satisfied with this bullet!