I had a fair run at the TSX-130s in an '06 that shoots consistently under an inch last year. I could make then shoot pretty little groups at lower velocity than I thought they ought to be capable of, but as I went past that I never could get that gun to give me less than an inch so I put the project away for the year and hunted with cup & core in that gun.

I will have a good run at the TTSXs in the same gun to see if I can get what I want, but If I can't, 3000 FPS and the 130 TSXs is still the best solution for my money. The Guns I have tried them in will all shoot them accurately if I do the work to find out where the gun wants the load. Sometimes they are picky about velocity, sometimes about seating depth, sometimes about powder, sometimes all three, but, I have always been able to find a combination so far. They are no different, and maybe a little better if anything in that regard than any other bullet.

I have to wonder how many of the pencil through anecdotes are from people who never gut their deer. I know this is a lot more common practice than I ever thought.

The buck I shot last year had a caliber size hole going in, and a quarter size hole going out with virtually zero blood trail. He also had no recognizable lung tissue. The heart was loose in the chest and it was laid fully open so that all four chambers and valves were perfectly exposed.

I don't care if the deer had been shot with a 458, it was not going to have a blood trail when such a violent action happens inside the chest that it drops blood pressure to zero virtually instantly like that. The exit hole was not in the chest because of the position of the deer at the shot, hence all the blood stayed right there inside the chest. For all intents and purposes had the deer not been gutted it could have easily been mistaken for a "pencil through" The bullet performed as perfectly as one could hope for. To get a blood trail would have required the bullet to deflect after hitting the two ribs on the way in, and then to exit low enough on the body for the blood to leak out due to gravity.

Personally, given the choice I would opt for a bullet staying on course as much as possible. I have seen enough 150/170/180 grain cup & core bullets hit deer without exiting or hit ribs and deflect, sometimes without penetrating the chest cavity, leaving little or no blood trail on a mortally wounded deer that I don't think they are a solution by themselves.

You use the best bullets available to you for the job at hand. For me, the Barnes have moved into that category. I expect that there may be failures with the Barnes. I do not think that Barnes is so much better than any other manufacturer that they will be without failures. I do think that the Barnes bullet is a better design and that it offers me a little more forgiveness for any mistakes I might make.

Lots of good angles on this issue to think about. I have used the TSX in very limited quantity and like what I've seen so far. I have not shot enough game to statistically say very much about it. It is superbly accurate in two of my rifles, both 30 cal. The kills have been relatively fast, not dead in their tracts but the animals only moved 30 feet or so and I consider this to be outstanding. They was a blood trail of sorts (couldn't be much in 30 feet). After I dressed the animal, I was amazed he moved at all. The damage was more extensive than I thought from how he reacted to the shot. I don't drive my bullets beyond their traditional values but like them to fall within 2500 to 3000 fps. I do love the old calibers but also own two 300 mags. I just recently sold my 338 mag.(not many grizzlies in Alabama). But I use Noslers (BT and AB), Sierras (mostly PH's) as well as Hornady's. I guess I lean toward the Nosler AB's but I can buy the sierra's cheaper and they are accurate (very) and work well if not great. It's accuracy first, terminal effects second and price third. Price because I like to shoot a lot. If there is any one thing that I have been able to come to a conclusion about, it's that it matters most where you hit them (30-30 to 500 nitro within reasonable ranges) and with appropriate bullets (not varmit or target bullets although they seen to work for some).

Before I retired, I tried many different bullets. The earlier versions that Barnes fielded weren't accurate in my rifles although they are for some others. Now that I'm retired and on a fixed income, price and meat destruction have become more important than they once were. I fill my freezer with great Alabama venison. The comment about lead dust from copper lead core bullets was good. But it got me to thinking as well. Is it significant? I don't know. I have never detected any lead fragments in my game meat, at least not yet.

The pencil through concept is not a new one. I've heard it before from very reliable sources(to me). No, there are no photos because of the very nature of the best. If it penciled through, there is no recovered bullet. Yes, it could have been bad placement on the shooters part. In my travels, it takes a seasoned, hard core hunter to say he muffed the shot. In any case, has anyone investigated the possiblity that the hollow point (on the non-tipped TSX) may have been filled with dirt/debris from being carried in a pocket or wherever it came from and that it may very well have affected the expansion characteristics of the bullet? After reading about what some have said in regards to the "pencil effect", I no longer use my TSX that I had tumbled in moly because it did fill the hollow void in the bullet. Whether it had an effect or not I do not know but I thought that it might.

One last thought. To say that something can not happen is a chancy thing at best. There are many possiblities in this world. I have lived long enough to have seen this saying come back to haunt me more than once.

Like I said, many angles to this post and I like them because I learn a lot from them. Good shooting and full game bags to all.

So has anyone tried the Tipped TSX bullets yet? I am thinking of going to tipped TSX bullets in my 300 Weatherby for medium sized deer, goats, pigs etc and will probably go with the 150gn pills for abit more impact speed, flatter shooting, less recoil than 180gn. What do you think the speed limits for the petals holding together would be in general?