quote:

I have hunted enough to know that most "instant" kills can be attributed to structural shot placement more than bullet design.

I have also hunted enough to know that most tracking jobs can be attributed to shot placement rather than bullet design.

I agree shot placement is always key in hunting game. Regardless if the bullet pencils through, looses it's fron half or only retains half the orignal weight, by your statments you are bringing home the animal with proper shot placement.

So I don't see what was the point of your previous statements. I agree with you on I don't want a bullet that is going to splash on impact. I still find the other two options you gave preferable to a bullet that pencils through. I want a bullet that will transfer most of the energy to an animal not one that zips right through barely bleeding off any of it's energy.

I just want to know why you think a bullet that pencils through is better than one that sheds it's front half or looses 50% of it's weight. Look at Berger bullets, a lot of people are starting to hunt with the VLD design. Berger markets them on the fact that they will fragment after a little penetration and very rarely leave an exit wound. Don't get me wrong I like exit wounds, but I like my bullet to be dramaticly slowed while passing through the intended target.

I know of no animal that will live with two holes through the chest cavity.

Other bullets will cause two holes less often than with Barnes Tsx's/monometal bullets.

So second issue is this: I process all of my own critters from field to freezer. Plain and simple, lead bullets cause an awful lot of tissue damage. This leads to wasted meat.

From my experience, a Barnes TSX will have complete penetration with massive internal damage without all the external tissue/meat damage.

That is why I prefer taking the chance on penciling through vs blowing up and coming apart.

From my experience I have seen way more bullets blow up and cause excessive waste than Barnes penciling through. I am talking about a approx 200-300 witnessed/shot critters so I am not basing this off just a few experiences.

It all comes down to personal preference. I am just sharing some thoughts on the subject.

I don't know of any animal that will survive one hole through the chest cavity. My experience I guess is far less than yours. I've never seen a properly selected bullet damage excessive amounts of meat as I process my own as well. I've seen poor shot placement destroy more meat than anything else, and I've definatly had my share of poorly placed shots to know.

Unless you are trying to take large game with light bullets at high velocity, I just don't see where Barnes has a distinct advantage. I'm sure Barnes builds a good product, but so do many other bullet makers. I'm happy with what I use and obviously you are as well.

Keep in mind that this is all pretty much splitting hairs.

I base my preferences on a bunch of success and a few failures through 30 years of hunting.

Please remember that this is my preference and I am not trying to talk you into a brand Y bullet.

Take it for what it is, my opinion and personal preference.

There are lots of great bullets out there.

Trying to decide if one is "better" is like putting 10 gallons into a 5 gallon bucket.

Usually nothing really gets accomplished and everybody get's messy.

Use what you like, like what you use, but most importantly hit what you are aiming for.

To me penetration is a deciding factor on questionable placed shots.

I derived this from a well know archery study that concluded penetration was the number one factor in the ability to recover game. The more penetration resulted in increased % of recovering hit animals.

But that is a whole nother subject matter altogether.