Hey Guy's - Yesterday was opening day on Antelope here in Colorado - After seven years of putting in, I finally got another tag. I used the new Federal Barnes TSX load... Last hunt (7 years ago) I used the same 243 and the ballistic tip with good results.

Anyways, snuck up on this little heard of 20 doe's and a reasonable sized buck - The closest I could get was 225yds (My longest shot ever). Put the cross-hairs right on the point of his shoulder and let'er fly.

Performance was nothing less than spectacular - Small entrance hole; totally destroyed heart and lungs (imagine raspberry-preserve-like destroyed); and a small exit hole. Funny thing: With that kind of damage, I would have expected him to drop on the spot. He didn't, he just stood there hunched up and looking sick for about 45 seconds; then he laid down (without taking a step); put his head down and it was over.

Antelope aren't big animals, so I would have probably had the same result with any other bullet - I just thought it was outstanding terminal performance.

Love it that hunting season has started - Next up is elk, mule deer and bear - Good luck to you all this season!!!

JDA-CO

Congrats! Its amazing how critters just wont die sometimes. Good shooting and good luck with the rest of your season.

Congrats on the hunt.

Barnes are impressive, aren't they?

That wasn't supposed to happen. Because it wasn't a jacketed bullet, it was supposed to start tumbling in mid flight, slow down 500 FPS per 100 yards, and completely close up upon impact, resulting in a BB sized hole all the way through, with a 36 hour tracking job to follow. At least that's what some say.

Ken - That made me laugh!

JDA

Congrats and Waidmannsheil on the Antelope. I had almost the same result on an antelope in the early 80’s near Gillette WY using Nosler Partitions. First round hit right where it should have and took out the vitals, the antelope just did not know his time was up. So, I took a second a while later to take out the front shoulder, only then did he fall down. I really thought I had missed with the first round. I guess antelope just don’t always want to fall down after being hit solidly.

Don