Okanagan,
Between my daughter and I, we've now killed 3 deer with the 80 gr GMX combo since I bought that rifle so that doesn't qualify me as an expert, but I'm sold that it will adequately handle any deer I'll ever encounter.
The first kill was an 135 lb doe I shot and was about 50 yards broadside. Bullet hit right behind the shoulder and she ran 40 yards and fell with a good blood trail. I don't recall the exit hole size but I'm thinking about quarter sized.
Second kill was a 290 lb buck at about 40 yards quartering towards me. Bullet hit front edge of shoulder just a little low and exited just behind the opposite leg. Ray Charles could have followed the 60 yard blood trail. Exit hole was maybe dime sized but the blood trail was crazy good. Large piles of pink froth coming out both sides and through the nose.
My daughter's buck was shot at about 75 yards broadside and she hit the spine just about 1 inch in front of the shoulder blade. Pencil hole in and pencil hole out. Obviously no blood trail necessary but there was some blood on the ground where he rolled around for 5-10 seconds before expiring.
On a similar note, I have killed a couple of dozen deer with a 120 TTSX in a 7mm-08 ranging from 20-380 yards and have never found them lacking, but I have been more impressed with the 243, likely because it is running 300 fps faster. With the 120 ttsx, I think most of my exit holes have been dime to quarter sized on broadsided shots. I've only caught 3 of the ttsx, and all 3 were straight on shots in the chest with 1 found under the hide near the flank and the other 2 found in the hind quarter.
I hope that helps with your questions. I would think the 80 gr GMX or TTSX would fit your needs perfectly.
