Pass throughs are a big concern with Barnes type bullets. Don't shoot when there is another behind. Sometimes though, you can't help what happens. I shot a spike bullet at 20 yards through the head with a 165 grain X bullet from my 300 Wby. Muzzle velocity was 3450 or so. I had a clear path in front of and behind. I took the head shot because it was 20 yds and I had a ponderosa pine rest. Snuck up on an entire herd sleeping and waited until they woke up and milled around.
At the shot, the bull dropped of course and I walked over there as the rest of them scattered (about 10 head). I looked up on a little hill behind where they had been dozing and saw a calf up there about 20 yards behind the main bunch that I couldn't see from my original vantage point. I was now standing over the dead spike as the calf came off the hill and jumped on top of the spike. I could see a little blood on the calf's shoulder and my heart sunk.
I grabbed him (generic use of him) and pulled him to his feet. I then got behind him and an pushed him, trying to get him to leave. My thoughts were that nobody would ever believe I am trying to pull a calf elk along!. I finally put one hand under his neck and the other lower on his hind legs like you see the guys do when the load a recalcitrant racehorse into the gates. He got the message and took off, running about 30 yards before doing a nice cartwheel and dying in the snow.
I went up the hill where he had been standing and found blood in the snow, dug around a little and found where the bullet had gone into the ground.
Only thing I can figure is that the bullet ricocheted off the base of the antler and went up the hill at an odd angle and hit the calf that was not visible under the tree canopy and at least 20' higher than my field of view through the 2X scope. I don't think any other bullet - at that time- would have done this.
I never tried a head shot again after this either! I killed a lot of elk with the 165 grain X bullet and only quit when I got interested in experimenting with other bullets and the new incarnation would not shoot in my rifles.
