Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Two Tipped TSX's recovered in a row

Of the bullets I've seen used considerably, the Hornady GMX and Nosler E-Tip will penetrate just as deeply, which isn't surprising since they're very similar in consttruction to Tipped TSX's. But there are several other specific bullets I've seen that will match them.

I have also seen TSX's and similar bullets fail to expand a few times, in fact I've seen them fail to expand more times than all other expanding bullets I've seen used over the decades. That doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and when it does the result can be a real PITA. They do still kill, but not nearly as quickly, and on three occasions the animal wasn't found until several days or even weeks afterward.

A bullet that doesn't penetrate enough can result in the same thing, but I have yet to see an expanding bullet that didn't penetrate sufficiently leave as little blood trail as a monolithic that didn't expand.

It's also been quite a while since I've seen a bullet of any kind fail to penetrate sufficiently, because neither I or my companions used the wrong bullet for the job. The last one, in fact, actually stayed pretty much together. That was a 220-grain Power Point from a .325 WSM that failed to get to the far lung on a zebra. The bullet retained 72% of its weight, but opened so widely penetration was reduced. The hunter was one of my partners on the safari, and he'd also brought a .375 H&H and 300-grain Trophy Bondeds for buffalo. The PH told him to put the .325 away and use the .375 from then on.

But it has been a long time since I've seen a cup-and-core fail to penetrate a deer-sized animal sufficiently, even when hit in the shoulder joint. And the animals always died pretty promptly, unlike some other animals hit with monolithics that failed to expand.