Reloder 28,
A TSX that loses its petals doesn't have a pencil-point, so hardly pencils through--partly because the petals don't necessarily fall of on impact. As my post noted, one of the petals was found a couple inches from the bullet--which was found under the hide on the far side of the elk.
I have seen a few bullets "pencil through" animals over the decades, and believe me, the minimal damage they do isn't anything like what occurred to this elk's lungs.
I understand. I should not be so critical. I should admit that I have taken one Elk cow with a 140 TTSX, 7 Wby, 3400 fps muzzle velocity. The bullet impressed me having made a straightline penetration from brisket to butt and beyond. It was pretty much a reverse Texas Heart Shot. The critter stumbled for 30 yards and toppled. And, the only pencil thin wound cavity was done by an original TSX.
