Here is an example. These two bullets were fired from the same Savage 260 Rem . The bullet on the left is a 6.5 Nosler Partition that started out at 125grs. It was recovered from the off side of a buck I took in 2016. The range was about 80yds.No bone was struck. This bullet now weights 87grs. The bullet on the right is a Barnes 120gr TSX recovered from the dirt behind my 100yd target. It still weights 120grs. I have taken numerous elk with this Barnes bullet & complete pass thru.every time. Never recovered one even thru bone..Retained weight means retained momentum & therefore greater penetration.
I'm not getting in a pissing match regarding copper solids vs bonded lead core bullets or partitions, but you're comparing apples to oranges. Your Barnes was shot into a dirt embankment! That would make it expand much greater than a game animal in most cases. No doubt a Barnes will out penetrate lead core bullets most of the time, but it doesn't always expand to a perfect mushroom like the photo and that doesn't suit some people. To each his own. I'm a big fan of Barnes bullets, especially in small calibers, but I have recovered several that were barely expanded past the tip and the width measured no more than 10-20% greater than bullet diameter. They still killed the deer, but they don't always expand as shown in your photo. That being said, I still think Barnes is an excellent choice for smaller rifles and bigger game. If I was forced to shoot an elk sized animal with my daughter's .243, there is no doubt in this world, I would take the 80 gr ttsx she currently shoots.
