Add one more mid sized antelope to my .223 Rem's tally. The 62 TSX at about 200 yards entered the left shoulder as he faced me, traveled lengthwise down his left side, cutting over half of the left side ribs in half, just below the backstrap without hitting anything vital. First time I had seen that happen and it was a bad shot on my part. He ran about 2-300 yards out of sight and bedded down. I found him again and snuck up and put another round in him, this time as he was broadside. He didn't go anywhere after that, but kicked and took 2-3 minutes to die, which I wasn't too keen on watching.

That first bullet may still be in the ham, as I didn't see an exit, but also didn't look too hard as I wanted to get him cooled down ASAP. I'll look for it when I cut him up. I won't totally blame the bullet here, as I didn't make the best shot ever, but I have to wonder if a more fragmenting bullet would have sent shards into the lungs on that first shot, killing him faster. As it was, he was awake and totally conscious when I got closer and shot again 10 minutes after the first shot. Despite this, I still think the .223 Rem is the quintessential antelope round. The bullet? Maybe. Maybe not.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]