I've sheared petals off before - usually finding petals caught in the offside hide and an exit hole - but haven't seen on disintegrate. Not to say that it won't happen, fling enough bullets at enough stuff and you will see some weird [bleep].
I HAVE had TSX/TTSX failure to opens before, and I have seen some absolutely spectacular penetration on stuff like bull elk at close-ish range, ie bust the on side shoulder on a quartering in bull and finding a perfectly expanded bullet under the hide on the opposite side hip. AND I had one that didn't open much at all, that only went 14" in the backstrap of an elk that was headed down a steep hill for the river at the bottom of a canyon. I fully expected to drive that one in front of the hips and have it come out the brisket, but nope. Nothing but hide and meat and stopped less than 14" in. And that was a 180 from a 300 Ultra.
In fact, every elk that I have shot with a TTSX/TSX has caught a bullet somewhere in it except one bull that I punched a 150 TTSX through broadside in my back yard from a 280AI. Only Barnes product I haven't caught in an elk is the original 140 X from a 264 Win Mag, but I caught one of those in a smallish whitetail buck at 200+ yards that was sneaking head down straight towards the rattles. And that bullet went in a tear duct at the corner of his eye and traveled the FULL length of his body an inch over from the spinal cord and was in the tail, but it was bent over in a half moon shape with one open petal. That one sat straight back and had his legs curled under him when we walked up to him. Not a single drop of blood anywhere, no blood or bloodshot in the cavity. Buddy of mine and his dad were there, and his dad figured I must've scared that buck to death when the bullet went past. Wasn't until we cut his head off after he was skinned that we found the bullet path in the spinal column.
Enough bullets into animals, and you will see weird [bleep] happen.
Now, after the initial shot, if I can slip another bullet into vitals on a stationary animal that is standing there, he gets one. Or two. If that animal is making headway trying to get away and the reaction doesn't feel right, ANY patch of hair on that one gets a bullet. Regardless of what bullet is coming out of the tube.
