gunner,
I have recovered several Barnes bullets from dead big game animals--ranging from the original "ungrooved" X-Bullet to TTSXs--that didn't retain ANY of their petals. Sometimes I found one or two of the petals, anywhere from the entrance hole to right next to the recovered bullet. Have yet to see any discernible difference in "killing" power between them and the recovered Xs that retained all their petals.
In fact, had a hunting-camp conversation with Randy Brooks almost 20 years ago, just after the TSX appeared. He said that originally he thought Xs that lost their petals might kill better, due to more "shrapnel" around the main bullet wound. But when early X-Bullet fans started bragging how their bullets retained 100% of their weight, he realized that was a MAJOR selling point among many of his first customers. And he was smart enough to know the customer is always right....
