Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Thoughts on the TSX performance 2009

"I want something that will expand reliably and hold together and penetrate"

You forgot to add "at any distance"! Just kidding, I've seen this written and heard it spoken more times then I can count.

We place a lot of demands upon the one item we blast out the end of a barrel and send down range hoping it will do the trick. We spend a lot of money on very expensive gear, and yet we cringe at the tought of spending a buck on a bullet. Yet it's the single thing that ties the success of the whole trip together for us.

After all the effort to plan, prepare, travel and pay for the hunting trip of a life time there are still people who launch a 20 cent bullet and put all the hopes and dreams of success on that little chunk of lead and/or copper they just shot down range at the trophy they have been dreaming of maybe their whole lives!

If you want a bullet to expand reliable and hold together, the partition, Aframe, and other bonded core bullets do that like magic. They don't however penetrate as well. If you want one that penetrates like no other the TSX does that well.

There is Crossover with them, the bonded technology will penetrate and exit when you use a bigger cartridge then generally needed. Like using a 375HH for all the plains game species rather then a 30 caliber rifle. There is Crossover with the TSX as well. You can use a much smaller cartridge then typical and still get equal or even more penetration then the bigger guns using the bonded bullets.

Those photo's of X type bullets that don't open cannot be argued, at least not by me. They have the photographic proof to show it could happen, It may have even happened with bullets I or my clients have shot too. I guess We will never know becuse the animals are all dead and skinned.

If your aim is true, and the bullet hits and penetrates through the vitals then the failure to open, although bad, is not the last word. In my opinion, a bullet that falls short of functional penetration because of some failure is the worst default option. I have seen some odd exit wounds, and completlty bizzare issues with the early X design. But not with the TSX, ..... it's simply does the trick everytime. There is a good reason why so many African PH's (its becoming overwhelming in numbers) recommend the X bullet to hunters coming over to hunt with them. This was not the case 10 years ago. We would cringe at the thought a hunter came with an X or worse the failsafe.

That has really swung the other way in the last few years. I see and hear PH's all the time now telling their hunters to consider bringing the "Barnes X" bullets to hunt with.