This is all consistent with my experience with all of them I've shot.

The big buck I shot went nearly 100 yards with one shoulder shattered and a punch through the other from an 85 TSX - a shot that has dropped lots of whitetails with CNS shock. I hit him pretty well dead center of the shoulders.

The doe we lost was hit pretty well, IMO, but I think she may have caught one lung. It's possible it didn't fully penetrate the onside shoulder, but I doubt it. It's also possible the angle got us, but she was definitely hit in the near shoulder and was clearly favoring it when she ran. Bottom line, I don't think the little 60 Partition out of the 223 was up to the job.

If we had used a bullet that performed like the 80 TTSX used on the second doe, I am very confident we would have found her - both from better penetration and damage to the Axis, and from a much better blood trail.

Axis bucks are built kind of like a yearling steer, and can push 300lbs.

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DJ