Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt 120gr 7mm-08 results

Hey guys just want to throw this out there and see what your opinion is, this past hunting season I was able to harvest a smaller a point with Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt 120gr 7mm-08 factory ammo. Buck was 160 yards, and perfect broadside shot from a treestand, entrance was mid body height wise and exit was obviously lower than entrance. Hit the deer right behind the shoulder. The deer ran 50 yards and piled up, I followed the tracks in the snow from where I shot it from and there was not a drop of blood. Had any one else had this same experience with Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt 120gr? ( and please don't say blood trails don't matter if the deer went 50 yards, yes I want quick kills, but what if the deer would have went 100 yards without any snow?) Any ways any experience would be appreciated.
Also this is not trying to bash Barnes bullets or ammo, as I have used their ammo in 270s 30-06 and 450 bushmaster rifles as well with decent results.
Thanks

Unless you hit something major containing blood a blood trail isn’t guaranteed even with an exit.

I shot the deer through the heart and lungs. The entrance hole was the size of a dime and the exit size if a quarter.
Iv killed 40 deer with a rifle the past 20 years of hunting. Plus others with bow and arrow. Only two times I didn't get a blood trail was with the Barnes vor-tx ttsx-bt 7mm-08 120gr and the other time was a doe I shot with a flintlock at 80 yards with a round ball, she ran 90 yards down a mountain and picked up, when we skinned her out the musket ball went right through her heart. So I dont know if this was a rare occasion or what

Maybe the way you hit them quickly reduced their blood pressure to zero, so they didn't leak as much.

Did the bullet and it’s hydraulic effects somehow avoid lacerating any blood containing organ or artery before exiting?

Could this be like the proverbial piece of straw shot thru a telephone pole in a Hurricane? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I load the 120 TTSX for 7mm-08 and .284. They work real fine. They be dead right there.

But do they bleed?

Stuff happens. When my son was 10 or 11 he shot a big doe at about 50 yards with his .260 and 129 gr Interlock. I was sitting next to him and watched the deer run off. Didn’t appear hit. It was at last light and with a flashlight we only found a little hair. I decided he shot too far forward and only clipped her. Next morning at daylight I was back. Found the deer dead by zigzagging well over 100 yds thru thick woods. Entry/exit thru rear of shoulders. As far as I could tell the deer never leaked a drop. Inside of chest was wrecked. Sometimes they run dead.

BTW I’ve shot only 2 deer with the 120 TSX in my 7mm08. The only bullet change I plan to make is to TTSX.

I like to punch shoulders with the 120TTSX in the 7-08. Behind the shoulder, they always run with sparse blood spore, IME.

I’ve had decent luck on shoulders and lungs with the 120TTSX from the 7mm-08. They don’t often yield gushers like .30/.33/.35 cal cup/cores, but they are usually okay.

Shot a big doe this year at 75 yards with an 06 federal fusion 150 grain bullets, it ran 50 yards into the woods and no blood trail. Shot placement was 6 inches back from the elbow. First deer I have ever shot that has gone more then 10 feet with an 06. I think I need a bigger gun:)

I like the LRX more myself

i shot a doe this year with a 45 cal Barnes XPB from my muzzleloader at 45 yards. quartering to me, impacted in front of shoulder, exit offside behind last rib. No blood to follow. I heard it crash in the thick brush 50 yards away. All the blood was contained in the chest cavitiy. Bullet work as designed.

Can't speak to blood trails with the 7-08 120 TTSX. I prefer high shoulder or neck shots.

Me too, they don’t run.

I shoot 130 gr speer in mine. Shot a big doe in the eye at 80 yds. She didn’t like it much. Rem788 carbine

If the bullet expanded and left an exit hole the size of a quarter, it did it’s job. Lot of reasons for no blood trail.

Yup that works!

With this shot placement it is more common than you think. Yes, a shot behind the shoulder is certainly a deadly shot. But they will run, some farther than others. And they don't always bleed regardless of the bullet used. The barnes bullet did its job. I shot a big doe with my 7mm08 at about the same distance. I knew the shot was good. Just behind the shoulder. No blood found where she stood. I followed in the direction she went. I didn't find a drop of blood until I went 50 or 60 yds. and then it was only a drop or two every 10 yds or so. She went about 100 yds. The only shot I take behind the shoulder now is with a bow. Put it on the point of the shoulder or high shoulder and they will drop where they stand.