[size:11pt][/size][color:#990000][/color]I have just returned from a successful elk hunt in Idaho. I used a 300 win mag and Barnes TTSX 165 grain bullets with muzzle velocity of 3148. I shot an elk at 250 yards. The animal dropped in it’s tracks.
When I examined the elk, I found that the entrance wound was in the near shoulder and the exit wound on the neck of the opposite side.

What a we discovered while quartering the animal was that there was bloodshot in the rear spine/hip area as well as swelling of the intestines.
The bullet path was not anywhere near these two areas. What I believe happened was that a petal of the Barnes bullet came off at impact and travelled back into the rear of the animal. The other option would be from bone fragments, although I don’t think that a bone fragment would retain enough energy to travel through that much tissue. On the other hand.... the fragment channel as near as we could figure was close to 90 degrees from the linear momentum of the bullet as fired. This fact would seem to support a bone fragment theory.
Just sayin.. The answer to the mystery is on a steep hillside in Idaho.

Anyone had similar experiences with Barnes bullets?

havent recovered to many barnes from aminal, but shooting in wet shreaded paper packed hard i found that some barnes have lost there petals off the front. the thing i have found out this happens mostly over 3100fps and above, keep them under 3000fps and they stay together. so a petal coming off could cause the damage that your talking about, you didnt find and pieces?

No I did not find a petal. Since you have seen petals come off, I presume that this is the cause, rather than bone frags.

if you run them fast anything over 3000fps they have a good chance of blowing a petal off, i have done all kind of testing barnes bullets, running a 80gr ttsx out of my 257 stw at over 4400fps they turn into a copper penny when the hit the wet packed papper

I shot an elk with my 300RUM using 180gr X bullets with a MV of 3400fps. He was only about 30 yards away at the first shot. Didn't recover the bullet but would bet it did not have any petals when it exited. The elk didn't go far.

I shot a deer at 50 yards with a 110TTSX in 6.8 spc don't recall the exact velocity 2500 ish, found the bullet just in side the skin between the rib cage and front leg on the near side did not hit heavy bone point of entry was 2 inches rear of the leg bullet was missing 1 pedal that managed to travel through exiting the off side passed through the liver severing its artery dead deer luckily, same bullet another deer 3 weeks earlier, through and through same range,

When you bite down on something hard in a piece of elk steak you'll have found where your petal went...............

Shot a 300gr TSX-FN (45-70) at 2,000 ft/sec into the shoulder of a large black bear. Bullet was recovered after passing through the shoulder and neck. One petal was missing.

It happens.

I don't see a petal having the horsepower to travel that far in an animal. I did shoot one in the mouth once with a 300 WM using a 150 grain blue pill of death. Out through the atlas and a petal came off along the way. The petal embedded itself above the pelvis about and inch in. It had to go through hair and hide so it wasn't like goung through lungs, but it didn't go far or do much damage. That's the only instance of petal loss with Barnes I have seen. It takes a lot of energy to turn that sharp and you don't havea lot to work with in the first place. Pretty doubtful to me that a petal did that.

I have recovered a number of X, TSX, TTSX's over the years and four have lost some or all of their petals. A 185 gr TSX via 338-06 launched at 2900 fps on a bull elk at 300 yards lost all, a 225 gr TSX via 35 Whelen launched at 2700 fps on a bull moose lost all, a 250 gr X via 9.3x62 launched at 2650 fps on an bull eland lost two petals and, most recently, a 350 gr TSX via 416 Remington launched at 2600 fps on a cape buffalo lost all petals. Every bullet hit significant shoulder(s).

I slid a .375cal 250gr ttsx through a couple of moose ribs at about 40 yards today with no sign of petal breakage. I did find a partial petal from a 7mm 140gr ttsx in the exit wound of a caribou this year; it was shot at about 430 yards. That bullet hit the humerus on the far side before exiting. I've been very happy with the ttsx so far.

Found a single petal of a 140 TTSX that I ran through a bull elk this year. Petal was in the meat between the shoulder and the ribs on the off-side. The rest of the bullet is still headed Southwest for all I know. Elk went about 30 yards and piled up.... impressive performance all around.