bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
You should always look for blood or hair in the area where the animal was when you shot. They don't generally fall over dead.
I Screwed Up, and I Knew Better !!!
- Thread starter c-fbmi
- Start date
You should always look for blood or hair in the area where the animal was when you shot. They don't generally fall over dead.
Had that wonder with an original x bullet and a bear. Searched for 2 days with the aid of a dog. Never found blood or hair. In the end we figured I missed.
They say admitting is the first step to recovery
Do we have pics of those bullets?
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
It happens, even with mono metals ,but unfortunately that's more the rule than the exception when using light fragile bullets. It's always nice to get an exit, especially on furry creatures when there's no snow. Another good reason to use big bullets that hold together well. (Maybe a 375 Ruger?)
Never thought of that, new concept?
I had almost the same on a bear. Broad side, maybe 120yds. When I fired (cross hairs steady) the bear turned a full circle and ran off.. No blood or hair, none even though I searched hard.. I have no doubt that I sent the bullet through it's ribs.. Never had an issue finding blood using C&C bullets..
I have the bullets at home with two Provinces between me and them..
A good read CLICK HERE
Here to
And it does happen. Do I lose sleep over it? No?
Here's a couple of pics of the TTSX bullets that failed to expand properly.
I stated earlier that I thought one of these was a factory load but was not sure of the other.
In checking with the sources, both were, in fact, in factory loaded ammo.
You have to come to your own conclusion on this.
Regards, Dave.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
Here's a couple of pics of the TTSX bullets that failed to expand properly.
I stated earlier that I thought one of these was a factory load but was not sure of the other.
In checking with the sources, both were, in fact, in factory loaded ammo.
You have to come to your own conclusion on this.
Regards, Dave.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but those look like TSX, not TTSX, which have the blue poly tips.
Both apparently TTSX....blue tips missing from the impact. D.
Edit; Yes, both bullets have the telltale X on the base, which is not present on a TSX.
Last edited:
The bottom one is definitely a TTSX minus the tip.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
I see that on the bottom one, I was looking at it on my phone screen earlier. Top still looks to me like possibly TSX, not that it matters.
Regardless, I still wouldn't necessarily call it a failure as the animals were recovered. I have hordes of fragmented bullets that didn't perform ideally, even Nosler Partitions, AFrame's,etc. On quite a few of the cup and core and match bullet hits, the animal had to be put down with another rifle as the wound was superficial and didn't cause enough damage. Ballistic Tips and match bullets out of high velocity calibers are a common culprit, though even in those cases I wouldn't necessarily call it a bullet failure but rather an error in the hunter's choice and intended usage.
I'm still not sure how the term "bullet failure" has been the focus of a misplaced shot.
bearklr......this is the most asinine statement I have seen posted by you...........I have killed game stone dead in their tracks with bullets that have utterly and totally failed, little bits and shards of copper and lead everywhere......dead sheep, still total bullet failure. Like wise in this case, bullet did not expand to any noticeable degree and did very minimal damage. It also imparted virtually no energy on target as the deer in question barely, if at all, indicated the hit. Just because a bullet goes into the vitals doesn't mean it hasn't failed and similarly just because a bullet doesn't hit the vitals doesn't mean it didn't fail. When an expanding bullet doesn't expand and impart significant energy and tissue damage on target it has failed. If you hit the heart of an animal with an FMJ it will surely die, but this does not mean that it is a good hunting bullet, just an excellent shot with a bad bullet, thus bullet placement is not an indication of bullet performance. An expanding bullet hitting 12" of solid muscle at much less than 100 mtrs should have done significantly more damage if it had properly expanded, this is much greater resistance than a lung shot............conclusion; very poor expanding bullet performance = bullet failure !!!!
Both animals were recovered quickly because they were shot again, before they could get very far.
I believe both would have died from the initial wound, but they may well have induced a tracking chore such as Doug mentioned in his original post.
Regards, Dave.
I lost two bears in three days while shooting 185gr TTSX out of a .338 WM. Easy shots on broadside animals with a rock solid rest and lots of time. Guaranteed they were hit - no blood, no hair and no bears. Searched for each one for hours. I was worried that I lost zero so I went to the range. The rifle was spot on. I shot one into a round of spruce at 200m (220 yards) and then a round with a 250gr Partitions This is what I recovered:
Note the 250gr Partition opened really nicely
Yes, a round of spruce is not a bear etc etc. I'm curious how much that TTSX opened up on soft bear lungs. Given the results of the hunt, I suspect it was very similar to what Eagleye and Chuck Nelson posted.
Note the 250gr Partition opened really nicely
Yes, a round of spruce is not a bear etc etc. I'm curious how much that TTSX opened up on soft bear lungs. Given the results of the hunt, I suspect it was very similar to what Eagleye and Chuck Nelson posted.
We can banter this backwards and forwards for the next six weeks and no one will change anyone else's mind. I will be loading 120 gn BT in the kids 260 from now on, or more likely a 130 gn Matrix, and will never load another TTSX in the 260 or my 6.5X55s again, I know what I observed and I didn't like it, so that is all there is to it for me. And one of the great things about this country is you don't have to do what I say, and I don't have to do what you say...........we are all free to draw our own conclusions in matters such as this and use which ever projectile we damn well please. I believe the Matrix bullets are twice the bullet the TTSX is and at 1/2 the price and a guaranteed supply, which is a huge issue these days. There just is no downside to the bullets Marshal makes, and if my kid had been using my 230 Douglas and made the exact same shot, that deer would have been completely debilitated exactly where he stood. So y'all use what ever makes you smile and I shall use Marshal's bullets, especially in moderate velocity cartridges. 
