OK, here is my 2 cents worth (the long version). I switched to barnes X bullets after a very bad experience with NBT's (7mm 140 grain). I had killed several deer VERY efficiently with the NBT's and one elk not-so-efficiently, all at medium ranges. The wounds were very devasting, usually with larger entrance wounds. I never found an intact bullet with the NBT's. THEN, I got a close shot (70 yards with a good rest)at the biggest deer that I have ever shot(36 to 38 inch wide rack 4x4). It was quartering away at about 45 degrees. I hit it behind the shoulder at about the second rib from the stomach which should have put the bullet through the lungs and into the inside of the opposite shoulder. The deer went down hard as was usually the case with the NBT's. It then got up and ran into the trees, never to be seen again. I tracked it for hours and over a mile until it started snowing and I lost the track. It hardly bled after the first 100 yards and continued to take an uphill path. Needless to say, NEVER again for the NBT's or the 7mm.
I switched to 168 gr. Barnes XLC's out of a 300wby. I have shot at two animals since the switch, both died with one shot. The first was a very large bodied cow elk at a distance of 150 yards. It was quartering away at a very steep angle. The bullet entered just infront of the left hip and traveled through the center of mass of the elk and was found embedded just under the skin on the right side of the neck. The bullet was fully expanded as advertised with all four petals intact. The elk went about a quarter of a mile before it died and left almost no blood trail due to internal bleeding.
The second was a 5x5 bull elk. It was broadside at just over 400 yards and at a steep uphill angle. The wind was blowing very hard (as usual in Wyoming). Now, if I were not sharing my experiences on the performance of the XLC bullet, I would never admit to the poor shot that I made. My excuses are the following: It was a long shot for the wind conditions, the shot was too hurried since I got a little excited after seeing the first elk in 4 weekends of hunting, and my wby is not a shooter with any bullet that I have tried (2 moa on a good day), which is a whole other story, I'll probably dump it before next season. Any way, I hit the bull square in the thickest part of the rear leg bone just below the hip socket. The bullet shattered the bone into pieces and continued straight into the hip socket of the opposite leg, shattering it also. The bullet was recovered just under the skin on the far side of the hind quarters. It was in a perfect 4-leaf petal, without any deformation or noticible loss of metal. The elk dropped harder than any that I have ever shot, kicked a couple of times, and died. After seeing that, I have a hard time imagining that the petals of the x bullets are prone to shearing or breaking off when they hit bone. My only concern is that neither of the two elk that I have shot with the x bullet has had an exit wound. So far, I don't see any reason to change from the Barnes, but I may try the TSX's.
Please be nice and don't flame me for admitting to the sub par shot.
