223 Barnes 45gr TSX on predators?

The 22 cal Honady lead free 35 gr NTX bullet works better on ground squirrels and coyotes than I ever thought they would. It is pretty easy to get close to 4000 fps with them out of a 223 Rem and I don't remember ever getting a exit hole on a coyote with them.

They are also much cheaper to buy than the TTSX or TSX bullets are.
 
derbyacresbob said:
The 22 cal Honady lead free 35 gr NTX bullet works better on ground squirrels and coyotes than I ever thought they would. It is pretty easy to get close to 4000 fps with them out of a 223 Rem and I don't remember ever getting a exit hole on a coyote with them.

They are also much cheaper to buy than the TTSX or TSX bullets are.
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That’s really good to know, I grabbed some as a stop-gap till I could get some 50 grain nosler. Hopefully I like them and don’t have to load for coyotes.
 
Here's just an update about the Barnes TSX I mentioned earlier in this post. I found some photos to show how this one expanded so thought I would share in case anyone is interested. This bullet is the TSX 130 gr. 30 caliber out of a 308. Distance was about 80 yards or so. The bullet tried to exit but didn't quite make it. I recovered it just under the skin on the off side. This is the only TSX I have ever recovered from an animal.

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That TSX expanded nicely.

Barnes says the edges of the petals are very sharp, and seeing the internal damage they have caused, I have no reason to doubt them.

I have not recovered a Barnes yet, and I've used them exclusively for big game since 1992.

Probably could recover some of the 45gr XLC's I shoot coyotes with out of my Hornet, but I'm not a fan of digging around in a coyote carcass to recover a bullet.

I shot a grey fox on accident one time, with the 45gr XLC.. The fox was facing me and I shot him in the chest, with the bullet sliding along the outside of his ribcage under the skin. It was a very unusual looking wound.
 
Surprised, I didn't think a deer or hog would hold a 30 cal Barnes bullet in. Did you go thru both shoulders? Probably not an elk bullet.
 
K22, that’s the only one I have ever recovered.

Spot, I neck shot him as he was slightly angled toward me. The bullet broke shoulder bone on the offside, stopping just under the skin. When we skinned him the bullet fell out. It was a 130 gr TTSX and being a lighter weight combined with busting through the bone could possibly explain it.

Here is a video of that hunt. The hog in question is the first one up. My son got the second one.

 
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