Huge trophy buck shot with 6.8 / 95 TTSX, bullet recovered....PICS

[HTR]

Once again, this Barnes bullet and the 6.8 continue to impress me. This hunter is my most frequent return client and he has bagged a trophy 6 years straight. I have been scouting this buck all summer long and given that we're low -fenced, it goes to show you what deer management can do for a herd. I suspect this buck will score near the 150 range. It was 12 points and had the largest body weight (tied for one I shot in 2009) ever recorded on Wild River Ranch. It went 184 pounds. It is obviously a mature deer, and astoundingly healthy given the worst drought in Texas' history.

In this field pic, you can see the entrance, just to the left of the midline. The buck was facing us, at approximately 145 yards, and the hunter put the bullet right into the crease between the shoulder and the neck. Although I've never been a big fan of the "straight-on" shot, well, every time he shoots I just shut up now and let him do his thing. I get him near a deer and he kills it. This bullet just keeps doing the same thing.




This 95 TTSX traversed the entire body cavity almost fully lengthwise! We measured 37 inches of penetration through the animal. The bullet had hit the skin, bulged it enough to knock the hair off but not enough to actually break through. The bullet is sitting right under there, trust me. We shot a short video clip of me extracting it with the knife.




This is the resting place of the bullet. As you can see, it traversed from the sternum all the way through to the opposite side, behind the ribs, about 8 inches cephalad of the hip...all the way through and almost out the other side. I suspect it if had been 10 yards closer, the bullet would have exited.





The bullet had fully expanded and lost one of its petals. But this deer was already stumbling when it ran, and it only went about 50 yards. This is the shot we got, and he was able to take it because we knew the TTSX would penetrate the vitals and past them.









The load was my original hand load of 28.2 grains Reloder 7, in SSA brass, CCI 41 primer, and the 95 TTSX loaded to 2.295" OAL. Velocity from my 18" 6.8 bolt gun is 2860 FPS.

My confidence in the 95 TTSX is very high. We don't go up in caliber just because we think we are going to encounter a trophy deer. We simply use what we know works, even in very large animals. This was no 100 lb doe or spike, and it went down in a hurry....as usual. I asked my client what he wanted to use to shoot his trophy. He did not hesitate when he said "the 95 TTSX of course....let's stick with what works" I honestly was allowing him to choose, and I could not have agreed more with the one he picked.

Two more, notice the huge length on those tines:




And a shot of the body size of this thing. Its the size of a small mule deer. Notice the belly, the muscles in the forelegs, and the head size in relation to the hunter's hands.



Stay tuned and check our facebook page, too. We post lots of kills there.

[68WJ]

Nice harvest!

[Blasternank]

So what did the bullet weigh after you recovered it? How much weight did it lose?

[buddy]

Nicely done and very descriptive, thank you

[WVHunter1s1k]

That's a bruiser!! CONGRATS to him!!!

I wonder what that would do with AA2200?

I like the bullet performance.

[HTR]

So what did the bullet weigh after you recovered it? How much weight did it lose?

I haven't weighed this one, yet. I still have it at the ranch, so I can put in on my RCBS when I get back there. It probably still weighs 90 grains. It only lost part of one petal, and 13 of the 15 95 TTSX bullets I've recovered weighed 94 grains....just lost the tip.

[LocoGringo]

Look, this "performance" is all very well and good, but THE big question REALLY is this: were there any farting rainbows??? Until I see that photo, I just refuse to believe. Congrats on a great deer.

[angsniper]

Awesome buck! I really love the performance of this bullet!

[ccoker]

outstanding!
i bet he was pumped!!!

[jdgilbert]

What a deer, and what a hunting round!

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