Barnes TSX - You Can't Have It Both Ways!
As a lover of all things safari I encounter discussions and debates of many kinds but rifle calibers and bullets seem to be the most discussed and filled with the strongest opinions. As a self described student of everything safari I will challenge the convention wisdom where appropriate. I have no interest in dismissing history but on the contrary embrace the history of safari. There are so many nostalgic aspects of safari dating back well over a century. Being nostalgic for me does not mean I turn a blind eye to technology and live solely in a 1900's mindset. By way of example I'd mention the debate of .375 H&H versus .375 Ruger. The latter is superior by every metric yet many want to hold onto tradition by choosing the former. This is great and there is not a nickle's worth of difference on game between the two calibers. Let's just not say the the .375 H&H is superior because that would simply be untrue. My point is that we should not let tradition blind us to the reality in front of us.
I like to chime in on the debates of what bullet to use for follow up on a buffalo hunt. It seems to be one of the most opined aspects of the hunt and one that seems to be stuck in the past. I do not proclaim to be an expert on anything but have hunted quite a bit and studied and discussed this subject for many years now. The conventional wisdom is that you must shoot "softs followed by solids" on most any buffalo hunt. I've heard it over and over that an expanding bullet will not make it through the rumen from a Texas heart shot and reach the vitals. This may be true with traditional "softs" but technology has changed over the years. Enter the revolutionary Barnes TSX. The original Barnes X bullet came on the market in 1989. There was nothing like it at the time and it began gaining a following from sportsmen. 1989 was a long time ago yet there are many who go about their hunts as if the X bullet was never invented. Due to the effectiveness of this bullet on game it now has many competitors in the marketplace. I personally have seen the effectiveness of the TSX on buffalo, hippo, Lord Derby Eland as well as other game hunting in many corners of the world. I have equally seen the lack of effectiveness of solids when used in the aforementioned scenarios. The most dramatic example of the lack of effectiveness of solids on buffalo for me actually came from videos although I've had many experiences myself. I've seen so many where two guys with 500's shooting solids at close range on a buffalo just keep shooting over and over with little effect. Sometimes a dozen shots put into the bull before it finally goes down. What other hunting scenario would be comparable to this? I don't care how big the animal is you shouldn't need to shoot it a dozen times! Something is wrong.
When thinking about the results from a solid bullet versus a hollow point I revert back to my childhood where no jack rabbit was safe! I literally took thousands of jack rabbits over the years. Back in the 1970's and 1980's here in west Texas the jack rabbit, which is actually a hare, was like a plague. Farmers and ranchers loved for kids to come take a few out and reduce the grazing pressure they caused. They used to say 20 rabbits equaled a cow as far as grazing was concerned. Who knows if that is true but it was used as the excuse to go buy bricks of .22LR and fire away! My how times have changed. Now no one trusts kids with guns and the rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) has hammered the jack rabbit to minuscule numbers. As you can imagine I got to take shots with every type of .22LR on the market. Budget was a concern with the volume of shooting that took place so the CCI Stinger, the fastest and most effective cartridge in .22LR, was a rare pleasure to shoot. The cheapest were and still are a simple all lead solid bullet. I hate these lead bullets to this day. They jam in my 10/22's and cause more fouling and of course do less damage than a hollow point. My favorite overall was the Remington Golden Bullet hollow point. After taking countless rabbits with the solids it was an amazing experience to have a decent hollow point. The solids proved over and over to consistently allow the animal to run away and possibly require another shot whereas a simple body shot with the hollow point anchored them where they were.
Even today there are very few African PH's who will allow or recommend a client hunter use an expanding bullet as the follow up shot on Buffalo. There are a few who have "seen the light" and understand the penetration of the TSX. Now I'll turn to a discussion I heard recently that prompted this article. Joseph Von Benedikt was interviewing Mark Haldane of Zambezi Delta Safaris at a recent hunting show. Mark is famous for bringing back the wildlife in parts of Mozambique in dramatic fashion. Stories and videos have been produced in great volumes showcasing his success and the thriving wildlife in his hunting areas. He likely hunts more buffalo than anyone in Africa and is widely considered an expert on all subject of wildlife and hunting in Africa. Being a gun writer and highly experienced in bullets and calibers Joseph took the conversation to bullets. Of course he would and we all eagerly await the discussion! Due to the fact that buffalo in the swamps of Mozambique live in larger herds there is more of a danger of a shot passing through and hitting another buffalo than anywhere in Africa. With this in mind Mark does not recommend the TSX for hunting in this area. He states that he has seen too many pass throughs that wound up causing a big problem. I'll just touch briefly that when it comes to bullet failures or performance issues I find it often times to be reloads traveling at an improper velocity that caused the failure. Then the bullet gets unfairly blamed but lets leave that one alone for now. I have not personally had a broad side pass through myself with the TSX on buffalo but I will take it from the expert who has seen it. This means that possibly the top expert on buffalo in Africa (he and his team shoot over 200 Buffalo per year) states that the TSX has excellent penetration!
Ok, but you can't have it both ways! You can't on one hand state that the TSX does not penetrate well enough to use for follow up's and then in the same breath say that they pass through too often. Which is it?
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