nuge, I can comment my only poor experience with a BT was a flush shoulder hit on a good sized buck, it was purely the shooter fault as I yanked it right[:@][:' (]! It resulted in a busted shoulder and vital damage, but as SJ stated a deer can go a long way on one wheel. This buck did just that mostly because I pushed him, thinking I made a decent shot. He travelled a fair distance and it something I would not recommend in doing when using this style of bullet. Now mishaps can happen which it did in my case, but if you want to punch through shoulder bone better stick with a bullet that is meant to do that like a : Nosler Part, Failsafe, etc. BTW this was with a 130 gr. 270. My prefered shot is the H/l using the opposite side shoulder as backing or a straight through heart lung. In doing this I have never had a long track or lost animal with a BT style bullet and it is my bullet choice today for deer. Just in case or missing is something that never enters my mind, I approach it with when the shot is presented I will excute and that is how I load my rifle and pick the bullet style. Plain and simple if I can' t make the shot I don' t take it! If you are really worried about it or one who likes the just in case back up then go with a bullet that will be up to the task, however i would suggest you try and get over that fear. It will only make you a more confident and successful hunter in the end!

BTW I just tallied up my BT kills I am sitting at 19 and counting, of that the only problem was my fault which I explained. I think if you ask hunters honestly why a bullet may have failed it can be attributed to shooter error & not equipment error. This will of course include those who use the wrong bullet for the wrong application