I shot a doe on opening morning this year using Hornady XTP 240 grains with 100 grains of pellets. I hit right in the shoulder. She walked in a big circle basically crippled dragging her front end and then hopped into the woods. We never did find the deer or even any blood. I began researching the muzzle loader section of this forum and found others have had the same problem. Some of these bullets are not designed to go as fast as they new in lines are shooting them (they are basically a hand gun round). The round hits shoulder and disintegrates. I switched to Barnes bullets and have had much better luck on the next two does I killed. If you want to use a shoulder shot make sure you have a bullet that will hold up. Many people told me the jacket seperates on the hornady's and they don't preform.