[Scorch]

Although I have never taken (and never will take) a "Texas Heart Shot", I have cleaned one up. Needless to say, the sight of all that paunch and intestinal content liberally applied to the tenderloins is not all that appetizing.

But the Texas heart Shot does not necessarily require a lot of penetration. The one I helped clean up was done with a 30-30, so a 7-08 could make it.. When the animal is standing, gravity pulls the paunch and intestine down away from the spine, making a sort of tunnel under the spine. The bullet gets up under the spine and travels along it until it encounters resistance. The bullet still hits stuff, but the guts are not terribly tough. The worst of the damage is reserved for the liver, the tenderloin and the chops, which will be terrifically bloodshot since the spine curves down at that point, resulting in a lot of meat loss.