Tantalum and tantalum-based thin films have gained precedence as the diffusion barrier for copper interconnects used in the latest generation of integrated circuits (ICs). The paper presents insight and observations on the covariance of texture and grain size of wrought tantalum sputtering targets and their influence on sputtering performance. Previous studies involving deposition trials of tantalum targets of varying metallurgical character had demonstrated that both grain size and textural homogeneity is critical for assuring reliable sputtering performance of tantalum. Subsequently, a model had been proposed to prescribe how localized texture bands and orientation clusters in tantalum are effectively resistant to sputter erosion. In this paper, results of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM(TM)) analyses on the eroded surface of a tantalum sputtering target are presented. Initial findings support the model's hypothesis regarding the erosion mechanics of crystallites with respect to grain size and discrete orientation. However, additional work is necessary to understand the formation and erosion of facet planes in polycrystalline tantalum sputtering targets.