Recovered bullets thread.

bellero

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Post pics of bullets recovered from animals you shot and how they performed. There's lot of threads about reloading, velocity and ballistic in general but very few on how bullets reacted after impact.



The 150 gr. Barnes Triple X worked exactly as it was designed for. Almost 97% weight retention and full expansion.

azpIO4h.jpg
 
I have always used Swift A-Frames and never felt the need to experiment with any other bullet. These are the only ones I have ever recovered and they were from 5 Bull Moose taken at over 300 yards. Anything closer has always been a through and through. The last bullet with minimal deformation was from a 457 yard shot so it had lost considerable velocity. Although it was embedded under the hide on the far side of the moose.

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7mm Rem Mag 139 Hornady GMX.

Shot at a Whitetail buck at 15yds. Hit the shoulder going in quartering towards me, recovered in the hide behind the last rib.

Didn’t get a chance to weigh it before I lost it.

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Here's some .458 450 grain (2200 fps), and 270 grain (2650 fps) .375 A-Frames I recovered on a 2011 water buffalo cull. If that's what you want a bullet to look like you're in luck, because they are so consistent that they are boring.

 
7mm Rem Mag 139 Hornady GMX.

Shot at a Whitetail buck at 15yds. Hit the shoulder going in quartering towards me, recovered in the hide behind the last rib.

Didn’t get a chance to weigh it before I lost it.

o6KTXsJ.jpg

Looks like it sheared it's pedals off at high velocity. I've seen this with the Barnes bullets as well. Etips seem to be tougher in this department.
 
Nice collection Dogleg! A-Frames may be boringly consistent but they sure do the trick if you do your part. Clearly, you have done your part! :)


Here's some .458 450 grain (2200 fps), and 270 grain (2650 fps) .375 A-Frames I recovered on a 2011 water buffalo cull. If that's what you want a bullet to look like you're in luck, because they are so consistent that they are boring.

 
8mm, 220 grain A-Frame...Bull Elk at 160M. Bullet broke onside front leg [quartering toward]
broke a rib going in, demolished lungs and bottom of heart, stopped under hide on far side.
Retained weight: 202.3 gr [92%]
Tc4djWL.jpg

308 Norma Magnum, 180 grain Scirocco II. Bull moose at 110M. Slight angle through chest,
demolished both lungs, cut all the plumbing off the top of his heart. Recovered under hide
on the far side. Retained weight 132 grains. [73%]
l8w0Pe1.jpg

These, along with Partitions and a few others are quality bullets that just get the job done. D.
 
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Bull moose at 150yds. 140gr etip at 3150mv from a 7mm rm.
Recovered under hide on opposite side. Didnt hit any bone. Just behind both shoulders
I was actually quite surprised to find it. Still 139 grains. The bull took about 2 steps and fell over.
 
Post pics of bullets recovered from animals you shot and how they performed. There's lot of threads about reloading, velocity and ballistic in general but very few on how bullets reacted after impact.



The 150 gr. Barnes Triple X worked exactly as it was designed for. Almost 97% weight retention and full expansion.

azpIO4h.jpg

if you dig in you will find some threads on bullet tests and magically some even that met paper or water looks identical of the encounter with bones and flesh ... but yours is a good start for winter.
 
Don't have a pic but thought I would share this story. A couple years ago while we were pushing a thick cedar swamp for whitetails I had a doe spook and run directly at me. Using a 12 ga with 00 buck I hit her behind the shoulder at less than 10 ft from me. The pattern was smaller than my fist. When we skinned her out we found 3 pellets that just entered into the hide,slid up the ribs and somehow slid straight back the spine stopping from about the middle to almost her hind end. The rest all entered vitals between the rib bones without a single broken rib. I honestly couldn't believe at that close of a shot there didn't seem to be enough power to even break a rib. That's the first deer out of 17-18 I've shot which I've ever shot with a shotgun, and it's maybe just a fluke but it definitely made me think twice about ever using buckshot again.
 
thanks bellero for posting them!

all right from left to right on the pic wit 4 bullets.

#1 140 gr ( retained weight 100 gr) nosler accubond from a 7mm wsm at 3200 fps into a spike buck at a 175 yards. almost a straight frontal shot but quartering to me ever so slightly. entered neck right in front of shoulder, through shoulder, I don't recall if it broke a bone but I almost think it did. across the top of heart, through the chest and I found it under the hide just in front of the hind quarters, like 2 inches in front.

#2 140 gr nosler e-tip (retained weight 138 gr) from a 7mm wsm at 3200 fps into a moose at 175 to 200 yards somewhere in that range. moose was behind some bush for the last 20 yards of the bullets travel. I went for a high shoulder shot and was very steady, bullet hit in the middle of the neck front to back. it was obviously deflected by bush. entered the neck and bored a 1 inch hole through the spine, dropping moose. The bullet then took a literal 90 degree turn down the neck and was stuck in the shoulder blade. had to be pulled out with pliers. crazy things happen if its deflected before it hits.

#3 150 gr hornady sst (retained weight 94 gr) from a 270 at 2750 fps into a 450 pound bear at 30 yards. this was bullet #2 that hit the bear. the first went through the shoulder and never exited, we never opened up the chest to see where it was. likely in the other shoulder but it was not under the hide. This bullet was fired at the bear when it turned to leave. Hit in front of the shoulder at a bear quartering away. found it when boiling off the skull, the lead was an inch further than the copper. I dislike soft bullets after this experience.

#4 385 gr ( retained weight 375gr) 3 inch Remington accutip sabot slug. same shot as #1 almost exactly except the buck was bigger, a 2.5 year old and only 75 yards. entered the neck right in front of shoulder, didn't break the shoulder slipped behind it. through the chest and I found the bullet 8 inches in front of the hind quarters. right between the back of the ribs and the hind quarters under the hide. He fell over in slow motion. The 7mm above penetrated further.

#5 I just found today cutting up a 2.5 year old buck I shot Monday. 130 gr accubond (retained weight 85 gr) from a 270 win at 3050 fps. shot was 130 yards high shoulder shot at the buck. hit mussle only in both front shoulders but centered the spine. Bullet looks worse than the 7mm accubond and was under the hide far side, and that surprised me, as it was broadside. the spine must be real tough or the 270 is not near the 7mm.
 
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