**Dec.7 elk added** - Field report on 7mm RM + 168gr LRAB + Mule Deer
- Thread starter 1899
- Start date
+1.
I found it to be very interesting, and thank you for the info
I have read some entertaining opinions on bullet performance, but yours is right up there with the nonsense that someone was spouting, that the bullet was going too fast to expand. I use 140gr bullets at 3500fps, and I have not once seen an instance where the bullet cauterized the wound. As well, in most cases, game drops on the spot, or within a few steps. I have found the higher velocity rounds, to cause the most tissue damage, and the quickest kills, if you choose a suitable bullet.
As for the rifle going too fast, it is the bullet that leaves the barrel at high velocity, the rifle shouldn't be going fast at all, unless it is being transported at high speeds in an aircraft or motor vehicle.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
It can only happen when the ambient air temperature is higher than 0' C, otherwise the bullet cools too quickly while in flight. I thought that was common knowledge?
OK - time to admit a mistake. My friend picked up the elk quarters from the cooler and started the butchering. Low and behold he noticed a broken rib on the far side. A bit of digging in front of the scapula led to the discovery of the remains of the bullet.
So the LRAB did not disintegrate as I (we) had previously thought. It made it through a rib in a "sneaky" manner (not much damage other than the rib being broken) and there it lay. My friend will bring the bullet over and I'll take some pictures and weigh it to see how much weight was retained.
Kind of embarassing that we couldn't find the wound on the off side in the field or during skinning, but there you have it.
So the LRAB did not disintegrate as I (we) had previously thought. It made it through a rib in a "sneaky" manner (not much damage other than the rib being broken) and there it lay. My friend will bring the bullet over and I'll take some pictures and weigh it to see how much weight was retained.
Kind of embarassing that we couldn't find the wound on the off side in the field or during skinning, but there you have it.
Yes, I know. We couldn't find the bullet anywhere in the field, didn't see any damage on the far side in the field, didn't see any damage on the far side during skinning. Only upon butchering did the broken rib become apparent. That led to further investegation - which led to the disovery of the remains of the bullet. The path seems a bit odd too as the bullet went in at a quartering too angle and at some point turned to a quartering away angle.
Like I said, embarrassing, but I have to admit my mistake.
Dead deer,elk,moose is all that matters. I shot a deer once and never did figure out where I hit it and it dropped like a rock where it stood and was dead when I got to it. The other time a doe mule deer dropped like a rock and if I had'nt climbed down the steep hill side to get to he as fast as I did I would have maybe lost it as when I went to poke her but with my knife to dress her she woke up. Wasn't a mark on her either to suggest where I hit her except a cut throat when she started to get up.
Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ,location, location
Finding the bullet on the far side can be tricky! Those low velocity wounds in the secondary channel are hard to see. Need to use a metal detector to find the bullet sometimes. I have also been fooled by bullets changing directions, or even bouncing back into the body cavity. I am surprised you would think the bullet had disintegrated though??
My rife was used to drop a moose this year and my buddy hit just under the spine in the flank. It created a fist sized hole then the bullet angled left then exited mid body level. I have always found my 7mags to make crooked wound channels with all the lead bullets I have used. I would say it is the worst, must be something to do with velocity left over weight and frontal area vrs. length of the expanded bullet.
Well there was a tiny caliber sized hole through the hide and into the muscle, which turned into a very large hole by the time it went into the chest cavity. Lungs were severely damaged, spay pattern of small bruises on the heart and we couldn't find where the bullet went. I had, obviously incorrectly, assumed that the bullet had just come apart completely. In hind sight given the small remains of the bullet plus the two broken ribs (with associated shards of bone flying around) I can see how there was quite a bit of damage.
Just to give you an idea, the original length of the 168gr LRAB is 1.490" and the remains are about 0.4" long:
"Hello Mouth."
"Hello Foot. I expect you want in again? Did you get rid of that fungus yet? It sure left a bad taste last time."
"Sure thing. I appreciate your concern and yes I did. I do have some semantics and a few rabbit trails with me today though.....Do you mind?"
"Well Foot, I doubt if my minding matters anymore. With the frequency of your visits things are stretching out and getting comfortable with time. Mind the teeth!"
That was epic. Do you have a cousin named Gecko45?
