What effect does hitting a branch have?

H

huntingfish

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Of course it does have some effect, but how much of an effect does it really have? We had a discussion in camp after I hit a branch, perhaps 3/4" diameter. The bullet (30-06, hornady superformance 180gr SST) travelled approx 30', hit the branch and proceeded to hit(?) a moose 30' further. Moose went into the woods. There was no blood at the impact location. Found some blood in the woods, but not a lot, blood trail vanished after 30 feet or so. 5 minutes before seeing the moose and shooting, I had heard a shot extremely close by (I was sure someone else in our group had shot it first).

So, I don't know if I hit the moose or if someone else did (turned out it wasn't someone in our group, probably the other group over a patch of forest). But I'm wondering how much of a deflection that branch can impose on a bullet when it only travelled another few ft.

Thoughts?

Fish

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Sst's seem to have a tendency to blow up on impact at close ranges, I don't think there would be a lot left of that bullet hitting a 3/4" stick at 30'.
 
I set up some targets from my stand at varying distances, furthest being 60yrds. I was hitting about 1" grouping with a 450 Marlin (325gr bullet, Hornady gummy tips). Hit a branch on one shot. Live branch close to an inch in diameter. Cut it in half. The bullet hit the target about 14" high. The branch was about 6 yards in front of me.
 
My experience with SST's has been poor penetration within 150 yards due to bullet grenading. Hitting a branch that solid could knock the POI off by feet let alone inches.

The moose could have been hit with a fragment, the whole bullet, the hit could be way off, or near POA. You will have to figure that one out for yourself.

Sorry about out the bad luck! Let's hope the moose had a superficial wound and will recover easily and swiftly.
 
ht tp://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-40-deflected-bullets-and-the-box-o-truth/
[h=5]Lessons learned:[/h]
  1. Light weight, fast bullets like the .223 were knocked off their axis and deflected more than heavier bullets. In fact, it was flying sideways after 10 yards.
  2. The .308 was not deflected as much as I would have thought. Not enough to miss a deer 10 yards behind the brush.
  3. The .45-70 plowed through the dowel without much deflection.
  4. The 12 gauge slug shrugged off the dowels and went right on to the target.
  5. I brought a much larger piece of cardboard than I actually needed. I expected to see “feet” of deflection, not inches.
  6. It sure is hot in Texas today. We were leaking water like a couple of rain clouds. Come on Fall.
But even when it’s hot, it’s still fun to shoot stuff.
 
Juster said:
ht tp://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-40-deflected-bullets-and-the-box-o-truth/
[h=5]Lessons learned:[/h]
  1. Light weight, fast bullets like the .223 were knocked off their axis and deflected more than heavier bullets. In fact, it was flying sideways after 10 yards.
  2. The .308 was not deflected as much as I would have thought. Not enough to miss a deer 10 yards behind the brush.
  3. The .45-70 plowed through the dowel without much deflection.
  4. The 12 gauge slug shrugged off the dowels and went right on to the target.
  5. I brought a much larger piece of cardboard than I actually needed. I expected to see “feet” of deflection, not inches.
  6. It sure is hot in Texas today. We were leaking water like a couple of rain clouds. Come on Fall.
But even when it’s hot, it’s still fun to shoot stuff.
Click to expand...


I have seen similar tests, with very different results. Whether the bullet struck the dowel near center, or near the side effected the results in the other tests, so one bullet really doesn't prove a lot.
 
I once shot an elk that was standing broadside at 46 feet away. I hit it in the butt. I was aiming just behind the shoulder. Shooting with crossed sticks for a rest. About 30 feet away there were several small twigs about half the size of the one the OP pictured. My bullet, a good bonded core 180 gr 30-06 Norma Oryx, hit two or three twigs on the way there, and deflected at an angle of 20-30°. Bullets shot through brush are very unpredictable. Don't shoot through brush. With anything. Ever. Despite my example, a bullet deflection "test" with a sample size of ONE is pure speculation. It proves less than nothing. The test quoted previously might show some predictable trends with 10 or more shots, but one?? that makes me laugh.
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stubblejumper said:
I have seen similar tests, with very different results. Whether the bullet struck the dowel near center, or near the side effected the results in the other tests, so one bullet really doesn't prove a lot.
Click to expand...


This

there are far too many variables to say what happened to your bullet. Anyone that thinks they know exactly what happened is delusional themselves. However at 20 yards, picking a clear lane to shoot should have netted you a freezer full of meat.
 
I recall a report on brush buster guns from days gone by.
Kinda like a Myth Busters version of being able to shoot through thick brush and what ammo/cartridge was/is best for such occurrences.
For the life of me I can not recall, but Ken Waters comes to mind.(just spit ballin here now)
There where some really interesting results and not what one would expect.
Will try and locate the article again.
Rob
 
People used to think fast pointed bullets would fly away while round nose slow bullets would not. Time and tests have proven that neither is true 100% of the time. The bullet was built to fly true and clear until it's intends target, hitting a second target is never planned, or guaranteed.
 
I shot a deer at 25 yards with my 3006 from my ladder stand. The deer jumped and took off. He stopped, I put the scope on him and saw blood dripping off his belly so I didn't shoot again, no way I could have missed. But then he calmly walks into the bush and it blew my ####ing mind because at that point I didn't have another shot. It turns out I hit a small branch that was so close I couldn't even see it in my scope. The bullet grazed his belly. How do I know? I got him on trail cam a week later with a new tattoo. I watched the sap drip from that branch for the rest of the afternoon. I figure the branch put the bullet 7 inches off target.
 
Thats a long ways after hitting the stick.
dont take much of a deflection to translate into feet at the distance described.

Sometimes blood from a moose will stop for quite a distance and show up again when the animal stops and beds down or stands in one spot.
sometimes found on branches...
hope you took extra time looking for more.

Once I shot a moose with a 308 Mohawk , it was eating from a large clump of willows but standing broadside immediately behind them.
Dad took a headshot on it.....and took a tip off a horn (still have the rack)
I went for vital organs and shot thru the willows
lung shot.moose went about 100 yards and bed down.
we walked in on it.
Dad had one shot left in his 30/06..and no shells in his pocket lol.
My stinkin (borrowed rifle ) had failed to eject...........

Yup I ran like a scared schoolgirl....
moose got up and was in fight mode

Dad stood his ground and put one directly between the blinkers.

Great memories , thanks for reminding me op
 
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I have a story to tell about bullet deflection. 30 years ago or so, I was on a late season moose hunt with a friend of mine. Each of us had tags.

The weather was clear and cold [-35ºC] We spotted two moose feeding about 100 yards off an old log haulage road, so we got in the vehicle, and drove onto that road.
The moose were there, slightly below us, and feeding on willows growing in a shallow draw. The range was less than 100M. I shot first, and the cow piled up right there.
I was aiming for the heart/lung area, since the shot was broadside, and that is a high percentage shot.

My rifle was a 308 Norma Magnum, shooting the 200 grain Nosler Partition. [MV at 2970 fps]

My partner shot, and his moose took about 5 steps and also collapsed.

In dressing my moose, I found no wound in the heart/lung cavity, so did a quick inspection to see where my bullet had hit.
Imagine my surprise to find a rather oblong wound in the neck, close to the base of the skull.
The neck vertebrae was broken by that bullet, which had exited through the top of the neck after hitting the spine.

At a loss, we started to look for any obstruction between the position where the shot was taken from, and the moose.
After looking a bit, we found a single willow, about ½" in diameter, cut off by that bullet. the twig was about 40 yards in front of that cow.
I did not remember seeing that willow in the scope. [Probably concentrating on the moose, lol]

But, in that 40 yards between the willow and the moose, the bullet had strayed off course 3+ feet!!

I have a very strict, self imposed policy now....DON'T try to shoot through brush with any bullet!!! If I can find a big enough hole to positively
thread the bullet through, fine. Otherwise, I will not take the shot.

Regards, Dave.
 
I always heard the big 45 calibre rifles are great bush guns because they are not as readily affected by branches etc. As noted earlier, ya they are. At least the branch I hit is no longer a problem!
 
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