What would cause the bullet to do this?

J

jkc

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A friend of mine dug this out from under the hide of the whitetail deer he shot this year. It was just under the hide into the meet, but he said it didn't hit the spine.
This is a 110 grain nosler accubond fired out of a 25/06 rem. The shot was 240 yards. Another shot from the same range went clear through the deer in the vitals area.

He shot two other deer this year with the same bullets and powder charge, both with deadly results.(one shot kills) Would this bullet have hit a branch on the way to the target? Could the hide have slowed this bullet down and acted like a shock absorber? This caused enough shock to down the animal, and the next shot finished him off. Any thoughts?
Sorry about the photos, I've only posted a couple ever.

 
I'm definitely no expert but looking at the bullet I would say it passed through a branch or something before it hit the deer.
 
disker said:
if he reloads he had a light charge in that case ! it can happen scale stick or power chucker does not throw enough.
Click to expand...

Thats the second guy that has said light powder charge. Maybe it could be a sticky scale? He said he weights every shell.
 
If it was loaded that light I really really doubt that it would have hit a deer sized target or anywhere near point of aim at 240 yards. Should also have felt or heard that it wasn't a normal round.

A branch makes a bit more sense to me but its still a bit of a head scratcher.
 
>> Start of speculation <<
I'm not a expert but I've very good with physics and external ballistics.
Image that your friend shot and hit a branch 10 yards in front of him.
The bullet deforms and the BC goes from 0.400 down to 0.133 (0.400 / 3).
This means that the bullet would have lost around 1/2 of it energy after 130 yards and would have dropped almost 1/2 of what was left at 130 yards in the following 100 yards.

The bullet would hit the target with 1/4 of its muzzle energy rather than 2/3 of its muzzle energy if it had it nothing in its path.
That would mean an impact speed of 1500fps and almost no bullet expansion.

This is just speculation but a blunt bullet loses energy very fast and 240 yards is a long way to go if drag is 3 or 4 times higher than normal. (it's the equivalent of travelling 3 or 4 times the 240 yards!).

Alex
>> End of speculation <<
 
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Slow velocity 100%!
If the bullet hits something in its path, it either goes sideways or misses the target completely. When bullet hits the game, it usually creates huge entry wound and very shallow penetration. As for accubonds, range and 25-06, this bullet didn’t have enough velocity or energy to expand enough even with published velocities.
I would definitely recommend non-bonded bullet with soft core.
 
trimble said:
Slow velocity 100%!
If the bullet hits something in its path, it either goes sideways or misses the target completely. When bullet hits the game, it usually creates huge entry wound and very shallow penetration. As for accubonds, range and 25-06, this bullet didn’t have enough velocity or energy to expand enough even with published velocities.
I would definitely recommend non-bonded bullet with soft core.
Click to expand...

Bingo! I have had this happen with cotrolled expansion bullet hits at longer ranges. The OP states the shot was 240 yards which is not a long shot in many places. I recovered two Barnes 115gr. .257 TSX from deer shot well past 300. Deer went 40 and 80ish before piling up if I remember correctly. Bullets did not expand enough IMO but make interesting conversation pieces.
 
Bullet could have tumbled then hit. I have recovered tumbled bullets. The skinny tip gets bent and/ or broke off. Sometimes the bullet will be squished looking from hitting sideways.
Sometimes the lead will be drawn out of the tip of the bullet from the high centrifical force. A tumbled Nosler partition had the rear lead section sticking out of the base.

By looking at your bullet you can see the jacket is bent over the wrong way. Most likely the result of tumbling before hitting the deer. Tumbling bullets can sometimes create impressive wound tracts. Or they can be very un-impressive.
 
If he weighs every charge, chances are slight that it was a light load. If the bullet lost it's energy due to hitting an obstruction such as a branch, the branch must have been very close to the deer or else the bullet would have missed the target.

Hugh
 
The deer was standing in some scrub brush. The twig was our logical choice, but one of the guys said low on powder/too slow of velocity.(maybe as a result of hitting a twig?)

The wound was apparently un-impressive.

Thanks for all the CSI work.
 
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