Pass through or Expended in Target?

[WildRose]

Someone posted this again today and it made me think maybe we should discuss it again.

A bullet that expends it's energy in the target animal and remains inside after expending all of it's energy therein

Now 50 years ago this was the "standard" by which people pretty well went in desirable terminal performance with most game and most bullets.

Even well into the late Eighties and Nineties this was probably still the dominant thinking at least here in N. America.

That however has never been the standard for game, particularly big game hunters in the rest of the world.

The theory of course was that if the bullet never exited all of it's energy was imparted to the target which would make for the cleanest and most humane kill. I'm not positive but I think Jack O'Connor was probably responsible for this becoming the dominant mindset in N., American and particularly the US.

What we've learned though over the years however is that a single hole doesn't usually produce a whole lot of a blood trail ant bullets that pass through completely show to do more damage overall when examining wounds not to mention much better blood trails to follow.


What is your preference, your experience and why? Pictures are welcome but on this computer I don't have any to share although I have shared many here over the years in prior threads.

Now let's see if I can get a poll working right?

 

[WildRose]

Screwed up the poll, should be a 3rd option, , "I don't care, I'm a perfect shot and they always fall DRT"

If Len or one of the other Admin's could fix it I'd appreciate it, I can't figure out how to edit the poll.

I vote "Pass Through", just seen too much evidence showing it's the ideal and when you have to track there's plenty of blood to follow.

I don't like bullets that pencil through, or blow the off side out completely, I prefer a golf ball sized exit.

At high velocity while it sounds a little gross, there's a large volume of tissue and blood that also blows out due to the vacuum that follows the bullets path. That's why you frequently see it along string of it on the back side, on the ground and even some on the impact side.


FIXED

 

[WildRose]

Ok I really blew the wording of the poll, I should be embarrassed.

 

[Outcast2.0]

I've heard that before as well, im not convinced by it. Why would you want your bullet to still be inside an animal that you shot at 75 yards when you're expecting to get long range capabilities out of that bullet? If anything not getting a clean pass through would worry me in regards to shot placement and right bullet/ gun combo. I personally prefer a pass through.

 

[ZAK13]

By any means am I a perfect shot, far from it, and in my experience I've had both pass thru's and non-pass thru's, animals were recovered either way. The non-pass thru's didn't go any farther than the pass thru's. I've also had DRT results both ways. I know this is boring to hear, but bullet placement is everything, so is practice, and more practice. Honing one's skills is a huge factor.

 

[Bucklowery]

Great topic. I generally subscribe to all energy expended in the target but depends on the target. It is a spectacular sight to see a small caliber fast moving Bullet dump it's energy resulting in lights out

I think for big game we need a bullet designed to penetrate, expand and pass through the target. I need that bullet to be pass through both front shoulders if I desire a anchoring shot due to terrain etc. so I think we like pass through with the nice exit that yields good blood trails that we hope we don't need.

On the other hand I have found a bullet that expends all its energy into the target creates wider spread damage and is much better when marginal or bad shot placement happens. I have found this to work excellent around here with our small white tails. I am not busting brush and hunting in thickets but more open areas and fields where fast moving fast expanding Bullets get it done. As well as the fur friendly loads for coyote hunters.

They both have a place in our world with so many options. If I only could pick one bullet for everything then it would have to be one that creates an exit every time

Thanks

Buck

 

[cohunt]

Shot placement for me

But then again--- this is all personal preference, which is why people argue over the same thing time after time.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I dont think it matters. I've seen animals die both ways and they all die very quickly. I personally prefer something of an exit hole for blood since I hunt the thick woods of New Hampshire. For me personally, I like the bullet to shed about 40-50% of its weight before exiting out. I've only ever had one deer make it out of sight and that was because I only got 1 lung. Still didn't go very far. It's about placement.

 

[Canhunter35]

I don't care either, if the animal dies quickly is what I'm after. Most often there exits. I shot a whitetail a few years ago he used to be my avatar actually, with a 168 amazing entered his flank and ripped through the length of his body before a little piece exited the opposite side of his neck. That was like 300yards with a 308.
I've never tracked a deer, the most I've had them pop out of sight and just followed their direction until finding a dead deer. The hardest to find deer I ever had was one that dropped so fast, shot at 500yards on a flat flood plain, I lost where he was and walked around for prolly 30min till I found him

 

[Cemetery21]

I guess I don't care either, but.... 43 deer and only one pass through. That was a head shot on a bedded deer. The other 42, the perfectly mushroomed bullet was a bulge in the hide on the far side. Only two took a step after being hit and they fell within sight. I've been lucky. Only deer I've tracked were buddy's deer that had pass throughs.
I try to be careful where I hit them and I have no business taking a shot over about 200. Never hunted anything centerfire but deer as far as game goes.
Edit: Do I lose my LRH badge for admitting I shouldn't be shooting over 200 offhand?

 

[lancetkenyon]

I've heard that before as well, im not convinced by it. Why would you want your bullet to still be inside an animal that you shot at 75 yards when you're expecting to get long range capabilities out of that bullet? If anything not getting a clean pass through would worry me in regards to shot placement and right bullet/ gun combo. I personally prefer a pass through.

Mainly because those high BC, frangible bullets that do so well at long range become a grenade inside the animal at high velocity impacts at close range when the shred apart internal organs and do not retain enough mass to exit the offside.

The fastest 4 kills I have ever witnessed, I mean droped without a kick or twitch, lights out, was when a bullet was recovered under the offside hide.
6mm 105 Hyb @ 3188mv, 460ish yard pronghorn broadside low in the crease
6.5mm 130 OTM @ 2925mv, 454 yard mule deer quartering away behind last rib, bullet found offside neck
.308 175 SMK @ 2975mv, 160 yard bull elk broadside in the crease
.308 230 Hyb @ 3113mv, 432 yard bull elk broadside high in the crease

 

[jasent]

Both work. Pick your poison and make sure it goes where it's needed to. From my perspective shoulder punchers typically want a pass through and vitals shooters don't care. I'm a vitals shooter my self

 

[biff's reloading]

I want an exit, but not just falling out. Bullets create shock ONLY when they are going fast enough to create that pressure and force in the tissue. When a little expanding Bullet hits flesh, it immediately Slows down. Most deer caliber bullets cant even create a wide shock path longer than a few inches. Try some ballistics gel and see it. It's a short length of shock, then a pencil thin hole the rest of the way out. Sure that's normally enough to make the kill, but I want 6" diameter+ shock cavity the entire length of the wound channel, regardless of point of impact. Big bores, heavy flat nose bullets, high bullet speed from entry to exit with large frontal area makes fast kills and covers for a lot of my human error at the shot. I use expanding bullets for longer range, but I still pick a bigger gun than most so I can use a sturdier bullet with softer nose to create the same effect. At least that's my experience.

 

[HARPERC]

Edit: Do I lose my LRH badge for admitting I shouldn't be shooting over 200 offhand?

Not from me! Long or short every individual gets to define what a long shot is for them.

Recovering the animal after the shot is priory number one. Some terrain is much easier than others, but an exit is always desirable.