Jon Bischof
Well-Known Member
Well, I don't know whether the bullet exited or not, but we have definitely beaten this horse to death.Lots of good bullets out there. Lots of bad ones too. Shoot, sort and move on.
Well, I don't know whether the bullet exited or not, but we have definitely beaten this horse to death.Lots of good bullets out there. Lots of bad ones too. Shoot, sort and move on.
I would bet my bottom dollar, more deer have been lost in the field with good non pass thru shots than good pass thru shots. That's a fact , one example of many if a deer runs with no sign of any kind of a blood trail for a 100 yds or less , there are a lot of hunters that will assume they missed.In a long quest for finding a perfect hunting bullet, I came across Hornady's SST, in 165 gr. It amazes me how quickly these bullets dump their energy upon impact. I shoot a 300 Win Mag. I developed a (hot) load for my rifle and shot a great buck from about 50 yards in 2020 with it. He took off after the hit and did about 300 yards before I lost the visual. It took me a long time to track him and I was getting convinced I had missed. I'm into long range shooting, so missing this kind of target from this kind of distance was driving me insane... I had no high shoulder shot (my default) chance, so I hit the heart/lungs. The bullet stayed inside after obliterating his lungs and heart. There were no blood signs at all, no exit wound. It was his white belly that accidentally revealed his location from a distance, where he was dead. In 2021, I loaded heavier, 180 gr SST bullets and hit a doe from 108 yards. Same story; she collapsed some 150 yards away, and again, it took me a while to find her. There were some minor blood marks from the entry wound, which helped. She had no heart nor lungs left. Needless to say, no no-pass-through bullets in my plans anymore. Great distance, perfect shot placement, and a big 300! And a lot of luck that I recovered these animals. I killed four more deer in 2021 (Arkansas) with Accubonds. DRT, every time, high shoulder or vitals...
Not necessarily.To your comment that in former times, the thought was that "a bullet that remained in the animal had expended all it's energy in the animal," I would say that should be corrected to say "the bullet that remains in the animal expended the LAST of its energy in the animal." The bullet that exits has greater energy when it enters, and thus makes it all the way through. We know that bullets do most of their damage by the hydralic shock around the bullet, not just by the size of the diameter, whether it maintains its original shape, or mushrooms.
I've seen a whole lot of animals that left no visible blood trail at all for fifty to a hundred yards or more. Bleeding is immediate when blood vessels are opened up but, with only a caliber, or smaller than caliber sized opening to the outside the cavity may have to fill with blood before there is any visible loss of blood.I would bet my bottom dollar, more deer have been lost in the field with good non pass thru shots than good pass thru shots. That's a fact , one example of many if a deer runs with no sign of any kind of a blood trail for a 100 yds or less , there are a lot of hunters that will assume they missed.
Just because a bullet exits does not mean it has greater energy when it ENTERS an animal. A lightweight solid that exits with less expansion can have far less energy when it enters than a heavy for caliber cup and core that sheds 50-75% of it's weight as it fragments but does not exit.To your comment that in former times, the thought was that "a bullet that remained in the animal had expended all it's energy in the animal," I would say that should be corrected to say "the bullet that remains in the animal expended the LAST of its energy in the animal." The bullet that exits has greater energy when it enters, and thus makes it all the way through. We know that bullets do most of their damage by the hydralic shock around the bullet, not just by the size of the diameter, whether it maintains its original shape, or mushrooms.
Btw the trophy copper had a complete pass through and massive trauma. .30 entrance 2.5" exit. Lungs turned to mush and no lung structure, top of heart gone. DRT not even a step. Deer Season no exit. Heavy bleeding internally, partial lung mush, dead sprint when shot. I'm ****ed I can't find the 30-06 federal trophy copper anywhere!Lots of good bullets out there. Lots of bad ones too. Shoot, sort and move on.
Just going to take a bit of issue with this. Both our native prairie grasses and CRP on wet years can be 3-6' high on the plains and Llano Estacado. Get into the high desert you'll find a whole lot of sage that will average 3-4' tall on a good year.ike it was stated earlier, if you're out west or primarily a bean field hunter ba blood trail isn't necessary.
That's a really valid and good point. Or out in the big sage flats or thick juniper also, if you can't keep an eye on the animal after the shot.Just going to take a bit of issue with this. Both our native prairie grasses and CRP on wet years can be 3-6' high on the plains and Llano Estacado. Get into the high desert you'll find a whole lot of sage that will average 3-4' tall on a good year.
Without a blood trail you can lose a whole lot of deer in the west.