One of the reasons that I am going this way, is due to have a bullet blow up on me too. The STW is a bit violent with regular bullets at close range, well 20 yards!!!
The idea of bullets blowing up without penetration, I have a hard time understanding. I shot an incoming black bear at 6' with a 300 win Mag 165gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. At 3250 fps, this put 3800 fps of energy onto the animal at 6'. The terminal results could not have been anymore devastating. Since this is in print, I will try to state it cleanly: My partner and I could clearly see each other from opposite sides of the animal. Yes, it came apart and yes, it penetrated.
Are people claiming that a bullet causes a splash type wound and never penetrates? Are the animals recovered to see what happened? Elk are tough animals, but a well placed shot rarely fails to deliver, and any shot in the hams intending to penetrate to the vitals, may need to be reconsidered.
So- has anyone had a bullet explode on an animal they recovered and what happened? Were these shots on the shoulder bone?[/QUOTE]
Well, I can tell you first hand, that a bullet can blow up on impact, not penetrate enough to enter the vitals, and make a honest to god pie plate size flesh wound. The shot was at 219 yards, 168 Berger, @ 3369 fps. The deer dropped at the shot and did not move. I left her there until dark, which was about 20 minutes. When I approached her to drag her to the edge of the road, she got up, somehow, and ran to the edge of the woods. There was a sizable pool of blood where she was lying. When she got up, there was still enough lite that I could see a huge flesh wound on her left side, center mass. When she went into the woods, I said she won't go far, so we went and gathered the three other deer that my cousin and I shot. We returned to where I saw here go into the woods, found blood, actually, a good amount. We had a steady stream for, well, nearly 1/4 mile. The woods was so dense, and the ticks were everywhere, we reluctantlycalled off the search. I still to this day can not figure out how she got so far away from us, loosing the amount of blood she did. I guess my point is that I SAW a huge flesh wound, that can only be caused by a bullet blowing on contact. It wasn't a DRT shot. The shock knocked her off her feet, and kept her there a good twenty minutes. The bullet was a 300 RUM. I used to use Failsafes bullets, but my supply ran out, so I went to the Bergers. I think the speed was the culprit. They are said to be no good over 3200. Found that out after the fact. Had a similar experience the prior summer on a crop damage hunt. Seven mag, shoulder shot, 200 yards, 168 VLD, orange box. Shallow penetration, broke the shoulder, but that's about it. Recover the deer, it was like you took a shovel, and just scooped out a baseball size chunk of shoulder. The animal dragged the remainder of the leg about 200 yards before it finally expired. I'm sorry, no more ham- Berger for me.
