Bullet recovery

[model 70]

Anyone recovering the bullets from the animals they shoot? If so, let's hear it. Loads, animals, shots, pics. etc.

[DaMadman]

If they do nbot pass through I always try to find the rifled slugs from the deer I shoot. I have a few laying around I will take a picture or two and post them some time

[M.T. Pockets]

If they're still in the animal I do recover them and look them over. It's helped me change my mind more than once on which bullets to use.

The last 3 shots I've taken have been with Fail Safes - complete pass throughs.

Noslers in the ribs will usually pass through, if they hit a tough bone they react more violently than other premiums and I have seen them separate. I've seen standard factory bullets mushroom perfectly and I've seen them turn to pieces of metal. My buddy shoots Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and I've seen them in a perfect mushroom on the far hide.

Myself, I prefer an exit but if I'm recovering a bullet that means something went right.

I also hunt with slugs, I use standard fostor style slugs and what they'll do is anybody's guess but they do kill deer. When you find them they'll likely be a glob of lead in any shape you can imagine.

[Varmint Hunter]

I've recovered a few Sierra SBT bullets. They often shed their cores but they do kill reliably.

Lately I've been shooting the Barnes TSX bullets. Just don't EVER seem to recover one of those bullets.

Maybe my 338-378 is a bit heavy on those 140lb deer. :D

VH

[model 70]

So many bullets selections out there I dunno what to pick. No one shoots extremely better than another to warrant a change. I've not yet shot a deer but the 2 bears I've killed were killed with 2 different rounds. If I had made a better shot on the 2nd bear I shot I could give an honest coparison. No bullets were recovered on either animal.

[wrenchman]

I have got slugs back frome deer and bears.
The bears i shot with a 150 grain silver tip winchester i found the round just under the hyde and found one the same way on a hog i shot
i never weighed the hog but the bears were 150 and 230lbs
The deer i got slugs frome are shot gun slugs that traveled weard threw the deer to lodge in the hip or spine.
This year the doe i shot she was faceing me at a angle i hit her in the chest takeing out 3 ribs exiting just behind the last rib and burrying in the rear leg
i shot her at 97 paces with a winchester suprem gold slog
i will post a pick

[Ridge Runner]

this is a 458 dia 300 gr. Hornady outta my 458 Socom AR-15, recovered after making a lengthwise trip through a whitetail. hit the shoulder at approx 2200 fps and was recovered under the hide on the offside ham, diam was .858, weight was 294 gr.

RR

[Ridge Runner]

try this again

[model 70]

Is that an Interlock bullet?

[Ridge Runner]

Don't think so, the box says 300 gr. JHP.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

Well I recovered this 7mm 139 Grn Hornady BTSP Interlock bullet for the left shoulder of a Whitetail Buck, bullet entered just behind the last rib on the right as he was going away at about 50-60 yards. Velocity of approx 2850fps, this was the 2003 season. No Whitetail hunting for me in 2004.



http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL14/134492/3347248/41059778.jpg
The bullet expanded to approx 0.600" and retained 94 grains of weight for 67.65% of it's original weight, good performance I thought.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL14/134492/3347248/41059835.jpg

And this is the Buck
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL14/134492/3186641/39097581.jpg

[Ken14]

This is a Nosler 100gr ballistic Tip recovered form a large Tx whitetail on Christmas Eve..Fired from a .25-06 Sendero at 125 yards. retained weight was 34 grains.

[Cossack]

I'm with Varmint Hunter, using Barnes X I have 18 one-shot kills on whitetails but only one bullet recovered. That 130 grain bullet, shot from a 7/08, went the entire length of a good sized buck and still retained over 90% of original weight.

[rbuck]

Here is a 270 Nosler 140gr Accubond recovered from a neck shot on a buck at 100 yrds with my rem710 270win, weighed in at 89gr, and a Hornady 250gr SST recovered from a doe on a slightly 1/4rd towards me shot through the heart at about 50yrds with my Knight muzzy, no wieght on this yet but also recovered the tip in the front shoulder meat when butchering
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v339/Ranger66/recovery.jpg
Buck Nov 1/04
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v339/Ranger66/100_0903.jpg
Doe Nov 29/04
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v339/Ranger66/muzzydoe.jpg

[VinVega]

I've never recovered bullets from animals, but I have dug a couple up from the mud after a shooting session. Two I remember very well are the Ballistic Silvertips, and the AccuBond CT. The BS was torn all to bits, but still in tact almost completely. Probably woulda made a real mess in a deer's vitals. The AccuBond stayed pretty solid, it did mushroom, but not really any noticeable fragmentation. Whenever I go shoot, I usually try to find a few bullets in the ground to see what happened to them.

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

Good posts!
Since no media replicates the combination of tissue, fluids and bone found in an animal, bullet recovery and terminal ballistics are the best indicator of bullet performance. I like trying to figure the best bullet for the game based on the size and build of the game, bullet construction, velocity calibre etc. I do try different makers, weights and designs, but again I try bullets in a class recommended for that game, not a bullet "just to see if it will kill the animal." Have learned, where possible, to examine the entire wound channel, as the recovered bullet itself don't always tell the whole story. Example: low retained bullet mass or jacket separation may be acceptable if a lot of heavy bone was encountered.

[kt]

i agree with the last post, you know the guy with the real long name ;) i have yet to recover an intact power belt. I shoot the 295gr hollow points and a buddy the 245gr aerotip, some dont exit, it pissed me off at first until i did an autopsy and found between the entrance and the last fragments there usually is a softball size hole and a puddle of mush that was once lung /shoulder matter. On the other hand remington corelokt has managed to piss me off with there lack of expansion, now dont knock the shot but i hit one in the butt cheek and up through the vitals once (my first buck) bullet stopped in the sternum and only looked like some one hammered the tip a little. funny thing i still shoot them cause i havent lost one yet. that was a .308
kt

[Terry Blauwkamp]

I've been trying to recover bullets for 40 years now, and have quite a collection.

Even recovered two 225 gr 338 mag TSX last year. Both were quartering away shots on Eland and Gemsbok. Recovered bulelts were perfect.

It's fun recovering them, but I do feel that an exit hole is preferable. Game with exit holes seem to die quicker.