first chuck of the season

[Ridge Runner]

I've been hauling my Savage mark2 chambered in 17 HM2 around to dispatch problem starlings, In the middle of my beer run this eve I see a groundhog in a field that I have permission to hunt.
I get out and load the 17, crank the 4x16 weaver up to full power and start trying to estimate range (dang rangefinder was at home) all I can come up with was it was over 100 yds.
I get the hog in the scope, its quartering away, put the 1/4 min dot about 1/2" over the back, verticle wire in line with the off shoulder. give the trigger a 3 pound smash, I see the dust fly off the hog and it rolls over flopping, squirm and wiggles, bites at itself.
By the time I get another round in the chamber its at a dead run for the hole and disappears. I walk to the hole and see the groundhog dead at the entrance. Its a big sow, about 12-14 pounds hit through the ribs,
I'm anxious to see what kind of penetration I got so I step off the distance, I'll range it at another time but is was 148 paces.
upon skinning it I find lots of bloodshot just behind the off shoulder, I spent 20 min. looking for a bullet or fragments, even though there was no exit wound the only thing I found was the black polymer tip from the cci brand v-max bullet. I had to get almost total penetration by the amount of blood under the hide on the off shoulder but nothing was found there or inside the body cavity, just lots of trauma.
I bet at 20 yds that bullet would have turned to dust almost on impact, I was really impressed.
RR

[fabsroman]

I had that happen on the first deer I ever shot with my .300 Win Mag, but there was absolutely no trace of the bullet. I killed it at about 15 yards with it looking up at me in the tree. I put the bullet right on the right shoulder, and if it went all the way through it would have exited through the stomach. Blood shot out of the entry wound and it dropped in its tracks. After processing it, there was no exit wound and the interior trauma was tremendous. I was shooting a 150 gr. Remington Core Lokt at that time.

With that .17 HM2, do you think you would get enough penetration on a groundhog at 20 yards? The bullet might blow up before hitting any vitals.

[Ridge Runner]

nope, I don't think so, at the ranges this caliber was designed for, after game gets above about 8 pounds in weight penetration, or lack of becomes an issue. like I said at 20 that bullet would turn to dust on impact.
RR

[fabsroman]

Right, I understand that the bullet would turn to dust upon impact at 20, but that is my question. If the bullet turns to dust upon impact at 20, will there be enough penetration to kill cleanly, or does it mean that the round is not designed to shoot things at 20 yards.

[Ridge Runner]

well it seems to do well until the game gets over about 8 pounds in weight. seems any adult groundhog shot at 50 yds to the shoulders get back to they're holes. young ones, or lighter built game like rabbits and jackrabbits get dispatched rather well.
I would be willing to wager that if I'd have shot that same hog at 50 yds, at the same angle in the same place, she would have gotten down her burrow instead of dieing at the entrance. Its my opinion that the bullet slowing down helped with its penetration.
I know a guy who'm I trust that was with a buddy shooting long tailed blackbirds with his new HMR, he said out of 15 or so birds at close range, the 17 gr v-max only exited a couple of them. the rest were mush inside with no exit wound. but out of my HM2 that same bullet at 400 fps slower will exit most of the time from the blackbirds.
RR