I have seen at least 4 feet of expanding-bullet penetration on several occasions:
1) Mule deer buck taken with facing shot at 30 yards in lodgepole timber with a 7x57, 140 Nosler Partition at about 2800. Bullet struck the dimple at the base of his neck, and was found under the hide of his butt.
2) Medium-size Nilgai bull was shot with a 140-grain Fail Safe from a .270 WSM factory load (about 3000 fps chronographed) at 200 yards, also a facing shot. Bullet struck top of shoulder and exited opposite ham.
3) Big but not huge Alaskan bull moose was taken with .338 Win. Mag and 230-grain Fail Safe, muzzle velocity about 2800, range about 100 yards. Also a facing shot, with bullet striking inside left shoulder and ending up under hide at front of pelvis. (Bull was standing with front feet higher than rear.)
4) Cape buffalo running, angling away at about 100 yards. 400-grain Nosler Partition from .416 Rigby landed about 15" behind rib cage, angled across chest and broke far shoulder. Found under hide of shoulder.
5) Bull gemsbok, quartering toward me at about 175 yards. Bullet was a 200-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip from a .338 Winchester Magnum, started at about 2950 fps. Bullet struck near shoulder and spine, and was found bulging the skin of opposite ham.
6) My wife shot a gemsbok on the same trip, facing her at about 200 yards. Bullet was 165-grain Fail Safe, started at about 2900 from a .30-06. Bullet entered low on neck, cutting carotid artery and bottom of spine, and ended up bulding the skin at the back of one ham.
Our friend Charlie Sisk recently shot a Texas wild pig estimated at 350 pounds (by Charlie, who used to slaughter pigs) in the ham with a 9.3 BS wildcat, using a 286 Nosler Partition at about 2400 fps, range about 80 yards. The bullet exited the pig's face, having broken a lot of bone of various sorts in between.
Have experienced great penetration with Trophy Bonded, and Barnes X of all types, but have never shot them into anything where either the animal or the angle resulted in 4+ feet of penetration.
MD
