Phillip, you clean your squirrel neater than a chest cutter I used to hunt with down near Chuckoluskee a few years back cleaned deer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />Sometimes I expected them to get well after the operation...
Well, it sure looks like the bullet expanded, have you ever recovered one? Other than printed reports on the Net and in magazines I have a couple of friends who use the HMR, and they all have experienced inconsistant expansion with that round out about 175 yards or further. Sometimes they do, often they don't. Reason I asked if you had recovered one(tongue in cheek), spitzer boat tails are often very unstable in the terminal phase and tumble easily. I really don't know if that is the proper discription of the 17 gr pill that Hornady loads, it is a spitzer, the base looks rounded, sort of boat tailish, sorta blunt/something or 'nother. Not saying yours did that, but I've seen similar performance on hog and deer with the M-16 and issue Ball ammo. No way is that bullet going to expand, yet they often leave a messy hole on the off side. Lots of pelt hunters won't use FMJ's for that reason(
www.CoyoteGods.Com ask S. Frame if you want).
Anyway, I stand by my earlier statement about the terminal performance of the subject bullet at low(er) velocity, but wouldn't argue your success. Placement always trumps expansion IMO.
