Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Weird bullet path

Sometimes bullets do weird things.

Last Monday, the 4th of November, I killed my last 2 deer for 2019. I used my old Remington M81 in 300 savage with iron sights just for the fun of using the old gun. My load was 39.0 grains of 4064 and a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip hunting bullet. I zeroed at 150 yards.

As it turned out both deer were shot at about 150, so the hold was dead on. One was shot through the heart and the bullet did exactly what I would expect, in and out, splitting the heart in half. perfect kill.

The other was very weird. It was broadside and the bullet hit the ribs about 1/3 from the diaphragm about center from top to bottom. The hit was maybe 4" back of where I would have tried to place it, but not too bad for old eyes over a flat blade rear sight with a coarse bead front sight. The bullet hit the ribs and turned 90 degrees going back along the side of the deer, down the flank through the side of the paunch and it can to rest in the rear of the right ham. The hit was on the right side of the deer's chest. It took out 6 (yes SIX) ribs and ripped up the back of the right lung, hit the edge of the liver, opened the paunch then cut the flank back about 6" and then went through the gut cavity but didn't touch the intestines at all. It went into the ham and came to rest about 2" from the back of the large muscle that forms the high part of the ham. Here are pics of the empty jacket.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by .com/photos/156296479N08/]Steve Zihn, on [bleep]
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by .com/photos/156296479N08/]Steve Zihn, on [bleep]
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by .com/photos/156296479N08/]Steve Zihn, on [bleep]

At the shot the deer ran but was obviously hit. It got about 80 yards farther. I dressed out the heart shot deer first and then went to the other one. When I was gutting it I was surprised to see the damage and I had to drag it to a creek to wash out the body because of the split paunch. I didn't think I would recover the bullet but I found this jacket when I was doing the butchering.

I have seen some strange bullet performance from other bullets in my past 50+ years of hunting, but this is the first time I have seen it with this particular design of bullet. The old original Nosler solid base B.Ts. were horrid for their propensity to break apart completely. I have a limited amount of experience with the newer Ballistic Tip Hunting line but so far they have been quite good and the ones I have seen slip the jackets have all gone quite deep before they did so, with about 80% of them holding together. What caused this (or any other) bullet to turn at 90 degrees is an "unknown" and I saw an almost identical result many years ago hunting with a hand-made copy of a 58 caliber S. Hawken muzzleloader, shooting a Lee R.E.A.L. bullet and 100 grains of 3F, at a large mule deer buck. The only difference is that the 58 cal crossed to the opposite ham and exited the deer. That was about 48 years ago.


Such performance is weird, uncommon and note worthy, but it does happen at times.

Thanks for sharing.

I have seen bullets deflect quite a bit from a tiny stick, I would imagine that the same could happen if it hits a rib just right. Glad you got the deer and congrats on the double!

Yes, bullets can do some weird things.

The most deflection I've seen was shooting a Doe 1/4ing to me, on the point of the her R shoulder.
At the shot she dropped straight down on both knees and pushed herself in the brush. I thot, 'huh' ?
She didn't go far and I loaded her up and brought her in.

Upon skinning I found the bullet had turned 90 * and took out her L shoulder too.

Nothing is 100 % sure.


Jerry

Should’ve used a Berger!😁

Any bullet can have a failure for any number of reasons. At least the animal was recovered and congrats on filling the freezer.

I had one weird shot. Buck was quartering to me and I shot him on the shoulder. The bullet raked the entire flank of the buck making one heck of a mess.

30/06 with 150g ballistic tip at 80 yards.

Keith, was your BT the old one with the solid base, or the new ones marked HUNTING in all capitals on the box?

Funny (NOT Ha-Ha) things can and do happen, when bullets meet flesh.

You sound surprised that a cup & core bullet separated.

No not surprised that it separated, but surprised it turned 90 degrees and still went about 24" deep.

My uncle tracked down and finished off a big 10 point by shooting it between the eyes with his '06 as it was looking directly at him. The bullet went in the forehead, evidently around the back of the skull and back out under the white throat patch in the front of the neck. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't gone over there to see it for myself.

Yeah that would definitely surprise me. Had a Partition do a 90° turn on a piddly little East Texas whitetail. They are notoriously small. The bullet entered the rib cage broadside & immediately exited the chest hitting the dirt below his belly. Regardless of reliable track records, sometimes they just straight up defy the odds.

Had a 210 .338WM NP blow up on the scapula of a moose at 100 yards. BB sized bone and lead in near lung, scapula totally shattered. No damage to far lung. Rear portion apparently exited back out entry wound. Not found, and I looked. Never used 210's on game since..

That was years ago. It ain't that fun having a dead moose lurch to it's feet at 3 yards....

Last August I shot a bull caribou at about 100 yards, near broadside, with a .260, 140 gr bullet (Corelokt if you must know). Entry wound was an inch behind shoulder, exit....."somewhat further back".

I don't know if he turned just as I shot, or the bullet deflected, but I really, really hate "gut shots". Ick! I don't think he could have turned that far, for an exit wound behind the last rib .... It did break a rib going in.

Shift happens...

That makes me feel better since my .338WM doesn’t like the 210 partition. It’ll put damn near everything else touching but not partitions. By doing too much reading it’s possible to feel as though you’ve missed nirvana if you’re not using partitions. I took a right at the Sound Garden and used the original X and all its iterations with great success so as it turns out I didn’t miss nirvana. 😁