Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bullet Deflection

Francis Sell did a great write up on bullet deflection in the 60s. Guns magazine.

He put up a target and tried different bullets at different speed.

Medium bore at medium speed worked better than most.

I've had the misfortune of having six instances of bullet deflection over the years, all when having a seemingly clear line of sight through a scope. Two of those instances unfortunately resulted in a flesh wound of the deer, but extensive searches led me to believe that both deer survived. One instance resulted in the bullet hitting the deer in the neck just below the head, a full 18" from the point of aim. Another instance occurred on a 5x5 whitetail, one of my nicer bucks. Just a few minutes before the end of shooting time the buck came walking down the opposite side of a wooded draw I was watching. Resting against a tree I took the shot at 100 yards. The crosshairs were steady on the chest at the shot and the buck took off angling down the draw towards me. He stopped at about 30 yards, and subscribing to the theory of shooting until the animal is down, I shot him through the heart, dropping him on the spot. To my surprise there was only one bullet wound. The next morning I returned to the site of the shot and looked over to where the buck had been standing. I saw a spider web of small branches that were completely invisible to me the evening before in the low light.

[quote=Mule Deer]Windfall,

On an "industry" prairie dog deal many years ago, a guy on his first PD shoot put two .223 rounds into the hood of a rental SUV. He was, of course, using a scoped rifle, and resting the forend on some sort of pad.

The first shot never even kicked up dust near the PD he was aiming at, but made a "weird sound." So he shot again. Same deal: no dust, weird sound. Only then did he see the two parallel grooves in the hood. [/quot

To be there would have been priceless.
I’d have been rolling.

I guess I haven't properly broken in my truck, no creases in the hood yet.

Thanks to all who shared their experiences with bullet deflection. Clearly it is a fairly common occurrence. Sure wish I could have a do-over on my shot at that bull. I found this picture on the SD card I took from a game camera I have on the same waterhole. Batteries had died in the camera, so I didn't have anything recent, but this one was taken on Aug 25th. I'm almost positive this is the bull I missed:

Bummer!

I was set up in a brush blind on top of an old forested sand dune in NW Michigan, within hearing distance of waves crashing on the Lake MIchigan shore. The entrance to the blind was SE, the wind was from the S, and I was facing N across an opening in the oaks. I cradled my Ruger M77 30-06 stoked with Nosler 165 gr Partitions over 56 gr IMR 4350 with the muzzle to the left, butt to the right. Tasco 1.5 x 6 Euroclass scope IIRC.

The biggest buck I've ever seen hunting northern Michigan walked straight up the very steep S face of the dune and popped up on my right about 70 yards away. I was totally exposed to his line of sight through the entrance to the blind...this was before the days of popups and there wasn't a lot of blind material nearby. I froze, realizing he would spook down the dune if I tried to swivel right and bring the rifle to bear.

The buck continued to walk towards the blind and I realized he would pass in front of me 15 yards or so away. I thought I would wait til he passed to raise the Ruger and take a quartering away shot. Well, as he approached the front of the blind I realized that he would be downwind of me in a few steps. So I threw up the Ruger and took a center mass snap shot. As I recovered from the recoil the buck was leaving at top speed and a pine bough was dangling down just above where he was when I shot, and the forest duff just past where he had been was kicked up. I trotted over to see if there was blood or hair and was disappointed not to to find a bit...surely there would be significant wound ejecta from a close range chest hit. I'm an experience grouse and woodcock hunter and I practice religiously with my big game rifles before the season. How could I have missed a 15 yard shot?

As I turned to retrieve my pack from the blind I saw the splintered exit hole in a 1 1/2 inch oak sapling five yards in front of the blind that had been centered by the 165 gr Nosler. The disturbed duff and dangling pine branch suggested that the Partition broke in half with one piece going above the buck's back and the other under his belly. I had not seen the sapling when I pulled the trigger. It was out of focus and I was shooting quickly. Still have the splintered section I sawed off somewhere with my reloading stuff.

We wer 300-400 yards cross canyon with 3 hunting partners from a 20+ herd of elk. Plenty of time, each picked an individual, we had killed elk on the same slope5 years before. 14 shots later not one drop of blood. While looking the brush had grown much taller & thicker than before. All rifles checked good & we practice out to 800 yards so that 400 is makeable. Had the same thing happen this year at 237 on a cow but she stepped into the open and the 2nd shot blew out her heart.