Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Bullet Failure

Tell me about yours, if you've had one, with details

I think you forgot to post in the Cooking section, idiot.

None, a model of simplicity.

That's not to say I haven't failed, but the bullets always killed when aimed properly.

My definition of failure is not being able to punch through a deer standing broadside. I like things to work when everything is wrong, not when everything is right.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Well I could have, but not without effort.

The concept of �bullet failure� is highly subjective. My definition is pretty simple � if the bullet fails to perform as desired it has failed.

With that definition, I�ve only had one failure, back in the early �80�s when I took my first big game animal, a spike bull elk. The bullet was a 162g Hornady BTSP InterLock launched from a 7mm Rem Mag at around 2950fps. Range to target was about 110 yards, so impact velocity was around 2750fps. The bullet struck the bull on a broadside shot, centered on a rib just behind the right front leg. It made a caliber diameter hole in the front of the rib, and a rib-width crater on the back side. It may have nicked a rib on the far side but no significant damage to the far-side ribs was evident during cleaning, skinning and quartering. The bullet was recovered between the flesh and the hide on the far side.

As far as I�m concerned the challenge to the bullet�s integrity was not that great, certainly nothing like it would be if heavy bone had been encountered. The Hornady bullet retained less than 50% of its original weight. That was the first -- and last -- standard cup-and-core bullet I�ve used on big game. The following year I switched to Grand Slams and it took me 20 years to recover one. The recovered Grand Slam was from a 5x5 bull on a shot very similar to the one on my first bull with the Hornady � broadside at about 100-110 yards. The Grand Slam was also recovered under the hide on the off side but had completely wrecked both shoulder joints. While the challenge to the integrity of the Grand Slam was much greater that for the Hornady InterLock, the Grand Slam retained over 70% of its original weight, about 50% more than the Hornady.

Some would argue that the first bull died (and in fact it dropped in its tracks although it required a finisher to hasten the inevitable), so what is the problem? I would contend the bullet failed but the bull died anyway, due in large part to careful placement of the bullet. Things might have been very different on a quartering away shot or a follow-up where a THS was the only shot offered.

Regardless, I�ve used Grand Slams and North Forks for all my game since. Fortunately I have a lifetime supply of North Forks, which are no longer available, for my .45-70 and 7mm Rem Mag and a good supply for my .300 win Mag. For the other rifles I�ll be focusing my attention on the TTSX.

IVE seen several over the years and Id be the first to point out MOST were the result of guys sellecting the WRONG bullet for the application. the most memoriable was a serria 150 grain 30 cal

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=233669
a buddy loaded these to max velocity in his 300 wby, he shot a cow elk at about 70 yards which fell but got up and started to hobble off as we approached, a second shot dropped her, the first bullet had turned the lower near side leg/shoulder to glitter and hamburger without providing full penetration, the second shot nearly cut her in 1/2 with the internal damage, he swapped to 190 hornadys and has been pleased with the results ever since

I dont think I have ever had a bullet failure but I have had bullet letdowns.

One year I used partitions in my 35whelen. shot a blackie at about 200yards and the it detonated in the bear. grant it it killed it but I like penetration (IMO). 2 holes bleed better than one thing. it ran off and I found it dead against a tree.

So yeah it killed the bear just not what I was looking for.

did the bullet fail? nope, I just had different expectations.

I'm inclined to say that a bullet failure on the initial shot has more to do with the shooter than anything else. Some exceptions may be allowed. The real test of a bullet (and its selector) comes on necessary (real or perceived) subsequent shots when things are "happening" and less than ideal circumstances exist. I have had few bullet issues that I could not have affected had I done some things differently. Being ignorant is not a very good excuse.

I used to hunt whitetails in GA with a guy who was a SWAT sniper and had access to all the Federal Premium match ammo for his .308 that he wanted. I think that ammo had 190 grain Sierra match bullets if I remember correctly.

The guy was an awesome rifle shot but wounded and lost more deer than anyone I ever saw until I convinced him to use a hunting bullet instead of a match bullet.

Shooter induced bullet failure in this case.

lodgepole, you want to borrow a pair of my asbestos underwear? All washed and cleaned up. Boy, they will flame you for implying match bullets can't kill deer!

My one and only bullet failure was a Combined Technologies Ballistic Silvertip. 140 grain, 7 Rem. Mag. It didn't fail to kill the deer, as it was down in about 20 yards. The problem was, the entire front half was nuked. I have never seen such a God AWFUL mess. I was able to salvage the hind quarters. Inner and outer loins were gone, due to bloodshot, guts and frag.

Shot (15 yards) went in from a high angle, just in front of the top point of the shoulder and nuked in the chest cavity, sending funk out of the entry hole and of course, no exit. "At what point of the deer's death did the bullet fail" you ask? "When most of the meat was wasted", I answer.

Never again will I use a grenade on a game animal. X's and TSX's have been doing a fine job since I stopped using varmint boolits in faster calibers, on game I intend to eat. I like the freedom to take close or far shots at various angles in a wide range of velocities. Barnes has allowed me to do that, much thanks to this site...

A .338 WM NP 210 blew up on the shoulder blade of a moose at about 100 yards, knocking him down.

The second one, one handed, up his nostrils at about 10 feet (less off the muzzle) worked just fine! Yeah, I John Wayned him on instinct.

Shall we next address bladder failure? First and last use of NP 210 !

Meat damage can be avoided by not shooting a animal where there is meat....

Had I done what you did, I believe I'd have to be taking a portion, if not all, of the blame for that "failure." Shooting any animal that you hope to eat with a very high speed bullet, and especially one which expands like the Nosler, Hornady, Speer, etc do in that weight, is not a reasonable use in my book. Based on what I have seen from even the smaller cased 7mm-08, I won't even use the 139 Interlocked on a shoulder again if I can help it. (They do work great when they go just a bit further back and lower though. So do the BTs.)

I had a .30 cal 200 GR NP hit a Buffalo at 50 yards and break the sholder but didn't make it to the lungs. Once the animal was full of adrenilin, it took 3 more shots to kill it. The first bullet was recovered and had squirted lead out of both ends so it weighed about 60 Gr on recovery. I'm not happy about that bullet performance but I did recover my once in a lifetime Utah Buff. I've shot Barnes ever sence with great results.

Not a failure, but definitely not a bullet I want coming even remotely close to any part of the animal I intend to eat...150gr BT 7mmRM, 230 yards. This is one of many exit wounds that I saw from this bullet/rifle combo. So much for the cape...
BTW, this was a clients animal, I shoot TSX's

BWalker
There are plenty of times when shooting them in the meat is a good idea... And with the X family eating right up to the hole is usually not a problem. The nature of the X blodshot meat versus a C&C is very different.

Give me a shoulder shot everytime.

The only deer I shot through the shoulder was with a 180-gn Accubond out of a 30-06. It broke the shoulder bone going in. Meat damage/bloodshot was very minimal, just some of the under-the-hide stuff that you can scrape off with a knife. However, I have avoided shooting the shoulder in general and will continue to do so whenever possible.

I got an ENTRANCE wound on a deer's neck, about like the one in Jordan's picture above, with a Ballistic Tip from a 7mm-08.

-jeff

Never had bullet failure.......but have had shooter failure a time or 2....