Bullets recovered from animals

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MrTom

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I was digging thru some of my treasures and found these four XTP's that were recovered from animals I'd taken with either my Accura or the Optima pistol.

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The two at the top are .44 cal 240 grainers from the pistol: The one on the left came from a doe and actually left the animal's others side and was laying on the snow about three yards behind where she was hit/dropped after connecting solidly with both shoulders near the elbows from about 18 yards. The one on the right was a quartering to me shot that hit in the front left area of the chest and was under the hide in front of the opposite hind quarter after a 40 yard shot.

The bottom two are both .45 300 grainers: The one on the left was from a 10 point buck taken three years ago when I somehow ran out of my usual 300 grain .44 cal hunting bullets and had to use the .45. This shot again was quartering to me and hit just in front of the right shoulder and was also found near the opposite hind quarter. The bullet on the left came from a big bodied nine point that was starting to quarter away [about a 1 o:clock angle] from me offering a shot at the right shoulder and neck area. The bullet connected high in the shoulder and plowed thru to the spinal column where it followed it forward and the bullets was found nudged up against the jaw bone. This deer was taken in the last 15 minutes of the last day of the season at the onset of a huge snow storm. I've never seen another deer pile up like this one did. He was about 15 yards from me at the shot sneaking thru a tangle of buckthorn.

We refer to terminal performance often here and these are four instances with Hornady's XTP bullets in two different calibers and are proof that they do work well and as they're supposed to. It is interesting to see how bullets react to bone and softer tissues. The .44 cal bullets from the pistol were moved along with a 63 grain weighed charge of 209 powder in green crush ribs. The .45 cals were in front of 77 grains weighed charges of 209 powder and wearing black smooth sabots.
 
That's cool, I gotta look too, somewhere I have one or two deer slugs that I recovered. If I can remember where they are. Tough getting old, I think I have CRS.
 
Not from a Muzzleloader, Both from my 7 Mag, Out of the 8-10 Elk i have Killed, I have Recovered Very Few Bullets, These are 2 of them

140 Grain Barnes TTSX .284 (7MM Rem Mag) My Handloads, Both of these were Recovered from Elk i killed here in Idaho, These Barnes TTSX are AWESOME Elk Bullets, I have a very different opinion of them on Deer Though
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Both Bullets left the Barrel Weighing 140 Grains, The ONLY Weight lost was the little Blue Tip
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Not from a Muzzleloader, Both from my 7 Mag, Out of the 8-10 Elk i have Killed, I have Recovered Very Few Bullets, These are 2 of them

140 Grain Barnes TTSX .284 (7MM Rem Mag) My Handloads, Both of these were Recovered from Elk i killed here in Idaho, These Barnes TTSX are AWESOME Elk Bullets, I have a very different opinion of them on Deer Though
cYNaJO5.jpg

vsRzNs3.jpg


Both Bullets left the Barrel Weighing 140 Grains, The ONLY Weight lost was the little Blue Tip
JZHCXSd.jpg

sJjvSc6.jpg
Barnes are one of my all time favorite bullets for hunting/reloading,,, It is very surprising to me that you found these,, they usually shoot plumb through any animal they hit.. Were the animals facing towards or away from you when shot?? It took a lot of "meat" to stop those!!, with picture perfect mushrooms.. Did they start out 140 or 150 gr??
 
I have a gob of bullets dug out of animals. My favorites are the 11mm bullet dug out of a deer and the 458 gr 500 S&W bullet out of my elk last year.
 

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I have a gob of bullets dug out of animals. My favorites are the 11mm bullet dug out of a deer and the 458 gr 500 S&W bullet out of my elk last year.
what put the 11mm bullet in the deer? supposedly one wants all the energy transferred into the animal... if you recover a bullet,, that has happened.. In reality, i would rather have the exit wound, & twice the chance for blood trail and lung collapse... I recovered the 150 grain remington core lokt bullet i took my first deer with in 1976.. It was a picture perfect mushroom,,, the deer was more than quartering away from me when i shot,, the bullet punching a big hole through the middle of its liver and landing in the chest cavity... when we dressed the deer,, the bullet was laying there ready to be picked up and cherished!! (it was against the spine area in the thoracic cavity).I vividly remember the hunt as a 17yr old and bullet til this day!! .. This was a treasure for years & dwelled in my wife's jewelry box... It disappeared for some reason during the big d... :>(! Those recovered bullets are real treasures as far as i'm concerned!!!!
 
what put the 11mm bullet in the deer? supposedly one wants all the energy transferred into the animal... if you recover a bullet,, that has happened.. In reality, i would rather have the exit wound, & twice the chance for blood trail and lung collapse... I recovered the 150 grain remington core lokt bullet i took my first deer with in 1976.. It was a picture perfect mushroom,,, the deer was more than quartering away from me when i shot,, the bullet punching a big hole through the middle of its liver and landing in the chest cavity... when we dressed the deer,, the bullet was laying there ready to be picked up and cherished!! (it was against the spine area in the thoracic cavity).I vividly remember the hunt as a 17yr old and bullet til this day!! .. This was a treasure for years & dwelled in my wife's jewelry box... It disappeared for some reason during the big d... :>(! Those recovered bullets are real treasures as far as i'm concerned!!!!

I shoot the 11mm bullet in my 45 cal Hawken. That particular bullet was shot by my son. The buck was quartering away hard. The bullet entered at the flank and was found under the skin in the neck. To call that a bang flop was an under statement. That is the only one we have ever found and that bullet has killed a lot of animals.
The bullet below that is the Lee 500 S&W bullet. Only 2 of those have been found. This one was found in my elk last year. It broke the shoulder and spine. The shot was 248 yards the bullet was found. These normally own right through.
 
In this picture the top row is Nosler Partitions. The bottom row is Hornady 140 gr BTSP. Both loads were pretty much the same. The Partitions were found in deer. The Hornady were found in elk. No Hornady 140's were ever found in deer they blew through every time
I quit using the Partitions due to their lack of penetration. I know they claim to be the best penetrating bullet but my results show different. I have killed over 20 head of elk with rifles, so I had a substantial amount of experience and chance to find bullets.
 

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In this picture the top row is Nosler Partitions. The bottom row is Hornady 140 gr BTSP. Both loads were pretty much the same. The Partitions were found in deer. The Hornady were found in elk. No Hornady 140's were ever found in deer they blew through every time
I quit using the Partitions due to their lack of penetration. I know they claim to be the best penetrating bullet but my results show different. I have killed over 20 head of elk with rifles, so I had a substantial amount of experience and chance to find bullets.
I shoot nosler partition in my 7mm-08 (factory loaded Federal supreme ammo which groups 1/2 moa) It surprised me this was the best grouping ammo,, but I've shot several deer with it & all blasted through making huge exit wounds, like 4 inch gaping exit hole, & entry wound much larger than it should !! But,, i'm sure my deer are much closer than yours,, Longest shot i've ever had wasn't much over 100yds.. Bet your deer were a bit further? (especially with bullet recovery),, I built 2 7mm-08's & gave one to a good friend who wired my shop at no charge,, (would have been much cheaper to pay someone,, but good friends are few... ) i watched him shoot a doe at 400yds, (complete penetration at angle through guts no less), and another doe at 50yds broadside. & he shot a mule deer in wyoming similar distance (400+yds) & his brother used it for another kill at long range on mule deer same hunt... & not one recovered bullet, all had exit wounds from the Federal ammo i had bought for him..... What cartridge/round were you using (7mag is awfully popular)??? Just proves there are always exceptions any time you think you've got it figured out??? I bet the folks at nosler would be interested in your experience....... were they by chance the same lot number of bullets, it shouldn't matter because the part you recovered is the part thats supposed to push on through. (probably still has lead behind the partition)?? oh yes,, i just remembered back in late 70's when ML season started in Tn. & all my hunting buddies had Hawkens or Renegade t/c's & the only guy who killed a deer was using 45cal with patched ball,, & he shot the deer twice, I remember the bullets flattened out & looked much like a coin! (both balls recovered as flat discs).. I bet he still has those...
 
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I shoot nosler partition in my 7mm-08 (factory loaded Federal supreme ammo which groups 1/2 moa) It surprised me this was the best grouping ammo,, but I've shot several deer with it & all blasted through making huge exit wounds, like 4 inch gaping exit hole, & entry wound much larger than it should !! But,, i'm sure my deer are much closer than yours,, Longest shot i've ever had wasn't much over 100yds.. Bet your deer were a bit further? (especially with bullet recovery),, I built 2 7mm-08's & gave one to a good friend who wired my shop at no charge,, (would have been much cheaper to pay someone,, but good friends are few... ) i watched him shoot a doe at 400yds, (complete penetration at angle through guts no less), and another doe at 50yds broadside. & he shot a mule deer in wyoming similar distance (400+yds) & his brother used it for another kill at long range on mule deer same hunt... & not one recovered bullet, all had exit wounds from the Federal ammo i had bought for him..... What cartridge/round were you using (7mag is awfully popular)??? Just proves there are always exceptions any time you think you've got it figured out??? I bet the folks at nosler would be interested in your experience....... were they by chance the same lot number of bullets, it shouldn't matter because the part you recovered is the part thats supposed to push on through. (probably still has lead behind the partition)?? oh yes,, i just remembered back in late 70's when ML season started in Tn. & all my hunting buddies had Hawkens or Renegade t/c's & the only guy who killed a deer was using 45cal with patched ball,, & he shot the deer twice, I remember the bullets flattened out & looked much like a coin! (both balls recovered as flat discs).. I bet he still has those...

The only one I can tell you for a fact on distance was this bullet. This bullet came out of a muledeer buck I shot at maybe 40 yards. The deer was going away quartering. The bullet hit the last rib. It exploded then the back end tumbled. It sawed the ribs off on one side. When it got to the shoulder it headed in and took out the spine.

I couldn't honestly tell you about lot numbers. I just traided all my nosler bullets to a friend. I was never going to use them.

The rifle I was using was a pre 64 Winchester model 70 in a 270 Winchester. The 140's would be right at 3000 fps.
 

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The only one I can tell you for a fact on distance was this bullet. This bullet came out of a muledeer buck I shot at maybe 40 yards. The deer was going away quartering. The bullet hit the last rib. It exploded then the back end tumbled. It sawed the ribs off on one side. When it got to the shoulder it headed in and took out the spine.

I couldn't honestly tell you about lot numbers. I just traided all my nosler bullets to a friend. I was never going to use them.

The rifle I was using was a pre 64 Winchester model 70 in a 270 Winchester. The 140's would be right at 3000 fps.
I bought 10 boxes of weatherby .270 ammo loaded with Barnes x bullets,, prob 30+ yrs ago,, my .270 is my "good luck" gun.. Liked them since Reading O'Conner when i was a teen , my most "prolific" deer rifle. . I was just wondering if the "noslers" came from the same Lot... looks like they did... I think your experience is very unusual.. with them,,, but proof is in your photo!.. I don't blame you at all... Kirk
 
Nice to hear of the 270., Jack O'Connor was my hero, got my 270 BDL when a teenager ,my first rifle I ever bought. Sierra bullets was my hand loads 130 ,150gr.bullets. safe to say 70 plus deer fell to that rifle. Thankyou Jack.
 
I use 130's for Deer and 150's for Moose. Love my Tikka Lite 270win. My bullets are Nosler Partition with H4831sc.
 
I bought a Tikka Lite 270 Win last year. I have started my load development for 130 jacketed and for 105 cast bullets. I went out to the desert last week to test loads. The lead alloy (20 BHN) loading clocked at 1850 FPS and the 130's at 2700 to 3100 FPS. Pressure seemed okay for all loads. I'll settle the 130 load at around 2950 FPS and leave the cast as is. I'll now fool around with about 15 different powders until I find the most accurate and that I like best. I have many rifles to choose from for shooting, so a rifle has to make a good impression on me before I will take it on a hunt. So far, the Tikka is earning it's way... I just may take it on a hunt. I presently use a 308 Win (IMR 4064) for deer, a 8mm Rem Mag (IRECO 85) for Elk and a 7-08 Ack Improved (H380) for Antelope. Sometimes I take a black powder cartridge rifle or BP muzzleloader on a hunt for kicks.
 
My Tikka Lite I use 53grs of H4831sc with 150s and 55grs with 130s. I sold both my .308s after getting my 270win Tikka.
 
Out of an elk at 50 yards. Its a 250 grain Barnes original X bullet. Before they made modifications. Shot from a 35 Whelen at MV 2703 fps. I know to fast but the gun likes it and no pressure signs. Lost one petal on the far side (not shown). Pretty impressive I thought. I always use x bullets for elk and partitions for deer.

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Out of an elk at 50 yards. Its a 250 grain Barnes original X bullet. Before they made modifications. Shot from a 35 Whelen at MV 2703 fps. I know to fast but the gun likes it and no pressure signs. Lost one petal on the far side (not shown). Pretty impressive I thought. I always use x bullets for elk and partitions for deer.

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Heck yeah.
 
Badlands .338 274 grain Bulldozer(not the new SBD2) hit an elk in the neck broadside just in front of the shoulder then went up and left and came to rest in the same side backstrap for a total of 12" penetration, and did not break the neck/vertebrae. Impact velocity over 2,000 fps from a 9 twist barrel. I am not a fan of hard copper alloy monos like Badlands and Barnes and prefer softer alloys. I will be hunting my 1st muzzleloader season for deer in CO and hope to recover something !
bl2.jpgbl.jpglike Hammer and Cutting Edge.
 

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