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Re: Hunting bullet failures on whitetails????

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05 November 2004, 03:48
JD
Re: Hunting bullet failures on whitetails????
I've had what I consider two failures on a Whitetail. One was a 150 Gr. BT from a max loaded 7 MM Rem. The shot was less than 50 yds. into the shoulder. The bullet exploded and left a crater with virtually no damage. A friend had the same results from a 300 Win Mag and BT on a Muley, deer was not recovered.

I've seen lots of other bullet failures, but they were not on deer. We recovered a 180 Gr. Partition from a tree after passing through a moose; looked like it came out of the box. I recovered a 200 X bullet that passed through an Elk's heart with no expansion.
05 November 2004, 04:44
steve y
Quote:

If that were the case, then every animal hit by a hunting bullet in A killing zone that didn't drop straight down was killed by a failed bullet. After all, that is my hope with every animal I shoot with a firearm. BANG/FLOP.





Doc,
In your effort to defend your position you are obfuscating the performance parameters that define failure. It has nothing to do with the mortality of the animal. It is simply whether the bullet FAILED to do what the manufacturers designed it to do or claimed it to do. A bullet that is designed to expand at adequate velocity and doesn't has simply failed no matter what the medium or other results are. The bulletmakers need no apologists.

With your rationale simply because a rifle fires a bullet it has not failed even it it blows up in your face during the process.

But it did fail; like the brakes, it failed regardless of whether the user took every precaution or not because it didn't perform as designed.

BTW- According to Webster the primary definition of "failure" is "omission of occurrence or performance [like bullet expansion] spec. a failing to perform a duty or expected action" [like bullet expansion}
05 November 2004, 05:18
Doc
ok
05 November 2004, 05:27
LAWCOP
Quote:

Quote:

Were we just arkansawing the poor bastard hoping to connect?





Hey, I thought it was Texas?? (Texas heart shot?)




ONE OF the reasons I settled on the .358 and the 45-70 for deer is just for such shots.
The deer have been pretty well ravaged by Michigan going to the "buy as many licenses as you want", system in my area. So you have to take them where you find them. 25 years ago, I would easily see 20+ deer on openning day. NOW if I see more then 10 during the season, it is LOTS. The .358 and 45-70 allow for any angle of shot to be made and you know it will get to the intended critial areas. The bullets also are such low velocity that meat damage where ever the bullet hits is minimal.
On one Texas heart shot the 250 Speer, true to my experience with it, started in the back right leg, and exited out the left front chest. Could still be going for all I know. I have never recovered a Speer 250 so I don't know if it "failed" along the way or not, but I know I killed, quickly, everything I ever shot with it.