YEA!! WHAT HE SAID!!

THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL BUCK!!

I think its interesting how no one can give a clear answer of if the bullet "failed" or not. We all have our own expectations of what a bullet is supposed to do I guess.

Personally I think it worked just like it was supposed to. The buck is dead and dropped on the spot or within about three steps. I was just a little surprised by the bullet exploding upon contact with a rib. It's supposed to be one of the new "wonder" bullets. I can get that kind of performance out of a Ballistic tip or "gasp" a Sierra... The internal damage was fair. The front side lung had a single hole in it approximately twice the diameter of the bullet, the top of the heart and all the blood vessels were completely shredded, and the back side lung had a fair size hole in it. My guess is the bullet had a pretty big frontal diameter once it came in contact with the rib and all the flattened lead and copper just blew off when it hit, resulting in a big hole. The back shank about 3/8-1/2" long was found just under the skin on the off side with a perfect mushroom twice the diameter, along with a bunch of copper and lead shards. Personally I think the more damage that you can do to the internal organs the more likely you will be to recover the animal quickly.

There's nothing like gutting an animal and having to just "pour" out the boiler room... I really don't like having the entrance and a small just over caliber size exit wound. Most of the times the animals have very little internal damage and can sometimes run for quite a ways. Which can mean the diffrence of an easy pack or packing out of a hell hole...

One of the guys that was elk hunting with me last week, shot a very big cow at about 200 yards with a 340 Roy and a Nosler partition. She ran probably 300 yards before she stopped and stood there for about 20 seconds and then just fell over... A classic double lung shot. If that would have been in a diffrent spot... we could have been in big trouble, but luckily she ran closer to the road...

I can't say that I have EVER had an elk run more than about 20-30 yards after being shot in the ribs. After being shot with a, dare I say... Sirra. Most all have dropped with in a step or two. THAT to me is what a bullet is supposed to do. Put them down fast not prolong their experience just so you get an exit hole... for what? A blood trail??? Why the hell would you need a blood trail, when you can dump em on the spot with a good shot? Personally I think "premium" bullets are over rated AND over priced.

It was a 140 grn. Nosler Accubond. I took some pictures last night and will try to get them dumped tomorrow. The recovered bullet weighed more than I though it would, 99 grains for about 71% weight retention. Which is more or pretty much on line or more than all the partitions I've ever seen in action, and they are "supposed" to be the cats meow right? Most all the Sierras that I've recovered weighed that much or close to it...

There was very little blood shot and the only meat wasted was right around the hole. I'm planning on just sticking with them for now. They shoot really well. Also I shot a cow with the 160 acb's at a little over 300 yards. It blew her spine to mush and exited... also very little blood shot and wasted meat. She was dead before she hit the ground, not the most perfect shot, but she's in my freezer.

The entrance side was right were it was supposed to be, the deer was slighly quartering away from me. I grew up in a family with those same �values� less meat wasted is a good thing. I may have lost about a pound or maybe two of meat off this buck maybe� I was pretty impressed that the whole back side of the shoulder wasn�t wasted.

That brings up another good point. If you are only shooting for ribs why do you need a super duper premium bullet? Your average cup and core would do the same thing every time.

Of probably close to 75+ head of game I've shot. This deer and the cow that I shot are the only two that I've ever shot with "Premium" bullets. The only animal that I've lost was a bull that was just a bad shot... no wonder bullet would have killed him either. Last I checked knee caps aren�t part of the vitals.

On thing that I will say about non premium bullets is that they sometimes do cause extensive blood shot. This is one of the reasons for my switching. I like to eat the meat, not throw it away� But I can't compare it to Premium bullets as I've only shot two animals with them so far... Give me about 5-6 years and I'll let you know what the consensus is...

One last thought� The first elk I shot with a bow, had some of the most extensive blood shot I�ve every seen� One whole shoulder was almost completely ruined... it also had blood shot all the way up and around his rib cage. I�ve also killed deer with a bow that blood shot badly as well� Maybe I should switch to a �premium� broadhead too.

It may be obvious, but have to ask anyway. I am assuming that is the offside damage we are seeing. Is this right? If this is an entrance hole, no wonder you didn't get through him...acted like a varmint bullet. If it is the offside, with damage like that, it is amazing the hide stopped whatever created that hole.