143 ELD-X blew up on the shoulder?

[ckleeves]

After really looking at the pics I think I have it figured out.

Blacktail, so we can assume PNW. Which means wet. Which means the buck was probably standing over a puddle of water and the hunter saw the bucks reflection and was actually aiming at it instead of the deer. Here is where things get tricky, he had been at the range the day before trying for the 2500 yard steel and had 33.6 mil on the turret causing him to shoot roughly 10’ high, therefore missing the reflection and hitting the deer but what he didn’t see was the AOL free trial CD that had been hung years ago in the tree to scare away birds because he was focused on the reflection and not the actual deer. Yes, he should have seen the CD out of his perifpherals and should have dialed back down to zero after hitting the 2500 yard steel. So his fault, case closed.

 

[Benaiah]

@Harvey_NW
Thanks for sharing this odd bullet wound with us. I marked up the photo with some lines to highlight some areas of interest

1. Where was the bullet found? I circled the area that would be my guess. The wound makes it look like the deer turned away right before the bullet got there and the bullet grazed the ribs and ended up in the shoulder roughly following the path of the arrow. The downward trajectory is odd though and hard to believe it didn't pass through. Too bad there's no video.....
2. Any idea what caused the dark red area circled in the chest cavity? I took a guess where it would be on the outside, but it doesn't line up with the wound area. Looking inside the chest cavity it appears to be caused by the bullet grazing the ribs, but it doesn't seem to line up with the outside wound.

I also lean towards the unlikely idea of an underweight bullet. Just for curiosities' sake, I weighed each round from a Hornady factory box of 143 ELDX's in 6.5CM. The weights ranged from 335-338.6 gr's. Has anyone ever found an underfilled bullet?

 

[eoperator]

Hornady factory box of 143 ELDX's in 6.5CM. The weights ranged from 335-338.6 gr's.

The weight variance is likely the brass.

 

[Benaiah]

The weight variance is likely the brass.

That's what I assumed. The weight of the powder and bullet are probably +/- 1 gr or less......hopefully. If a bullet was significantly underweight, it would probably show up on the scale. Weighing factory hunting ammo might be a worthwhile extra quality control check.

 

[pnw]

have the fired brass ?

 

[pnw]

this is from a 260 rem at 370 yds through a 1 gallon water filled jug dug it out of the dirt bank several feet behind the jug

 

[Taudisio]

That's what I assumed. The weight of the powder and bullet are probably +/- 1 gr or less......hopefully. If a bullet was significantly underweight, it would probably show up on the scale. Weighing factory hunting ammo might be a worthwhile extra quality control check.

Just my experience—
It’s Hornady, I highly doubt that it is all brass. Grab the heaviest and lightest and pull it apart. I have weighed bullets from the same box (hand loading) and seen over a full grain between bullets. Not to even mention the brass, powder, and primer.

I love Hornady products, but consistency has never been there. If you have calipers, measure your COAL and CBTO, you will also see major differences. I still use and have success with their stuff but to expect perfection, it just ain’t going to happen at their prices and volume they throw out. All of the little inconsistencies, and you can still have a rifle that shoots a full 20 round box into a 1” square. This coming from a guy that has many rifles and only 3 of them are not shooting Hornady products.