The bullet failure thread

[chicoredneck]

We have lots of thread about what works. What about what doesn’t work? Share your documented (visually verified, not speculation) bullet “failure”

Lets define failure first:

Failure in this regard means the bullet did not penetrate deep enough to perforate vital organs, with an otherwise well placed shot. Or, the bullet penetrated sufficiently, but did not cause sufficient internal damage to incapacitate the animal in reasonable time.

Let’s define what constitutes a verified bullet failure:

The animal is recovered for observation. The wound is examined and tissue disruption can be observed to determine the effect the bullet had on the animal’s demise. The bullet may or not be recovered, but the wound track is autopsied and easily defined as the shot in question.

What a bullet failure is not:

A poor shot placement, or impact on the animal outside of the vital zone or CNS that would not cause immediate incapacitation.
An animal shot, or believed to be shot, that is not recovered. An animal shot and died in a reasonable amount a time to not cause undue suffering to the animal or make recovery difficult regardless of shot placement.

 

[chicoredneck]

I have 3 I can recall.

1) 6.8spc shooting 90gr federal fusion. 80 yard shot on a mature cow elk. The bullet impacted the large joint of the humerus and scapula. The ball joint cracked, but the bullet did not penetrate the joint. It deflected around the bone and deflected along the rib cage. The bullet was found almost completely flattened between the rib cage and hide at the rear of the rib cage.

2) 25 creedmoor shooting 131gr blackjack ace (pointed sierra matchking). A doe pronghorn at 740 yards and a cow elk at 900 yards. Both impact were above 1800 fps. Bullets penetrated vitals, but failed to expand. A recovered bullet from the cow elk confirmed my suspicions of a non-expanding bullet on the antelope. The combination worked great on several other animals, but the expansion was erratic.

3) 156gr Berger eol. Cow elk shot at 245 yards. Elk was hit bedded, then stood and shot 2 more times. The animal never reacted to the shot, but was visually confirmed by a spotter as hit every time in the vitals. The elk was found 30 minutes later, alive but unwilling to move. A shot to the head killed the animal. Upon inspection, all three bullets penetrated the vitals, but failed to expand. Bleeding was minimal. The animal was found by following tracks in the loose dirt.

 

[lager]

Cow elk at 530 yards with 338 edge . 300 gr Berger EH . 2860 muzzle velocity . I was the spotter, called the shot a miss . Did not hear impact or see elk flinch . It ran about 400 yards and tipped over . Shooter shot it in the shoulder because he lost one a week earlier that we suspected got penciled . Would not of got this one if it would have been shot back in the lungs and not thru shoulder blades . That is the exit hole !

 

[Dawg In Montana]

I have 3 I can recall.

1) 6.8spc shooting 90gr federal fusion. 80 yard shot on a mature cow elk. The bullet impacted the large joint of the humerus and scapula. The ball joint cracked, but the bullet did not penetrate the joint. It deflected around the bone and deflected along the rib cage. The bullet was found almost completely flattened between the rib cage and hide at the rear of the rib cage.

2) 25 creedmoor shooting 131gr blackjack ace (pointed sierra matchking). A doe pronghorn at 740 yards and a cow elk at 900 yards. Both impact were above 1800 fps. Bullets penetrated vitals, but failed to expand. A recovered bullet from the cow elk confirmed my suspicions of a non-expanding bullet on the antelope. The combination worked great on several other animals, but the expansion was erratic.

3) 156gr Berger eol. Cow elk shot at 245 yards. Elk was hit bedded, then stood and shot 2 more times. The animal never reacted to the shot, but was visually confirmed by a spotter as hit every time in the vitals. The elk was found 30 minutes later, alive but unwilling to move. A shot to the head killed the animal. Upon inspection, all three bullets penetrated the vitals, but failed to expand. Bleeding was minimal. The animal was found by following tracks in the loose dirt.

#2 to me sounds like asking too much from a smaller rifle. I have never thought of a 6.5 creedmoor as a 900 yard elk rifle, much less a 25 creedmoor.

 

[JK47]

Does a fail to fire from a factory loaded round count? Had one of those in my good ol .270 Win. I’m sure it was a fluke. Hadn’t happened prior or since. Though, I did start hand loading after this.

 

[mt terry d]

Cow elk at 530 yards with 338 edge . 300 gr Berger EH . 2860 muzzle velocity . I was the spotter, called the shot a miss . Did not hear impact or see elk flinch . It ran about 400 yards and tipped over . Shooter shot it in the shoulder because he lost one a week earlier that we suspected got penciled . Would not of got this one if it would have been shot back in the lungs and not thru shoulder blades . That is the exit hole!

To me sounds like asking too much of a smaller rifle.

 

[KurtR]

6mm rem 129 Hornady sst 150 yards bullet exploded on the shoulder about a six inch hole no penetration. Second shot killed it.

7mm rem mag nosler acubond watched impact on a deer I was the spotter good shot right in the pocket 250 yds and deer ran off to never be seen again with very little drops of blood. Think it just penciled through.

Both whitetails

 

[dieselchessy]

In my opinion bullet failure can accompany poor shot placement.
One might say bullet failure most often accompanies poor shot placement.

In my view you can still identify bullet failure if it occurred even though shot placement was poor.

 

[BLJ]

bullet exploded on the shoulder about a six inch hole no penetration.

Would you happen to have any pictures of this?

6mm rem 129 Hornady sst

Is this correct?

 

[KurtR]

Would you happen to have any pictures of this?


Is this correct?

Nope 95grn. It was 2006 so no pictures.

Got the 129 messed up with my 6.5

 

[1000yards]

6mm rem 129 Hornady sst 150 yards bullet exploded on the shoulder about a six inch hole no penetration.

6" deep or 6" wide?

 

[Big_wals]

The only failure I’ve seen was with 165 SSTs out of my 30-06 on a raghorn elk. First shot was realistically far beyond my capabilities at the time, roughly 350 yds as I remember. Liver hit. He ran around 700-800 yards and bedded down, I was able to get in a drainage ditch and pop up around 70 yds away, put a second one in the lungs. He stood up and ran a couple hundred more yards before bedding again.

He was paralleling the ditch, so I did the same thing with the same results. Chest shot at 70ish yds, he gets up and runs. At this point I’m thinking WTF, something is seriously wrong with myself or the rifle! After bedding down the third time he wasn’t going anywhere and I was able to walk up and put one in his head at close range. All three bullets had completely failed to expand and zipped thru like FMJs. Luckily the whole fiasco was in a wide open ag field, I would have never retrieved him had it been in the mountains.

Never shot SSTs again. I’m sure it was a bad lot or something, but I went to Barnes the next year and used them exclusively until I discovered Rokslide and learned about small caliber match bullets.

 

[KHntr]

180 gr TSX at 3000fps impact velocity. Second shot on a straight away going through a small gully headed for the river after she took one through both shoulders.

Expected it to punch through the backstrap and blow out through the sternum. Punched into the backstrap and stopped 12” into it. Nothing but meat.

 

[mt terry d]

6" deep or 6" wide?

“No penetration” leads me to believe he means 6” wide but that’s just a guess

 

[KurtR]

6" deep or 6" wide?

Six inch wide pretty much blew the hide off

 

[KHntr]

139 gr GMX from a 7/08. 300 yard shot, steep uphill. Broke onside leg, hole through aorta, and stuck under the hide on the offside.

 

[wapitibob]

About 40 years ago with a borrowed 25-06 and some brand of factory ammo. Buck pronghorn at less than 100, just behind the crease, 1/2 way up, Buck dropped in his tracks then started to get up so I shot him in the neck as it was the only shot I had. Hung up in camp, proceed to skin him out and saw the 1st shot hit a rib, followed the rib down, then across the sternum, then followed another rib half way up the other side. There was a "track" the whole way around him. The bullet remnant was under the offside hide at the end of that track, and was about the thickness and dia of a dime. 2nd shot worked just fine.

 

[KHntr]

62gr TTSX at 200ish yards bounding across my hayfield. Went in at the short ribs, cut a couple off at the tenderloin, carried along under the spine and cut a rib off on the opposite side. Found it in his neck 4” from his skull. Ran 200 yards and dropped dead.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Great thread. Following.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Just to clarify. These failed bullets were all pulled outta dead animals?