bullet penetration

sheepdip · Oct 31, 2012

so, i got a little lucky and shot a spike elk last sunday around 5:30 pm. it was about 100 yds out and 200 ft below me. clean shot just a little back, destroyed the liver and it went about 60 yds before falling. the question i have is , i am thinking that the bullet should have exited the off side but didnt. the elk was dead broadside to me, hit a rib on the entrance side, took out the liver but never made it to the other side. i was shooting a .270 wsm with winchester factory 130 grn powermax bonded ammo. i am thinking that considering no major shoulder or leg bones were hit, there should have been more penetration. your thoughts?

the4thshake · Nov 1, 2012

It's dead so the bullet did its job. :s0155:

The rib probably slowed the bullet down a bit.

Try using heavier bullets next time if you want more penetration.

DieselScout · Nov 1, 2012

What kind of bullet? Did you find it upon gutting the animal? Did it deform or shatter. Since it hit the liver you've proven you have enough power to reach the vitals. You want the bullet to expend it's energy on the animal, and since it didn't exit it did its job.

Ironbar · Nov 1, 2012

DieselScout said:
What kind of bullet? Did you find it upon gutting the animal? Did it deform or shatter. Since it hit the liver you've proven you have enough power to reach the vitals. You want the bullet to expend it's energy on the animal, and since it didn't exit it did its job.

Yeah, this is exactly what I was thinking. If it went right though the animal, then the bullet DIDN'T do its job!

sheepdip · Nov 1, 2012

i was using winchester factory ammo with 130 grn powermax bonded bullets, i agree that the bullet did its job well this time, but am a little concerned what might happen next time if i dont get a perfect broadside shot. or if by chance the next one happens to be a big mature bull that doesnt offer a perfect shot. i did not find the bullet, it was dark by the time i got it gutted out. i have pretty much decided that i will be shooting handloaded 150 grn partitions the next time i hunt elk with this rifle. which may be a while given my success rate drawing tags lately.