Gotta agree with everything zrexpilotposted. Misconceptions about how bullets kill animalsand their effect apon striking a living animal are rampant throughout the hunting community. Hydrostatic shock is a myth as is the energy dump theory. I have seen deer shot at 50 yards with a 300 win mag and a 150 grain ballistic tip bullet. The bullet didn't exit.Now a 300 win mag witha 150 gr bullet has over 3000 ft lbs of energy at 50 yards. If therewas really an energy transfer in the way that many believe then that bullet dumped all 3000 ft lbs of energy in that deer. Now 3000 ft lbs of energy dumped on a 170 lb animal should have knocked it across the ground like it was hit by a mack truck. But it didn't. The deer simply ran and droppeddead about40 yards away. Why? Because bullets and kinetic energy just simply don't work that way.There is no real world evidence to support the claim that a bullet that doesn't exit kills faster or is a more desirable result than one that exits, provided that in both cases you use a bullet that actually expands. I have seen no consistent patternin how far a deer traveled after the shot that tilted the score in favor of either scenariogiven a simular hit to the vitals. The only differences I see are that I always get a better blood trail with a bullet that exitsand the slightly tougher bullet has earned more of my trust in reaching the vitals on an angled shot or through a shoulderblade.

As for the original post, if an animal making it 15 yards after the shot is a disappointment to you then allI can say is getready fora lifetime filled with disappointment because that's actually a better than average case. Most medium to large size animals are going to make about a 30 to 40 yard death dash even when hit perfectly in the heart/lung area. Sometimes they will go farther than that. Despite the BS you may encounter online no bullet type, caliber, cartridge, orlevel of ft lbs of energywill yield consistent dropped in their tracks kills every time unless you take nothing but head shots whichI don't recommend. If the fact that the bullet did not exit is what bothers you then that is easily rectified. Use a tougher bullet. Ballistic tips are notorious for rapid overexpantion and fragmentation especially at close range with magnum velocities. This often leads to vastly reduced penetration and no exit wound. A Barnes X bullet, a Nosler partition, a Swift A- frame, or a trophy bonded bear claw bullet will fair much better for you. In fact a good standard lead tip bullet like a Hornady interlock would probably give you a pretty consistent exit hole.