I did try to dig the bullet out of the ground - no luck. I saw right where it hit, but I couldn't find anything for some reason. I was really interested in seeing what it looked like too. And no, I wouldn't call it a failure - I just expected more expansion/damage at that velocity. I mean, it did kill the deer pretty quickly, and I have no doubt that when hunting it would get the job done. I'm just comparing it to my experiences with the 200 grain XTP - lots more damage and bigger exit holes. Just based on this 1 experience (not very scientific, I know) I would think that deer would tend to run further after the hit with the SST. I prefer a bullet that is going to cause as much terminal damage as possible.

I didn't shoot it in the head because I didn't want to make a big mess - the neighbor woman then asked me to throw it in the truck and dump it in the woods in the back of the field for the coyotes. I don't think the meat would have been good - it looked very bruised up, had the mange (or some type of skin disease) and had probably been there for a couple hours. It wasn't a pretty sight.