No exit wound?
 

I took a buck yesterday, 7 pointer, 185 pounds...

Anyway I hit him just behind the shoulders and approximately 5 inches below his back... He did not show any exit wounds and I could not find the bullet. I was hunting with a 7mm-08, 139 grain Hornaday Light Magnums... The entrance wound was typical. Anyone have any explanations???

RE: No exit wound?
 

Is it lodged between the muscle and hide on the opposite side of the entrance wound? This is a common spot for the bullet to end up if it doesn't pass through. "Pet" the hide on the exit side to see if you can feel a characteristic hard lump under the skin. If you find the lump, that's probably the bullet.

Mike

RE: No exit wound?
 

I shot a 3 point this weekend... no exit wound either.

Shot him in the neck, quartering towards me. Couldn't find a exit wound either... The guy who processes for me called me and said that he had found the bullet just below the spine... perfect mushroom shaped.

RE: No exit wound?
 

I shoot a REM 260 and have had a tough time finding exit wounds because I don't usually get one. Typically though I find the bullet when skinning the deer. Have you already skinned him? Did you check the gut pile? In between the cartlidge of the ribs?

PS Nice job with the deer!

RE: No exit wound?
 

I already took it to be processed and I didn't skin him, but I do remember "feeling" a slight bump where I thought the exit wound would be, I thought it was just a broken rib, it very well could have been the bullet... I know this isn't the board, but since he is the topic of discussion I thought I would include his picture.

RE: No exit wound?
 

I agree with driftrider. Probably just under the skin. You have the right combination for deer hunting. Perfect placement and all the energy was expended in the deer. Well done!!;)

RE: No exit wound?
 

I took out both lungs and it appears I grazed the heart... Can you beleive the darn thing ran for almost 100 yards!!!

I never get these things... Everyone says to track the blood trail. I have NEVER seen a blood trail, maybe some hair with a little blood at the point of impact. The only way I ever find my deer is watching them and listening to where they drop. Blood trail my butt! I have shot most of my deer with a shotgun even.

RE: No exit wound?
 

Don't feel bad I shot a bull elk last weekend with a .338 win mag at about 30-40 yds and there was no exit wound.When I skinned the bull the bullet was up against the hide on the opposite side.

I was shooting a .338 Win Mag with 200 gr. Nosler balistic tips(Not the bullet of Choice for Elk).It did the job and was devastating to him he ran maybe 10 yds.He was still breathing when I walked up on him but he was dead.

RE: No exit wound?
 

Not having an exit wound with a shotgun isn't really surprising, I usually get slug sized exit holes in the deer I slug down...in fact, I almost count on NOT having one...lead slugs are soft as can be, they're flat nosed, and they aren't really moving that fast (their energy is dictated by mass, not velocity)...there's not much going for them that would make me think they'll exit. Look at it this way, which is easier to drive into a tree, a 8penny nail, or a railroad spike?

I might also ask what bullet you were using...some bullets fragment and "sail" or tumble terribly in the body, so they'll kind of bounce around, or bend off course, if they fragment much, then you're looking for a little chunk of lead somewhere where you'd least expect it.

If you did feel a bump, then that was probably your bullet, but for future reference, there's really no reason a fragged bullet HAS to go where you think it will.

RE: No exit wound?
 

I have ALWAYS had exit wounds with my shotgun (4 and counting)... This is the biggest deer in terms of meat I have taken though. That is why I find it so strange not to find blood trails... But those darn things take off pretty fast.

RE: No exit wound?
 

Huh? Am I missing something? Was he brain dead but hooked up to a respirator?:D;)

RE: No exit wound?
 

LMAO:D

RE: No exit wound?
 

I had shot an 8point last week with a .243 at near 15-25 yards and no exit wound. I did find where the bullet was though, just a lump on the other side, but it really surprised me aswell. I was half expecting at that range to have an easy pass through

RE: No exit wound?
 

Actually, in many cases penetration with expanding bullets is INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL to the velocity at impact, because the higher velocity causes the bullet to expand faster and to a greater degree than if it were moving slower. Bullets also tend to lose more weight at hight impact velocities than at lower speeds for the same reason. If you'd have shot that deer at 100-200 yards you probably would have had a pass through, but at 25 yards that bullet was truckin' along so fast that it reduced its penetration.

Mike

RE: No exit wound?
 

I sometimes have exit wounds. sometimes not! The Doe I hit in the belly behind the Shoulder, and it hit the Heart, and blew out the bottom part of the other Shoulder.

On the Buck, I hit it high and in the Spine behind the Neck. Mushroomed and did'nt exit. The Doe had Blood everyhwere, all over Tree's... but the Buck had just a trace of Blood on the Ground where he dropped. But it eventually got up, and stumbled off, jumped a Fence and bedded down into a nearby Thicket. Lucky my Friend seen where it was... with no Blood Trail. :eek:

RE: No exit wound?
 

I have a 7mm-08 & i reload using Barnes x bullets 140 gr. they pass thru at any angle and there is a good blood trail.

RE: No exit wound?
 

Well I guess I should have worded it better.
He had a blow-hole through his shoulder.
How is this,
He was still breathing when I walked up on him,but he was dead none the less.;)

RE: No exit wound?
 

As driftrider pointed out, some bullet types will actually display LESS penetration the closer you are to your target (i.e. the faster the bullet is traveling) up to a critical transition point....

Take the Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips for example....From my .30-06, I have noticed this on more than a few occasions...

I shot a deer at 12yrds (yes, 12yrds), I SAW the bullet hit her, she fell down, and got back up with a HUGE flesh wound at the IMPACT point (size of two open hands)...she ran off. I knew since the entry wound was huge, there would be no exit wound, (hydrostatic backlash wound), but I figured she'd bleed badly, and only run a little ways...boy was I wrong. Blood trail for about 100yrds, down to drops, then stopped...I never found her.

With the same bullet/load, I shot a deer at ~40yrds, again the deer fell and got back up...I guess this time I got better penetration, he ran about 180-200yrds and crashed. I heard where he ran to, and luckily he crashed in an open bean field, so spotting him wasn't hard....There was no blood trail...It was a perfect hit, but my bullet had shattered, the near lung was cut to ribbons, and the base of the bullet was lodged in the middle of the heart...there were bullet fragments everywhere in the wound...even where he lay there wasn't much blood

THE FIRST DEER I ever took with this load is what sold me on them...I had been using them on paper and coyotes for some time...they were a bit too hard for yotes, so I thought I'd try them on deer....I took a 383yrd shot on a 8pt buck (well practiced at long ranges mind you), he dropped in his tracks. Pinky sized entrance, tennis ball sized exit wound, and a LOT of blood on the ground.

I used them for a few years, and never took a shot under 75yrds with them, and they did fine (I use a revolver for "short range work")...I only noticed the problem when I started leaving the handgun at home and took these short shots with them.

When they're going too fast, the bullets fail, so they pop like balloons and don't penetrate or do much damage. When they've flown far enough to slow down a bit, they'll retain more bullet weight, and give better penetration and better wound channels.

RE: No exit wound?
 

Yeah, they sometimes give it away when you get a good lung shot...I think the deer I got last year with my bow was getting more air through the wound than through her throat!!!!

RE: No exit wound?
 

Nosler Partitions = good expansion + exit wound!

I use 165Grn partitions in my BAR 30-06. Shot a nice 8Pt on the run (fast trot) this year. He was coming (from left to right) through a recently clear cut area, weaving through the downed tree tops & junping logs. Found an opening & waited on him. When he passed through the opening, @ about 50 Yds, I fired, but thought I had hit him a little far back. At the shot he kicked and shifted into 3rd gear. He crossed the road & second shot was just as he entered some brush and I thought I missed that shot as it was through the brush and he didn't flinch or slow up. When he come out other side of the brush, still moving fast, I fired a 3rd time and really felt good about the shot. He went out of sight behind some more brush and I heard him crash another 25 yds down the hill.

From first shot to where he crashed was about 75Yds. Got him back to camp and found that I had hit him with all three shots. All were just behind the shoulder and if you spread your fingers wide, you could cover all three bullet holes with one hand. One was just a little back (as I had thought), but still a good lung shot. One was a little low, took out the heart, and one was perfect behind the shoulder, 1/3 of way up. All three bullets exited and the last shot, as he was quartering away, broke the left front leg. Needless to say, the blood trail was very evident.

I'm really pleased with the partitions performance and am also quite satisfied with their accuracy. I average 3/4" groups at 100Yds with them in my BAR and to me, that is more than sufficient accuracy for hunting.

Anyone else a Partition fan? I must say that I'm one now!

firstshot