Bullet failure

[dennishoddy]

I killed a buck yesterday. The bullet IMHO completely failed. .243 WSSM, 100 grain Speer SPBT, 3500fps.
The buck was killed, only making 20 yds but there was not one drop of blood and no exit wound.
I recovered what was left of it under the skin on the off side.
Entering at an angle, the bullet hit two ribs shattering them, wrecked the lungs, exited through a rib, and entered the off leg going through the scapula before being trapped by the skin.
The recovered bullet weighed 100 grains when loaded, 37 grains when recovered.
I call that bullet failure. The retained weight prevented an exit wound.
This is an amazingly accurate bullet on paper, but not so much on game.
Next load is going to be a Barnes 100 grain TTSX solid copper that should retain 100% of its weight.

 

[MacFromOK]

Yeah... not sure I'd call a 20 yard run a "failure" ...

 

[deerwhacker444]

I killed a buck yesterday. The bullet IMHO completely failed. .243 WSSM, 100 grain Speer SPBT, 3500fps.
The buck was killed, only making 20 yds but there was not one drop of blood and no exit wound.
I recovered what was left of it under the skin on the off side.
Entering at an angle, the bullet hit two ribs shattering them, wrecked the lungs, exited through a rib, and entered the off leg going through the scapula before being trapped by the skin.
The recovered bullet weighed 100 grains when loaded, 37 grains when recovered.
I call that bullet failure. The retained weight prevented an exit wound.
This is an amazingly accurate bullet on paper, but not so much on game.
Next load is going to be a Barnes 100 grain TTSX solid copper that should retain 100% of its weight.

You've killed a metric ton of deer, you know ANY cup and core is going to struggle to maintain structural integrity when bone is hit @3500fps, I wouldn't be surprised if even TSXs lose some petals.

To sum up:

1) Deer = dead.
2) Vitals turned to Jell-O.
3) Dead within 20 yards.

Not exactly what I'd call a failure, maybe more like "unexpected result".

 

[D. Hargrove]

100 grain Speer SPBT

Simply classify the round as frangible and add it to your 100-500 meter personal defense repertoire. Should hook up any "walkers" or "ANTIFA" that ingress your area of interest with ill intent.

 

[steelfingers]

I agree. 20 yards and drop is not a fail. It blew threw a couple of ribs and another bone and did the job. Ha!
Congrats and thanks for the review.
Enjoy that stuff.

 

[dennishoddy]

I call it a failure because it should have retained IMHO at least 80% of its original weight to be classified as a bullet designed for big game.
Probably have to concede that it may not have been designed for that velocity though.

 

[MacFromOK]

Can't ya tell we feel sorry for ya...?

 

[dennishoddy]

Can't ya tell we feel sorry for ya...?

I understand, but Dammit! I expect performance!
If I have time tomorrow, I'll post pics of some Barnes TTSX bullets I've recovered from elk at different ranges. No petals lost. 100% weight retention.

 

[steelfingers]

I understand, but Dammit! I expect performance!
If I have time tomorrow, I'll post pics of some Barnes TTSX bullets I've recovered from elk at different ranges. No petals lost. 100% weight retention.

That's my problem. Work out hard but have 100% weight retention.

 

[deerwhacker444]

Never tried the TTSX, here's an 85gr TSX from my cousin's .243 from 2012. I think these were somewhere between 3100-3200 fps, maybe a tad less. It was caught in the off side, didn't make it all the way out. Deer died..