Strange exit on Fallow

hottopic

Well-Known Member
I was stalking yesterday evening and shot a fallow, he was close, about 50 yards at most. I took a simple chest shot and he reacted as you would expect. I found no hair and no blood but had a good look round and found him dead 100 yards away in the wood. Hardly any blood at all just a little bit on the entry wound. The shot placement was exactly where I wanted it.

When I inspected the carcass there didn't seem to be an exit wound. After looking again in the light in the chiller the ribs on the exit side were broken and an expanded bullet sized hole was visible but the skin had no hole in it. I probed with my finger for ages and can't find the exit in the skin but the bullet has passes through the rib bone on both sides.

I was using a .243 with 105g ammo.

any ideas?
 
I was stalking yesterday evening and shot a fallow, he was close, about 50 yards at most. I took a simple chest shot and he reacted as you would expect. I found no hair and no blood but had a good look round and found him dead 100 yards away in the wood. Hardly any blood at all just a little bit on the entry wound. The shot placement was exactly where I wanted it.

When I inspected the carcass there didn't seem to be an exit wound. After looking again in the light in the chiller the ribs on the exit side were broken and an expanded bullet sized hole was visible but the skin had no hole in it. I probed with my finger for ages and can't find the exit in the skin but the bullet has passes through the rib bone on both sides.

I was using a .243 with 105g ammo.

any ideas?

look in either under the skin as far back as the rear haunch or the front shoulder , bullets can do very funny things.

i shot a stag last yr with a simple text book heat shot and found the bullet under the skin in the flank by the rear haunch and that was a 270 i shot it with !
 
I shot two roe one in the neck and the second in the ribs. The neck shot exited on the deer's back just above the anus and the rib shot nearly took off the front leg with the bullet found just under the skin. Both were shot while they were broadside and I was using a .308 150grn round. The firearms dealer said that the bullets had not got up to velocity travelling only 80 mts but I didn't buy that explanation as I always thought the round was at its fastest when it exits the breech.
 
I shot two roe one in the neck and the second in the ribs. The neck shot exited on the deer's back just above the anus and the rib shot nearly took off the front leg with the bullet found just under the skin. Both were shot while they were broadside and I was using a .308 150grn round. The firearms dealer said that the bullets had not got up to velocity travelling only 80 mts but I didn't buy that explanation as I always thought the round was at its fastest when it exits the breech.
He probably meant to say the bullet needed to travel a little further, to be at it's optimum speed for reliable expansion, (slower than it's muzzle exit speed)
 
Sounds like it was the Geco round? Effectively T mantel RWS bullet - which tends to be a solid performer.

But every shot is different and best ballistic explanation I have come across is 'stuff happens'!

Be interested to see if any trace of the bullet turns up - have you got a 'cable finder' detector you can run over the carcase?
 
I to had a similar thing happen to me last year shot a Fallow Buck square in the ribs with a 7mm Mauser and the bullet exited between the front legs through the brisket dam thing took off found it 200yds away been using the same round for years never done it before
 
It is interesting to see some reports of people having this happen with something other than a 243 as most reports I've seen of this in the past have concerned the 243 and, usually, 100 grain bullets. I'd love to know why it seems more prone to these things.

Anyhow, some years back the BBC were doing an TV outside broadcast from a sports ground near one of the high power medium wave transmitters. Unfortunately the transmitter was causing RF (radio frequency) interference on the cameras and the pictures were basically unusable. This became a news story somehow and television news announced that they would have the BBC technical manager on to explain why they were unable to transmit such an important sporting event. They stuck the technical manager on and some presenter asked him to explain why there was a problem. His answer made him something of a legend in broadcasting circles and all he would say on the matter was "Well, RF's funny stuff you know."

I think something similar can be said for the way a bullet will occasionally perform in view of the very large number of variables and the considerable speeds and energy involved. Bullets occasionally do funny stuff.
 
Thanks all, I have found some of the bullet on the top of the saddle directly above the shot. It must have broken up and travelled vertically.

I guess stuff does just happen. I shot another this morning in pretty much the exact same spot. He ran a few yards before dropping with a massive exit wound.
 
I've seen a 140gr Nosler Partition in 6.5 x 55 drop a Wildebeest Bull at 150 metres, straight down. Perfect engine room shot, smashed the rib on the far side then decided to go through the brisket and end up with the rear of the bullet sticking out through the skin, only the mushroom preventing the exit.

Stan
 
Sounds like it was the Geco round? Effectively T mantel RWS bullet - which tends to be a solid performer.

But every shot is different and best ballistic explanation I have come across is 'stuff happens'!

Be interested to see if any trace of the bullet turns up - have you got a 'cable finder' detector you can run over the carcase?

I used the same round,

The exits sometimes can be very small, and I have shot fallow with it with the same reaction. On inspection of the fallow, the heart shot I took split it in two -

T
 
I was stalking yesterday evening and shot a fallow, he was close, about 50 yards at most. I took a simple chest shot and he reacted as you would expect. I found no hair and no blood but had a good look round and found him dead 100 yards away in the wood. Hardly any blood at all just a little bit on the entry wound. The shot placement was exactly where I wanted it.

When I inspected the carcass there didn't seem to be an exit wound. After looking again in the light in the chiller the ribs on the exit side were broken and an expanded bullet sized hole was visible but the skin had no hole in it. I probed with my finger for ages and can't find the exit in the skin but the bullet has passes through the rib bone on both sides.

I was using a .243 with 105g ammo.

any ideas?

Glad you posted this thread over the years i have had two similar cases one as you a Fallow Engine room shot broadside on dropped on the spot but when i got to it i thought i know why they are called Dama Dama as there was a huge exit hole through the top of its back and i thought that i had pulled the shot off the sticks. Following the grallach the heart was found to be split in two bullet had hit home where i placed the crosshairs. The bullet was 150grn 30-06 factory load. The second time it was with .243 on Roe same again dropped on the spot but when i did grallach the entry and exit hole was on same side ie exit wound had come out lower on same side as entry. There was nothing left of heart, lungs and most of the liver just mush inside. The bullet was again factory 100grn ammo. It certainly makes one sit up and think. I don't know where the bullet came to rest but i thought in this instance it was on it's way back to shake hands with me.

Jimbo :eek:
 
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Shot a roe buck only last Thursday with an oblique chest shot. Broke 4 ribs on the opposite side without getting an exit wound bar a tiny fragment of scrapnel behind the last rib. Heart and both lungs had been smashed up so nothing wrong with the bullet placement and it was only 50 yards. 25-06 117 grains federal factory round. Haven't had it happen before but I realise that it's just one of those things. You can't worry about it. The deer still fell over after a bit of a run. They always do when the engine room has gone unserviceable!
 
I use copper javelins (Barnes TSX) and I've never had a problem like the one's described above. It was a different matter when I used to use ballistic tips though.
 
as said bullets do strange things, could have bounced back inside the beast and you removed it with the gralloch.
Even heavier bullets then this can not exit. Though you have more of a chance they will.
like jimbo had x2 exit on same side as entry both were from 243's:eek:
 
Elmer Fudd,

Too close means that you are too fast and the bullet has too much energy to perform as designed in too little carcass. Randomness happens.

Stan
 
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