Recently, I asked Hunterbug to to post some picutres of a bullet he recovered from a long shot on an elk. I consider recovered bullets to be nearly the trophy that antlers, horns, teeth, hides or other 'hard parts' are. I know some of you prefer to see your bullets go completely through the animal, and that's perfectly fine. My intent here is not to open a discussion on "penetration philosophy". Instead, I'm asking those of you that have recovered bullets to show us your "trophy", and give us the story, even if it's "only" that you recovered it from a pile of wet phone books.
 
I'll start things off with a 180 grain HP from a Ruger RedHawk with a 7.5" barrel. Muzzle velocity was about 1800 fps, and the range was approximately 3 feet. (Mighta been 5' :) as this was the coup de grace on a large bull moose. Sometimes you feel a lot closer to these guys than you really are.) The bullet struck the bull in the forehead above and between the eyes, traveled through the skull and out the bottom into the neck where I found it some distance below the bottom of the skull.
 
Paul

Hokay Paul...

A) Is from a Black Bear...fell out while being butchered. (420 gr. .45-70)

B) Is from the tree behind a Whitetail buck.  (420 gr. .45-70)

C) Is from the inside of a Whitetail buck. (269 gr. .375 Win.)

All cast from wheelweights, lubed with beeswax/peanut oil with a max range of about 125 yards.  .45-70s were open sights....375 Win was peep sight.

Hey guys,
 
Great thread but lets add something else.  Give us the remaining weight of the bullet.  That one that Gitano posted looks as if it could be down to about 25% of original weight. Those lead pills actually look as if they kept their weight very well.
 
C

Hi All,
 
This is a 7mm Hornady 139 Grn BTSP fired form my 7x57 BSA CF2 and recovered form the left shoulder of my Whitetail Buck in Nov 2003, range was approx 50 yards. Shot was a quartering shot from behind, bullet entered about the last rib on the right angled through the body and was found under the skin of the left shoulder. This was the 2nd shot. 1st one was a broadside one at about 70 yard and it took out the top of the heart and both lungs. The Buck showed no sign of the hit and just ran down the deer trail behind my ladder stand and stopped to look back, that's when I shot again as I did not want him to reach the creek bank and go over the edge, that sounded like too much work dragging him back up the 6 foot shear bank
 

 

The bullet expanded to approx 0.600" ane retained 94 grains of weight for 67.65% of it's original weight, good performance I think, launch velocity was about 2800fps.

Great stuff! Just what I was hoping for. Personally, I've never had the fortune to recover a bullet that passed through an animal.
 
I'll get the bullet and weigh it CAfrica, but I've yet to grasp the significance of retained weight. :)
 
Paul

HI all

here is a22lr I recovered from a rabbit that was terrorising a local cornfield;)
OK I know its not much,but its all I got and I do so like to join in:o :D :D

Hi Sav17,

        I recovered a .22 R/F sub sonic Winchester bullet once for a Wascally Wabbit, Hmmmmm I wonder what happened to it ? If by chance I come across it I will scan it and post it.

I'm busier than the proverbial ons-armed paper-hanger here boys. Gimme a little time and I'll post a couple more.
 
Sav17, that's a perfectly fine recovery. I'm gonna post pictures of a couple that I used to kill marauding wet phone books, etc. I don't care where they came from, let's see 'em!
 
Paul

Paul;
I had several recovered from boxes of wet newspaper, .30- .32- .44-.45.
Did not know you were interested.
They have been recycled, however, any new recoveries I shall get you an image somehow.
Don

Ok Guys,  here are some of my recoveries.

First pic, 250gr 30cal Barnes Original.  I launched this from my 30-06 at 1950ft/s.  My son shot a large warthog with it, it broke shoulder & spine and ended up under the skin on the far side.  Retained weight 247.5gr.  Now that's the way I like a bullet to behave.
 
Second pic, some of my .22 Hornet fodder.  These were fired into a row of 1 gallon plastic containers filled with water, with a dry telephone book in front (at a range of 25 yards).  The 45gr bullet (PMP, our local manufacturer, launched at the muzzle at 2500ft/s), went through to the second container and retained 78% weight.  The 60gr Nosler partition at 2200ft/s went through to the 4th container and retained 99% weight.
 
Third pic, same set-up, 4 water containers, telephone book in front one at the back, 158gr bullets from my 357 Magnum lever action.  The SJSP went through all 4 and into the "telephone book backstop" to about page 400.  The SJHP also went right through and stopped in the backstop with its base level with the front page.  Retained wieghts were 95.4% and 74.9% respectively.
 
C

I'm glad that you posted the pic of the 22 bullet. It reminded me of one that I had here that I recovered from a cow. Yes, that's right, a regular old moo cow. I don't really know much as I found the carcass while coyote hunting. I stopped to see if coyotes had gnawed on it but it had been dead for along time. I remembered seeing it a year before while deer hunting. I was looking at it when something cought my eye and I dug a 22 slug out of a rib bone. It was on the "inside" of the rib cage so it had passed completely through the animal. The recovered weight is 34.0gr. I'm sorry about the pics but I used the digital camera instead of my wifes groovey 35mm with macro et al.

This picture is of the back of the bullet.


This picture is of the front of the bullet.

I wonder if it was what killed the cow?
 
Paul

Quote from: gitanoI wonder if it was what killed the cow?
 
Paul

I imagine so. It was right about where you would expect it to be from a double lung shot. I think that it went between two ribs on the way in.

has anyone ever recovered a 17hmr V max bullet all I have ever found has been a few shards of copper and some splinters of red plastic:eek: yours.................Richie

OK. Let me answer CAfrica's question about retained weight of the bullet in the first post. 102 grains from a 180 grain HP. That turns out to be 57% retained weight.
 
Attached are pictures of a .308 Nolser Ballistic Tip recovered from a mountain goat. I speak with some regularity of this bullet when "discussing" what poor choices Ballistic Tips are for hunting. The fact that this bullet broke the on-side shoulder blade, bounced off the spine, broke the off-side shoulder blade and was found under the skin on the off-side, does not preclude the conclusion that in fact, it "failed". Horrors of horrors, it shed it's jacket, and only retained 42.5% (63.7 grains) of its original 150 grains. Positively disgusting. There will be more pictures of "failed" ballistic tips and other bullet types coming. All recovered from cleanly, and humanely killed animals.
 
This subject matter of "bullet performance" was not the reason I started this thread (although I should have anticipated it). Please don't let my friendly sarcasm deter you from posting your bullet pictures. My intent here is not to 'poke anyone in the eye'. I'm just pointing out actual field experience as opposed to parroted gunwriter balderdash, or speculated performance based on mis-conception and perpetuated mythology.
 
I think I'd like to impose the following condition on future posts: If you wanna argue bullet performance, you gotta post a picture of a recovered bullet that is the subject of the arguement. That way, I hope to keep this thread on the original track of just looking at folk's alternative "trophies". And finally, let me repeat that my arguments are meant in "good clean fun" regardless of how 'biting' the sarcasm might appear. I'm just pokin' fun, not poking eyes.
 
Paul