What Happens After A Bullet Hits A Deer?

[Mccallister25]

This question may be a no brainer, but Im not the most knowledgable when it comes to ballistics.

Say Im shooting a high powered rifle, .30-06 while hunting, and hit a deer from 50-60 yards. The bullet makes a complete pass through. What happens to the projectile? Does it stay in one "piece" and hit the ground?

I had a buddy say that the lead pretty much disentigrates upon impact, but Im not sure on that. Anyone?

[clayton86]

All depends on the type of bullet. Soft point, ballistic tip, bonded they all act differently when they hit something. I'm a big fan of vmax style bullets. While they arnt for deer hunting they are used for varmints. Prairie dogs and sized targets they explode and usually vaporize on contact transferring all energy into said target. Coyote type targets they go in and don't come out usually.

Hornady has a good definition on diffrent types of ballistics like terminal and what not.

[ThatZX14Fella]

Depends on the round you're firing, with a hollow point it will mushroom out if it's a quality round. If it's a soft tip, I believe those are the ones that fragment. I could be wrong though, I never studied ballistics, just firearms themselves. Lol

[Code54]

As mentioned it does depend on a LOT of different things.  The real "goal" is to achieve full penetration to the vitals, and not have the bullet exit the animal.  You really want to have the bullet transfer all of its energy to the target creating a large wound cavity.   If the bullet does exit it really is wasted energy at that point and creates other issues (unintended impacts)

[Mccallister25]

Code, that makes a lot of sense. The past two years Iv hunted over a cut field, and the majority of the deer Iv taken from the field all have exit wounds. Some drop, some run off.

The reason I ask the question is because after a bullet leaves the animal, I fear it straying off some place and possibly hitting an unintended target. I didnt know wheather the bullet continues into the ground, or could fly anywhere.

[crazyjoeclemens]

Unless it's a lightweight bullet, specifically made for varmints (it'll say on the box if it is), chances are that it will mushroom some and keep trucking in a mostly straight line till it hits tree or dirt. It may lose some fragments of copper jacket along the way, but most hunting bullets are designed for mass retention. If you hit heavy bone, like the shoulder, all bets are off, you could end up losing some larger pieces of lead and causing some deflection, but actual results are difficult to predict.

This doesn't hold 100% true, but as a general rule for .30-06, varmint rounds will have a polymer ballistic tip on the end, hollow points are usually target bullets, and PSP's or soft points are made for hunting larger game.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

A .30-06 pushes a 150 grain bullet 2700 to 2900fps, maybe a bit faster depending on the load.  (Garand loads are, of course, different.)

 

The heavier the bullet, though, the more chance of a pass-through.

 

What happens is this:  Upon bullet impact, the bullet begins to deform as its design dictates.  This creates larger temporary and permanent wound cavities than would be made by ball.

 

As it continues through the deer, the bullet may lose some fragments.  Again, this depends on its design.  A bullet's main body will stay intact.  If the jacket sheds, the main body will be a large piece of lead.  The fragments and jacket pieces become secondary projectiles.

 

Chances are bone will be hit, and the bone becomes secondary projectiles, as well, with their own wound tracks.

 

The bullet exits.  Depending on whether it's bonded and how well, it may have significant loss of mass, or it may be a mushroom shape with over 99% retained weight.

 

Anything in the .30-06 class (.308, 7.62x54r, 8mm Mauser, .30-06) will go through most large tree trunks and into the next tree.  I have trees downed by 7.62x54r and 7.62x39.

 

You cannot count on a tree to stop the bullet.

 

Two large trees, maybe.

 

Remember, if you're aiming at something 50 yards distant with a .30-06, you're working with a near-flat trajectory.  Acceleration due to gravity is about 32 feet per second per second, or 32fp/s^2.

 

If you're firing from five feet up (shoulder height, standing) it will take about 0.156 seconds for the bullet to reach the ground.

 

In that time, given 3000fps to be safe, the bullet will travel 468 feet (about 150 yards) before it hits the ground.

 

Will the bullet skip off the ground?  Who knows?  It probably will, but how far will it go?

 

There are lots of variables here.  What it does in the deer really doesn't matter so long as the deer is dead.

 

If you have 200 yards behind the deer and are shooting standing or kneeling, you should be OK.

 

If you aim up, the bullet can travel up to five miles.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[F14A-B]

Hello,

A .30-06 pushes a 150 grain bullet 2700 to 2900fps, maybe a bit faster depending on the load. (Garand loads are, of course, different.)

The heavier the bullet, though, the more chance of a pass-through.

What happens is this: Upon bullet impact, the bullet begins to deform as its design dictates. This creates larger temporary and permanent wound cavities than would be made by ball.

As it continues through the deer, the bullet may lose some fragments. Again, this depends on its design. A bullet's main body will stay intact. If the jacket sheds, the main body will be a large piece of lead. The fragments and jacket pieces become secondary projectiles.

Chances are bone will be hit, and the bone becomes secondary projectiles, as well, with their own wound tracks.

The bullet exits. Depending on whether it's bonded and how well, it may have significant loss of mass, or it may be a mushroom shape with over 99% retained weight.

Anything in the .30-06 class (.308, 7.62x54r, 8mm Mauser, .30-06) will go through most large tree trunks and into the next tree. I have trees downed by 7.62x54r and 7.62x39.

You cannot count on a tree to stop the bullet.

Two large trees, maybe.

Remember, if you're aiming at something 50 yards distant with a .30-06, you're working with a near-flat trajectory. Acceleration due to gravity is about 32 feet per second per second, or 32fp/s^2.

If you're firing from five feet up (shoulder height, standing) it will take about 0.156 seconds for the bullet to reach the ground.

In that time, given 3000fps to be safe, the bullet will travel 468 feet (about 150 yards) before it hits the ground.

Will the bullet skip off the ground? Who knows? It probably will, but how far will it go?

There are lots of variables here. What it does in the deer really doesn't matter so long as the deer is dead.

If you have 200 yards behind the deer and are shooting standing or kneeling, you should be OK.

If you aim up, the bullet can travel up to five miles.

Regards,

Josh

Well stated Josh, nice work.

[F14A-B]

BigBlock.... I would think a tree stand could be beneficial to help too... @ 12 ft that bullet should have a much better chance to hit the ground and stop its momentum, however there is no real positive way to know what that bullet will do.

[crazyjoeclemens]

Bullets do skip if you shoot from ground level especially if the soil is frozen. I'd have more than 200 yards behind the target if it's flat ground.

[Code54]

Bullets do skip if you shoot from ground level especially if the soil is frozen.

Yep, they sure will.  One of the reasons for using fragmenting bullets varmint hunting is to reduce the chance of skipping a round.  It becomes far more likely because you are shooting at LONG range at a target maybe a foot off the ground, (mostly prone or sitting) so you have a very slight angle.  There are even some tactical situations where skipping a bullet is implimented (certainly not preferred of course).

Also worth remembering is that bullets will easily skip off water, basically the same as a rock so if there is water in the background it is even more likly.

[clayton86]

Nothing will bring a realization of skipping and ricochets then firing tracers. Watch some machine gun night training videos on YouTube or I'll try and upload some I got a few tracers are 4 ball 1 tracer so you gotta think others are skipping g but you only see the tracer and they burn out at 900m so they keep going after what you can see.

[F14A-B]

I can only remember but a few years outta 30 where a Hunter in Kentucky was Killed by a discharged weapon, a Bullet that just keeps going and someone pays... It's an accident , yes, however it's something strongly to consider,

I hunted with my Slug gun... It works and it's safer, besides in Indiana you can't hunt with a center fire , in the southern areas yea you could because it's got massive hills and such... I love centerfire... But you just HAVE to consider the facts of these weapons.

[F14A-B]

You can Hunt with a centerfire pistol, I might add

[Mccallister25]

Well, I want to try slugs this coming season. Iv never hunted with slugs and dont know much about their trajectory and such. I just dont want big chunks of lead flying through the woods astray. How easy are slugs deflected off trees, bone etc? If passed through a deer, how quickly will it lose its velocity?

If it makes a difference, I'll be keeping shots no more than 30 yards, maybe as close as 15 at times and Ill be at least 15 feet off the ground.

[clayton86]

Well, I want to try slugs this coming season. Iv never hunted with slugs and dont know much about their trajectory and such. I just dont want big chunks of lead flying through the woods astray. How easy are slugs deflected off trees, bone etc? If passed through a deer, how quickly will it lose its velocity?

If it makes a difference, I'll be keeping shots no more than 30 yards, maybe as close as 15 at times and Ill be at least 15 feet off the ground.

I shot a spike probably 15 years ago with a 12ga copper solid sabot about 130 paces out and hit it in the spine. Passed threw and hit a tree no more then 4" in diameter. Couple of the "leafs" got bent and the sabot fell to the ground and I recovered it and still have it to this day.

I've pulled tons of lead slugs, even sabots both shotgun and muzzle loader out of deer that have been shot from point blank to 200yards. I process my own deer and all my buddy's so I get to see what each type of round does. Some times the pass threw some times they don't. Old style slugs seem to flatten out and stay in the body or just under the skin on the opposite side.

[STPC]

If the majority of the deer you will be hunting/shooting at are within 150 yards I would definitely look into a slug gun.  I think you would be surprised by the accuracy you can get out of them these days.

[Mccallister25]

I know each gun/load is different, but what's a rough estimate on the accuracy of slugs with just a bead sight at about 30 yards?

[Kevin22]

BigBlock.... I would think a tree stand could be beneficial to help too... @ 12 ft that bullet should have a much better chance to hit the ground and stop its momentum, however there is no real positive way to know what that bullet will do.

 

There's a whole branch of study devoted to the science of what a bullet will do. They aren't magical pieces of lead that will go wherever they want. Knowing the different factors a ballistics expert can tell you exactly what that bullet will do when it hits the dirt. 

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

I grew up shooting slugs.  My favorite slug gun was a 'scoped H&R Tracker 20 gauge with a smooth bore and rifle sights.  With Brenneke slugs, it would cloverleaf at 100 yards.

 

The Mossberg 500 was OK, but it really was too big for me at the time.  It too was a smoothbore.

 

Slugs have limited penetration on solid objects, as Clayton found.  A Brenneke will not expand/deform nearly as much as a softer Foster, and it's more likely to blow through soft tissue.  A soft Foster expands like you wouldn't believe.

 

I've never gotten either to pass through even midsize trees.

 

I've been thinking about another Tracker, but can't find one and have come to really like my muzzleloader (traditional-style sidelock) and will take a sidelock .32 or .36 first, for squirrel.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[Josh Smith]

I know each gun/load is different, but what's a rough estimate on the accuracy of slugs with just a bead sight at about 30 yards?

 

This depends solely on you.  With an IC or modified choke, the gun should be capable of making the holes touch.

 

Since you're the back sight on a shotgun with a bead front, that part is up to you.

 

You can buy, for cheap, no-drill shotgun 'scope mounts for most pumps and semi-autos.  This way, you can mount a holosight, dot sight, or low powered 'scope (2.5x is excellent!) on a bird gun for use during deer season.

 

The only way to know you can make a shot, though, is to take it -- in practice, of course.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[Code54]

Slugs do drop a LOT quicker - they are large heavy projectiles so the drop quicker and ricochet far less.  

[crazyjoeclemens]

I can only remember but a few years outta 30 where a Hunter in Kentucky was Killed by a discharged weapon, a Bullet that just keeps going and someone pays... It's an accident , yes, however it's something strongly to consider,

I hunted with my Slug gun... It works and it's safer, besides in Indiana you can't hunt with a center fire , in the southern areas yea you could because it's got massive hills and such... I love centerfire... But you just HAVE to consider the facts of these weapons.

You can use rifles that are chambered in pistol cartridges in Indiana now. I think the shotgun slug states became so more because of the population density rather than the flatness of the ground. Look at some of those western states like the Dakotas and Nebraska. Lots of flats, but no one to possibly hit...lol

To me it's a common sense thing, though. Us eastern deer hunters tend to spend a lot of time in treestands. Most shots are at a significant downward angle, so the bullet passes through the deer and hits dirt. Not to mention being in timber, your shot is gonna get stopped by a tree anyway. Now, after a long days hunt and the frustration of not seeing anything, you walk out of the timber and see a deer standing out ing the bean field...that's when you really gotta be sure of your target and what's behind it.

[Canyon explorer]

Very basically expect the following as designed by manufacturers:

 

Varmint bullets are3000 f.p.s.+, designed to enter and disintegrate on impact and kill thru hydrostatic shock instantly.

 

Thin skin Game e.g. Deer are designed to expand to about 2X caliber for a large wound channel  and jacketed or bonded to retain enough weight and mass to break bone then barely exit.

 

Heavy body/boned game e.g. elk bear Same as above except larger caliber heavier Bonded bullets

 

Big Game Elephant , rhino etc. Solid copper, like Barnes, or hard alloy bullets with no jacket of .400 to .500 caliber for deep deep  penetration and ultra high energy.

[retiredbosn]

Growing up in WV deer hunting is almost a state holiday. Rifle season is two weeks, that's it. The percentage of the population that deer hunts the first week is so high that the schools are closed. Never enough substitutes and hardly any students, it just makes more sense to close the schools. Many factories close too, just to many workers not showing up. That said opening day can sound like a range war, WV has literally millions of acres of public land and you're lucky to find a spot that only has one or two other ppl nearby. Most everyone uses centerfire rifles and about 75% of the seasons harvest comes before noon opening day. With that many ppl in the woods you'd think there would be allot of shooting accidents. There isn't maybe one fatality every five years, and I think most of those aren't accidental. Once a bullet is deformed it looses most of its ballistic coefficient, in other words it doesn't travel any more. They're tumbling and loosing energy so fast that being hit by a bullet that's passed thru a deer just doesn't happen. Military rounds are fmj(full metal jacketed) they don't deform and will ricochet like crazy, a hunting round doesn't.