Just a quick question... I've shot a lot of deer with my little 7mm-08 using 120 BT's and have never had a bullet fail to exit. Archer Adam cites 2 incidents where very close range shots from a 30-06 using a fairly stout 150 bullet failed to exit from a relatively thin skinned animal.
I know there are a lot more experienced and educated minds than mine on this site, so I'm compelled to ask is there a velocity issue here? Old powder? Old ammo? It's hard for me to imagine hitting anything on a deer with a 150 grain core-loct bullet that was launched from a 30-06 that would cause such a massive loss of energy and velocity that the bullet would not exit at 15 and 25 yard shot distances. My only personal experience with a bullet failing to exit was when I was using 12-14 year old factory [Rem 7mm-08, 139 grain core-loct bullet] ammo shot at a large bodied deer at 90 yards; I wrote it off to old ammo, and then immediately began reloading for my 7mm-08. But the deer did drop at the shot, a very effective and efficient kill.
Addressing the original question: I can't find a performance issue with the bullet. It's unrealistic to expect a bang-flop, but it's always nice when it happens. I've shot deer at 15 yards that ran 50 yards trailing pieces of lung along the way and others at 115 yards that dropped at the shot. All deer are different in how they respond to the trauma of the shot, and minute differences in point of impact and the resulting would channel, bullet performance, bullet construction, and pre-post shot adrenaline can affect recovery.
My experience: The only predictable 100% guaranteed 16 inch [vertical] recovery distance results from a head [brain] shot. Anything else will likely result in a bit of tracking.
I know there are a lot more experienced and educated minds than mine on this site, so I'm compelled to ask is there a velocity issue here? Old powder? Old ammo? It's hard for me to imagine hitting anything on a deer with a 150 grain core-loct bullet that was launched from a 30-06 that would cause such a massive loss of energy and velocity that the bullet would not exit at 15 and 25 yard shot distances. My only personal experience with a bullet failing to exit was when I was using 12-14 year old factory [Rem 7mm-08, 139 grain core-loct bullet] ammo shot at a large bodied deer at 90 yards; I wrote it off to old ammo, and then immediately began reloading for my 7mm-08. But the deer did drop at the shot, a very effective and efficient kill.
Addressing the original question: I can't find a performance issue with the bullet. It's unrealistic to expect a bang-flop, but it's always nice when it happens. I've shot deer at 15 yards that ran 50 yards trailing pieces of lung along the way and others at 115 yards that dropped at the shot. All deer are different in how they respond to the trauma of the shot, and minute differences in point of impact and the resulting would channel, bullet performance, bullet construction, and pre-post shot adrenaline can affect recovery.
My experience: The only predictable 100% guaranteed 16 inch [vertical] recovery distance results from a head [brain] shot. Anything else will likely result in a bit of tracking.
