Weird bullet performance.

**TStone** · 31-08-2013, 15:52

A couple of days ago a client, I was guiding, shot a mountain reedbuck ram with a .308 win loaded with a Barnes TSX 165 gr bullet. The mountain reedbuck was standing against a, very rocky, hill 200 meters away.
The ram collapsed at the shot and arriving at the dead ribbok I found that the bullet had impacted on the near shoulder and exited behind the far shoulder.

While setting the ram up for a photo the clients wife found the bullet ± 2 meters in front of the animal ( between the animal and the position we shot from) lying on a rock. Looking at the bullet I would guess that it hit the ram, expanded as it was supposed to, exited, hit a rock and bounced back.

**krobar** · 31-08-2013, 19:23

Looks like it may have tumbled after exiting. I can't guess what the odds would be of finding that bullet, but you should get het to buy a lotto ticket tonight

**Ds J** · 01-09-2013, 05:40

Yup, it seems like a rock threw the bullet back at you. Nice keeper - proof of a great little story.

**A-R** · 01-09-2013, 12:56

That bullet must have been on the edge of stability, considering that a 308 normally has a 1:12 twist. That could explain it's tumbling inside the target, and beyond. Going to a shorter and lighter bullet will improve it's stability inside the target, and improve penetration.

I know it doesn't sound logical, but consider that monolithic copper bullets are much longer than lead-cored bullets of the same wheight. When switching from conventional lead core bullets to mono copper (such as Barnes X... and GS Custom etc.) one should look a bullet with the same length, not the same wheight.

I have found that 130gn mono copper bullets penetrate much deeper (and straighter) than 150gn, of the same design (GSC), from my 308.

**TStone** · 01-09-2013, 13:43

Looking at the wound channel and exit wound, it doesn't look as if it tumbled in the animal. The hunter also shot an eland with this rifle/bullet combination and that bullet definitely didn't tumble.

However, it does look as if the bullet we picked up hit a rock going sideways. It is possible that the bullet hit more than one rock, the first destabilising it.

I've had three clients, this season, using Barnes factory ammo (vor tx) in .308 win with the 168 gr TTSX bullet and it performed very well on zebra, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest and the smaller antelope, with no evidence of instability after impact. The rifles used were a Browning A-bolt, a Weatherby Vanguard and a Remington.

**Messor** · 01-09-2013, 17:18

TS, I am pretty sure you checked the rocks backing up the shot for the impact point, fount it?

I like digging out bullets, but these new stuff just goes through, I just returned from my yearly kudu hunt in the Postmasburg region and was happy to dig out a Swift Scirocco from a kudu cow.

**TStone** · 02-09-2013, 06:54

TS, I am pretty sure you checked the rocks backing up the shot for the impact point, fount it?

Unfortunately, I didn't. It was the last day of the hunt and we still needed an eland, I had a quick look at the bullet, pocketed it, took the trophy photo's, carried the ribbok back to the nearest road and started hunting again.

However, I will go back and have a look when I'm in that area again.