Recovered Projectile Pics Wanted

[rodwha]

I'm looking for pics of recovered muzzleloader (soft lead) projectiles from game animals along with a little detail about the projectile's venture such as powder charge, distance to critter, and trail through said animal.

I've read most people who find their ball on the offside note that it has mushroomed. Yet I've read several who claim it's near perfectly round still despite crashing through bone.

I asked a knowledgeable fellow on a traditional forum the approximate velocity at which soft lead will expand on game and his reply was above 800 fps. I find it hard to believe a ball wouldn't expand when shot with a typical (70-100 grns) load as it likely strikes above 1000 fps, if the >800 fps rule can be trusted.

 

[FishDFly]

Why not do PM's of such, seems you want morbid pictures, we all do no wish to see such.

 

[Stumpkiller]

This is the only round ball I have ever recovered. Fired from 12 yards into a buck of about 180 lbs dressed weight. Went in from a frontal just above the heart and lodged under the skin behind the femur bone. Deer dropped in place.

.50 cal (0.490") 175 gr with 0.017" patch and 85 gr Goex FFg, Moose Snot lube.

It's cast and probably not quite pure lead (I use plumbing lead scraps with the occasional solder involved).

Usually they just keep on going right on through. I prefer broadside double-lung but: "Those who do not while they may might not as they will."

 

[BrownBear]

Photobucket just isn't cooperating today. Waited half an hour for all the ads to load and still couldn't get through sign-in. Maybe I'll try again later and make a second post.

I've recovered only one, a .530 homecast from pure lead. Launched with 90 grains of 3f and collided face on with the lower white neck patch (our Sitka blacktails have two) of a good buck at a distance later measured at 57 yards. Recovered under the hide on the back of the neck right where it joins the body after completely severing the spine.

Started at around 225 grains and ended up weighing 169 grains if I recall correctly. Expanded to the size of a quarter and basically flat with a dimple on the back remaining of the original round ball shape.

 

[roundball]

I've tried to figure out an easy way to say this as my intention is not to be pointed...I'm really trying to understand the purpose of your question.
Your question is like the other thread asking for pictures of internal organ damage so the OP can ostensibly decide if PRBs are effective or not.
And the simple reality is such photos would be coming from the very "DEAD" animal that the PRB just killed, solidly establishing the PRBs effectiveness and lethality.

In the case of your similar question here...exactly what are anyone elses photos of deformed (or not) projectiles going to prove to you if they were recovered from the very "DEAD" deer they just killed?

:hmm:

 

[Cheape]

Richard, I don't see what's so morbid about a recovered round ball. Plus you don't have to participate in threads that's you find 'morbid', that's the joy of a forum. You may think you speak for us all when you say no one wishes to see such, but I for one, am VERY interested.

Let's see some pics!

 

[mlo]

I'm with you Cheape!!!!

mike

 

[BrownBear]

Okay, after paying Photobucket the blackmail money to get rid of their ads that wouldn't load, I finally got into my album. Then I only had to reload Photobucket four times to get all the pages to display. Yeah, pretty disgusted with them now.

Anyhoo,

Without entering the fray on appropriateness, I've always recovered any bullets/balls I could. They're instructive to me. Here's a fuzzygraph of my recovered .530 ball, back and front. Read my other post for the gory details- and no, I don't photograph the gore, even if I like to recover lead.

 

[Spikebuck]

54 caliber Hornady Great Plains. Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken. 90 gr of 777. 203 lb field dressed buck at 89 yards. Broke rib on entrance, through heart, broke rib on exit and stopped bulging out the hide on far side.

Left side is a new one for comparison. The mushroomed one retained 100% of its weight.

This is the only projectile that I've recovered using both patched roundballs and conicals over 14 years. I think I've taken 16 or 17 whitetails in that time with muzzleloader. Two others did not pass through but I don't know where they ended up. No exit, but they weren't in the meat. Maybe someplace in the gut pile, which I do not look through! :shake: :grin:

DSCN0397 by mdheaser

 

[Roguedog]

Unfortunately I've only ever recovered one or two projectiles over the years. The simple reality at least for me is that many times, they completely pass through the animal. I too like to recover lead and examine how my projectile performed. But it seems that roundballs are pretty good penetrators and don't usually stop, at least not on our southeastern size deer.

Jeff

 

[Curt]

I find it kind of odd that someone can ask a question on a hunting forum so he can gain some understandingas to how RBs work for killing game and he gets repramaned the way he does by a couple of regulars here.If a post or topic dont suit you why even answer it or think being rude is going to be of any benefit'.

The TV has a lot more blood and guts than these forums do so whats the problem any way as most folks watch them.Dont run off the new folks ,we need them too.Curt

 

[rodwha]

Richard: Please try to stay on task man. No where in my post did I ask for morbid pictures unless a mass of lead somehow qualifies. You really need to stop attacking people with your nonsense.

 

[rodwha]

I have no doubts at all that a PRB will kill deer.

This was a portion of my post:
"I've read most people who find their ball on the offside note that it has mushroomed. Yet I've read several who claim it's near perfectly round still despite crashing through bone."

I want to better understand why soft lead does or does not expand. I find it completely baffling that many speak of or show pictures of large mushroomed projectiles and then some speak and or show pics of nearly perfectly round balls that have passed through bones. So what gives?

This leads me to wonder about the composition of the ball and the velocity upon striking game animals, as well as hard material such as bone or the shield of a hog.

 

[BrownBear]

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. You're getting some photos and background along with the heckling. Just ride the wave and ignore the extras.

 

[rodwha]

BrownBear: I'm curious about the way your ball deformed. It seems like it's possible the expansion went mostly one way as in the spin transferred most of the lead in that direction.

 

[rodwha]

With most people I do. Richard haunts my posts and provokes at every turn possible. I've been noticing he's been doing this to others too. I've just grown tired of his attitude I suppose.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I don't believe that the one I showed above "crashed through" any bone. The ribs are like an open basket from the front and deer lack a collarbone. It was under the skin behind the femur but the bone was undamaged. It just pushed it's way around it.

 

[BrownBear]

BrownBear: I'm curious about the way your ball deformed. It seems like it's possible the expansion went mostly one way as in the spin transferred most of the lead in that direction.

I don't think there's enough info in the remains to speculate one way or the other on that. There was a whole lot of bone munching going on, and it could just as easily been due to a "glancing" blow of the ball on one part of the spine somewhere along the way. There's no "rotary" pattern to the deformation at all.

 

[daniel collums]

most of my hits on the spine done the same to the ball or worst. some of the balls were just fragments. most of the balls that fragmented were .45s, on the .50 cal there would be a good size chunk left or it went on through.

 

[Supercracker]

Both are .490 balls over 80gr FFF

retrieved from the back of a small pigs head.

from the offside of an oddly large Does chest cavity