Author Topic: What is this! (Read 1207 times)

Gallahad · « **on:** February 04, 2005, 06:12:43 PM »

Found a bullet in a whitetail. here are the measurements: diameter .584 length 1.0 copper jacketed hollow point. bullet is virtually undamaged. jacked is SUPER heavy. the lead that should be in the hollow point is missing, like it was melted out before it was fired.? The metplate would have been about .28 (I say about because the tip of the hollow cavity is slightly ovaled, obviously from impact.) You can look right down in the hollow point and see the copper seperation from the lead in the front half of the bullet and the back. there are marks in the hollow half of the jacket where the manufactorer desighned it to split and mushroom, (never did) Now somthing even stranger, there are no rifling marks in the jacket!? I don't understand how you can have an unexpanded hollow point bullet with no lead in the hollow point. Its perplexing! Especially after being found in a deer.

I can only guess at the weight (my little redding scale seems about 3 times to small for this bullet!) id say between 450 & 500 grains. if it would have had the lead in the tip it could have been 650.
Does ANYBODY have a clue as to what kind of shell this bullet is from? ALL info you can give on the cartridge is greatly appreciated!

Thanks and God Bless!

Reed1911 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 05, 2005, 03:35:16 AM »

Offhand sounds like it could have come from a smoothbore muzzle loader. My conclusion is based on size and the fact that the bullet itself was not expanded and of course no rifleing.

Geno · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2005, 05:06:42 AM »

size would indicate muzzle loader, possibly a sabot or perhaps a shot gun slug ?

Graybeard · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2005, 05:51:21 AM »

Sounds more like a sabot shotgun slug to me. Which I have no clue. Can't imagine using such a huge jacketed bullet in a smooth bore muzzle loader. If no rifling on the bullet then my guess would be sabot slug.

Reed1911 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2005, 07:44:45 AM »

I have another question, what was the condition of the deer? What I mean is did you down it and find this in cleaning, or was it a wounded that you found dead. What was the placement of the shot you found?

marlinman93 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 05, 2005, 03:18:11 PM »

I'd go along with Graybeard on this one. It sounds like a shotgun sabot.