? why wouldn't a .308 exit a groundhog

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  • platoonDaddy

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 30, 2011
    4,121
    SouthOfBalto
    Friend shot downhill from his 2nd story balcony with this .308 using Win 147gr FMJ. Range finder, groundhog was 51 yards away. Note, the entry point, and then check the underside, the round never did exit.

    Weird. If impact concussion slit the belly there should be some trauma in the muscle tissue under the skin. There does not appear to be any trauma in that area. Perhaps a piece of the jacket peeled off and exited under the skin at the posterior of the slit and then glided along to cause the slit.

    The other surprise is the lack of exit.

    After a few days, I decided to take the chuck apart and check out the bullet. Went down to his house, too late, something already dragged it away.

    Any ideas?

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    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,278
    HoCo
    Subsonic round? (still should have gone through if not hit a a hard bone)
    ran up the spine?
    Bounced off the dirt/rock/ground/tree to hit the Groundhog?
     

    johnkn

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 27, 2012
    2,113
    Skin it and find out where it went. I bet it exited, just no wound visible through the fur.
     

    JamesDong

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 13, 2020
    3,260
    Duffield, Va
    I'd say it was impossible for it to have not exited unless it was a faulty near squib. Your buddy just didn't find the wound, bullet didn't deform or tumble, the groundhog made little difference in it's velocity or trajectory.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    I'm betting there was an exit wound. Just never found it. Prove me wrong.
     

    steves1911

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 2, 2011
    3,026
    On a hill in Wv
    It probably exited somewhere you just didn't find it. I've often thought the same thing on deer and after they are skinned out it becomes much more obvious.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,810
    Weirder sh!t has happened. Seen a Big Horn ram get shot from 500+ yards across a canyon. Bugger dropped in his tracks. When they got to him, there was no entrance wound, let alone an exit wound. It wasn't until they broke him down did they figure out the round had hit him in the mouth while it was open. Didn't even touch his tongue...


    A buddy was jump-shooting deer with his long bow. He jumped up a small doe and took the shot. Arrow clearly to him, went right over her back. Doe tumbled over dead. No wound of any kind. :shrug:


    OOOOOH-EEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOH!!!!!!!
     
    Last edited:

    engineerbrian

    JMB fan club
    Sep 3, 2010
    10,148
    Fredneck
    Let me get this straight. He shot a groundhog, with a 308, 51yds away.

    Why not use something more appropriate like a Javelin, TOW, or bazooka?

    I’ve shot groundhogs with a 308 and a 300 Win Mag. Its a great way to use your guns in the field and not just punch paper with them. Its also a great way for deer hunters to hone their skills in the off season with their deer rifle.
     

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