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I think I have shot enough hogs now to see a pattern as every shot seems to fit the pattern. I didn't even bother with the necropsy images on the last hog (and the YT age restriction issues) because it was more of the same.
Suffice it to say that they open at or very soon after impact and immediately start to peel back petals. In all but two cases, IIRC, we found fragments in the wound channel for a given round fired. In one case, we found nothing and in the other case, part of the bullet was in the first hog and the main body overpenetrated and made it into the next hog. There, it did not overpenetrate and I did not find any petal fragments, but did in the first hog struck. Bearing surface/main bodies of the bullets have overpenetrated at at much as 13" and if combined between two hogs, had 15" of penetration.
There is a caveat, however, concerning the petals that sheer off. Often you hear how such petals will break off and become their own projectiles with their own wound tracts and doing all their own damage and that sounds really impressive. I don't think this is happening here. All of the petal fragments recovered were from inside or along with main wound channel. It does not appear that this pieces are breaking off at strange angles and hitting organs or structures away from the main wound tract. I can't say for sure, but none were over recovered except from the wound tract and a metal detector was used (helpful, but not absolute).
These fragments appear to peel off and while they may (and in some cases, may not) travel X distance, they don't appear to be doing anything away from the wound channel that has already damaged tissue. They may be slightly widening or enhancing the wound channel, but that is about it.
Given that some of these petals were recovered near the entry side in side cases, I am guessing that these are being torn/snapped off and not traveling very far once free of the main body of the bullet.
With that said, the bullets appear to be doing a good job. When not hitting ribs or scapula on the way in, there is often an egg-sized hole in the muscle right under the skin, indicative of the initial expansion, and then the petals are coming off and the main body and potentially 1 or 2 petals are managing to overpenetrate. The bullet is doing respectable tissue damage. As far as all copper bullets go, they are doing well enough that I would certainly use them again without hesitation.
I don't know that the video will add much...
Suffice it to say that they open at or very soon after impact and immediately start to peel back petals. In all but two cases, IIRC, we found fragments in the wound channel for a given round fired. In one case, we found nothing and in the other case, part of the bullet was in the first hog and the main body overpenetrated and made it into the next hog. There, it did not overpenetrate and I did not find any petal fragments, but did in the first hog struck. Bearing surface/main bodies of the bullets have overpenetrated at at much as 13" and if combined between two hogs, had 15" of penetration.
There is a caveat, however, concerning the petals that sheer off. Often you hear how such petals will break off and become their own projectiles with their own wound tracts and doing all their own damage and that sounds really impressive. I don't think this is happening here. All of the petal fragments recovered were from inside or along with main wound channel. It does not appear that this pieces are breaking off at strange angles and hitting organs or structures away from the main wound tract. I can't say for sure, but none were over recovered except from the wound tract and a metal detector was used (helpful, but not absolute).
These fragments appear to peel off and while they may (and in some cases, may not) travel X distance, they don't appear to be doing anything away from the wound channel that has already damaged tissue. They may be slightly widening or enhancing the wound channel, but that is about it.
Given that some of these petals were recovered near the entry side in side cases, I am guessing that these are being torn/snapped off and not traveling very far once free of the main body of the bullet.
With that said, the bullets appear to be doing a good job. When not hitting ribs or scapula on the way in, there is often an egg-sized hole in the muscle right under the skin, indicative of the initial expansion, and then the petals are coming off and the main body and potentially 1 or 2 petals are managing to overpenetrate. The bullet is doing respectable tissue damage. As far as all copper bullets go, they are doing well enough that I would certainly use them again without hesitation.
I don't know that the video will add much...
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