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Odd bullet path but not mystical. It sounds like the bullet was travelling upward slightly, or changed direction upward while still in the rib cage, which bullets will do once in awhile for various reasons when travelling through an animal. It passed above the paunch etc., hit the under side of the spine at a flat angle and deflected downward again to exit. I.e. it went in the front, deflected up above the guts and then down again. Defelection(s) or change of bullet route is probably the explanation. I have traced some weird bullet paths through elk, most of those with Nosler partitions. One bullet hit the pelvis bone heading forward, deflected or ricocheted downward and forward to the right, glanced off of the inside of ribs at a flat angle and ended up near the left shoulder. On a more sober note, a friend of mine was shot low in his back with a 9mm round that entered just to the right of his spine and exited beside his navel without damaging intestines. The bullet was angling to the right, hit his pelvis bone and deflected left and out the front while making a circuit around his intestines.
I witnessed a large cow elk, shot at ~ 150 yards, facing the gun with a 300 Wby, the bullet went through the windpipe, smashed one side of the heart, traveled the length of the body and exited two inches to the left of the anus. The animal reared up and went over backwards and never moved from the spot it landed. There were six witnesses who were present when the animal was field dressed and neither the stomach or intestines had so much as a pinhole. It appeared that the spine had been nicked about midships. No loss of tenderloin or backstrap. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not believe it was possible. Any explanations?
Quote from: JDHasty on July 22, 2017, 10:05:48 PMI witnessed a large cow elk, shot at ~ 150 yards, facing the gun with a 300 Wby, the bullet went through the windpipe, smashed one side of the heart, traveled the length of the body and exited two inches to the left of the anus. The animal reared up and went over backwards and never moved from the spot it landed. There were six witnesses who were present when the animal was field dressed and neither the stomach or intestines had so much as a pinhole. It appeared that the spine had been nicked about midships. No loss of tenderloin or backstrap. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not believe it was possible. Any explanations? Did the bullet go between the lungs