Well had a chance to use the 85 Maker Trex today on a average size doe for northwest Louisiana. She is bout 60ish pounds on the hove.
Only pics I managed to get before cleaning. Entrance side looks like the bullet didn't expand. Until I pulled the hide down. Under the hide entrance was close to 1/2 dia.
Exit wound in the hide looks to be 1/2 in dia but under the hide it was closer to 3/4 inch.
She was shot at 57 yards with the howa mini 20 inch threaded with the 85 trex in my handloads. That load averages 2882 from this barrel. So I figure it was moving 2750 to 2800 on impact.
She was broadside but quartered away. Shot placement was perfect. Bullet went in taking a bit of the liver, heart and lungs and the exit was right at the creece behind the leg. Perfect vital hit.
I normally shot CNS type shots but thought it would be good to see how it would do on a clean no heavy bone contacted vital shot. She dropped dead on the shot.
My ballistics app shows this bullet from my load and this rifle hits 1000 ftlbs of energy right at 200 yards.
All in all I'm happy with the performance on this deer.
That is still a decent exit hole, even if it doesn't tell the whole story.
Thank you. Wish I would have taken the time to get better pics and pics of the wound channel and organ damage. But when Cajuns get to cleaning a deer. Ain't but one thing on our mind.
Fresh fryed back strap. And we had her quartered out in time to fry her backstrap for supper. Fresh off the bone.
Edit to add.
I have seen broadheads do that where the hole in the hide was smaller then in the flesh. But honestly I think this is the first time I have seen a bullet do it.
Bullets often don't leave large exit holes for a number of reasons.
1) sometimes only a fragment escapes
2) not enough energy/sharpness/whatever to cut a larger hole before...
3) skin stretch
In hogs, if I see a large exit hole in the skin, there is usually a much more impressive wound immediately underneath. If I see a small exit in the skin, what is underneath can vary considerably. I am guessing the wound underneath was impressive, yes?
Double Naught Spy Wrote:Bullets often don't leave large exit holes for a number of reasons.
1) sometimes only a fragment escapes
2) not enough energy/sharpness/whatever to cut a larger hole before...
3) skin stretch
In hogs, if I see a large exit hole in the skin, there is usually a much more impressive wound immediately underneath. If I see a small exit in the skin, what is underneath can vary considerably. I am guessing the wound underneath was impressive, yes?
Sounds like a good meal!
Yep. Both entrance and exit under the hide was nice holes. Not saying it hasn't happened to me before that the hole in the hide was smaller. Just this is the first time I remember it are paid enough attention to it to notice it.
Only thing I noticed and not sure what was the cause of it. But the guts were preferated by 3 peices of sharpnel. They exited out of the very bottom of the belly.
Not sure if the bullet had some small parts break off are if it was peices of rib shrapnel.
The bullet smashed 2 ribs into a bizzilon peices going in and the same coming out.
I'm not going to say it's not possible the bullet lost some petal peices because it was going 2700 plus at impact. And it's a softer copper bullet then say the ttsx.
But looking at the exit hole I'm inclined to think it was peices of rib bone are possible very small peices of bullet. Since it went through and off into never never land I have no way of knowing for sure.
I hope to take a few more deer with this bullet and see how it does.
Congrats on some fine table fare and thanks for the bullet report.
I would bet the gut and exit were from the ribs, I have seen that quit a few times, on a elk shot with a 225gr 35 cal partition there were rib splinters in the hide that do not come out but punctured the gut on a broad side shot that clipped the back of the front leg and exited right behind the leg on the other side, Lungs were a mess. That is just one example that came to mind, there are others I can think of.
kmon Wrote:Congrats on some fine table fare and thanks for the bullet report.
I would bet the gut and exit were from the ribs, I have seen that quit a few times, on a elk shot with a 225gr 35 cal partition there were rib splinters in the hide that do not come out but punctured the gut on a broad side shot that clipped the back of the front leg and exited right behind the leg on the other side, Lungs were a mess. That is just one example that came to mind, there are others I can think of.
Ohh I have seen it many times. But because the bullet went through I can't be for sure it was rib shrapnel or bullet shrapnel.
After thinking about it more and reprocessing the shot and what my minds eye is telling me from what I seen while cleaning it. I'm almost 100% positive it was rib bone shrapnel.
Sitting in the blind now, hoping anouther test subject will come my way for me to try the 85 trex on again.
Ordered 2 boxes of 85 grain from Maker to try out. My AR has a Faxon Gunner 1:8, 5R , match grade SS barrel. I currently use Hornady 123 grain SST and they group nicely at 100 yards. Have head shot 3 hogs and lung shot one, no problems with the SSTs but am trying to go "lead free".
RobertFL Wrote:Ordered 2 boxes of 85 grain from Maker to try out. My AR has a Faxon Gunner 1:8, 5R , match grade SS barrel. I currently use Hornady 123 grain SST and they group nicely at 100 yards. Have head shot 3 hogs and lung shot one, no problems with the SSTs but am trying to go "lead free".
Both my friends 18 inch and my 16 inch like that bullet over 29.2 grains of h335 and a cci450 srm primer.
My bolt action that I shot this doe with is much higher and not safe for the ar action. Lol my friend now owns that rifle as well.
And I just replaced it with a 25 inch barreled cz527 grendel varmint model. 85 grain Maker should be smoking fast out that barrel.
