Hunter misses deer, dies anyway

BUFF7MM · Dec 10, 2017

BossmanPJ said:
Boy I missed a lot today. I have a feeling a certain member will experience the ban Hammer sooner than later.....

From what I've been seeing posted, yesterday wouldn't be soon enough. :innocent0

outrider58 · Dec 10, 2017

traveller said:
I agree. He hit the deer somewhere in the head or neck. If he skinned the neck and head he would probably find the trajectory.

As to why you dont see a big gaping hole on the animal, a couple of possibilities come to mind:
- .50 BMG is a big bullet, but it isn't excessively fast.
- just not enough tissue traversed for any expansion to happen.

I wouldn't make too much out of not seeing the impact behind the animal. In fact, I would have expected an impact behind the animal regardless of whether he hit it or not.

I'm convinced he missed that deer. A non kinetic kill. I've seen deer die from having the antler shot off close to the skull with a 30-06.

j_h_smith · Dec 10, 2017

Spock killed one with a Vulcan Mind Meld.

Honest, I was there.......

lazarus · Dec 10, 2017

outrider58 said:
I'm convinced he missed that deer. A non kinetic kill. I've seen deer die from having the antler shot off close to the skull with a 30-06.

It still would have had to touch it somewhere. The air displaced by a .50 bmg round passing close by just isn’t going to do much more than ruffle clothes. At least with an antler hit you’ve got the shockwave traveling down through the antler in to the skull and brain, possibly the base of the antler getting pushed down and cracking the skull as well.

My thought was it creased the top of its skull

lazarus · Dec 10, 2017

Actually watching the video again, it looks an aweful amount like it kissed the bridge of its nose. I wonder if it passed through just in front of the eye sockets. It looks like you have a blast of expelled breath as it hits. Which could stack up with it hitting right there. If it just grazes the skull I doubt it would blast it apart and the bones are really thin there. Not a lot of transmitted kinetic energy, but sure enough to kill it.

outrider58 · Dec 10, 2017

lazarus said:
It still would have had to touch it somewhere. The air displaced by a .50 bmg round passing close by just isn’t going to do much more than ruffle clothes. At least with an antler hit you’ve got the shockwave traveling down through the antler in to the skull and brain, possibly the base of the antler getting pushed down and cracking the skull as well.

My thought was it creased the top of its skull

Could be. I would have expected a trough of some sort. Maybe it just slipped under the skin. We'll never know because douchebag never skinned it to find out.

If he'd hit bone, that head would have exploded.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

DanGuy48 · Dec 10, 2017

lazarus said:
Agreed. If the pressure wave from it was that strong, the bullet would stop and fall to the ground after a few feet due to the drag forces on the bullet. He hit something on that deer no matter what he claims.

Is it possible he put a bullet neatly through both eye sockets and there simply wasn't enough deer there to interact with the bullet that much? Is there a lot of empty sinus space in a deer skull between the eyes?

j_h_smith · Dec 10, 2017

DanGuy48 said:
Is it possible he put a bullet neatly through both eye sockets and there simply wasn't enough deer there to interact with the bullet that much? Is there a lot of empty sinus space in a deer skull between the eyes?

Just as possible as the concussion from the bullet traveling passed the deer I suppose...

lazarus · Dec 10, 2017

DanGuy48 said:
Is it possible he put a bullet neatly through both eye sockets and there simply wasn't enough deer there to interact with the bullet that much? Is there a lot of empty sinus space in a deer skull between the eyes?

In front of the eye sockets the bone is relatively thin. I mean, not like paper thin, but a lot thinner than the brain case is. It looked like the eyes were intact. Just wondering if maybe it slipped through right at the tear ducts or something.

A modern mystery.

I still remember a talk on gun safety I got from a former marine drill sergeant (about never muzzling anyone, yourself included). He had a recruit in another training company killed during AIT (or whatever the marines call it). M2 jammed on them and he went around the front of the muzzle while his squad mate was trying to clear the jam. Round in the chamber cooked off. Punched most of his armor through is chest and he didn’t survive long enough for a corpsman to get to him less than a minute later.

A .50BMG is not to be toyed with.

gunismyfriend · Dec 10, 2017

I have watched the video many times, and this is my 2c.
At the end of the video, he said that he did skin the head, but couldn't find any evidence of gunshot wound. Then he also said that the eye (or eyes) was "sucked out of the animal".
I'm convinced that he shot the deer right at one eye and the bullet exited from the other. One support for this interpretation is that the position of the deer's heat when it was shot. The deer was looking sideways, and that position allows exactly that kind of trajectory within the head.
If only somebody can shoot a dead deer in the same way to confirm or debunk if it's possible for a bullet, of any caliber, to enter a deer head through one eye socket and exit from another without causing extensive damage.

fabsroman · Dec 11, 2017

j_h_smith said:
What the Fudd are you talking about? So when do we start judging hunters for their choice in firearms. He said it was a test to see what would happen. He's not advocating every go out and buy a 50bmg, but what wrong if he did.

You want to start telling people their choice is stupid, idiotic, crazy? Aren't you as guilty as the Fudds who say no one needs an AR15 rifle?

This thread has opened my mind to the mindset of some people. So he used a 50bmg to kill a deer. What's wrong with that? Do you want to set limits on what can be used to fit your narrative? Well guess what, you're as guilty as the Looney Left then.

For those who said it wouldn't be their choice, I agree. But to call out the guy for what was done, is wrong. Go ahead. Next time you want a 30 round mag, the Maryland government may just tell you that you can't buy them in Maryland... Oh wait too late.

There are extremes to everything, and the proper tool for most applications.

Should I use a .410 single shot to waterfowl hunt? I guess I could if I could get them in real close to the decoys and shoot them in the head. However, that shotgun is not the best choice.

How about a 10 gauge for dove, quail, pheasant, or rabbit hunting?

Then there is the .22lr debate for deer hunting.

The 50 BMG is just overkill for deer hunting, but it can be used. Nothing illegal about it. Just not the best tool for the job, especially if you want to eat what you shoot. Then again, I guess it worked out quite well in this case since the head shot turned out to be a miss, but the concussion from the round ended up killing the animal anyway.

Then, there is the discussion of the head shot and how it leaves very little room for error, unless you are using hand grenades or 50 BMGs.

YerNotGood · Dec 11, 2017

fabsroman said:
There are extremes to everything, and the proper tool for most applications.

Should I use a .410 single shot to waterfowl hunt? I guess I could if I could get them in real close to the decoys and shoot them in the head. However, that shotgun is not the best choice.

How about a 10 gauge for dove, quail, pheasant, or rabbit hunting?

Then there is the .22lr debate for deer hunting.

The 50 BMG is just overkill for deer hunting, but it can be used. Nothing illegal about it. Just not the best tool for the job, especially if you want to eat what you shoot. Then again, I guess it worked out quite well in this case since the head shot turned out to be a miss, but the concussion from the round ended up killing the animal anyway.

Then, there is the discussion of the head shot and how it leaves very little room for error, unless you are using hand grenades or 50 BMGs.

It just seems like such an unnecessary liability. You are slinging a ~700 grain projectile, apparently capable of a "non-kinetic" kill, and the dude misses. If unobstructed, that bullet could travel for miles. I understand that the same could be said for 223 or 308 but its really apples to oranges when comparing energy levels.

Melnic · Dec 11, 2017

I believe if it would have impacted the deer, it would have been obvious. Especially if it went in one eye and out the other.
Supersonic shock wave of the fly by caused first a high pressure wave to hit, followed by a vacuum. It basically punched it hard in the face.

How far was the shot? Was the guy that bad of a shot or this guy that unreliable?

danb · Dec 11, 2017

Melnic said:
I believe if it would have impacted the deer, it would have been obvious. Especially if it went in one eye and out the other.
Supersonic shock wave of the fly by caused first a high pressure wave to hit, followed by a vacuum. It basically punched it hard in the face.

How far was the shot? Was the guy that bad of a shot or this guy that unreliable?

no this is a myth, see post #24. 50 bmg pressure wave wont even knock over cards.

He hit the deer somewhere, but its hard to say where. Eyes, maybe.

Melnic · Dec 11, 2017

danb said:
no this is a myth, see post #24. 50 bmg pressure wave wont even knock over cards.

He hit the deer somewhere, but its hard to say where. Eyes, maybe.

OK, I missed watching that video. Very interesting. I guess if the concussion was so great, anyone shooting on paper at 100/200 yards, the target paper would explode also.

I just read the ENTIRE thread. I"m going with shot through eye to other eye.
I do see something popping off to the left after impact.

You would think that if he skinned the head, he'd see a hold in the skull for the partition that separates the eye sockets. But then again, this guy may just be jumping to conclusions. Until he posts photos of the skull, this is not concluded.

danb · Dec 11, 2017

Maybe someone can identify the ammo he uses @ the 2:09 mark, might give a clue. If I did not know better I'd say it has a silver tip which would make it armor piercing incendiary. :whoa:

it is definitely not ball ammo, and I could not find soft point that looks like that.

If he used armor piercing ammo, that would explain a lot. It would have sliced right through not a lot of deer between the eyes. May also explain the "smoke" trail after the hit.

j_h_smith · Dec 11, 2017

danb said:
Maybe someone can identify the ammo he uses @ the 2:09 mark, might give a clue. If I did not know better I'd say it has a silver tip which would make it armor piercing incendiary. it is definitely not ball ammo, and I could not find soft point that looks like that.

If he used armor piercing ammo, that would explain a lot. It would have sliced right through not a lot of deer between the eyes. May also explain the "smoke" trail after the hit.

He says it's a 750 grain bullet, and it looks like a Hornady A-Max round to me. If the shot went through the eye sockets of the deer, then I'd suspect there would no expansion and it would pass through without much muscle or bone damage. He also mentions the eyes were blown out of the skull, which could enforce the idea of being shot cleanly through the eye sockets.

It's a Youtube video and not something anyone can substantiate, so it is what it is.

Melnic · Dec 11, 2017

Take a look at this and how long it took to expand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J9hCDr21mo

j_h_smith · Dec 11, 2017

Melnic said:
Take a look at this and how long it took to expand.

[YT]5J9hCDr21mo[/YT]

Embedded for ya.

BigSteve57 · Dec 11, 2017

I read all these posts and followed the discussions of the physics of how that .50 may have killed the deer.
I always hunted with proven hunting rounds because I believe in always trying for a quick humane kill.
Yes I realize the .50 resulted in what was apparently a quick & humane kill, in this instance.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this is all this very interesting but the OP smacks of "hey lets try this totally unsuitable hunting round on this deer just to see what happens".
I wouldn't have done it.

Going back to the OP it's not how I'd really like to see an animal treated by a so-called hunter.*

*Exceptions: squirrels, rats & mice.
Yes I'm comfortable with my own hypocrisy.

Hunter misses deer, dies anyway

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