Ballistic Gel Guru's and Bullet Performance Guys, etc.- Any Idea What Bullet Did This???

[Random 8]

Looks like damage I have seen from various "low velocity" (compared to rifle bullets) impacts with minimal expansion and a blunt bullet profile. If you'd shown me this without specifying handgun, I would have guessed muzzleloader and round ball or a SP sabot or "maxi ball" at extended range.

Looks very similar to any of .357, 10mm, .41, .44 soft point or a HP at longer ranges or short barrel length that I have seen. A caliper to the permanent cavity through the hide entrance hole might rule out a .44, hard to tell from the picture. If the shot was not a pass through, heavy bullet 9mm .357 Sig, .40 SW or .38 Super also comes to mind.

Edit, missed the "reveal" post LOL

 

[35 Whelen]

As regards the size of the hole, there are several pitfalls in trying to attach a significant finding as regards the size of the breach:

1) The breach looks elliptical to me, which suggests the path of the projectile was not 90 degrees to the inside surface of the thoracic cavity.
2) I can't tell to what degree the rib has influenced the trajectory of the bullet, or indeed the bullet itself.

What would be nice is to have a dowel-rod indication of how that near side thoracic wall was perforated. Also pictures of the recovered bullet would be interesting!

When I took the shot it appeared to be a 90° angle, but the bullet exit further back relative to the entrance wound. It is possible that the bullet slightly glanced off the rib, as evidenced by the fracture. As to the recovered bullet, it's long gone, laying out in the pasture somewhere.

35W