first chuck of the season

[fabsroman]

I had that happen on the first deer I ever shot with my .300 Win Mag, but there was absolutely no trace of the bullet. I killed it at about 15 yards with it looking up at me in the tree. I put the bullet right on the right shoulder, and if it went all the way through it would have exited through the stomach. Blood shot out of the entry wound and it dropped in its tracks. After processing it, there was no exit wound and the interior trauma was tremendous. I was shooting a 150 gr. Remington Core Lokt at that time.

With that .17 HM2, do you think you would get enough penetration on a groundhog at 20 yards? The bullet might blow up before hitting any vitals.