? why wouldn't a .308 exit a groundhog

Friend shot downhill from his 2nd story balcony with this .308 using Win 147gr FMJ. Range finder, groundhog was 51 yards away. Note, the entry point, and then check the underside, the round never did exit.

Weird. If impact concussion slit the belly there should be some trauma in the muscle tissue under the skin. There does not appear to be any trauma in that area. Perhaps a piece of the jacket peeled off and exited under the skin at the posterior of the slit and then glided along to cause the slit.

The other surprise is the lack of exit.

After a few days, I decided to take the chuck apart and check out the bullet. Went down to his house, too late, something already dragged it away.

Any ideas?

http://i.imgur.com/fYbmhsF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/My2JkuW.jpg

I’m like you, I don’t see how 3-4 inches of ground hog is going to stop a 147 grain bullet. I suspect that there is a hole somewhere on the bottom that was missed. I know I’ve shot a lot of deer and had to really look to find the entrance and sometimes the exit wound.

Agreed. Passed through without upset.
Exit wound could have stretched on exit leaving a pin-hole.