who knows what this is or what happened to it??

[skinny killer]

(see attachments)

I found this half buried in the dirt when I was walking in my back woods a while back.

It's a bullet obviously but I was just wondering, why is the cartridge all mangled and pushed up around the bullet like that??? What sort of malfunction would cause this??

Also does anyone know what kind of cartridge this is??

The bullet itself appears to be steel. It had a bit of rust on it before I cleaned it up and it will stick to a magnet.


I just thought I'd puzzle you guys with this.

[Hellfighter]

it was dark and i was hungry!

sorry i don't have a answer for this other wise it maybe left in the dirt or shot into a tree left there for a long time. until some animal came by remove it, so you found it

[skinny killer]

hmm, oh ok, I see what you mean... so is that really the jacket on it and not the cartridge or what??

[MERMITE]

38 or 45cal misfire about 8 years ago, note the ragged edges of the rim, the guy was in a hurry, that alone may suggest an amature out hunting, mis fires are rare these days,
but many in the self loading communty still have them,
I suggest at this point that it will be someone who knows you or they know of you,
look for a poor local young inexperenced hunter within 2-3 years of your own age
was it in a wet area?? ..is the powder DRY, the real clue would be the condition of the
underside .....good luck you may have a stalker ....lol

[skinny killer]

lol wut?

no I was just walking around in my back woods on my walking trails and found it in the dirt.

it wasn't in a wet area realy...

[ShadowZ]

Maybe that's actually a slug and not a bullet?

[skinny killer]

I have absolutely no idea.... LOL

[ShadowZ]

Well, the reason I think it's a slug is
1: The bullet is way to sharp for a pistol round, as Marmite suggested
2: The fact that there's a copper coating on the back of the projectile tells me that it could be a sabot
3: The fact that the bullet itself is steel, and not lead.

I've heard of steel bullets used for AK pattern rifles, but the ogive shape of the entire thing tells me its not a bullet from a rifle.

[skinny killer]

Could it be an armor piercing rifle round? they are made of steel if I'm not mistaken.

[ShadowZ]

Doubtful, most of the AP round's I've researched are either coated with lead or a polymer plastic. Although it is possible...