My assumption is that especially if they miss they'd have enough energy when they come to ground to bury themselves.

Ya I have many recovered from hunted animals, but never before found a spent bullet just lying on a farm.  Always wondered where they ended up.

I have quite a few, similar to these - range pick-ups, kill shots from animals etc. And I have one which I picked up in a dirt road not far from our current house.

(Are those scratches on the tip of your bullet)

I have collected doppies from the day I started hunting, I have cases that were last manufactured in 1892 ? Kynock #2 musket all the way through to weird and wonderful wildcats.

The bullets though, the missed shots, the through and through shots, I have never found a spent bullet. Two hunts back, I found two, one damaged badly by corrosion and one in perfect condition, like unfired.
I wonder how it coame to be there undamaged, I theory it was a wounding and being FMJ caused a delayed death after doing a muscle penetration. The animal died and the bullet was freed as it decayed? I can not thing of any other way the bullet ended its flight without damage.
But ! I finally found one, 30 years later.
20250827_152801 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
20250827_152820 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

a few extracts
How antelope color vision differs from humans:
Two color receptors (dichromatic):
Antelopes, like dogs, cats, and deer, have only two types of color vision receptors (cones) in their eyes.
Missing red receptor:
They are missing the red cone receptor, which is crucial for humans to see a full spectrum of colors, including red.
Perception of red:
Because they cannot perceive red, bright red or orange objects, which are highly visible to humans, will appear as muted shades of greenish-blue to an antelope.
Camouflage:

African antelope see colors in shades of blue and green, but cannot perceive red, orange, pink, or yellow, as they are dichromatic and lack the cone cells necessary to see those colors. Like humans, antelope have color vision receptors in their eyes, but they only have two types, compared to humans' three. This means a bright red jacket would appear as a muted greenish-blue to them, making them less likely to be scared by hunters wearing such colors.


Ungulates have dichromatic vision; they only see yellow and blue (along with black, white and shades of grey). But your blaze orange vest works because it is not blaze orange to ungulates. It's merely a shade of gray—but a big blob of gray. Some blaze orange vests are broken-up by vegetation patterns.06 Aug 2018

 While they can see various colors, their enhanced sensitivity to blues and yellows supports their survival by aiding in environmental navigation and food source identification, particularly in dim light.

Skin accounts for quite a bit, but a cow close to 100kg is big. Enjoy the meat.

Wife tagged along for the last open velt hunting season hunt. The bush, and the birds and the weather were perfect, just absolutely perfect. The air was that certain time of year still and clear, every bird had something to say and things like badgers, mice and big bugs were all out. Just sitting under the tree watching was almost good enough, but no kudu, none - zero warthog, none.

Stunning time, place, but kakkeragge hunt.
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-31 at 14.43.59_1710749c by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Tea time Saturday coffee, who recognizes the tin mug ??
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-31 at 14.44.00_deeaf605 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

The accommodation was very cheap, almost free, but there is always a catch ..................
double click to video
WhatsApp Video 2025-08-31 at 14.43.59_7c4ae2a7 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

We hunted 4 walks from 06;30 to 15;00 and went home for lunch, saw nutting, nutting at all, not even a duiker. Between 16:20 and dark I got frustrated, and made a dash for the faaar corner of farm, like 12 -13 gates away. Sometimes I relize why my bakkies always need wheel alignment and new bush's, shocks, but we got to the other spot in like 35 minutes.
The spot is called the pantry and is a raised hill edge that affords one the chance to see over a huge area and then if you see something, walk your moer off to try find it in area 30, 40 minutes later after last visual.
We saw absolutely nothing, the son went down behind the far hills, the day shift clocked out and the dead silence of that between time, before night shift clocks in for sound affects duty.
As we stood up to leave a waterbuck stepped out about a km away and I moaned about how unfair life is while glassing the beast. The area we were hunting has a straight line of untouched Cape coastal forest on the one side of a cattle fence and used farm land on the other. The animals like being in the thick stuff by day and coming out onto the grass lands by night, the best hunting in these dense forest, open patch's areas is when the animals are heading back for cover in the morning or last light when the over eager first movers head out before its properly dark.

While watching the far of water buck, another W/buck stepped out right next to us, almost too close, but with bush's between us and a good shot. I got into a better position , but the shot was that typical W/Buck quartering stance and I wanted a full side shot for meat hunting reasons.
Unfortunately the little dog got just too excited and could not keep still - the W/Buck bolted.

I was furious and jumped up down, swearin very foul ways, wanting to kick my lil boy, but he knew he had made kak , and sat there with beeeg sad eyes, sorreeeee !
I told the wife that we were done, bladdy dog is still too young, still to excitable, hunt over.
No kudu for us.
Wife chirps, " there stands a buck", I look up and ya!, there stands a kudu cow, just checking us out.
A small step to one side and shot sent, thud returned and kudu bolted to my right back into thick stuff.
The little dog found the cow in the dark after a few false starts, dunno how I ever hunted without the dogs.
I carry about 200 m of 250 kg rope with me when I hunt alone or 2 up, that rope really saved us this week end. Forced my poor bakkie in deep and got the rope onto the kudu head and had wife low range out of the thick stuff with me steering the animals head till we got to a open patch. The cow was then gotten closer and closer by reversing and shortening the rope over and over.

Next was getting it onto the bakkie.
With the wife turning the winch and me lifting as best I could we got it onto the bakkie about 20  minutes later making for about a hr and 15 minutes for recovery.
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-31 at 14.44.00_e2bd6c54 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Shame, the wife weighs less than 60 kg and that winch beat her, both arms, both legs, 2 - 3 clicks and rest, repeat, repeat. Push handle away, climb over rope to get behind handle and push again, repeat, repeat. Really admired her for that.

We were late, farmer had been waiting at base camp since 17;00 to have a braai with us, she been sitting alone for close to 3 hours.

When we got back her and Anita hit it off and Cody I gutted the animal. The farmer said she had brought a steak and that we could all have some of it. Funny that, me sharing a steak ? And Cody?
Then I saw the steak.
Double click to see video.
 WhatsApp Video 2025-08-31 at 14.44.00_27d7cede by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

We then went to bed, I was rather on my ear, the beer and being dead tired went straight to my head.

Next day
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-31 at 14.44.00_669adfce by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Decent cow I would say

WhatsApp Image 2025-08-31 at 14.44.01_c2d8c4fb by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

It was not just the similarity to blue overalls. Studies showed that African animal's eyes see in shades of orange. I can vouch for its efficacy. It is also well made and strong material.

Quote from: Tripodmvr on Aug 30, 2025, 08:26 AMIn the past most of the farm guides just wore blue overalls.

https://www.safetycamo.com/

*******************************
I recall the marketing campaign for blue camo, went on the lines of the animals seeing farm staff everyday safely. The camo in blue was supposed to make you look like harmless everyday farm staff.
Guess it was only in cammo because it would not be all that easy to sell blue overalls at hunting cloth's pricing. 

In the past most of the farm guides just wore blue overalls.

https://www.safetycamo.com/