Spent bullets, where do they go ?

[Treeman]

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

[Ds J]

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)

[Treeman]

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.

[oafpatroll]

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