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Old 04-12-2018, 05:20 PM   #301
SlowGypsy
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City: Northern Ontario
Vessel Name: Chickadee
Vessel Model: Pilgrim 40
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 169
jimisbell, I see your point, but on closer examination of the photo, I am not really having any trouble with it.
Looks like the bullet came in at an oblique angle, about 35 degrees to the surface. It would have gone through the bark layer, and it did some damage to the first four growth rings as it penetrated them.
The hole in the bark, which we can't see, would have been covered over in a year or two.
The tree then had more than a few years to repair some of the penetration damage.
All new growth rings formed after the incident (from the back of the bullet out to the bark) would be flawless.

I do see some deformation (compression) of the wood in front of the bullet, and some evidence of tearing behind it. If a machine punch can go straight through 1/2" steel plate with no trouble, I have no difficulty imagining a high velocity bullet would not disturb the wood grain too much on either side as it went in.

Would have been neat to see it go in, in slow motion.
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