Unusual behaviour for a .22rf round?

[deaquire]

I was out last week with my ever-faithful rimmy looking for a couple of bunnies for the farm cats (since the recent poison we put down, there has been a massive lack of rats, plus they love bunnies and pigeon anyway) and the two bullet holes I shot were different from any other rabbit I have ever shot.

I use Remington subs, I always have. In fact I've never bought another type. My local dealer charges just over £5 for a box of 100 and they shoot perfectly for what I need and I'm into my 900th round without a single jam (taps head).

 

The first rabbit was from a wheat field I had been walking along the edge of. I was probably 35 yards, max. from the target. I was in a standing position, prone not being an option given the length of the wheat, and with sound mod, wooden stock, bi pod and the overall length of the rifle, I'm not terribly accurate; I opted for a body shot. He had his back to me with the sun shining through the fur that outlined his body, and stood up just as I was ready to shoot, the perfect shot between his golden shoulder blades presented itself and so I squeezed the trigger. He went down and began twitching. When I looked at the carcass, as you'd expect there was no visible entry hole, but some of his organs were hanging out at the front. I didn't take note of which they were.

 

The second rabbit was much younger and a good amount smaller - approx. 60 yards. I was aiming for the neck area but hit chest. I'll put that down to the wind and not my lack of skill It was the same story again, dropped immediately and began twitching. And again, organs were visible from the exit hole.

 

This has never happened before, I've only ever shot .22, but have shot hundreds of rabbits and rats, never have I been able to find anything more than a little bit of blood, if that. Is there anything that could cause my bullets to act differently upon impact?

 

I was out for 40 mins and really enjoyed myself, the two farm cats had a good meal, just a little bit of fur and one set of intestines are all I could find.