Hog hunting ammo

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  • slipnotz

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    If you were going hog hunting with a 308, what factory ammo would you use? This could be in a bolt gun or semi-auto. If reloading, what bullet style and weight?
     

    oldpink

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    Get a good quality premium bullet load, especially if you're after big squealers.
    If you're going after big brutes (300 lbs or up), you might be best served with 165 grains minimum weight or even better with 180 grains or even 200 grains.
    Suggestions would include the likes of the Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond, Speer Grand Slam, Swift A-Frame, Swift Scirocco, Norma Oryx, Hornady Interbond, Hornady GMX, or .Barnes TSX/TTSX.
    All of these bullets are of either partition, bonded, or expanding monolithic (no lead core) construction.
    These bullets will expand reliably, while being more likely to stay together and penetrate deeply (ideally clear through) for maximum effect to bring your hogs down ASAP.
     

    yetti462

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    The hog hammers are loaded with a barnes bullet. Barnes work good. My buddy shoots pigs with a 180gr corelock and has had good results. If you are shooting a big hog in the shoulder use a deep penetrating bullet. I've seen big pigs take some blows from weak bullets and never get recovered.
     

    two70

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    Johnson
    Hogs are not that tough to kill, despite what you might hear. If you intend to shoot them in or behind the shoulder a tough, controlled expansion bullet makes some sense but IMO there is no need to go above 150 grains with such a bullet and doing so is actually counterproductive. If you decide to use a standard cup and core bullet you may want to step up bullet weight to 180 grains. However, I would recommend going with the neck shot on pigs instead of the standard should shot since the vital area is similar in size, is not as well protected, and results are immediately apparent. For this shot a standard cup and core bullet or ballistic tip of 150 grains is plenty. Were I to use a .308, I would probably opt for the 130 or 150 grain (whichever shot better) Barnes bullet and be good for any situation.
     

    yetti462

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    Hogs are not that tough to kill, despite what you might hear. If you intend to shoot them in or behind the shoulder a tough, controlled expansion bullet makes some sense but IMO there is no need to go above 150 grains with such a bullet and doing so is actually counterproductive. If you decide to use a standard cup and core bullet you may want to step up bullet weight to 180 grains. However, I would recommend going with the neck shot on pigs instead of the standard should shot since the vital area is similar in size, is not as well protected, and results are immediately apparent. For this shot a standard cup and core bullet or ballistic tip of 150 grains is plenty. Were I to use a .308, I would probably opt for the 130 or 150 grain (whichever shot better) Barnes bullet and be good for any situation.

    Not wanting to start an argument on this topic, but a pig is one of the hardest things to kill that I've ever hunted. Yes a neck shot will dump one, but hard to obtain on a target that rarely presents the shot. Pigs are always moving. As mentioned above, I've seen pigs shot with some big artillery and never recovered. shot placement is crucial as well as bullet composition.
     

    natdscott

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    I guess I'm with two70. At no time did I feel under-gunned with a .243 and hand loads. I don't have as many thousands of rounds through it as a few of my rifles, but I can still handle and point it "ok".

    I didn't find too much issue with an 85 Sierra through the ear. Buddy didn't have any problems with a 168 GMM in the temple either.

    We probably hunt differently?

    I feel like .308 would be plenty of round with a good quality bonded 150 grainer or better, and I think the "HOG" ammo is as much hype as is the Zombie ammo, Whiettail ammo, ad nauseum.

    Maybe I'd upgear some if I were hunting known-aggressive animals...but if i did, it would be a 3" 12 gauge.

    -Nate
     

    two70

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    Yes, hogs rarely stand still but a hog's neck doesn't move any more than a hog's shoulder and provides good shot opportunities from a wider variety of angles. Hogs aren't tough to kill with good shot placement but they can be hard to find because they don't tend to bleed as much as other animals and usually live in very thick cover, often near water. All the more reason to eliminate the need for tracking in the first place with a neck shot. Even if a person doesn't opt for the neck shot, a 130 or 150 grain Barnes from a .308 is more than plenty for a shoulder shot on them.

    IMO, the thing that gets most people in trouble with hogs is that they shoot them like they would a deer. That is a poor shot on a hog since a hog's vitals are lower and farther forward than a deer's. Here's a link with good information on shot placement for hogs.
     

    yetti462

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    I've shot them with every caliber of rifle I own. Some rifles better than others on killing. There are some guns I wouldn't bother taking. In the years of chasing them around I've seen some wild s*!t hunting them. One particular sow had 3 Rotweiler slugs in her shoulder, one leg was 4" shorter than the other, her back quarter had a 44 bullet lodged right next to the femur bone. She was a trooper.

    A high shot will produce a pissed off hog, their spine is lower than on a deer. As mentioned above shot placement is key. Gonna get after them on Saturday, that or go fish. Weather sucks
     

    two70

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    I've shot them with every caliber of rifle I own. Some rifles better than others on killing. There are some guns I wouldn't bother taking. In the years of chasing them around I've seen some wild s*!t hunting them. One particular sow had 3 Rotweiler slugs in her shoulder, one leg was 4" shorter than the other, her back quarter had a 44 bullet lodged right next to the femur bone. She was a trooper.

    A high shot will produce a pissed off hog, their spine is lower than on a deer. As mentioned above shot placement is key. Gonna get after them on Saturday, that or go fish. Weather sucks

    That sow sounds a bit like an old boar my buddy shot while we were in Texas a few years back. It had 4 of what looked to be 0 buck scattered from low on it's left hip to high just in front of the hip, two .22 bullets apparently fired from behind in it's right ham, and a broadhead lodged low in it's left shoulder. He found it sleeping in the rootball of a large tree and fired for what he thought was the shoulder with a .243. It turned out he was aiming at the hip instead and it came out of the rootball in a hurry headed in his general direction. A follow up shot between the eyes put it down for good. The WMA where we hunted restricted hog hunting to shotguns with shot, rimfires, or archery equipment for several years prior to us hunting there.
     

    two70

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    For those concerned about the penetration of the light for caliber Barnes bullets, don't be. My first hog was an adult sow that was pretty average in size. She was quartering hard toward me at about 40 yards and the 110 grain TTSX from my .270 WSM struck her directly behind her right ear, traveled lengthwise down the neck destroying several vertebrae, turned the chest cavity to mush, traveled through the paunch, shattered the left hip and came to rest just inside the skin at the back of the ham. Total penetration was over 30 inches through heavy bone and tissue.
     

    oldpink

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    For those concerned about the penetration of the light for caliber Barnes bullets, don't be. My first hog was an adult sow that was pretty average in size. She was quartering hard toward me at about 40 yards and the 110 grain TTSX from my .270 WSM struck her directly behind her right ear, traveled lengthwise down the neck destroying several vertebrae, turned the chest cavity to mush, traveled through the paunch, shattered the left hip and came to rest just inside the skin at the back of the ham. Total penetration was over 30 inches through heavy bone and tissue.

    They really are incredible bullets.
    I used the 165 grain variety in my .30-06 for my deer hunt, with predictable results.
     

    slipnotz

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    All good information, thanks for your input. I currently reload Nosler Ballistic Tips 168gr using Varget and get good accuracy. I'll probably look into some Barnes bullets. Thanks again.
     

    st8kfinger

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    I have never been hog hunting but I have got live hogs from farmers and butchered them, unless their is a big difference between wild and farm hogs I would think about any .308 round would do just fine if you do your part.
     

    Gluemanz28

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    We hog hunt in Florida. The rifle I was using had a Wilson Combat upper on a POF lower. It 7.62x40 round that was developed by Mr Wilson. I took this 250-300 pound boar out with a handloaded 125 gr Hornady SST at 100 yards. The boar went about five yards from where I hit him.

    My buddies boy shot a 175-200 lb with the same round. I can't find the picture right now but the exit wound was golf ball size. The hogs lungs and liver was hanging out of the hog. The shot was at 50 yards and the hog never took a step, just flinched then stood for about 5-10 seconds, then fell over like cutting a tree down.

    Third hog my buddy shot with the same round. 200 lb hog was on the move when he took the first shot. He hit him in the rear portion and the hog lost all use of his back legs. He was squealing like a stuck hog while still moving forward with his front legs. Second shot dropped him dead.

    I loaded up 100 rounds to take with us. I brought back 96 rounds.

    The round proved to be very accurate and crazy effective on hogs. I will loading some in 300 BO as well to see how they do in my grandsons Ruger American Rifle.


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    oldpink

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    We hog hunt in Florida. The rifle I was using had a Wilson Combat upper on a POF lower. It 7.62x40 round that was developed by Mr Wilson. I took this 250-300 pound boar out with a handloaded 125 gr Hornady SST at 100 yards. The boar went about five yards from where I hit him.

    My buddies boy shot a 175-200 lb with the same round. I can't find the picture right now but the exit wound was golf ball size. The hogs lungs and liver was hanging out of the hog. The shot was at 50 yards and the hog never took a step, just flinched then stood for about 5-10 seconds, then fell over like cutting a tree down.

    Third hog my buddy shot with the same round. 200 lb hog was on the move when he took the first shot. He hit him in the rear portion and the hog lost all use of his back legs. He was squealing like a stuck hog while still moving forward with his front legs. Second shot dropped him dead.

    I loaded up 100 rounds to take with us. I brought back 96 rounds.

    The round proved to be very accurate and crazy effective on hogs. I will loading some in 300 BO as well to see how they do in my grandsons Ruger American Rifle.



    It sounds as if both your load and shot placement were exactly what they should have been.
    I'm just curious about how different loads would perform with frontal shots (into the boiler room) against old boars with the notoriously tough gristle shield around their shoulder region.
    I've been told that marginal bullets have been known to do poorly in that situation, at least from handguns, and probably rifles.
     
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