What .223 bullet do you use for Hog Hunting?

[ccoker]

If you hit them right behind the ear just about anything works
And that is where I always aim and if I am stationary and they are feeding I just wait forthe right shot.

I came across a big boar last year out stalk hunting for deer about 30-40 yards away. It took off and I pulled the trigger when the crosshairs were dead center of the neck but f'd up and stopped swinging the gun. It went down hard, kicked for 30 seconds and was done.
Inspection revealed I hit it dead center low in the front shoulders a little low resting in a heart shot. The bullet was almost through the far side shoulder and you could see and feel the bullet embedded in the hide.
Cut it out and the 95g Barnes was textbook perfectly expanded with the petals peeled back like in their pictures about 1/2 inch in diameter.

Retained weight was like 93g, basically minus the weight of the plastic tip.

That is why I like barnes for hogs
I trust they will expand, and hold together even and close range.
Those metal petals cut and provided a lot of damage

With a well placed behind the ear shot just about anything works of course.

I wouldn't mind trying some 77g OTM out my 556 but I am concerned on the above scenario they may explode and not penetrate.

[ccoker]

I would suggest calling Thad at Barnes and Art at SSA to see I they have had decent groups with the 70g TTTX in a 1/9 twist

[Texas42]

I would suggest calling Thad at Barnes and Art at SSA to see I they have had decent groups with the 70g TTTX in a 1/9 twist

The box for the 70 grain barnes recommends a 1/8 twist or faster.

They are big bullets. If you reload, just get the 62 grain TSX. They should work in the 1/9 twist rate just fine

[NulodPBall]

I'm new to hog hunting but not new to shooting and I recently was debating whether to go 6.8 or 75/77 gr. 5.56 so I checked out the ballistics.

Based on what I saw and what I've been told, I'd suggest your friend go to a 75 or 77 gr. 5.56/.223 and aim for a just behind the shoulder shot (close to the shoulder).

My reasoning is that the heavier bullet maintains it's energy around 1000 Ft/lbs out to about 150/200 yards (depending on manufacturer) which is what many people want for dropping power.

Also, for me, the trajectory for both the 110 6.8 (2600fps) and the 77 gr. 5.56 (I forget the speed but it was as hot as I could get) was close enough to a 6.8 in the same distance range that I could basically use the hash marks on my scope...my hash marks are specific to a 55 gr. .223 bullet so I just hold about one hash mark high for the heavier bullet and it seems to work out ok for me.

I can't really address the whole OTM vs. Ballistic Tip question except to note that one upper manufacturer (6.8) states that the Hornady Varmint line (Ballistic Tipped) does not work for their upper, and the person who ran my Hunter Safety class told me to stay away from the Ballistic Tip ammo because they do not expand well and he had too many animals run after being shot by Ballistic Tip ammo. Don't know if the hard gristle plate on a hog affects these observations.

From what I've seen, given your friend's accuracy, your friend needs to stay away from the 55 gr. bullets, and go for the larger target area.

Just my thoughts

[40Arpent]

If you hit them right behind the ear just about anything works

Inspection revealed I hit it dead center low in the front shoulders a little low resting in a heart shot.

First statement is absolutely true. I have taken sizeable hogs (~300lbs) with a .22WMR behind the ear. Not DRT, but they dropped where they stood and expired quickly.

My standard shot on a hog is exactly where you hit yours....low on the front shoulder. Every hog I have hit in that spot has been DRT. I don't take that shot with anything in the .22 cal arena, though, and that includes 5.56. You never know what shot you're going to be presented with, and while an approriate 5.56 round to the vitals can make the kill, the risk of not making a clean kill isn't worth it, IMO. That's why my hog hunting is generally done with something larger than 5.56 (7mm-08 and .308) that I know will punch through the armor plate and hit vitals. There are a few areas that I stand hunt where I know I can get a head shot, and I reserve the 5.56 for those.

[MegademiC]

You might want to look at the xm223sp1 load also. Not in stock anywhere currently, but if/when it becomes available again, it should work very well at closer ranges. And its $.50 per round.

For longer shots, or if money isnt an issue I'd probably stick with the 50 or 70 grain tsx as both seem pretty proven. I do plan on getting the sp1 if its in stock before my helo-hog shoot as it should be near perfect for that situation - good performance at a good price.

[Stephen O]

We have posted a couple of videos of the DRT Ammo in gel on Youtube. The .223 video is here. We were impressed. We have not had a chance to have a third party do a full accuracy test yet. When that happens, we'll post that too. Here is the video: http://goo.gl/WJLU8

We also just did an article on .300 AAC Blackout. No testing yet, but more fuel on the Blackout fire for sure. It's here: goo.gl/03w4r

[Stephen O]

In case anyone is interested, we posted an article by Bill Wilson on his standby gear for hog hunting. This is a guy that has or has access to all the best stuff out there for hog hunting. He lives for hog hunting and has personally taken over 1000 hogs through the years. He even developed a new caliber for it. When it comes hog hunting (among some other things) he is one of the most knowledgable people out there. Disclosure: While SHWAT is not beholden to any one company, group or individual, we are honored to have Bill Wilson as a new contributor on our blog. We consider him to be an expert in a number of fields and are grateful for his participation.

[hamour]

For years I have used the Speer 70 gr Semi Sptz. This was due to getting a heavy 223 bullet to work in slow rifling of the SP-1's I was shooting.

This is a reloading proposition, when I was short of my hand loads, I would use the WW 64 gr power point. Both bullets gave good penetration.

The smaller hogs (200LBS or less) would be broken down by the .223 Speer bullet, even if an angle shot was taken, same for the Texas deer we were shooting. (Live weight around 100-140 LBS).

Range was 25 yds to 150 yds. We had no problems with shallow penetration or bullet blow up if we kept velocity 2700 to 2800 FPS.

When hogs moved in on our hunting grounds big time, and it was common to see 250+ LB boars and sows, we moved back to .30 cal rifles. The shoulder on the bigger ones would stop most of a 223's energy.

My recommendation is pick your shot with care on the bruisers and if you use the .223 use a long for caliber expanding bullet. The Nosler Partition would be a good one as well as the others mentioned.

[TangoSauce]

I also recommend the TSX.

Bigger fan of the 6.8 for hogs though.