Hunting & Fishing Hogs with ar, bullet help

[ubet]

So it sounds like I might be going on a hog hunt in Texas this March. I have used my 308 and dirty 30, but would like to take the AR. That being said, all of mine are 14.5” pinned. What bullet would yall recomend, and what speeds should I be looking for with it? I was thinking the 70gr tsx or maybe a gold dot. But not sure if I can get the speed I will need, and was looking for other advice. I will be relaoding my own ammo to do this with. Thanks

 

[RTH1800]

Might consider the standard 77 SMK.
Nothing wrong with the 70 grain ttsx

 

[ubet]

Might consider the standard 77 SMK.
Nothing wrong with the 70 grain ttsx

I have a bunch of it loaded up, and is what I keep in my ARs. But, I am only getting 2500fps with it. It is an accurate load, but I was worried about using it. I did read a couple threads here where people were using the 77smk. What speeds do you think I would need to get it to to be effective, or will 2500fps be ok? It has been A LONG TIME since I hunted hogs, and was always with 30cals.

 

[RTH1800]

2500 is great. Go for it!

 

[isofahunter]

With 77's Little ones shoot any where, bigger ones head neck junction and you won't have a problem. Body shots on a big pig they can go a long way.

 

[striped1]

Hornady TAP ammo. I have killed a lot of hogs with that round.

 

[Captrjc]

64gr nosler bonded. I have taken a more pigs than I can remember with these. I have used them in an ar15 and a 22 creedmoor. I never Chronographed them so I can’t tell you about speed.

Shooters pro shop has blems available
64 gr bonded

 

[ubet]

64gr nosler bonded. I have taken a more pigs than I can remember with these. I have used them in an ar15 and a 22 creedmoor. I never Chronographed them so I can’t tell you about speed.

Shooters pro shop has blems available
64 gr bonded

I have not been able to find the 64 bsb in A LONG TIME. Are they making them again?

Oops I did not seet the part that sps has them. I am defienlty picking some up. Thank you.

 

[ubet]

2500 is great. Go for it!

Ok, thanks. I have killed coyotes and the like with it, but never anything bigger. I guess I did drop a big hereford bull with the 77smk once, at about 70 yards. But he was looking straight at me and not moving.

 

[diggler1833]

I have used 64gr Gold Dots, and 62gr MK 318 Mod 0 on quite a few hogs.

Any bonded or copper bullet will do the trick on stationary hogs. I know guys that use varmint bullets with success...

...However, shot placement becomes much more critical with the .223/5.56. You can also count on losing 2x as many hit runners as you would with a larger cartridge. You'll still eventually kill the animal, they just won't die in sight.

The OPs 70gr TSX will perform well down to 2K FPS...that'll give you probably ~ 200 yards if muzzle velocity is in the 2,500 range. Plus that bullet will penetrate the shoulder and get into the spine...so you aren't stuck with just head/neck shots.

Personally I'd go .308 all day and never look back.

 

[themightytimmah]

I like the lighter TSXs for a little more velocity. I’m pushing 62s at 3000 out of a 16” with a can. It gives you more room to get down to expansion velocities than starting at 2500 with a 70.

 

[Captrjc]

I agree with diggler1833, you can’t go wrong with any Barnes that’s not a varmint bullet. IMO If you are not taking head or neck shots, a 22 cal just doesn’t seem to stop them in their tracks. If using a non magnum and taking traditional shoulder shots imo use 7mm08 and larger or you will be searching in some nasty places for them and probably not find them because of no blood trail. I normally wouldn’t recommend ballistic tips but for some reason the 7mm 120gr nosler BT just flat out destroys them much quicker than the 7mm 140 gr or the 270 140 BT.

 

[n2ishun]

With only having 14.7" barrels you're not going to get much better velocity.
Maybe try H110 ?

 

[smcfarland]

70gr Barnes has worked very well for me out of my 11.5 AR. Over 50 pigs with it. Most under 75 yards but a few out to 300. Probably 70% neck shots and 30% body shots.

 

[ubet]

I really wouldn’t mind trying some different powders, but in the current climate, we don’t have much on the shelves around here. And I am Leary of buying 8lb jugs of a powder I might not like. I have xbr (which I want to save), h322, h335, cfe223, rl15, and ar comp.

500 of the 64gr bsb from nosler showed up today, they are going to get loaded up either way, and I might try the 70gr tsx or just go with the 77gr smk. I have hunted pigs with 175gr smk and at 450 yards it devastated them, have had them punch through an elk and drop speed goats where they stand at 650 yards. That 308 has all of my trust, my ars just have not been vetted like that. But I really want to take one of them and see what it can actually do. Maybe take both?

 

[Greg Langelius *]

You can use 75gr Gold Dots with XBR8208, or 62gr Gold Dots with that too. The Difference will be in the trajectory mostly. I use the 75's as my 600yd match bullet.

Greg

 

[Greg Langelius *]

XBR with 62gr and 75gr Gold Dots; but none are currently shown as available from the factory. Speer Loading Data

 

[STXLeroy]

62 grain federal fusion bullets do a great job on pigs

 

[Snafu_again]

Killed a lot of pigs on my land with 77 SMKs hitting them in or about the ear hole. But if you’re hunting with an outfitter here in Texas you may want to bring your .308 along. Some won’t allow or are less than happy with .223 since they end up tracking to many wounded animals.

 

[Dobermann]

77 gr TMKs might be worth a look too ...

 

[Captrjc]

Ubet, in my experience the nosler bonded seem to like a lot of jump. Keep us posted.

 

[NFAJohn]

I know you said you are reloading, but if your going to be shooting in volume something like the PMC 55 or 62gr soft point works well too and are cheap by 2022 standards. If your shooting stationary pigs under a feeder 556 is pretty solid choice with good shot placement. For runners 50 pounds and down 556 work well with less picky shot placement, but the bigger ones will soak it right up, hell for that matter even the heavier rounds the big boys can soak up. I'd add the eldm to your bullet considerations, you'll have the juice to drive the 75gr pill pretty hard.

I've killed bunches of em at night with 556, 300blk, 7.62x38, 6.8 and 6.5 grendel. The 12.5" 6.5 grendel slinging 123gr eldms has become my go to messing with pigs when running thermals, I wouldn't feel under gunned running a 14.5", but I'd focus on the smaller ones once the running starts. Good luck!

 

[Crews]

What do you mean by “going on a hog hunt?” If it’s sitting still looking at a feeder, take your 308. If it’s more dynamic, take the AR and don’t let analysis paralysis set in. I’ve shot enough hogs to come to the conclusion… Goes to show, you never can tell.

Shoot a Barnes, a soft point, or a hollow point that’s accurate. Whatever you can get.

 

[diggler1833]

I agree with diggler1833, you can’t go wrong with any Barnes that’s not a varmint bullet. IMO If you are not taking head or neck shots, a 22 cal just doesn’t seem to stop them in their tracks. If using a non magnum and taking traditional shoulder shots imo use 7mm08 and larger or you will be searching in some nasty places for them and probably not find them because of no blood trail. I normally wouldn’t recommend ballistic tips but for some reason the 7mm 120gr nosler BT just flat out destroys them much quicker than the 7mm 140 gr or the 270 140 BT.

Since we're keeping this thread alive, I just wanted to comment on your Nosler BT. I tried the 120gr in the 6.5 Grendel, and to this date it has given me the only "pink mist" that I've ever picked up on thermal.

Absolutely devastating on neck shots on medium sized hogs...but did the worst at killing everything running. By that I mean that I just had to finish off more hogs that had been stopped but not killed than the others that I've tried in the Grendel or 6.8 SPC.

Pink mist video (skip to the 1.00 mark if you don't want to hear my rambling):

 

[shields shtr]

I shot a bunch a few years ago with some .223 federal fusion ammo. 62 grain I believe.

I then graduated to a 6.5 creed in a semi-auto, and now a .308 in a semi auto platform. As many have said, the first shot is pretty easy, any bullet seems to do the trick at the head/neck junction. Where the larger cals (especially the .308) really seem to pay off is when they all start running the 150 grain bullets seems to slow them down a hell of a lot faster than the other bullets when your shot placement isn't as precise. I used a standard boat tail soft point in my .308 this year and was pretty impressed with the results.

 

[lr123]

The few times I’ve gone we shoot whatever’s cheap. M855 works well on them with most of our shots being under 100 yards.

 

[Plinker 73]

With only having 14.7" barrels you're not going to get much better velocity.
Maybe try H110 ?

H 110 in a 223 WTF that is a magnum pistol powder. I haven’t tried it but no doubt would damage a 223 gun beyond recognition. Pardon my stupidity if I’m wrong

 

[Alaska]

70gr TSX and 26.0 of TAC with CCI 41 in LC brass in 5.56. We use this bullet on Caribou under 100 yards in M4.

 

[reelserious]

you can’t go wrong with any Barnes

 

[Lthrt]

The guys we hunted with in Tx didn't care what bullets they used and have been killin em for years with anything using ARs. Head shots, with little 55 and 60gr Vmax dropped them in their tracks. I stressed over this for awhile leading up to our trip and learned it didn't matter if you hit neck/head. We shot them from anywhere from 40-150 yards, no feeders - found em with thermals and stalked up to comfy shot distance

 

[diggler1833]

The guys we hunted with in Tx didn't care what bullets they used and have been killin em for years with anything using ARs. Head shots, with little 55 and 60gr Vmax dropped them in their tracks. I stressed over this for awhile leading up to our trip and learned it didn't matter if you hit neck/head. We shot them from anywhere from 40-150 yards, no feeders - found em with thermals and stalked up to comfy shot distance

Just about any cartridge/bullet combo is good when you put them into the head or cervical spine of a stationary pig. The dudes that trap them usually euthanize with a .22LR.

It's when you're trying to pile up runners that cartridge and bullet choice becomes much more important. However if you only take stationary shots, then who cares?

Glad you had a good time on your hunt.

 

[SanPatHogger]

So it sounds like I might be going on a hog hunt in Texas this March. I have used my 308 and dirty 30, but would like to take the AR. That being said, all of mine are 14.5” pinned. What bullet would yall recomend, and what speeds should I be looking for with it? I was thinking the 70gr tsx or maybe a gold dot. But not sure if I can get the speed I will need, and was looking for other advice. I will be relaoding my own ammo to do this with. Thanks

So did you go? If so, how was it?