223 hog hunting

[johnschwab22]

Thoughts on affordable 223 round that puts pigs down. Had some boar buster years back that flat laid them down, but was expensive. Have been shooting 556 FMJ since. Curious if anyone was another favorite round that can be shot out of AR.

 

[freedive10]

Shot placement is key. Stop looking for the magic bullet and spend money on bulk ammo and practice with it. If you know, you know.

 

[Jstudz220]

Shot placement is key. Stop looking for the magic bullet and spend money on bulk ammo and practice with it. If you know, you know.

I get what you’re saying but theirs a reason people don’t hunt with fmj. It could be the difference between putting an ice pick sized hole in something and having it run off or putting a massive wound cavity in something and having it bleed out 30 yards from where you shot it. This is terrible advice for a hunter.

 

[johnschwab22]

You go behind the ear? First shot is easy. When the group is hauling ass away that is easier said than done. Therefore, want to make sure I am shooting a tight patterning lethal round.

 

[Ben Segrest]

When I was using .223 on pigs, I shot 69 gr. matchkings out of my 1:9 gun and 77 gr. out of my 1:8 and 1:7s. Keep in mind that this was over a decade ago and there are several OTM and tipped bullets on the market nowadays that I wouldn’t hesitate to use. However, knowing now what I didn’t know then, I would be looking real hard at the Barnes 62 & 70 gr TSX if you told me to bring a .223 pig hunting today.

 

[twinin]

I use 75 grain hollow points and it works well. The Barnes TSX would work great but are expensive

FMJs can get the job done but as stated only good for the first shot. Bad fmj placement on running pigs won’t stop them

A lot also depends on the size. I shot a big boar on the run behind the front shoulder. It immobilized him and put him on his back but was not close to dying and needed a follow up shot in the head. His compacted fat armor was so thick the bullet shed its jacket and didn’t penetrate enough

Obviously 308 6.5 CM and even Grendel work much better. 300 Blk did not perform better than 223 for me though

 

[103M 95G]

I stopped Shooting Hogs with FMJ 556, some die, some run off and die. switched to 308 FMJ and they Drop in their tracks.

 

[Magdump]

AR10

I know. Not the advice you’re looking for. My earlier drive type hunts I was invited on I brought my Mini 30 and found the 7.62x39 to be anemic compared to everyone else out there sporting bigger 30 cal autos. One old guy even sported a Remmy 742 with 20 round mags. First trip out with the AR10 I realized that I wasn’t spending those precious seconds on follow up shots, but tagging more pigs.
I’ll say it: if all you’re seeing is 30 pounders, I’d prolly wanna go 5.56 too, but if you choose to hunt hogs with a AR15, you can expect some pigs to run. At worst, you may consider a 16 inch 300BLK upper, which you could likely find pretty cheap right now and use super sonic ammo.
Food for thought

 

[Big H]

Shot placement is key. Stop looking for the magic bullet and spend money on bulk ammo and practice with it. If you know, you know.

IYKYK---seen this someplace before---in fact many places---but it is true!

 

[YoungMarine]

Like many here, all the people I know who hunt hogs regularly shoot .308 or larger. I've killed quite a few with .223 and .300 blackout FMJ, but as several in this thread mention its on that first, easy to line up shot. It's the multiple runners that give everyone problems with smaller rounds.

As much as I'd like to think I'm a great shot on running animals, the statistics and post hunt review of thermal footage say otherwise. Most are less than ideal hits so the larger caliber rounds help make up for the less than perfect shot placement. Once wild hogs are on the move they seem to become the fastest/hardest animals on the planet to kill. Not just because it is difficult at night trying to stay on them with NV or thermal, but because they are so tough. Usually .308 is bang/flop, but I've seen a few hogs (not even huge ones) take multiple rounds like nothing hit them, and keep on trucking.

 

[Magdump]

I’ve busted quite a few of all sizes with the .22 on the feeder, but only one at a time. Ear shots. They drop and roll or kick and bleed out.

 

[twinin]

IYKYK---seen this someplace before---in fact many places---but it is true!

I agree that shot placement is crucial. It's usually the center of the discussion when talking about different calibers and not different bullets in the same caliber.

In my experience, FMJ's never shoot as well as match/hunting/defense bullets within the same caliber, so I look at it as a financial decision in this situation. FMJs will work, but the others will work better but costs more.

 

[Ben Segrest]

I agree that shot placement is crucial. It's usually the center of the discussion when talking about different calibers and not different bullets in the same caliber.

In my experience, FMJ's never shoot as well as match/hunting/defense bullets within the same caliber, so I look at it as a financial decision in this situation. FMJs will work, but the others will work better but costs more.

But which option is more expensive REALLY? Just to throw some swag numbers out there; it might take an average of 1.9 hits per hog when shooting fmj’s but only 1.3 hits with an AAC 77 gr. OTM. FMJ would be cheaper, but not proportional to the sticker price on the box. But what if the lethality difference is more drastic, say 2.6 per vs. 1.3 per. Now the FMJ needs to cost less than half good stuff to come out “cheaper”.

Disclaimer: All of the shot per kill numbers above are made up.

Also, I shoot a 6.8 SPC now, with good results. I’m shooting factory Hornady 120 SSTs. In the past, I killed quite a few with 300 BLK supers. I think they were mostly TSX/TTSX, but I can’t say for sure because my brother in law was handling the ammo/guns on those hunts.

 

[freedive10]

IYKYK---seen this someplace before---in fact many places---but it is true!

 

[frankinola]

If you do not want to spend the $ on Federal Fusion then you may want to look at the PSA offering in 55 and 75 gr

https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-sabre-blade-black-tip-5-56-nato-75-grain-20rd-box-ammunition.html

 

[sarky]

Shoot something bigger with more weight than the 5.56. I like the 6.5 Grendel. The 6 ARC might work as well with the heavier bullet weights.

 

[Bigchillin83]

View attachment 171368

lol

 

[twinin]

I’ll be trying out 6 ARC this season