# Hog Hunting ammo question



## sybo (Dec 12, 2010)

Well, finally got a hunt put together this March in the Crossville area of Tennessee and the time is going by soooo slow.I'm using a Remington 700 30-06 and have zeroed with Federal Match Grade 180 gr. with exceptional results. These Match Grade ammo is actually a tiny hollow point and I'm wondering, the shield over the shoulder and vitals on a hog is pretty tough and I need good penetration power. Will this Match Grade load work well or should I use 180 gr. soft-tip hunting round? Thanks and Happy New Year, Jim


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I have used match ammo on deer, but don't recommend it. It may open explosively, or it may penetrate like a full metal jacket, and from the same box of ammo. It's reliable to punch holes in paper, but very unreliable on game. I think I still have a pic in my photo album of a match shot through a deer and it didn't open at all. It just bent slightly in the middle as if it ricochet of a bone. The day before an identical load blew a hole through a doe that you could watch the sunrise through. Match ammo and game hunting = unpredictable. I use 308 match on coyote often, but that size hole kills coyote if it opens or not. Most times.


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## sybo (Dec 12, 2010)

Thanks Plainsman, I'll go with the soft-tip hunting instead of the Match Grade, Happy New Year!!, Jim :beer:


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

the shield area isn't bullet proof. It also isn't the best place to shoot a hog. Don't think of bullet placement the same way you would a deer. The heart is much lower and foreward in the chest cavity. The best bullet placement is forward of the crease of the shoulder, in the neck. It usually results in a DRT hog. I shot 5 in my last trip, other guys were worried about this impenatable shield and had 338 mag, and other way too large calibers. four of my five came with a 5.56 ar 15. all 4 dropped in their tracks.

If your 30-06 will shoot where you aim, a 30-06 HPBT match will be more than enough with the right shot placement.


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## tammons (Aug 29, 2010)

Actually I think that bullet would work, but there are better bullets out there.

I shot a 250# ++ boar at 300 yards with a 7mm-08 and the 162 gr amax running at about 2600 fps 
That is a target bullet and it blew through that hog like a freight train. Left a 2" exit hole.

I am sure they come apart though but the 7mm 162 and 308 208 gr Amax bulelts have an SD of over .3

My go to bullet for hogs in any rifle is a barnes TTSX. Instant death or they run 20 yards and keel over DOA.
Actually a 130 gr TTSX would be more than enough bullet for normal size hogs out of a 30-06.

My most recent setup was 208 gr amax for long distance and 220 gr roundnose prohunters, both over RL17 
in a short barrel 308 with a 2-7x scope. I got 2500 fps with a 19" barrel.


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## Okie Hog (Nov 30, 2010)

> the shield area isn't bullet proof. It also isn't the best place to shoot a hoDon't think of bullet placement the same way you would a deer. The heart is much lower and foreward in the chest cavity. The best bullet placement is forward of the crease of the shoulder, in the neck.


+1
My thing is hog hunting. i kill at least 40-50 wild hogs nearly every year. Last year i started using the excellent 53 grain Barnes TSX bullets in my .223 guns. As a test, i put two of those bullets through the shields of two 250 pound boar hogs. Bang flop in both cases. They are hogs not rhinos.

i try to stay away from head shots, because IMO: The hog often does not bleed out properly when shot in the head. My bullet usually goes low just behind the front leg. i will sometimes go with the neck shot when hunting from a stand.

One of the places i hunt is 18,000 acres of military property that has a lot of wild hogs. During small game season that place is restricted to the use of shotguns and small shot or rimfire rifles. i kill a lot of wild hogs there using a .22 magnum rifle. Shot placement is critical with the .22 magnum and the effective range is limited: But i've hever has a hog get away.

Wild hog anatomy:

http://www.texasboars.com/anatomy.html


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

I kill a bunch every year with what ever gun I have close. If you put the bullet right behind the ear, the animal never moves. I have killed lots with a .22 pistol like this.


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## treeman101 (Feb 2, 2011)

We use 223 with hornady v max 55gr and we killed 45 this month its all in where you put it


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