Hog-bullet-223 Question

GrizleyHunter

GrizleyHunter

New member
My son wants to know if a 223 shooting a 55gr Hornaday Vmax is enough gun and and bullet type to sufficiently kill a hog.
He has a hunt comming up in Texas.
 
i like the sierra boat tail soft point..think its 53 or 55 grain...we been using them forever and they will drop a deer if hit in the vitals....good for penetration...
 
Ballistic tips aren't very good on hogs. U need a good soft point or sonething similar to penetrate. I shoot all my hogs with 55gr sp's
 
He is not a reloader so the choice will have to be some factory ammo.What will be his best choice for ammo off the shelf.
A re-zero will have to be done before the hunt.

I told him to get a 243wssm -LOL but you know how kids are.
 
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I have had good luck using 64gr power points. The 55vmax should work, but you will be limited to behind the shoulder broadside shots. They may or may not penetrate a shoulder balde, I have not tested to find out.
 
I shot a 200 lbs sow in January with a 55 grains Remington bulk bullet loaded to 3000 ft/sec out of a 16" barrel. The bullet entered the shoulder, penetrated the armor plate and blew up inside. The sow ran a good 20 yards before going down.

The sow was running, I aimed for the ear but did not give enough lead, the bullet thus hit the shoulder right above the front leg. I was surprised to find the bullet able to punch its way through the shoulder. Range was about 80 yards.
 
Just get a Remington 55 or black hills 55 soft point. All shots behind the ear leave a hog dead in his tracks. Haven't had a runner yet with that 223 shot placement. Ballistic tips are far too explosive IMO on hogs with the ballistic tip. My 55's have probably claimed over 100 pigs here in Texas
 
I actually have quite a bit of experience with this. Pigs up to around 200 pounds can be taken with broadside shouler shots (not behind the shoulder but through the shoulder) with the following:

Federal 55-grain Barnes TXS
Cor-Bon 53-grain Barnes TXS
Federal 55-grain TBBC (discontinued in civilian version, get the LE TRU Bonded Soft Point)
Black Hills 68-grain OTM (a real killer on pigs)
Hornday 75-grain TAP

I shot one with a conventional 55-grain JSP, won't do that again.

Not to say that Nosler Partitions won't work, just never tried them. All of the above bullets will tear up the onside lung, the TSX bullets take out both lungs. Pigs typically go down on the spot, some run 10-20 yards.

I have had poor luck with neck/spine shots. Pigs go down on the spot, but for some reason they just lay there and kick and flail around until I can get to them and head-shoot them, and I swear that they don't taste as well when processed, which I attribute to a build-up of lactic acid in their muscles, adrenaline, whatever, I don't know.

Wait for them to pause, put it square in the shoulder, and you should have meat for the larder. The only other caveat I would add is that I have never shot a pig over 200 pounds with a .223; however, most of the Texas pigs you will probably see will not go over that. I know there is a lot of talk about 350-400 pound wild boars, but I have never seen one in Texas. Big boars are smart, and it takes a lot of food to grow one to herculean proportions.
 
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