(This was late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. I am just a bit late in posting )



Well, it's been a while since I pulled the trigger on a hog, but that changed around 1 a.m. this morning. I couldn't sleep, so in the weak moonlight, I sat and watched over the pasture west of our house with hopes of something shootable showing itself. Around midnight, with at least a dozen deer devouring the protein, I noticed two dark, barrel-shaped creatures edging their way toward the feeder. With the direction of the soft breeze, the deer could not smell the approaching hogs, and once they crossed paths, things got exciting. One deer saw them and spooked, startling the others and sending them running in every possible direction -- and very nearly bowling over the hogs in the process.

The hogs panicked and made their way back into a narrow strand of brush. About a minute later, I picked up their forms, but they were disappearing into another thicket, so no shot was taken. Fast-forward nearly an hour, and they came back. There were no deer around, but the hogs still remained ultra-skittish, and when the one on the left decided to bolt, I knew I had to get the scope on the other hog before it was too late.

Finding the target, I tried to figure a modest lead as the hog walked away from me at a slight quartering presentation. Visibility was tough, but when I got the illuminated dot of the #60 reticle onto what I believed was the frontal area of the shoulder, I touched off a shot.

The impact of the 100 grain Barnes TTSX resounded loudly in the calm night air. It was the first time I was able to use this bullet, launched right at 2800 fps from the 24" 6.5x30-30 AI, on a hog, so I was anxious to see how it fared. I'd killed a few boar coons with it, but that's not much of a test.

The shot was just shy of 170 yards, and when I drove down there, I immediately spotted a small spray of blood, but it would be the only blood I'd find. I had a general idea of which way the hog went, so I drove forward slowly while shining my flashlight and found the hog about 60 yards from where she absorbed nearly 1250 ft./lbs of energy from the 100 grain TTSX, which had an impact speed of around 2375 fps.

The quartering shot took the hog on the last rib and angled through, punching through the edge of the stomach, the liver and the lower portion of the right lung before exiting tightly behind the opposite shoulder (exit is shown in 2nd photo). The bullet broke two ribs upon exiting and left a quarter-sized hole through the hide, where a small bit of bone along with lung and liver tissue remained.

The impact of the shot was lower than I'd have preferred by about two inches, and that placement is one reason why there wasn't much -- if any -- blood on the ground after the initial small spray. I'd have also preferred that the bullet exit the opposite shoulder, but I flubbed that aspect of the shot as well. Anyway, the damage to the internals was certainly adequate but not overly impressive, either. I won't write off the bullet -- superbly-accurate in my barrel when teamed with Re-15 -- just yet as I hope to perforate a couple more to further evaluate terminal performance at this velocity level. But with the popularity of the Grendel, I keep hoping Barnes would introduce a softer bullet designed for lower velocities, just as they have for the Blackout with the 110 and 120 grain TAC-TX offerings. I'd be the proverbial first in line to buy some. But Barnes says they have no such intentions.

You are the Porkinator!
..and a heck of a great story-teller as well.
Well done.

This is the .30 caliber 120 grain Barnes TAC-TX designed for the Blackout cartridge. I recovered this one with an impact speed of 2069 fps. It had expanded to .64 and retained 117 grains. They look virtually identical when the impact speeds is 1850 fps...with just a slight decrease in frontal diameter. A similar projectile for medium-velocity 6.5mm shooters would certainly make me smile.



Just for grins, I loaded a few in my 20" .308 WCF and recovered this one, which had an impact speed of 2801 fps. It expanded to .92 and still retained 117 grains. I have a 23" Contender barrel in 30-30 that I am hoping to perforate something with soon. My load with TAC is moving these 120 grainers at 2630 fps, if memory serves.

Finally, Good for you Bobby.
Find any fish laying around in the mud yet?

Don't know you you get used bullets so clean and nice as that.

George

George-Didn't find any fish, though the raccoons and buzzards likely got them before we even got back into our house. But Thursday morning, I did see a number of buzzards just a short ways from the house, so we checked it out. A piglet of maybe 25 pounds drowned and apparently was under some debris, hence the scavengers not finding it right away. The water that came through there was moving rapidly, swirling as it approached a sharp bend and quite deep, making me wonder how many other creatures did not make it through.

As to recovered bullets looking clean, the ones taken from game get the old toothbrush treatment. The ones taken from media are usually only rinsed to dislodge any remaining media...and some, like the ones posted today, are just pictured as-is.

Ok, thanks, I asked that as much joking as anything else.

Glad you got to shoot, though would much rather you got a good nights sleep for a change.

Txt coming.

George

Thanks, George. Yea, a good night's sleep would be a welcome thing. After two hours, I am up again. Wondering if the fog will lift enough for me to maybe see a hog ha ha...

Another good job and story. Good to see that your still getting after the oinkers.