Well, after re-scoping it and working up a new load, the 6.5 Bullberry was long overdue to be re-acquainted with the Texas porkers. It finally got its chance tonight.

Stepping outside a little after 7:00, I was halfways down the ramp when the smell of hogs hit me like a brick. I took a couple more steps and could see several dark bodies near a lighted feeder. I had placed my rifle on a shooting rest right at sundown, so I just needed to cover a few more yards to get an opportunity.

At first glance, I thought I had a chance at a double. But before I even gained a sight picture through the Steiner Ranger 4 2.5-10x50, I felt a cold draft on the back of my neck. Two hogs bolted immediately; the hog in my crosshair swapped ends and hesitated for a split instant, affording me a broadside opportunity.

The 120 grain Ballistic Tip, which leaves the 24”barrel at 2560 fps, took the hog through the top of the heart and wrecked the lungs before leaving an 0.5” exit in its wake. There was a three foot spray of blood and tissue behind the hog and blood pooling heavily on the ground beneath it.

The hog simply folded on the spot.

I circled the point of entry in the photo. If you enlarge it a bit, you can see the actual hole. The exit was in virtually the same spot on the opposite side. We brushed it down with dirt before Andy took the photo to minimize the bloody look, and I even touched up a few spots, but I didn’t get them all. Sorry about that...

I had missed this one. Another good shot and another good feral. Be Well Bobby, Packy.

Bobby:

You sure have that range sorted out well.

\Thanks for sharing the pics.

George

Bobby, what do you think of the lower-powered Grendel for this work, assuming use of the best bullet?

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Bobby, what do you think of the lower-powered Grendel for this work, assuming use of the best bullet?

Bill-

As long as one matches the the projectiles to the velocity range -- which can vary widely with the Grendel and the array of barrel lengths out there -- it does great on medium game. But the same bullet that kills quickly from a 24" rifle may fail miserably from a much shorter tube.

I had a discussion with a guy shooting a short-barreled Grendel that was barely hitting 2100 fps with 120 grain Barnes bullets. He was going on a doe/hog hunt in south TX and wanted to know his max range with that rig. He didn't like my answer, either contacted or googled Barnes and a few days later told me he was assured of "double diameter expansion" down to 1800 fps. I told to ignore the scripted marketing and to either take only CNS shots or switch to a different bullet, but it fell on deaf ears.

I recently got a bit of an apology from him in a PM. He shot three animals and only recovered a small hog on which he muffed the shot and spined him mid-body. He shot a doe at about 160 yards. They found blood but did not recover it. Ditto for a large sow shot at 70 yards (rancher did find the sow the following day about a quarter-mile from where he shot it). He actually had a phone video of the large sow since it was closer and at a feeder. While hard to tell, it does look like he got the rear of the lungs and liver, but an animal can cover a lot of ground with a small wound channel through that part of the body.

Bottom line: the particular bullet he used is far too hard for that speed. Had he chosen a softer bullet, he'd have had more pork and some venison from that hunt and not left wounded animals out in the field.

Bill-

You might enjoy the videos from this guy. He really knows his stuff and puts tons of pork on the ground.

He uses high-end thermals and tests lots of bullets on hogs -- and digs in to get the gory details. Here he is using the 90 grain TNT. Some think of it only as a varmint bullet, but at the lower speeds of the Grendel, it does a nice job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-PBcjCopfU

Here's another from the same individual. Sometimes even a well-hit hog (this one just 140 pounds) can travel a long ways after a good hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYhTfMfdKeo

Great videos Bobby---the guy does a good job in his post-mortem assessments too--

Ahhh utube, once on there its very hard to stop. HA!

Lots of hog hunt vids.

George

Bobby, thanks for your reply. Interesting watching those Carpe Sus Youtubes. It seems the 125-grain Nosler Partition would be hard to beat if you are hunting hogs for the meat.

I subscribed to Carpe Sus a year ago and really enjoy them. He has Carpe AnalaSUS too. My spelling might be off there but if you watch a few of his videos they will sometimes refer one to the other. But he does like Bobby and checks the performance of each shot that is practical even using a small metal detector to get a location on a spent bullet in a hog. Be Well. Packy.

Nice work Bobby and thanks for the circle and the mention of the heart impact location. I had no idea the heart was so low in the body. Good to know.