The yarly trip to Alabama to hunt feral hogs is approaching and I am going to take two rifles. A light 308 Win. for a walking rifle, and a heavier rifle that I had built in 260 Rem. for watching food plots. I am thinking of using the 165 SST in my 308 Win. for hogs this year. Has any of the forum members used them on hogs. I have a load using N550 that shoots very well @ 2740 fps. Do they retain most of there weight. Some of the hogs can run up to near 400 lbs. For the 260 Rem. I was comparing sectional densities, a Hornady 129 SST has a little better numbers than the 165 SST. I can get a little over 2900 fps with no trouble from my 260. Seems like that bullet should penetrate pretty well. Or do I need to go to the 140 SST for the penetration I am looking for? Does anyone have any actual experience witht these bullets and pigs. I had used the 165 Sierra HPBT GameKing before with very good results, just want to try something different this year. Any information would be appreciated.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight........RiverRat

This is just my opinion--the sst's are slightly more volatile than regualar INTERLOCKS. I had a friend loaded with 140 sst's this fall in his .270 win. We had a load that chrono's in the cold weather at just 2700 fps. He took a doe behind the ribs and left a 6" exit wound. I hve heard excellent things about the HPBT sierra you are using and believe it is a tougher bullet than the sst. In reality I think the sst falls between a nosler ballistic tip and a regular interlock.
THERE ARE BIG RUMORS BREWING THAT hornady will soon introduce a bonded sst--THAT WILL BE YOUR BIG PIG BULLET!!

[ 12-07-2002, 21:03: Message edited by: kraky ]

I don't know if performance in one caliber will translate to another caliber but...

I had the pleasure of butchering a doe that had been hit in the hindquarters with a 117 gr SST (25 caliber). Bullet hit right on the ball of the hip, completely devastating the bone. Shards of bone all through the ham, thigh bone broken clear down to the lower joint. The bullet then punched about a 3 inch hole through the rest of the rear end, shedding lead chunks along the way.

I found the remainder of the bullet lodged under the skin on the opposite side, and about three chucks of lead in-between. Looks as though jacket and core separated completely. Haven't weighed the recovered pieces yet, but I'd doubt that they'd weigh more than 60 grs, together.

I'm sure terminal performance would have been better with a better hit(a poor shot is a poor shot), But I don't know if I'd want to shoot a big boar through any bones with one of these bullets.

CAL9

RiverRat I shot a 325lb. hog the other day, He had a 2" thick gristle plate. I would feel more comfortable with a stronger constructed bullet. A Nosler Partition is hard to beat, but my wife and I have had EXCELLENT results with the 165gr. Trophy Bonded Bearclaw in our 308's.
Good luck, let us know how the hunt works out.

Well, after the above comments I am thinking maybe it is best to stick with my 165 Sierra HPBT load that I know works. I have no experience with the 165 HPBT GameKing at magnum velocities but at 2700 and change from a 308 it just keeps on plowing breaking bone along the way. So that leaves me the 260 to ponder. Since Sierra don't make a HPBT GameKing in 26 caliber I guess I will try the 140 Nosler PT. That should penetrate and break bones pretty well at 2800 and change. Thanks for the insight gentlemen. If anyone has any other ideas about the 260 let me know. A bonded SST does sound interesting. And gezzz i hope they leave the cannulure off of it!

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight......RiverRat

I too have a .260 that I want to shoot a hog with and I am having some 140 grain Barnes X bullets loaded for that.

I have never shot a pig before but do want to try this combo.

Jim B.

NE 450 No. 2:
325# is a darn good good for sure. The biggest one I have killed weighed 221# field dressed. And I saw tracks of another one that was a lot bigger than that. I want one that goes better than 300# bad. Congrats that is good hog.

Jim B.: Where is Madison, Ala.? We hunt near Nanafalia, Alabama. I know one thing, after hunting hogs I know they are harder to hunt than deer. There were 5 of us the last time we went. We hunted hard for 4 days and killed 9 hogs. I got the biggest one at 200 and a little change. There was a lot of hog sign. I remember the first hog I got was in a food plot with 9 other ones. I lined up on the biggest one, thinking shoot that one and get on some more. Yeah right! After recovering from recoil all I was the there backsides going into the swamp. Nothing like the farm yard hogs we have in Indiana. I thougth I could surely get one more.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight......RiverRat

River Rat, Good luck on your hunt. I have used a LOT of the 165HP Game Kings on deer and antelope. My brother has killed a couple of hogs with them and they worked fine. The Nolser Partition will be a good choice for your 260.
PS That 325lb [weighed on a scale] Boar is one of the best eating hogs I have ever killed.

riverrat,

Stop by www.aldeer.com and ask about hog hunting. I know where Nafalia is. I think Madison is North Alabama or at least Madison County is.

Oakmulgee WMA and Lowndes WMA offer good public hunting for hogs, but it's mostly bow hunting only. Occasionally, they let you tote a rifle. My brother and his buddies just got back from their anual Indiana deer hunting trip.

Good luck!

I used the 139 gr. Hornady SST in a 7x57mm Mauser on Texas grizzly with no problem. The cartridge was loaded to 2,800 fps. Two hogs, both one-shot kills, one at 40 yards (neck shot) and the other at 192 yards (back of the shoulder broadside shot) and both hogs dropped as if hit with a sledge hammer. It it them so hard it knocked the last squeal right out of them. Good luck ...Tom Purdom

Here in south west louisiana Hogs are on the rise,
iI have killed 3 in the past week useing a 300rum
loaded with the 165 gn sst! all hogs weighed 200
plus.All shots were sholder shots that went completely through, the exits were nasty,3''or better but droped them dead in their tracks.Iam
not killing these hogs to keep, but to get rid of,
so iam not worried about exit wounds.The sst are
moveing 3300fps and all kills were less than 100
yards,I think that speaks for its self!
SST,SST YES YES

I think for pigs I prefer woodleigh's. I have resigned to keeping the plastic tipped bullets for roo's.

I like tough bullets on pigs, they have a tough shield over the shoulders...Noslers, Woodleighs.

These SST's are a little tougher than some give credit for...I've used them since they came out in the 139gr. .284 and never had one fail to give full penetration on 5 or 6 whitetail bucks.
I killed a sow last wk a little over 150lbs. and shot it with wby 257mag using the new 117gr SST at about 3200fps. The bullet went in the neck and out above the eye on other side...hog was about 15yds...so the bullet was movin on at that distance and I figure a pretty good test on holding together with all the bone it went through...
I only shoot them in the neck or head when I do shot one...but if I was going to pick a perfect bullet for hog hunting only... the SST or Ballistic Tip wouldn't be my choice...but I have full confidence in the SST's serving my purposes for deer and hogs.

I started shooting SST's in my 280 Remington last fall and have taken 2 Mule Deer bucks and A Cow Elk with them in 139 gr. weight. The last deer was a small buck at about 65 yds. He was in the brush and all I had to aim for was high in the shoulder, the same shot I was offered on the larger buck last year. The bullet hit high enough to pass threw the shoulder blade and the spine. Both bullets fully penitrated. The cow was a long shot going away. Busted the pelvice all up. I never found this bullet but know that it did not pass threw. I remember when cutting her up that it passed threw a lot of bone. We don't have much in the way of pig hunting here so I can't say how they would do on them but if given the chance I would use them on pigs. John.

We shoot lots of pigs down here in south Texas..I shoot a 260 and I dont use polymer tipped bullets of any kind any more. I have used the Hornady Interlock with good results. The 110 grn GS custom HV bullets I am using now work better yet. Polymer tips and pigs dont go together.....

What do you guys think about cast bullets on hogs? 45 caliber, 250-350gr or similar, 1000-1500fps or thereabouts.

Scott
I have a mate that uses cast bullets in his 45/70, he doesn't gas check them as a result they're not pushed hard, they penetrate all right but I don't think they kill quick enough. Another mate of mine loads 300gr jacketed bullets in his 45/70 and the bloody thing kills like lightning. If you want them to drop quick, I suggest a good jacketed projectile.

Bakes

Thanks Bakes.

Do the jacketed bullets perform better because of how they act when they hit, or because they are pushed to higher velocities? Maybe a little of both?

And are these soft points, hollowpoints, FMJ or what?

ScottB What 45 cal gun are you using. Is it a rifle or handgun?