I just completed my .308 Project and to initiate it properly I want to take it on my first pig hunt in CA. I was thinking that the huge supply I have of 180 grain Ballistic tips would make a good choice. What do you think?

Any good advice as to powder choice(s)?

They should work o'k, they won't be going that fast since you are using a .308. For powder it's hard to beat W-748, or WC-846.

put it right benind the ear

z1r, Forget that bullet and get a Partition or something like it.Unless you can always put it behind the eye it won't be the bullet you need.I lost a pig hit behind the the shoulder with my 338-06 and a 200 gr BT. Distance was 30 feet at the shot he was knocked off his feet but recovered and was gone so fast I couldn't get a follow-up and there was no blood trail.JMHO

165 or 168 grain barnes bullet. Aint no pig gonna stop that bullet from passing thru. Best use I have found for a balistic tip is to drill a hole thru the center and use it as a worm sinker.

what about a 165 grain or 180 grain interbond or accubond???

i have killed probably 100 hogs with a few in the upper 200 pound range, they are not made of iron but i would not use ballistic tips, i have shot several with sierra 150 gr flat bases in a 308 and the dropped pretty quickly,, i mostly do head shots, it is not necessary to hit them in the brail, a hit on a soldi bone mass in their head will normally break their neck.. their heart is behind the sholder so a deer heart shot will hit the lungs with a longer trail

z1r,

I don't shot .308's. I use a .30-06 and a .35 Whelen. However, I don't use either one on hogs unless I load them down. I'm using a .357 Mag NEF Handi rifle and a 6" Security Six. I'm over gunned for the project, since we usually use .22 rimfires at hog killing time, but I'm planning on a little longer range than a rimfire will handle.

The Nosler BT is a solid base bullet. Even if the whole front of the bullet comes off, the base is going to penetrate. Use what you have, as long as it's bigger than a rimfire or .25 Automatic!

I have shot about a dozen pigs is the 200-300lb range. A couple of them have been with the 180 BT. But I have hade better luck anchoring them with 140 Barnes or Fail-Safe bullets. They like to run off if you do not shot them right!
Shayne

I have shot a bunch of Califonia pigs in the 200-250lb range with my .308 and have been very happy with the results. I have used 180 failsafes, 165 interlock (light magnums), 165 gamekings, 150/165 SSTs and my current favorite (and of course discontinued) 165 speer deepshok. Hard bullets like the failsafes have almost always exited or were found after 20-25inches of penetration. Softer slugs like the interlock will not usually make it all the way through and will stop between 10-16inches. I tend to be hard on the bullets and based on my style of hunting I tend to get a lot of frontal or quartering towards me shots. For what its worth I do my best to avoid frontal head shots. I have seen several rounds deflected because of the skull angle.

Having shot alot of pigs both large and small, I wouldnt reccomend the ballistic tips. I have not been overly impressed with the performance of the BT on porkers.

Thanks Gents!

Seems I have some pondering to do. On the one hand, it seems a fair amount of folks here feel the BT's are adequate and Nosler swears up and down that these would be perfect at .308 velocities. On the other hand, the Partition seems to be the prefered choice.

Let's confuse this more by asking, if the Partition, what weight? I asked Nosler this and they said 165 grain. What say you all?

You won't go wrong with the Partition at any weight suitable and available for caliber. Perhaps a different slant on this, and maybe some will howl about this...go ahead if you want. In Georgia and Florida hogs are unprotected pests. I shoot on sight with whatever is available, and don't give a toot if they drop now or later. I've shot very small ones and very large ones too, a total of 78 in the last few years. Here's what works for me:



.22 RF

.257 Roberts

.30-30

.410 Slugs

20 Ga slugs and buck shot

16 Ga Buckshot

12 Ga #8 bird shot and Buckshot



Oh yeah, a .38 Spcl from a LadySmith.



MY point, if any, they aren't hard to kill. One of those pigs ran about 50 yards before piling up, that from a 30-30 Texas brain shot at 30 yds that exited through the brisket. The rest died in place. An acquaintance with similar thoughts and large central Florida ranch uses a .22-250 with 55 gr Rem ammo. They drop where they stand when he does the deed. He nailed one a few years ago that weighed over 600#. Neither of us consider them anything more than a pest, much like prairie dogs, and they are incredibly destructive.



From my perspective a Ballistic Tip is just what the doctor ordered.



Dan



Pres., TYGC

www.DeadHogsIsGood.Hogs

I have hunted hogs in central florida, yeehaw junction to be exact. My buddy has 10K acres down there.

That's curious, my friend's land is just east of Yeehaw Jct. Small world. He spent some years prior working with a past foreman on the Maxey land for giggles. There are some stories there, but that's for later. Your buddy have anything to do with exterminating bugs?

nope......sugar cane for about 70 years or so

10-4. That's nice country around Yeehaw Junction, maybe we'll run into each other at the Desert Inn at breakfast if it's still around. Lot of stories there too. Did you know it used to be a CAT house during the war?

Yeehaw Junction, Huh? I thought that was a TV show.



www.petticoatheehaws.com

The polymer tipped bullets aren't tough enough for the pigs or bears. IMHO

no I didnt. You ever eat at lake marion's? i like the bullfrog legs

Anyone that eats ANY lake is a man in my eyes.