1rst Hog hunt, please help

[jehu]

Am going hog hunting in South Carolina and will be using a 308cal. which I know is enough gun but I have a stock of federal 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tips to shoot. Will the Ballistic Tips penetrate ok or do I need a stronger slower expansion bullit to get thru hide,bone,and grissel?

[Coy Franks]

I shoot Nosler 125 grain BT's in a 308 and love them. I've got them honking and the only thing you will notice that at close range, 30 yards or less for me, they will sometimes "splash". This has not been a problem for me as everytime they have done this the hole was the size of a coke can and the hog fell dead on the spot. Most of the time it is a pass through shot which I really don't care for. I like to leave all the bullet energy in the hog if I can. I've tried just about everyone's bullet that I can find and this combination that I have now is the most destructive I've found. I might add I do not keep the meat!

[kc]

My friends(in Texas) say use the accubond or the partition you don't need a bullet that blows through the hog you need a bullet that will get through the tough hide and wont expand on contact but will do a lot of internal damage.
They even question my favorite bullet the Hornaday SST. So I am taking there advice.

[Bullet bumper]

It depends on where you hit them. If you hit them behind the ear , the brain , the bullet dose not matter all that much in a 308.
If you hit them in the shoulder then a good slow expansion bullet is good.
If you hit t hem behind the shoulder then a bit faster expansion bullet is good.
Just work out what your bullet does and aim in the right place for the type of bullet you have . Feral hogs are not that hard to kill with just about any 308 bullet at short range but as the range gets longer then more thought has to be put into terminal ballistics .
The SST should be ok behind the shoulder and the ear and the Hornady interlock ok on the shoulder and behind the ear.
However for all angle shots the Core bonded or Interlok type bullet is more reliable in more situations .
I make my own core bonded bullets in 308 and they work very well at upto about 200 yards on pigs.

[Hogcrusher1965]

I have 40-50 hunters per year hunt with our operation in S.C. and they hunt with everything from 22-250 to the big 300's and its about bullet placement. The head shot is always best and as a poster said it really doesn't matter what the caliber. They drop right there. I like a quarter away shot where you can drive the bullet a little low behind the shoulder and drive it out in front of the off side shoulder. If I have to shoot it behind the shoulder I want it tight to the crease behind it. Get too far back and an ole hog can show how tuff he is. He will die no doubt but he can travel a long way if he can breath. I shootem at times low in the front shoulder above the elbow and they tend to drop right there. I like a 7mm-08 and the Nosler 140 AB. Does great work on hogs. But why mess up that great meat. Buddy of mine says a true hog hunter shoots em in the head. Funny!! 308 is fine.

[joseph floerke]

Originally Posted by jehu

Am going hog hunting in South Carolina and will be using a 308cal. which I know is enough gun but I have a stock of federal 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tips to shoot. Will the Ballistic Tips penetrate ok or do I need a stronger slower expansion bullit to get thru hide,bone,and grissel?

they should be just fine.

[nateisw]

Yup, I think they'll work fine.