55gr vs 77gr 5.56

[xsn10s]

I don't want 2 holes in the first place. We have found that a bullet that dumps all of its energy into the vitals of a hog does better than a pass thru. 2nd my rifle is set up to shoot the 77gr bthp bullets into little groups with ammo that's less than half the cost of Grendel ammo.

We are not "hunting" hogs we are trying to kill an invasive pest and do so as cheap and effectively as possible.

Could a Grendel be better than a 77gr or 62gr 5.56..... yes it could be if hand loaded with a monolithic bullet to get as much speed as possible. But our comparison was done with readily available factory ammo. The best Grendel ammo we found was a $45 a box barnes offering in a 115gr tactx at 2700fps from a 20" bolt gun.

But a 16" Grendel with a 123SST is anemic at best. 2400fps doesn't get me out of the truck.

I'd like to see you use these and report on them. Makes me want to live in pig country. https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-5-56-nato-77-grain-sierra-tmk-20rd-box-ammunition.html

 

[snox801]

Has anyone seen any appreciable difference for hogs?

To the actual topic it's not as much the weight of the bullet as it is the bullet construction. A 55gr mono will be much better than a 77gr target. All things equal yes the 77gr will drive through better on less than perfect shots or have better luck with the heavy hide. Federal loaded some 62-64gr can't remember ammo with nosler partitions. They were great on pigs.

 

[osok-1k]

I agree with snox81 about bullet choice, had I loaded the Lehigh 110 controlled chaos I have and made the same shot it would likely have had a different outcome. The Hornady Black is a 123 match bullet that I think just came apart and never penetrated far enough. I say that because I shot a deer facing me in the white spot on the neck with the same loading which broke the spine but did not exit, he was DRT. I acknowledge that the Ham'r is not, nor was intended to be a longer range cartridge, probably 200 max in my mind but I have other rifles that excel at long range and if the environment dictates it, I'll use one of them or simply pass on an unethical shot.

 

[lordofbarbeque]

Maybe I'm missing something. And I've smoked & eaten a few wild hogs. Thus, not impressed by the older feral pig's taste no matter how much milk you soak them in.
Reminds me of the day long ordeal in making Chitterlings edible ( "edible" being very subjective term here )
Piglets different story
Thus, lol the subject is just a matter of ridding yourself of these rodents.
So the question is to ridding land of feral pigs in best manner either by faster or heavier bullet.
Lol
In Arkansas, from what I've seen the logic is to just put a few holes in them so that they will run off and die in somebody else's yard at lowest cost. So, cheap FMJ works here based on what I've seen on the oversized rats! And yes, feral hogs are just friggin oversized rats

 

[alyef]

6mm ARC 95gr LRX 2650 fps out of a 18" AR but I know nothing about hog hunting

 

[JAYgs8163]

Bet these meat missiles would do the trick!

Norma Oryx 5.7mm (.224) 55gr - 100 ct box

Norma Oryx 5.7mm (.224) 55gr - 100 ct box

ravenrocksprecision.com

 

[Hard H2O]

Me and some buddies shot a bunch of hogs 2 weeks ago in TX on our annual meat hunt with a 5.56 loaded with 63gr absolute hammers at 3030fps. We also shot a feral goat and a Texas dall ram with that rifle. We were all very impressed with the damage that little 5.56 did. Most of the pigs we shot were between 100-200lbs because we were being selective and killing big sows mostly. I would go with the heavier 77gr for my hunting of pigs with a 5.56.

One rifle between all of you?

 

[FireFlyFishing]

What kind of ranges are you folks engaging these critters, on average? Seems like close range from the videos I've seen.

Also, for those that want to be economical…how many shots per year do you take on hogs?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

When I hunted hogs down in Georgia, the outfitter supplied the guns, thermals and ammo. We had two choices of guns/ammo. You could select a .223 with Hornady 77 HPBT bullets or a 6.5 Creed with 140 HPBT. Both dropped hogs but the Creed that I was shooting put down BIG hogs with more authority.

I should add that we did not shoot for their heads. Pigs were running like crazy and hits were all over the place.

We also hunted in Texas recently and we were using AR-10s in .308. The guides supplied any kind of mis-matched ammo that they could find at Wally-World. The .308 is really the best option for poor shot placement, which is fairly common when twenty hogs start running all out!

To answer the OP question - bigger is better, use the 77gr.

 

[pdog shooter]

55 gr nosler out of 22-250

 

[Pdyson]

You only get one well aimed head shot and the rest of the magazine will be fired at runners. I want a bullet that will bust them up a bit and maybe knock'm down with a poorly placed hit. at The very least. slow them down so I can send another. 6.5 Grendel hand loads with 123g SSTs over ARComp is my go to combo.
If I were to take the 223 I would definitely load with the kinda explosive 77grain SMKs. they shoot best in my AR.

 

[hh4whiskey]

Whichever shoots best, expands, and gets into enough to kill'em. 77gr SMK has worked fine for me when I had to use 223. I prefer 6.8SPC. I'm fortunate to still have some ammo stockpile left, and I see cheap 6.8 pop up from time to time. It was noticeably 'better' than 6.5G and 223 on game for me, back when I used the 6.5G. It's likely more about the bullet selection, but I never felt the 6.5G got me much different than a 77gr 223.

 

[Old Rooster]

These work great too and won't break the bank for hand loaders.

.224 RMR 69 Gr. BTHP 3GH *NEW* (Read Description Before Ordering) | RMR Bullets

We make this bullet ourselves. It is still in development so there may be some variances from lot to lot. We have pretty much gotten this bullet to where we want it. It is nearly perfect. I say nearly because city wastewater requirements mean we don’t currently have a way to polish/degrease this...

www.rmrbullets.com

Me too.Let me know if it is worth switching to this!
Im working on a killer load for 223 and 77 gr TMK.One more load won't hurt.
Report please.

 

[snox801]

What kind of ranges are you folks engaging these critters, on average? Seems like close range from the videos I've seen.

Also, for those that want to be economical…how many shots per year do you take on hogs?

I'd say similar to deer some are close some are farther out. As stated after the first one you are shooting at running hogs. So is you are looking for one good shot that's about what you get. But I'd say a few hundred rounds a year for me. I shoot 6.5 Grendel loaded with 97gr hammers. Works great. But I also keep in mind I enjoy it a lot. So I waste money on all kinds of things I like. Do I need a 650hp truck nope but it like it. Same should apply hear.

If economic is a concern hard to beat the .223 but my point was it is not and never will be as good as the 6.5 Grendel.