7.62x39 or 6.5 Grendel for pigs?
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Two 10's
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Always up for a trade and we have the hogs, expecially from now till Feb. with the acorns in the fall.
Boomsticksandhoglegs
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I bought a 762x39 Colt AR15 a while back. Traded it for a Bushmaster Competition AR 5.56 and I will never load those in a straight mag well again. 3-5 rounds went fine, the next were feeding issues.
SKS and 47's cycle em great.
The 223 or 5.56 will neck up to 6mm 25cal and 6.5mm and make great rounds.
I like the ease of these over the high dollar rounds. If you reload you own. The barrels for AR15 are out there. More power and better BC
Currently looking at the 358Win for a AR10 upper build. One very over looked cartridge with plenty of slam at range. I am also asking DPMS to make a few uppers in this as a limited production run. I will buy one maybe two of them. One factory load in 225 grain has 3122 ft pounds at muzzle.
I hope this is not Boring
SKS and 47's cycle em great.
The 223 or 5.56 will neck up to 6mm 25cal and 6.5mm and make great rounds.
I like the ease of these over the high dollar rounds. If you reload you own. The barrels for AR15 are out there. More power and better BC
Currently looking at the 358Win for a AR10 upper build. One very over looked cartridge with plenty of slam at range. I am also asking DPMS to make a few uppers in this as a limited production run. I will buy one maybe two of them. One factory load in 225 grain has 3122 ft pounds at muzzle.
I hope this is not Boring
IMO, anything dealing with guns or killing hogs isn't boring.
A 358 Win. is a neat idea. I've got a 450 Bushmaster and am waiting on a 458 SOCOM. I'm trying to limit my new calibers, since I'm running out of space in the safe.
A 358 Win. is a neat idea. I've got a 450 Bushmaster and am waiting on a 458 SOCOM. I'm trying to limit my new calibers, since I'm running out of space in the safe.
Shootin4fun
Well-Known Member
I have been researching the heck out of the Grendel because I've been bitten by the AR bug and don't care for the 223 for anything more than yotes. I'm a bit old school, so I like MVs near 3K. But I have never seen/heard of 3K fps from a Grendel with 107s. That's greater than 243Win power, straight up. Never ever heard that, but interested. I would have built a 6.5G long ago if I knew that.
So my question is, what it the barrel length that gets you there, and what powder are you using?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Long barrels, 24"+ on an AR seem like an oxymoron to me, but that's just MYOHO.
The quest for an 18" - 20" barrel, 6.5 lb semiauto rifle with good knockdown power out to 400 yards is kind of what I'm looking for. I'd go AR10, 6.5 Crdmore but don't think I can get the weight down. At 9.3 lbs loaded, my 270 BAR with a 22" tube just destroys anything it hits at whatever distance I can hit them. Never had one take more than 1 step. Deer, yotes and hogs so far but no experience with elk.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
Much better ballistics than the 7.62x39.
I have neither but I've shot a lot of hogs with my Mini-14 in 6.8SPC shooting the 110gr Nosler accubond.
Out to 300yds it does a great job on them.
Shootin4fun
Well-Known Member
Good to hear everyone's personal experiences. Interestingly, I've been investigating places to go hog hunting here in Texas over the last few weeks, and 2 ranches told me they don't allow .223s because they have often seen not very good results, and that even the 300BO didn't quite have enough ooomph for the pigs they commonly encounter. Most shots they see are between 40 - 120 yards. They, like a guide I know in Calif (and what Calif F&G states as minimum legal) say 243 on up.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
Landowners can be funny critters at times but if you want to remain welcome on their property you respect their wishes.
In reality though it doesn't take much to kill a pig in the sub 300lbs range. The Federal Green tipped penetrators are more than adequate on them IF you put it in the right spot. I caught 7 pigs in a field a couple of months ago and put them all down shooting an AR loaded with the Barnes Vor-TX .223 and all of them were killed with shoulder/chest shots. The biggest of them was only about 200lbs and the smallest around 75 probably.
I've killed three big sows, all over 300lbs with a .204 Ruger shooting at up to 300yds, all killed with head shots.
Boars over 400lbs though can be really hard to kill. I've seen them shot with an AR head on with the bullet not even penetrating the skull.
I can only think of a couple of things in N. America more dangerous than a wounded big boar.
Until you have a good bit of experience shooting hogs it's really hard to judge whether you brought enough gun depending on the range, cover, and size of the hog.
In Texas they aren't even considered a game animal with no closed season and no limitations on caliber.
Most farmers just want them gone by any means possible.
Shootin4fun
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the experienced input WR.
Nice shooting with the Ruger 204! I hope I get the chance on a fair distance one like that with my 7RM + Barnes 120 TTSX loads. I want to try out the 243 + 85 TSX too, which is very accurate and fast.
Yes, I've seen plenty of videos of them being killed with .223s one way or another; head shots @ 100 yards, helicoptors mowing down wild herds on the run, etc.
Barnes are good penetrators, and expand well in the mid - upper 2Ks for sure. I've only shot a few, but they've dropped like a stone with a 130 TSX from a 270.
Don't know if the ones here in Tx are like the ones I encountered in Calif., but those were tough ones in the sense of thick shoulder shield on male.
The 6.5G ballistics in terms of carry & accuracy look great, but the low starting MV makes me wonder a bit. I'd really like to build one up with custom barrel and all, but for the dough, maybe do a 6.5 Creed AR10 instead if I can keep the weight down. **** if H gets in, pistol grips will be the first to go, then removable mags, so much head scratching now...
Despite the rumors of wild hogs everywhere down here, I haven't seen any free path to them yet. Little public land like we have back in Cali. but I will persevere.
Main thing I care about is a quick kill.
Nice shooting with the Ruger 204! I hope I get the chance on a fair distance one like that with my 7RM + Barnes 120 TTSX loads. I want to try out the 243 + 85 TSX too, which is very accurate and fast.
Yes, I've seen plenty of videos of them being killed with .223s one way or another; head shots @ 100 yards, helicoptors mowing down wild herds on the run, etc.
Barnes are good penetrators, and expand well in the mid - upper 2Ks for sure. I've only shot a few, but they've dropped like a stone with a 130 TSX from a 270.
Don't know if the ones here in Tx are like the ones I encountered in Calif., but those were tough ones in the sense of thick shoulder shield on male.
The 6.5G ballistics in terms of carry & accuracy look great, but the low starting MV makes me wonder a bit. I'd really like to build one up with custom barrel and all, but for the dough, maybe do a 6.5 Creed AR10 instead if I can keep the weight down. **** if H gets in, pistol grips will be the first to go, then removable mags, so much head scratching now...
Despite the rumors of wild hogs everywhere down here, I haven't seen any free path to them yet. Little public land like we have back in Cali. but I will persevere.
Main thing I care about is a quick kill.
WildRose
Well-Known Member
Where are you in Tx?
You can go to the TP&W website to find public land hunts. You can also find some hunting on military reservations if you contact those in your area. When I was doing my Wildlife work in college we did a lot of projects down on Ft. Hood.
The State of Texas has over a million acres of public land, much of it walk in only, the trouble is, the state of TX is so large a million acres doesn't seem like much because it can be a long ways between the various tracts of land, some of which are small.
The "free hunting" in this state tends not to be very good because it is severely overhunted in many if not most cases so look for those places that are out of the way and more than a 3 hour drive from the major population centers like the MetroPlex and Houston.
There are however a lot of places you can get on a decent lease without paying through the nose. It can take work to find them, but they are out there.
Shootin4fun
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the guidance WR. I'm in Dallas. Got myself a freezer, now chompin a the bit to get out there and do some huntin'!
Previously I've butchered them myself on my kitchen counter, but I can't do that here. Do you have any recommendations on meat processors down here?
WildRose
Well-Known Member
LBJ National Grassland's at Decatur is the closest to you.
