Ar15 build - hog rifle caliber choice

[sea2summit]

I never said that. I said if you are shooting suppressed with subsonic ammo, go for the .300 BLK as it was designed for that. Night hunting for hogs, that is the better option when using nightvision so it doesn't flash your optical sensors.

But if you never plan on shooting subsonic ammo, then the 6.5 Grendel would be the better option, as it's a higher velocity round. Shooting suppressed or unsuppressed is personal preference when shooting supersonic ammo, it will function just the same, as long as you have a rifle-length gas system.

Sorry reading is fundamental

My brain just saw 300 and 6.5 and skipped the subsonic part...although I don't know of anyone shooting 6.5 subs.

300 BO subs look like they only deliver 5-600 ft/# at the muzzle, people really chase hogs with that? My 12.5" .223 is generating almost twice that.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Ok so I'm really not trying to argue here. But I'm curious since I'm not a big hog hunter. I've killed exactly 1. It was a 220lb boar at 20 yards with my bow. My energy chart puts a 120gr. Bullet @2500FPS with 1665 ftlbs of energy at the muzzle. A 70gr bullet @2900fps (velocity out of my particular AR) produces 1307ftlbs at the muzzle. So inside 100-150 yards does that few hundred pounds of energy make a big difference? Or is there something else at play here to effect terminal performance?

Well for one 360 extra lbs of KE. That's like sprinkling some extra .380ACP energy on your .223

But in all seriousness, the 6.5 advantage comes from the larger bullet, leaving a large wound channel, and (hopefully) dumping more energy from the larger bullet into the animal. That's the advantage over the .223.

I have shot a hog with a .223 and it was pretty terrible. It was a little under one hundred yards, perfect broadside shot, right in the shoulder. He was roughly 200lbs and it took about 5-6 shots to put him down. That was my experience with hogs. I have shot 3 deer within 100 yards with the same rifle and they ran maybe a max of 50 yards. I think the Grendel would perform better in both cases, but dead is dead at the end of the day. I just want them to be dead quick as possible to minimize suffering.

 

[dougduey]

I've killed a lot of hogs night hunting with my 6.5 Grendel with a thermal scope. It's a lethal combo. Even though I reload, I can't attain the same velocity as the Hornady 123 gr SST factory ammo. Besides being inexpensive, that ammo is sub moa out of my AR. It's a great deer round out to about 300 yards.
Consider the 450 Bushmaster as another option. It's an absolute hammer. All my buddies back in Michigan use this caliber for deer hunting. I also know guys that use it for hunting elk in the thick aspen groves.

 

[Pacecount]

I have shot pigs with 556, 6.5 CM, 308, and when I got bored I pulled out the 375 H&H with a 300 gr TSX. I'll let you guess which one I enjoyed the most.

If you are shooting at night I assume your targets are under 200 yards? Looking at 556 a 77gr OTM from black hills with 14.5" barrel and a battlefield zero of 50/200 yards allows you to engage targets up to 235 yards w/in 4."

 

[Frog4aday]

Tying this back to the OP's original post, he wanted to get a Proof Research AR-15 barrel in a caliber he could use for nighttime hog hunting. There were only three options available that were BIGGER than .20 or .22 caliber:
6.5 Grendel
6.8 SPC
.300 BLK

He could also get a .204 Ruger, .223 Wylde, .224 Valkyrie, or .22 Nosler, which prompted discussion of their suitability for hogs.

.450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, .300 HAM'R, and .350 Legend are not (currently) Proof Research options. I suppose he could change his mind on the carbon fiber barrel, so it doesn't hurt to let him know what else he could use in an AR-15 platform. But they aren't "answers" for what he stated he wanted in his original post.

 

[Wolf76]

Tying this back to the OP's original post, he wanted to get a Proof Research AR-15 barrel in a caliber he could use for nighttime hog hunting. There were only three options available that were BIGGER than .20 or .22 caliber:
6.5 Grendel
6.8 SPC
.300 BLK

He could also get a .204 Ruger, .223 Wylde, .224 Valkyrie, or .22 Nosler, which prompted discussion of their suitability for hogs.

.450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, .300 HAM'R, and .350 Legend are not (currently) Proof Research options. I suppose he could change his mind on the carbon fiber barrel, so it doesn't hurt to let him know what else he could use in an AR-15 platform. But they aren't "answers" for what he stated he wanted in his original post.

 

[Frog4aday]

Ha! That's great.
And I just checked their (Proof Research) website YESTERDAY to see what barrel options they offered. Things move fast.
I change my vote: Get the .350 Legend.
.30-30 Power AND a better 'sub-sonic' option than the .300 BLK
But no guarantees that it will survive long term. Still...I like it. I think Winchester found a 'sweet' spot in the AR-15 - good power but not brutal recoil. Hope others feel the same and the cartridge 'takes off' and becomes a hit.

 

[Frog4aday]

Hey...that's not a PROOF RESEARCH barrel. OP said "Proof Research."
That's cool you found a Carbon fiber option for him (BSF). The .350 Legend is (still) not available from Proof Research.

 

[Buttermilk]

Ok so kind of sidetracked here but.....
How fast can you get a 120ish grain bullet going out of a 6.5 Grendel?

24" barrel will do 2600 fps with 123's and my handloads using CFE223 and IMR8208xbr.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

24" barrel will do 2600 fps with 123's and my handloads using CFE223 and IMR8208xbr.

You have a pic of that Behemoth? I assume it's an AR?

 

[Buttermilk]

You have a pic of that Behemoth? I assume it's an AR?

Sorry to derail the thread....

My choice for hogs in an AR15 platform would be the 6.5 Grendel.

 

[sea2summit]

24" barrel will do 2600 fps with 123's and my handloads using CFE223 and IMR8208xbr.

Want to know how I know you don't hunt pigs much

 

[.300 Dakota]

Ok I'm gonna muddy the water here. I have personally watched a deer shot with a 5.56 AR-15 loaded with Barnes 70gr tsx. The shot was approx. 75 yards. The target was a average size Michigan whitetail doe so figure 125lbs or so on the hoof. The deer was quartered toward the shooter. The bullet entered at the point of the shoulder which broke the shoulder. It then traveled in a straight line through both lungs resulting in "red jelly" then exited around the 3rd rib from the back leaving a 1 inch exit and buried itself in the ground somewhere. The deer hit the ground pushed itself about 30 yards on its chest and died in seconds. I have shot deer with a .300 WM and 180gr bullets that acted less hit and ran further. Honestly that deer was one of the hardest hit deer I have ever seen.

Now that being said I do believe in using enough gun. But I think unless you start getting into the 200lb+ range anything from .223 up through the Grendel or blackout will do the job.

And I'm going to turn the muddy water into quicksand. I personally loaded same Barnes TSX 70 grain in a Tikka Hunter 1:8 in ye olde .223 Remington. Gun LOVED that load! Popped 2 smaller does in the head/neck area. DRT. Then a HUGE doe walks out broadside with left side toward me at about 40 yards. I launched said Barnes bullet at said yonder deer and it hit right on target at the left shoulder blade. Bullet entered there, exited on right FLANK near hind quarter (recall deer position- BRAODSIDE = PERPENDICULAR). Deer ran 125 yards before being entangled in a copse of briers and vines. No blood trail. Entry and exit too small. Fortunately, the entanglement was within 10 yards of the far woodline she made it to. Stomach, guts, and lungs were a nice blended slurry. What a MESS! Never another deer with a .223 for me. No sir. Just because I CAN doesn't mean I SHOULD. Like with deer, if you choose to use a .22 on hogs anyway. It is a headshot only proposition. Hogs don't have necks... Of those choices, I would NOT choose the Valkyrie for the exact same reason as the poster who picked it. Fast twist, heavy bullets. Problem is, with the .22s, ALL those heavy bullets we refer to are thin-jacketed tatget bullets. Definitely not meant for a 500+-lb nrute of a boar. If you're shooting sub-100 lb pigs, well ok. Pick what you want. I wouldn't want to face down another 600-lb Cumberland boar charging through the brush with even a .220 Swift. My 7mm SAUM and 185gr Partitions didn't slow it down with a heart shot at 30 yards. Had to hit it again through both back hams putting it on the ground until the 1st shot took effect in a couple minutes. Had another one in Arkansas make it 20 yards after being hit broadside with a 300gr Game King from a 375 Ruger. Bullet did NOT exit! Broadside at 80 yards. Got 1/4 of the way to me after absorbing 5000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. No .22 for me! My AR 15 choices look like this for huge boar:
1) .350 Legend
2) .450 Bushmaster
3) .458 SOCOM

If I HAD to choose from your list, it would be the 300 AAC all the way. You aren't going to need distance on any of the hog hunts I've seen. You're going to need energy and great shot placement. My next choice would be an SPC II. Again, you don't need the distance a Grendel provides. The SPC makes a bigger hole, and with a Barnes 120 grain, no issue with penetration. I don't believe the larger caliber would deflect like the .223 did either. Just my theory and experience. Hopefully the gentleman successfully using the 70gr Barnes as I once did won't have a failure to expand like I did. I sincerely hope I'm counted a fool for years to come and that experience is not repeated!

 

[JarHeadTim]

We hunt 7 sets in Texas and have killed thousands of Hogs... Many, many hundreds in the 300, 400, 500 pound range. Big Hogs are tanks and not easy to kill. Ear hole'em and it doesn't matter what you shot them with. Shoot the big boys in the boiler room and you had better have a stout bullet with larger permanent wound cavity than a 5.56 or they'll run until the oil runs out.

AR-15 platform 6.8

But do yourself a favor and buy an AR-10 in .308 in be done with it... Devastating

Hit a 300 plus pounder in the vent at 301 yards with a 168 gr bullet that blew its chest open, and it tried crawling off on its front "elbows" screaming...