Subsonic. 308win for hogs?

[Farmerboy78]

I loaded up 210ish gr cast bullets with 10gr trailboss with a 10twist savage

 

[geo4061]

I shot up a box of sub sonic Atomic 308 and a box of subs in 223 both suppressed. You might as well use a sling shot. They were not consistently accurate enough that I felt good about head shots. So no DRT and a long track with no pass troughs and very little if any blood. They were not quite enough to not spook the hogs after the first shot. So no advantages, forget it. Get you a box of Barnes Vor-tx 168 grain TTSX. They cut their way in and rip big holes on their way out. They leave a blood trail that even I can follow.

 

[JarHeadTim]

Hi, I didn't have time to read all the detail in the previous posts but I have done this and want to extend some caution. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you not do your load development through a suppressor. We did not but our experience was it would have been a Catastrophe. Shooting a 180 Gr. Maker Rex Bullets through an 18" 1:10 AR-10 with Trailboss resulted in keyhole'd Bullets on paper at 100 yards.

We hypothecated velocity "ladders" to try and find the sub-sonic velocity mark but accuracy was so horrible and bullet drop so ridiculous we packed up and went home.

On a side note Hodgdon does sanction a 308 subsonic load with 4895. I don't remember all the details but I'm sure someone else will know.

Most importantly PLEASE confirm stabilized bullet flight before attempting to shoot the round through a suppressor. In our case I'm sure we would have suffered baffle strikes and potentially ruined an Omega can...

 

[cohunt]

I load 220gr rn bullets over green dot with mag primers and enlarged flash holes-- no filler, no problems 1:10 twist

The bullets flip flop when they hit a target and I can hold less than 1" at 100 yards with my reloads. They drop about 18" more than my supers at 100 yards though. Stupid quiet but wont cycle a semi auto.
There are good expanding heavy bullets too (most monos) that expand down to 600fps if you want expanding vs flip flop but they are pricey

 

[Revolting Peasant]

I tried suppressors and subsonics. Had visions of killing whole sounders of hogs. They run from just the slap of the bullet strike.
I had better luck shooting super sonics suppressed. A lot of times I could shoot the second hog running on the far side of the fleeing group and the muzzle crack would turn them back toward me. Gotta admit, whacking them totally silent is pretty cool though. Headshots mostly but I run Jagdterrier bloodtrackers so I could do chest shots and still find them. If you find a good recipe or a reliable expanding bullet, share the love Brother. Good luck!

 

[hunter67wa]

Im using 20" 308 11 twist 220 RN 11 gr trailboss. My rifle shoots them in the .2's at 50 yards. I haven't killed anything yet, I do want to try the Hornady 190gr flex tip though as its suppose to open out to 110 yards.

 

[CaptnC]

My limited experience reflects what many have already said.

IMO - subs with a can are just to show off your toys! That's all do with. When you crack a skull they are off running, so your better off shooting supers and hope the sound bounces off the opposite tree line and turns the back in your direction. I've seen it with deer, pigs and coyotes!

And for sure get your velocity right on paper without you can screwed on. I like to do it as close as possible 25 yards.

 

[Pdyson]

Trail Boss is the powder I played around with it and was getting consistent velocity. Expanding bullets are the problem. I wanted to go heavy since velocity was so low, I used some 220gr hornady. They don't expand much at all, they won't cycle an AR10, and since I'm not willing to spend a small fortune on the subsonic expanding hunting bullets. I decided to live with the supersonic crack and load to 2700fps.

 

[Trnelson]

Hi, I didn't have time to read all the detail in the previous posts but I have done this and want to extend some caution. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you not do your load development through a suppressor. We did not but our experience was it would have been a Catastrophe. Shooting a 180 Gr. Maker Rex Bullets through an 18" 1:10 AR-10 with Trailboss resulted in keyhole'd Bullets on paper at 100 yards.

We hypothecated velocity "ladders" to try and find the sub-sonic velocity mark but accuracy was so horrible and bullet drop so ridiculous we packed up and went home.

On a side note Hodgdon does sanction a 308 subsonic load with 4895. I don't remember all the details but I'm sure someone else will know.

Most importantly PLEASE confirm stabilized bullet flight before attempting to shoot the round through a suppressor. In our case I'm sure we would have suffered baffle strikes and potentially ruined an Omega can...

That is good advice. I would take this very seriously, until you are certain that you have fully round holes on target, take your can off! Just because a load is stable as a super-sonic load doesn't mean it will be stable as a sub-sonic!!! I did all of my sub-sonic load development with my suppressor OFF. Most 300blk are 1-7 twist to stabilize the heavy bullets at sub-sonic velocity. Most 308 are 1-10 or 1-11.25 so anything heavier than about 190 is a crap shoot as to if it is stable. Especially in colder temperatures!
Speed of sound is directly related to temperature and altitude. A load that is gtg at 50• may be unstable at 30, or 20•. Tax stamps just take too long to get to risk a baffle strike.

 

[cohunt]

These 195's expand from 600-2000, if faster they just loose petals
https://www.cavitybackbullets.com/product-p/cb-mkz-300bo-195-sub.htm

 

[Bravo 4]

Went down this road several years ago, so my experience is a little dated and does not cover newer bullets like the ones cohunt linked. My advice would be to go big bore if possible. Was not happy at all with a .308's performance. A new 450/458 upper can be as low as $300'ish, or something like a Ruger American in 450. However a new can would be required (unless you did like me and got bigger to shoot all below). I ended up with a .510 caliber shooting 725 subsonic fracturing bullets from Lehigh Defense. Even at sub velocity I wouldn't hesitate to shoot anything in North America. It is devastating! Never had anything move, even with broadside behind the shoulder shots. Got a buddy with a .458 Socom AR pistol that is pretty awesome. May have to get my pistol an upper.

cohunt,
Are you using those bullets? Couldn't find a twist required for them. Those dudes look looong!

 

[John Klingenberg]

Im using 20" 308 11 twist 220 RN 11 gr trailboss. My rifle shoots them in the .2's at 50 yards. I haven't killed anything yet, I do want to try the Hornady 190gr flex tip though as its suppose to open out to 110 yards.

Those 220RN are really accurate in everything I've shot them in but at 100 yds you can recover them and reload them again. They don't expand at all. I took mine and put them in a manual case trimmer with a drill bit and cut a hollow point down to the cannelure. They expand better.

 

[cohunt]

Went down this road several years ago, so my experience is a little dated and does not cover newer bullets like the ones cohunt linked. My advice would be to go big bore if possible. Was not happy at all with a .308's performance. A new 450/458 upper can be as low as $300'ish, or something like a Ruger American in 450. However a new can would be required (unless you did like me and got bigger to shoot all below). I ended up with a .510 caliber shooting 725 subsonic fracturing bullets from Lehigh Defense. Even at sub velocity I wouldn't hesitate to shoot anything in North America. It is devastating! Never had anything move, even with broadside behind the shoulder shots. Got a buddy with a .458 Socom AR pistol that is pretty awesome. May have to get my pistol an upper.

cohunt,
Are you using those bullets? Couldn't find a twist required for them. Those dudes look looong!

I use them in 300bo with 5744, have not worked up a load yet for 308, too many guns, not enough time

 

[Lycanit]

If you have a ten twist Barrel you will have troubles stabilizing anything heavier than about 190g. I haven't tried to do subs in my 308, however the platform isn't that important as long as you recognize it's limitations. Like poor ignition, inconsistent velocities, hang fires. You just have too much case capacity with a 308, IMO. That being said, if I were to want to try some 308 sub-sonic loads I'd start with Trail boss. It may be your best bet to limit those issues, maybe Red Dot, or Unique, but you'll have to use some filler to hold the powder against the primer. Or better yet a Ruger ranchhand 300blk is designed to do sub-sonics well. I would look really long and hard at sub-sonic hunting bullets that are designed to perform down to 800fps. Regular cup and core bullets tend to just fold into a banana shape and exit in an unpredictable fashion, or just flip around and exit base first with no expansion. I've shot about a dozen feral hogs with a suppressed 7 twist 300blk and a 250g outlaw state subsonic expanding bullet. You can easily find them with a quick search. It's designed to open at sub-sonic velocities into six segments that spread out from the main wound and the base of the jacket and lead core punch through and expand. I am sending them off at 1020fps. It train wrecks them. I zero it at 100 and just hold on the body out to 150, I've never had an opportunity to shoot any further than that. There are other places that make sub-sonic expanding bullets as well, but I've never had a reason to try them as the outlaw state 250 has worked flawlessly for my purposes.

Trail boss. That's the key.. just scoop it up kinda spill out till the neck is cleared. Weight that one and repeat. Bullet stability is all on you.. lol. TB is so "fluffy" it cannot be overloaded.