Texas Hogs

[Bluegunner]

Thought you might enjoy the results of my going to Texas to take a Rio Grande Turkey this spring. I got a nice Rio but also shot the "three little pigs". All three were boars with the first and third hogs were between 140 - 160 pounds. The second was weight on a cattle scale at 240 pounds. All three were shot between 80 and 130 yards with a 22-250 using a special load that I worked up using Barnes Triple Shock 53gr solid copper bullet pushed along with 35gr of Varget powder. Interestingly enough, all three were the same color, the red one had been rolling in a wallow of red clay.
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[bighog]

Nice hogs, sounds like you had a great trip. Wherabouts in Texas did you hunt? Was it at a hunting ranch, if so, which one?

 

[Bluegunner]

Hunted on my brothers ranch, SE of Lubbock.

 

[DEERSLAM]

Way to go on the hogs

and with a 22-250

 

[Bluegunner]

Deerslam;

I spent last summer looking for a load for my 22-250 that I could use for coyotes and bobcats and still be able to take a hog. Most 22-250 bullets explode on contact and are to light for hogs. I researched the bullet companies web sites and stumbled on to Barnes New Triple Shock X Bullet. The bullet is solid copper and holds together on impact. After impact the tip opens in to four petals and act very much like a broad head.

Since Jan 07, I have shot four boars with this load, they range from 140# to 240# and all four were shoulder shots. All four hogs were downed with one shot and none went more than 20 yards. The bullet made a small hole going in and then preceded to tear the h** out of the insides of the hogs.

If anyone is interested, following is the load information on the round that I used:

Bullet - Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet 53gr. XFB
Power - Varget 35gr.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

congrats on your nice hogs Blue, and thanks for sharing!..................tra

 

[kelly106]

Right on,nice hogs!

 

[el_vaquero]

Very nice....congrats. You're gonne need an extra freezer for all that meat!

 

[Bluegunner]

Brought the first one home in January, the next three were given to needy families. Usually only bring one a year home, just my wife and myself now that the kids are grown and on their own.

 

[Ironwood]

Congratulations on getting those Texas hogs. I've been using the 70 grain Speer bullet for almost 40 years in my 22-250. It's an excellent hog killer. The bullet is very accurate in my rifle, sub 1" three shots at 100 yards. On big boar hogs I wait until I can get a shot right behind the leg when the hog steps forward.

I tried the Barnes X 53 grain bullet right after they first came out. The accuracy with them in my rifle was terrible. More like a pattern than a group. I still have about a half a box of the bullets. I may do a little more testing after your results with the Triple Shock.


I took this big ol' boar hog with the 70 grain Speer bullet. You can see my Remington 700 on the front of the 4 wheeler.

 

[Bluegunner]

Ironwood,

Nice Hog! Congratulations!

Did you have any trouble with the stability of the 70 gr Speer? Did it tumble at all? What is the barrel twist of your Remington 700. My rifle is one of the newer Savages with the AccurTigger (barrel twist 1-12) and I've stayed away from the heavier bullets because the books advise that the twist is not enough to stabilize the heavier bullets. I have loaded a couple of boxes of the new 60 gr Nosler accubond, but haven't had a chance to get to the range with them.

When I first started with the Barnes bullet I was getting 1 1/2 grouping but as I played with the powder and the bullet seating depth, I was able to bring my grouping down close to 3/4 inch at 100 yards. When I first started working on the load I start with two powders, H380 & Varget. The H380 did alright also but the Varget seemed to be just a little better. After I settled on the Varget I adjusted the gr. of powder until I got the best grouping. At this point, most of the grouping were around an 1" at 100 yards. I then started playing with the bullet seating depth and at present my grouping are close to 3/4" at 100 yards.

 

[upper]

Good post! Upper

 

[Ironwood]

Blue..I pruchased my Remington 700 back in 1966 or 67. A gunsmith (wish I could remember his name) in Conneticut glass bedded the action and free floated the barrel. The rifle has a 1-14 twist. I'm pushing the bullet to the limit in order to get it to stabilize. It's an excellent killer on hogs and deer. The recovered bullet in the photo was recovered from a young Axis buck. It had actually made a hole in the skin on the off side but was still in the hole. There is just a thin sliver of lead left.

It's possible I didn't push the Barnes bullet fast enough. At the time there was very little loading information on the bullet. I called Barnes to get some load data and that's what I was using. After the initial trial I was so disappointed I put the bullets up and haven't tried loading them again. I got into muzzleloading a few years back and haven't done much metallic cartridge loading. I may have to give your load a try.

The Nosler Accubond looks like a pretty strudy bullet. Be sure to let us know how they work out.

 

[Bluegunner]

Ironwood,

Will give you a report on the Accubond, hopefully will get to the range sometime in the next couple of weeks. I see you are from East Texas, are you far enough East to be in the pine country?

 

[Ironwood]

Blue the area where I live is called The Heart Of The Pineywoods. The timber industry is very big in this part of Texas. Lots and lots of hogs too.

 

[Bluegunner]

Ironwood,

Now that a picture to make your heart pick up a beat or two, three or four!
Great picture! Thanks for sharing! I imagine you have the Eastern Turkey in your area also. Looks like Northern Minnesota, my home state.