What is the best 7mm rem mag Barnes copper bullet weight for Hog?

[pigeater]

I did try with 140 gr. It seems it is not good for hog.
it was not mushroom. I want to see how experts say on this.
I'm newbie in hog hunting.

Thanks in advance

 

[steinysstooges]

Tim, I use Federal 160 gr TSX and had no issues. All piggy's enjoyed a well deserved dirt nap.

 

[asaxon]

Tim: aka Pigeater

I am NOT an expert but I’ll venture the opinion that 140 gr. Barnes vs 160 or 170 is not the “issue”. 7mm Rem Mag is plenty of rifle but with the all copper Barnes (and maybe all lead free bullets), it is very dependent upon exactly what is struck on entry. If the bullet happens to be placed perfectly, like your shot, but by chance does not strike something hard, e.g. rib, shoulder bone on entry, you may not get as much transfer of energy into the animal as it passes through soft tissue which all has the consistancy of water. As Tom Willoughby says, you end up “punching a hole in ‘em” and have to rely on exactly what the bullet passes through for the kill. On the other hand, if on entry the bullet strikes hard structure such as a rib, you get the promised full expansion with the lovely petals they show in the pictures and a much more effective hydrostatic shock channel. This is really something you don’t control and 140 vs 165 gr bullet won’t make a difference. It is “chance” as to exactly what the bullet strikes when entering. The attached picture exit is from a 110 gr Barnes TSX from a 30-06 on a small mule deer – the bullet hit a rib squarely on entry and made this “mess” on exit. On the other hand, I’ve put a 180 gr. Barnes through a mule deer doe and thought I’d missed, shot again and only found the entry/exit of the first shot when I cleaned the carcass as it was a clean pass through in the chest. So I wouldn’t worry about using the 140gr bullet – just get out there and keep shooting hogs, deer whatever… Best Andy

 

[catchdog]

How do you know it did not expand ? Did you recover the bullet ? Me and my wife use the Barnes TSX 140 gr from a 7mm08 . WE have killed over 20 animals with it from 8 pound monkey up to 500 pound blue wildebeest . 5 or 6 hogs and none of the hogs went over 20 yards . Most animals were DRT . The Blue wildebeest went 90 yards . Some of the exit holes were only the size of a dime but the lungs were mush . All of the bullets that we recovered were picture perfect . But we only recovered about 4 bullets .

 

[catchdog]

Here is a animal the size of a fox . Shot with a barnes tsx 140 gr 7mm08 . Would be hard to say the bullet did not open .

 

[jbcaptain11]

monkey where'd u shoot that?

 

[asaxon]

Here is a animal the size of a fox . Shot with a barnes tsx 140 gr 7mm08 . Would be hard to say the bullet did not open .

I'd say more than the bullet 'opened', the fox definately "Opened". So what is with the 8lb monkey???

 

[catchdog]

We were hunting in Africa and the monkey's were breaking into camp . So my wife's PH had her shoot one . She had told him she really didn't want to shoot a monkey but he talked her in to it after she seen the mess they made .

 

[catchdog]

 

[catchdog]

Here is a pic of my daughter with a pig and a javelin shot with a 7mm08 and 140 gr tsx . she shot 3 hogs a the javelin in 3 days . All were DRT but the one hog that ran about 20 yards .

It was her first hunt ever and I was a proud dad . 4 one shot kills . And no it was not high fence .

 

[catchdog]

One more just because I'm a proud papa .

 

[pigeater]

Catchdog
I did not recover these bullets. I only observed the exit wounds. They was just a small hole.
My bullet did go through the soft tissue but not hit any bone at all. It seems like you and Asaxon said.
this is not a bullet weight but it is where the shot replacement.

 

[catchdog]

How small was the hole ? And what did the insides look like ? Was it the same size as the entrance hole or about the size of a dime . You got the pig so the bullet did it's job . I have had some bad things happen with lead ammo . Shot a pig with a 30-06 165 gr Federal Fusion bullet hit dead in the shoulder then turn and ran up the flat shoulder bone and went out the top of the neck . Knocked the pig down for 4 minutes then it got up and ran off . Pig would have not been recovered if it was not for the dog . Hit a javelin with the same bullet and the bullet broke and there was 5 small holes on the other side . My wife shot a 230 pound boar with 120 gr Rem HP from her 7mm08 and she had to shot it 3 times before it went down . The pig was facing her and the first shot hit it in the jaw and came out its belly . Guts hanging out . Second shot dead in the shoulder broke the off side leg boar ran another 40 yards before it slowed down . Third shot was tight behind the shoulder and it fell . All three bullets opened that boar just didn't want to die . We have yet to have a bad incident with the Barnes TSX bullets .

 

[Bubblehide]

Great advice given!
Tim, copper bullets are very different than lead. However, the manufactures design bullets for controlled expansion, based on the bullet weight and it's intended purpose; velocity.... This being true for copper bullets, it was even more-so true for lead bullets. The biggest difference in copper bullets, is that they retain almost 100% of their original weight; what that means is that they do not really break apart. They are designed to have an exceptionally controlled expansion. As such, you can step down in copper bullet weight, when compared to lead, and still get pass troughs. In short, they really do not fragment, as lead often does. For example, I use to use (almost exclusively) a 7mm Rem Mag round, hand loads, of 140 grain spire tip boat tails. With this bullet, I ran about 70% pass through shots on deer and pig. But they usually made a fist sized exit hole. 140 grain coppers, leave a slightly larger exit than entrance hole, but they get the job done, without any complaints from me (I am now shooting a 300 WSM).



Personally I would not recommend using anything under a 135 grain copper bullet, without testing it on ballistic gel, for 2 reasons. 1). most anything of a lesser grain weight is generally designed for a rapid expansion more suitable to varmit hunting than big game hunting, and will expend it's energy to quickly. 2). You may not have the bullet weight for down range accuracy, and the bullet weight may not produce a lethality suitable for hunting/recovery of a big game animal. If I were to recommend a bullet weight, I would recommend 139-140 grain copper.

With that said, I am basing those above statements on my experience with lead and lead partition bullets. Copper has drastically changed the game. As such African hunting guides are recommending standard magnum rifles (270-300) for all game except the largest most fierce game animals such as Rhino, elephant, and hippo. And for those animals, they are suggesting nothing larger that a 338. If you really want some professional opinions, talk with some experienced African hunting guides, and hunters; those that use copper.

 

[tpuig]

My last boar (200+ lbs) didn't seem to care for the 160gr Triple shock. He refused to take even one step... ;-)

 

[EPic1856]

7mm Rem Mag with 140 gn Barnes bullet.

Found bullet inside piggy. I aimed and hit the front shoulder.

 

[easymoney]

I use a 180 grn TSX In my 300 win mag, 130 grn in my 264 win mag and a 120 grn in my 6.5 Grendel.
Dumps em all. One shot one kill...
I even have used a 62 grn in my .223 and with good placement it stops them cold with a head shot.