Pig popping loads

[bigbore5]

Wondering what everyone else is using for feral pigs. Here's my most used:

357mag= MP 358429 lg hp, 12bhn, 12.5gr #9, CCI 500, Starline brass trimmed to 1.250"

45C= Lyman 452664, 15bhn, 18.5gr #9, Starline brass, WLP

500 Linebaugh= Accurate 51-355H, 15bhn, 30gr Heavy Pistol, Starline brass, WLP

Of course I will use whatever I am carrying if one just pops up, but given the fact that one of those three are usually on my hip around my land, they get the most use on everything and haven't failed me yet.

[bigbrowndog]

Those mold numbers dont tell me anything about the bullet, they may mean something to some but to me it’s gobbledygook. A weight, design, and configuration would be more helpful, also a velocity of the load.

Trapr

[bigbore5]

Jul 27, 2024 9:44:29 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

Those mold numbers dont tell me anything about the bullet

Trapr

357 mag= Keith bullet with lg hp pin. 166gr.1170fps from a 4". My everyday carry load. Brass trimmed to fit the Service Six crimped in the groove.

45C= Lyman rnfp with a generous meplat. 260gr. 1235fps from a 5-1/2"

500L= 355gr swc of my design 1520fps from a 6-1/2". Pretty serious load.

[bigbrowndog]

Perfect thank you sir,……I typically do not like a RNFP, but having witnessed firsthand the use of that style of bullet from 45man on his Tennessee boar, I was impressed. Reasonably soft it performed admirably.

The 357 and the 500L bullet seem to be good well respected designs, but also a velocity and weight of your load would help. I no longer routinely run a 357mag for pig pursuits, and when I did I used a 220gr. Full Wadcutter at 1100fps. I was expected to break bones to stop flight of the animal, and distances were often 10 feet to 50 yards, so no long shots. I also never used such a light bullet from my 500Ls, but have used a 355gr. from my 50 Alaskan. Granted it has a bit more velocity, but the smack provided by the WFN proved very effective on deer and light boned game. Slowed down to 900-1000 fps I would expect decent penetration, if kept as a solid and not HP design. I have used 300gr. bullets from my FA555 but velocity was 1400+, and performance was stellar. Never having recovered a bullet from any pigs, and great devastation.

So more info might be required for better answers or more definitive answers.

Trapr

[bigbore5]

The Lyman 452664 has a meplat of 0.339". It's pretty generous and very accurate from my Rugers. I haven't recovered one from an animal yet and it does good internal damage. It's also good for breaking the shoulders with exit.

The 51-355H is my light 500L bullet. It is a solid design. With the .400" meplat it's got a pretty good slap on impact and does really impressive internal damage. Over penetration is still a concern. Have to be careful about there not being a dog on the other side, of course, but it's not as bad as the 430gr wfn I like for black bear or the 525gr I use for big stuff, like buffalo or hippo.

I don't carry the 357 usually for pigs, but it's on my hip every day and works fine when they happen to pop up. I do use the same load in a 6-1/2" for deer though and have never had any problems. It's worked out fine on a few dozen pigs that happened to be unlucky enough to let me see them around.

[bushog]

Jul 27, 2024 10:04:17 GMT -5 bigbrowndog said:

Perfect thank you sir,……I typically do not like a RNFP, but having witnessed firsthand the use of that style of bullet from 45man on his Tennessee boar, I was impressed. Reasonably soft it performed admirably.

The 357 and the 500L bullet seem to be good well respected designs, but also a velocity and weight of your load would help. I no longer routinely run a 357mag for pig pursuits, and when I did I used a 220gr. Full Wadcutter at 1100fps. I was expected to break bones to stop flight of the animal, and distances were often 10 feet to 50 yards, so no long shots. I also never used such a light bullet from my 500Ls, but have used a 355gr. from my 50 Alaskan. Granted it has a bit more velocity, but the smack provided by the WFN proved very effective on deer and light boned game. Slowed down to 900-1000 fps I would expect decent penetration, if kept as a solid and not HP design. I have used 300gr. bullets from my FA555 but velocity was 1400+, and performance was stellar. Never having recovered a bullet from any pigs, and great devastation.

So more info might be required for better answers or more definitive answers.

Trapr

How do the Swift 325s do in your 555?

[bigbrowndog]

The Swift AF 325’s shoot accurately and provide good velocity, but have not met flesh yet. So terminal performance is unknown for that bullet at 1500ish FPS.

Trapr