In previous posts I have described shooting pigs with hard HP .30-30 cast bullets.
My bullets are sized down .32 Specials from #U321297HP. The new size is .312". Weight is 175 gns with gas check. Alloy is watered down lino. Hardness is about 16 BHN per my friend's Lee tester (alloy is 11% non-lead). Muzzle velocity is 2180 - 2200 fps. Powder is 748 or LVR. Rifle is Savage 99 with 24"barrel and 12" twist, with Leupold VXI 2-7 scope. Five shot groups average about 2.7" at 100 metres.
Bullet hardness was adjusted to provide penetration at least to the second shoulder on a big boar while retaining sufficient destructiveness for rib shots on smaller pigs. Results have generally been very good.
The question has been asked however about effectiveness on larger pigs. I have provided some examples of successful encounters with boars, and now do so again for two large barrows shot recently. The smaller one was 60" from snout to butt of tail, which I consider to be a big pig. The larger went 71", which is the biggest I have yet measured. Range was about 60 metres.
These pigs were shot at night using the Oneleaf NV100 clip on scope attachment. They were coming to a carcase. The vision came from the video taken by the NV100, which demonstrates point of aim from the last frame before the big white flash.
The first image is of the pair before anything happened.
The next image is of the smaller of the two hogs the moment before the shot. The aim as per the NV image was behind the shoulder, lined up with the opposing front leg. He went straight down.
The post has the Browning Game Camera mounted on it, and also a solar powered security light with red cellophane to change the light colour. The light is on the low setting until something comes to the bait, then it becomes brighter. The light acts as a "doorbell" but does not contribute to illuminating the target. The hogs become accustomed to it very quickly, and may even use it to find the bait once they know it's there. The light has a secondary function, which is to indicate the position of the bait on a moonless night - helps scanning.
The third image is of the larger pig. This fellow was shot as indicated, and also went straight down. That forward of the shoulder spine shot works quite well. This fellow, against expectations, hung around long enough after his friend's demise to be added to the tally.
The last shot is of the large fellow again, though in daylight nearly a day after he was shot, and decorated by the birds. At the risk of presenting something gross, I include it to show the size of the hog.
I should add that this was shooting for pest destruction, and the "bait" was pretty foul also, so there was never any intention of turning these pigs into human fodder.
These pigs were part of a tally of 11, one of them a big boar, shot off this bait. All were shot with the cast bullet load. All but three went straight down. The three exceptions, rib shot sows, succumbed within 50 meters.
Yes, the hard HP cast bullets, with sufficient velocity, are effective on pigs, including the big fellows.
Those barrows looked like they had pretty good tusks too, but I haven't pulled them yet to measure.
Insomniac, agnostic, dyslectic - awake all night wondering if there is a Dog.