I went out to test a new bullet for my 300 HAMR last night. The 130 Speer Hot Core is supposed to be a really good bullet in the HAMR so of course I felt the need to try it. Especially since the Hot Core is a very economically priced bullet and there ain't no good reason to spend good money on expensive bullets to kill pigs if a cheaper one has the performance to get the job done effectively.

I did my accuracy testing and that turned out well. About 1-1.25 MOA out of a lightweight AR which is plenty acceptable for my use, which is night stalking/thermal hunting pigs for crop damage control. The next thing was a I needed a good test subject. Not a little pig but a good solid one that could stop a bullet.

I found a volunteer last night. Well, he didn't exactly volunteer, but he was where he should not have been, so I considered that consent enough.

The volunteer was a 257 lb boar out in the middle of a sounder of pigs. I singled him out and my partner settled in on a big sow that turned out to be 242 lbs. My shot placement was off, I hit a bit high and for sure too far back. That happens sometimes when I am trying to count down and make sure my partner has a shot at the same time I am aiming and pulling the trigger. But it worked out. Shot distance was 115 yards. It was super bright last night with a full moon out in the open fields. We could see pigs with the naked eye at 80-90 yards, so could not get any closer to the big ones.

At the shot the boar dropped straight to the ground, did not take a step.

Bullet came in through the rear of the shield on the front side, busted a rib, hit the spine and deflected up and back a bit. Bullet was mushroomed well so I think it was tracking fine until it hit the spine, at which point it started tumbling. At any rate it expanded well, held together good, penetrated 14"-15" of meat and bone, and came to rest base forward just underneath the shield on the off side. It was a good test and I was very satisfied with the results.

Thermal video of the shot:



Video of the bullet recovery:

https://rumble.com/v43ujei-130-hot-core-recovery.html



The recovered bullet:

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]