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Posted By: amigo TTSX and feral hogs - 12/20/09
I know there are a lot of opinions out there on the TTSX's. I only recently began to use them and thought I would share my results.
The week of Thanksgiving, my son and I had a doe and a spike hanging in the cooler ready for processing. We wanted to make sausage so needed some pork. For more than a week we had been hunting for a good sow or several young shoats with no success. The boy had 3 traps set where there was abundant sign but, could only catch a few big boars. Normally, pigs are no problem to find. But after the recent drought they seem to be more elusive. The sign is everywhere but it has been hard see them in the daytime.
On Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, he and I were driving thru the pasture and I remembered a stand where we keep a feeder going. Son dropped me off about five minutes before the feeder was set to go off and drove down to a creek to see if he could bring home more bacon than me. I crawled into a blind about 100 yds from the feeder and waited a few minutes. About 5 minutes after the feeder went off, a dozen hogs came up. All were the same size about 180 pounders. I waited until all their interest was on the corn and sighted the .308 on a good sow.
At the crack of the rifle not one but 2 hogs dropped. I will not claim to have lined up both hogs for one shot, but I was tickled to find that the second hog was a sow equal to the one that I intended to kill. I had put the crosshairs right below the ear of my target. The 130 gr TTSX exited the off side in the same location and entered the second sow above the eye. The first sow was broadside to me and the second was facing me behind the other.
By the time the young hunter returned to pick me up it was dark, so we loaded the pigs and headed for home. We dressed the critters and left them to hang for the night, temperature being in the 30's. As I gutted the second sow I felt a small knot right at the point of her sternum right below the hide. As I opened her up I found the TTSX.
Next morning we skinned and moved them to the cooler until further processing. Only after we finished did I think to take photos. So as you can see I did the best that I could to reconstruct the scene with the hides and heads. Keep in mind that both sows had their heads down on the corn.

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Exit on the first porker.

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Entry on number two.

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The bullet travelled down the second sow's neck and lodged where I recovered it.

The bullet retained 129.9 gr, is the .1 gr the tip?


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End of story: Saturday, we made about 50# pan sausage (50/50 venison/pork), 60# ground meat (~70/30 venison/pork), kept the backstraps and tenders of both species, and 4 pork hams curing (hopefully ready by February).



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One last thing on bullet performance. Late that Saturday, I shot another sow with the same bullet, in behind the near shoulder, out thru the off shoulder. A friend butchered her and commented that although the off shoulder was broken there was minimal meat loss. Load is 50 gr Varget.
Have a good one,
Amigo

Posted By: ringworm Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/20/09
i think id use a smaller bullet. the barnes cleaned them out.
Posted By: Hammerdown Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09

Thanks for your story.
Posted By: ATGS Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
.308?
Posted By: maddog Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
amigo, nice story and pics. I wouldn't change a thing. Do you use a .308 for all your deer/hog hunting?

maddog
Posted By: jimmyp Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
That is a great story! Two birds with one stone! Your loaded cartridges look just like mine with about 2 rings showing.
Posted By: amigo Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
Thanks guys,
Maddog, My old stand-by has always been a .25-06. However, I purchased this .308 in the spring. It is the first I've ever shot. After adding a recoil pad (I am not a fan of recoil)and working up an acceptable hunting load, this could be my new favorite.
Amigo
Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
Good shooting!

I flamed a hog with the same bullet this year also.


Exit
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Posted By: amigo Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
Impressive tusks Steelhead. Was he intact or a cut-hog? Nice shooting as well. So far, I am impressed with this little bullet.
Amigo
Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
He had nuts the size of grapefruits....
Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
That above is a 300 Savage
Posted By: DJTex Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
Good hogs, guys!

Like the teeth on Steelhead's, but thinking Amigos would suit my teeth better!

Those are wicked little bullets....

Amigo, the one you recovered looks like an ad for Barnes, and your story reads like one. I'm still thinking they ought to send you a few boxes in exchange for including it in their next reloading manual.

Scott,

How did you end up in the last one? Did they send you a little copper for your trouble? Maybe you could hook Amigo up and help Barnes out as well.

DJ
Posted By: Stan V Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
I'm curious how that venison/hog sausage turns out....I've found feral hog much to lean for use as a substitute for domestic pork.
Posted By: amigo Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
Stan, these particular hogs were rolling fat. The sausage turned out very good. I have given several packages away and the comments are good. I agree that some are too lean but I always use a 50/50 ratio. Most of the processors around here use 60/40 with domestic pork. If we do get a dry batch my wife browns it in the skillet and then adds water and lets it simmer until done. I usually have no complaints.
Posted By: Stan V Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/21/09
No complaints, that's what we're looking for....hard to beat those pigs on a plate!
Posted By: DJTex Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/22/09
I've had a meal or 50 at Amigo's table.

No complaints...and plenty of compliments.

He married way over his head...like the rest of us!

DJ
Posted By: SSB Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/22/09
Steelie, would you mind sharing your .300 Sav. load, or at least the velocity?

Thanks
Scott
Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/22/09
That one is 44grs of H4895, I'm running a 1.5 grains less in my 99's.

Right at 2900fps
Posted By: jwp475 Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/22/09


Congraduations, great thread and write up.

TSX bullets are extremely lethal bullets IME
Posted By: SSB Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Steelhead, thanks for the info. That sounds like a good way to ruin a deer or piggy's day without alot of fuss.
Posted By: Tundragriz Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Another taken taken in Sept with a 257Wby 100 TTSX, 3400fps at no more than 15 feet.

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Posted By: ingwe Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Dude! That hog in that top pic is a SERIOUS pig!

Wow!


Ingwe
Posted By: oldman1942 Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Yeah try that 44 gr behind a 150, it's ONLY 5 gr OVER Hodgden published max. Their max fps is less than 2600. but WTF they only MAKE the powder and actually test it in proof barrels.

130 TTSX and 36 gr of 4198 will get you 2800 and leave your 99 intact and kills a lot bigger things than little porkers.

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Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Why don't you check out Barnes number 3 for 130 X bullets (we ain't talking 150's). Just because you have a pointy head don't make you sharp.


Barnes 44gr H4895 130gr X bullet 2945fps
Posted By: toltecgriz Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
TFF
Posted By: Colin_Matchett Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Originally Posted by toltecgriz
TFF

+1
Posted By: tx270 Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Originally Posted by Colin_Matchett
Originally Posted by toltecgriz
TFF

+1


+2

I thought Steelie went easy on him.


Some people are freakin amazing around here.

Bill
Posted By: HawkI Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
This fall a pard shot this piggy running (yeah, a little far back, though it mussed up the liver angling) with a 30/168 TSX from a 300 Winny. Didn't go 10 yds. [Linked Image]

I won't share the load data, for fear of confusion on numerical powders and charges...
Posted By: Ruger280 Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
I keep hearing about these quick kill liver shots, never personally made a shot like that so I had no idea...
Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Seen a few deer liver hit, they didn't go far.
Posted By: toltecgriz Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
If you take out the hepatic artery, blood loss is massive.
Posted By: HawkI Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Originally Posted by Ruger280
I keep hearing about these quick kill liver shots, never personally made a shot like that so I had no idea...


I still recommend a shot through the front half
Posted By: oldman1942 Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
Barnes has a #4 book out, you can buy them from MidWay.
Posted By: Steelhead Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/23/09
No shiit [bleep] bird, but it don't have the 300 Savage in it.

Course don't let facts stop you now.
this guy is irritating!
Posted By: tx270 Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/24/09
This guy is trying to hard to be a know it all, but in the processs is making an ass of himself and showing his ignorance.

But alas it tis' the season. So Merry Christmas to all including oldman1942.

Bill
Posted By: MOSendero Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/24/09
FRAMIS, get your azz back in the closet............
Posted By: toltecgriz Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/24/09
Originally Posted by Paul Walukewicz
this guy is irritating!


There it is. grin
Posted By: old_willys Re: TTSX and feral hogs - 12/24/09
Steelhead

Thanks for the TSX's info for the 300 Savage, I had to find an old copy of Barnes book #3 to use book since they dropped the 300 savage in book #4.


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