Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Cast bullets for hogs

I am booked for a Texas hog hunt for next spring. I am toying with using my 358 Winchester and 244grain flat point cast bullets. I heat treat my bullets for my rifles so they are pretty hard but with the flat point I thought they’d still be effective. I’m thinking of using the high shoulder placement. Whatcha all think?

I’ve never killed them with anything smaller out of a rifle than a 25gr Hornady out of a 17 or anything bigger than a 405gr out of a hotrod 45/70. The vast majority of the slightly less than 400 head I’ve killed in the last 6 years have fell to the 223.

If you can’t kill them with your setup you have issues aside from bullets. I’ve killed dozens of them with cast bullets made of clip on WW driven to pedestrian velocities out of revolvers and pistols. Hit them in the front half and everything will work out fine.

For dropping them on the spot just shoot them in the center vertically somewhere between the shoulder and the ear. They squeal and paddle in place for about 5 seconds before they quiet down for good.

Over thinking not required. WW alloy and target 2,000 fps +-, no heat treating. My .30-30 shoots that just dandy at around 2,100 fps. Ker-splat!

I agree with the other two gentlemen. I would add that powdercoating them reduces the chances of leading and I have found softer alloys can be pushed slightly faster than wax lubed bullets. I have 100+ lbs of cast 35cal bullets and would be happy to send you some that have been coated to test in your rifle. Do you cast your own bullets?

Yes I cast my own bullets and have for years. I am 76 years old and not now going to expand my casting game into powder coated bullets because of the irritability of learning a new game. I do thank you heartily for the offer of some powder coated bullets to try, though. Again, many thanks.

No need to heat treat your bullets. In fact if it were me, I would shoot them soft so's they expand when they smack into muscle. Never shot a hog, but have shot plenty of deer with naked lead and the only times, early on, when I had a goat rope after the shot was when I had used hard/heat treated bullets. Lesson learned the hard way, for a hard headed young snot.

Taking a high shoulder shot is a good idea, especially if the bullet is hard. While ultimately fatal, with behind the shoulder shots, game can run off.

a 22lr lead bullet will kill any hog if you put it in the right spot. I don't think a 35 cal. will bounce off

Hogs are like Elk, you need a BIG GUN to kill them. Rio7

In FL we have some fair size hogs. I usually take along my 358s with 200 RCBS FN real hard cast plain base double powder coated running 2,400 fps. I prefer the AR-15 for hogs, with 10 round mags. The 15 is light, fast and in the 358 MGP, a necked up 6.8 SPC, is a hog stomper.

Hog is similar to a dog, in that they have a slow nervous system, depends on how you find them, jacked up, they can be hard to kill, not knowing you are there, not so difficult.
Good Luck.

These are two of my hog loads for ARs.

Left is a 358 MGP, neckd up 6.8 SPC, with a 200 gr RCBS plain base (discontinued mould) powder coared 2,487 at .3 inches @ 100.

Right is the 230 gr Lee plain base powder coated in a 300 BO subsonic, 990 fps at .5" @ 50. Also have a 6.5 Grendel AR, full function with 160s at 900 fps .5" at 50. Both with cans.
Grand kids wear out my stock of 300 cast BO rounds.

Great combo there. I've used them 200 GR. RCBS out of any of the 4 rifles I have in 35 Remington at around 2200 plus fps and it works great.

if you are looking for an RCBS plain base bullet mold I recommend you look at NOE's website.

my bullet of choice is a 35 whelen with 200gr RCBS at 2500 fps.

I've got the lee 200g .358 flat nose mold and a big bag of gas checks for them. I'm going to try to cast some around a 15-18 bhn and then I'll powder coat then seat the checks with a lee push through sizer. I plan to try them in my 358 blr first but I've nit slugged it so I'm thinking of sizing .359 first and see how they shoot. I may also size some to .356 and try them in my 350 legend.

That 6.8 necked up to .358 is really impressive getting 2400 with a 200g. I'm hoping to get about 2000 with my 350 legend.

Bb

I am pretty sure the that Lee 200 is like many others, a copy of the RCBS, which according to Veral, he designed, if not directly, by his descriptions. It is a great design for accuracy at 357-8. Not sure how sizing them down for a 355 is going to work.

The 38 Super is actually a 355, as is the 357 Sig, so moulds for it might be adopted to work. I shot 160s in my 9mm Major gun, they were for the 38 Super.

I just got a 357 Sig barrel for my Glock, so.....I will probably get around to that.

You will be fine, have killed them with sub sonic loads. No harder to kill than a deer

I size that bullet to .356 no problem. 2000 fps is plenty.