Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles .223/5.56 NATO ammo for small meat hogs?

Bought these to shoot at range going to shoot these first then decide what hunting ammo I want to use on hogs.

PMC X-Tac 5.56x45MM Ammo 62gr Green Tip LAP 20 Rounds 55
PMC X-Tac 5.56x45mm Ammo 55gr FMJBT 20 Rounds

FMJ can work on lungs. Other times it doesn't do so good. Slow twists help it tumble when it hits.

Some FMJ come apart at the cannelure as noted.

Do not expect accuracy from any FMJ round. Its by far the worst ammo you can get for accuracy.

As a side note about 30 minutes ago a friend called. Pigs on neighbors oats. 52 bthp at the back of the ribs was the only shot I could get in a hurry. I was wanting the big boar gone but you take what you can get on pigs... He fell about 50 yards into the thorns and vines. 30 yard shot. Suppressed bolt gun and you could hear the HP hit hard.

I paid $9.99 a box for the PMC haven't even shot the gun yet,range is 25 miles from home haven't got there yet. also have 3 boxes of Armscor .223 55 gr fmj bought those when I bought gun.

Don't take any of my post as negatives. Just comments.

I"m sorry folks have to drive to a range also. We have been very fortunate that south and north places both have ranges out the door.

I won't be going to range much longer going to setup one in my back yard can get a 100 yards no problem some clearing may be able to get 200 yards. The range I go to is nice but busy and it takes too damn long to sight in or just shooting waiting on the clear sign for everyone to go check their targets. Just hope my nearest neighbors don't complain about noise pollution lol.

If you’re FMJing them try to hit from the shoulder forward. They will kill pretty decisively if you hit some bone and get them to upset or yaw. But like Rost said on pure lung shots they can be unpredictable, sometimes tumbling and breaking up and sometimes penciling.

Not going to use fmj for hunting just for target shooting.

rost, can you smell the envy on me from there?

They can complain all they want. OTOH I"m trying to afford to buy the world out of suppressors... If I can avoid it I don't shoot non suppressed anymore.

The fact that this ignorantly stupid country makes it an expensive hassle RE suppressors just shows the liberal democrat stupidity.

FWIW after I shot the first pig last night with 223 52 bthp it went 50 yards maybe into the vines. I went after that with thermal just to see with the 6.5 Grendel. 123 sst. All 5 hogs I got last night went almost exactly the same distances with the Grendel as with the 223...

Like Iv'e said it just doesn't seem to matter that much..

I have used an AR to kill a lot of hogs, big and small, through the years. Most shot with the Winchester 64 gr SP bullet and a lot of H335.

I have never shot that bullet, but I hear good things. And since the 63 Sierra is good they may well be the same theory bullet wise.
Heard there are bonded 64 might be even better. The 63 would be even better bonded.

Yet so many dead animals with either as is so far speaks worlds.

We never even had to push em to the limit speed wise either.

Have another question?
My DB15 is 5.56 NATO but can also shoot .223 rounds but it's said that 5.56 is loaded under more pressure and that gives it an edge on power. But shopping for hunting ammo I see more choices for .223 than 5.56. what's the reason for that? Is it better to use .223 ammo?






































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Millions of .223/5.56 rounds are fired interchangeably every year without a hiccup.

The 5.56 may have higher pressures, but most, if not all factory loads you find in that are FMJ's.

You find lots of FMJ's in .223 also, but the .223 is where you find all the hunting bullets.

There isnt' an ounce of killing difference between the two. I would not worry one bit. Grab what shoots better and don't grab the fastest most powerful kind of thing.

There are some minor reasons and maybe in a really tight custom chambered 223 the Israeli hot 5.56 might give an issue. But for normal day to day in factory guns don't sweat it. Just roll.

FWIW I'd be buying 223 marked.. because it comes with better bullets and accuracy rather than that crappy FMJ stuff for hunting. At least thats what I used to see anyway.

Haven't bought or fired a FMJ in probably 15 plus years.

Looking at those going to try and find some Midway & Sportsman outdoor superstore are out of stock both will notify when they get some.

There are more hunting choices in .223 because it can be shot in the plethora of non-AR/nato based .223 hunting rifles. Most 5.56 is purchased for AR’s and other ‘fighting guns’. The majority of those folks aren’t into the latest hunting loads, and if they are, they can just shoot those loads in .223.

Winchester 64pp has been discontinued.

Found some Hornady .223 55 gr soft points reviews I read said good for hogs & deer. They come in a box of 50 for a fair price.

The ones I'm looking at are Super X 64 gr SP

having read some time back that my favored Winchester 64 grain was discontinued, I searched and found 5 of those 100 round bags. Those are still in the locker and I have probably 300 loaded and ready to go. I bought 500 of the Hornady 55 Grain that Riverc mentioned. I loaded two hundred, and found them accurate enough, but have yet to use them on hogs or deer.