Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Little big bullets

Midway recently had some .224 75 grain dual cannelure SPs available as an overrun for cheap. Almost FMJ cheap. A little poking around showed them to be Hornady bullets used in their 223 “pistol” ammo designed for AR pistols. YouTube vids looked promising when they were shot into gel.

I’m always fiddling with different bullets in the 223 trying them out on pigs just to take notes and gather data. So I grabbed a few hundred and loaded a mag full over 23.5gr of TAC. I’ve only killed 4 pigs so far but I’m thinking they’re pretty sweet little bullets.

I have no idea of group size, I shot a rock about grapefruit size in an old pit from about 100 yards sitting and wrapped up in the sling, good enough for chasing pigs in the weeds. The BC I’m certain is horrible, they are sort of a semi spitzer, I rarely shoot anything over 300 so don’t care too much. Function has been flawless which isn’t a surprise as this rifle has always eaten everything without a bobble.

When they land they seem to penetrate very well, I haven’t caught one yet. Haven’t shot anything over 150lb but I did shoot one through both hips on the run and another intentionally through both shoulders. Exits have been roughly .50cal with a half inch ring of bloody pulp around it on chest shots. Slightly more carnage evident on the shoulder and hip shots, 1” exits.

More testing is of course in order, I’ll continue at every opportunity. But for some guys who express concern over penetration with 22CFs, these might be a good option if you can get some. I doubt I give up my beloved 77TMKs but if I can get more of these cheap I’m going to stock up.

When I got a 5.7, my plan was to load for it, but I’ve suspended that for now due to cost/time/trouble. However I picked some really cheap bullets in the 40-45gr range that will get used in something, either .22 Hornet or .223, or maybe even the 5.7 again in a pinch. Never a bad idea to pick up useful stuff cheaply when you can. Those bullets were about the same price each as primers are now. Whodathunk that would ever be the case?

I'm pretty sure I ordered a few hundred of those as well, but haven't actually tried them yet.

I had tracking snow and tested out a couple more this morning. Shots were close, sub 25 yards so near muzzle velocity impacts.
Bullet on the left entered the skull of the spotted pig slightly left of his right eye and exited the neck after shattering the first vertebrae behind the head, I found it right under the hide down between the shoulders.

Right bullet went in through the shoulder knuckle of 125lb or so pig on a quartering angle and was under the hide back by the second to last rib on the other side.

Appreciate the field data. Looks like they are a good fit for your needs. I’ve often wondered why there was no plain-jane .224 Interlock BTSPs or SSTs in 75gr weights for AR uses. Seems like they’d sell well for hunting.

If they shoot for you, the Hornady 75 HPBT isn't a bad way to roll for cheap and pretty good killers. I have had hit or miss luck with them, but when they work, they are pretty great bullets.

I have had very hit or miss results with the Hornady 75 BTHP as far as on game performance. I found that they really work most consistently when you hit big bones and that’s not always possible when shooting moving pigs in cover.

So I have tended to prefer SP or tipped bullets the last few years.

Funny story. When I was a teenager and just started reloading I had a bad experience with a Ballistic tip and swore off all tipped bullets for a long time. Not very scientific and silly looking back, but not unusual as easily evidenced by reading the Fire. But a few years ago when I relocated to where I have an endless supply of test subjects I thought it might be cool to try out as many bullets as possible and keep notes. I have learned a bunch and dispelled a lot of my old beliefs about bullet performance and effectiveness, plus had a lot of fun. It’s also made me believe that if everyone got the chance to shoot several hundred head of large animals instead of the usual few dozen there’s be much less concrete conviction on good or bad bullets.

Good info. It's always neat to see your results on the porkers.

For sure. I always like to read what TK writes and reports from his hog killin. Glad we don't have them, but a little jealous we don't as well..

Good stuff kid, as usual. Hogs have become my favorite source of bullet testing media by far.........

Ain’t that the truth.

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