Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Best 556/223 Factory Load for Pig Hunting

I'm taking my SIL on a guided pig hunt for his Christmas present. Neither of us have hunted pigs before. We are opting for "spot and stalk" and we want the meat, so we will be targeting relatively small sows.

We have scoped bolt action big game rifles available, but I'm thinking that 556 AR's with Aimpoints would be better for pigs on the move. Range should be under 30 yards.

I don't reload, so I'm looking for a proven factory load. All recommendations will be appreciated.

Thanks

I don't worry about the brand on the box I just concentrate on the bullet they load. Truthfully any 55+gr soft point will do the trick. Winchester 64gr PP is a good lower cost option usually easy to find.

If you are going with factory the Nosler 223 with the Nosler 60 gr Partition would be hard to beat and it would be my choice. If you hand load then there is a number of loads that would be great

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/89...gton-60-grain-nosler-partition-box-of-20

Thanks for the link. Read the reviews and ordered four boxes. As a bonus there is a mail-in $20 rebate that will more than cover the shipping.

Just remember that there is a reason that 55 soft points are great for in home use".....frangible is a starting word there....

Which 55 soft points are you referring to? I have some 55 Sierra Gameking BTSP, supposed to be an all-purpose bullet. I haven't shot an animal with them but never heard of them being very frangible, at least not like a varmint-specific bullet.

Read up on some self defense bullets. I don't know personally, I wouldn't shoot a bullet as light as a 55 in an AR anyway, but that being said there is a lot of stuff out there that says things like 55 soft point Rem etc.... are frangible enough that a single wall in a house will generally stop them or they won't be able to totally penetrate a second one.

I hear that hornady 55 soft points have been tougher than others. Which is hard to believe because typically Hornady bullets overall have been more frangible than other brands of similar type projectiles.

As far as sierra gamekings, in various calibers, I"ve seen everything from failure to expand at all, to expansion so quick that a tiny pig that shouldn't have stopped a 7mm bullet at any angle did...

I think Vortex/Barnes has a TSX loading, and maybe some others might load the TSX. I would be curious to see how they compared.

I like the 60gr Partition for deer, should work fine on little piggies. I believe that Federal has it in a factory load.

Go to Silver State Armory and buy their load with the 70 grain Barnes TSX in it and be done with it, no one here will dispute that this load will out penetrate anything else in 5.56. Don't guess about penetration. Take your camera bring us some pictures!! also solid copper bullets seem to produce less blood shot meat for me anyway.

That size pig at that short range? I think I'd just bust them with a 55 FMJ.

I have a lot of 55 fmj and 62 green tips on hand, but I'm gonna go with the 60 gr partitions I ordered just in case a big pig shows up.

let us know how those partitions shoot in your gun.

while I've seen really good results from FMJ, MUCH better than I've ever expected, I don't trust them, unless its CNS ear canal shots.

I put one of those 55 hornady's through both shoulder blades of a 140 lb. doe a couple weeks ago. Range was 80 yards. Recovered what was left of the bullet from underneath the hide on the offside. I haven't weighed it but there's still core left in the jacket and it's a picture perfect mushroom. The deer dropped instantly.

And thats supposed to be a tougher bullet, and still didn't blow all the way through, many other bullets would have taken that one all the way through and exited.

But its nice to know the Hornady is actually a bit stronger than other 55 soft points.

It's just hawgs, Jeff.

Either the partition or the TTSX should work well. Shot placement is alot more critical than bullet construction.

CorBon makes a 60 grain TSX load.

They shoot just fine. Clean kills on two pigs today.