Barnes X performance

I got back from my hunting trip in Texas. I killed three hogs with three different guns.

The first was a 250lb boar. It was about 50 yards away. I had my Remington Sendero SF in .300 Win. Mag with a Nightforce NXS 5.5x-22x-56mm Illuminated Mil-Dot Scope. The ammo was PMC 180 grain Barnes-X bullets.

I was in a tower blind about 8 feet high. The boar was facing towards me, angled down. I placed the cross hairs at the base of his neck. At the first shot, he was down, but his legs were kicking, so I shot him again. It took 2 people about 1 1/2 hours to clean him. His hide was about 1" thick and our knives became dull after it was all over. BTW, believe it or not, we recovered one of the bullets. It mushroomed perfectly. I can't believe that we recovered it. It was lodged on the far side of the grisle plate. Increadible.

The second was a smaller 150lb. sow. It was also about 50 yards away. I had my Winchester M70 Classic Stainless in .338 Win. Mag with Burris Black Diamond 3x-12-50mm. The ammo was PMC 225 grain Barnes-X bullets.

I was in another tower blind about the same height. The hog gave me a perfect broad side shot. I purposely aimed on the shoulder because I knew that the .338 X bullet would penetrate, but at the last moment, the hog took a step forward and the bullet was right behind the shoulder. At the shot, the hog curled up a bit and then circled and ran in the other direction. It finally stopped about 50 yards away, started to fumble around like a drunk, and finally dropped. The bullet penetrated right through.

I got out of my stand and took my Taurus Raging Bull in .480 Ruger with open sights and Hornady 325 grain XTP bullets with me because I know that Hogs are tough to put down. While I was examining the 150lb hog, which didn't even move, I noticed a smaller pig running towards me from about 80 yards away.

I hid behind a bush and it ran right past me about 25 yards in front of me. It was about 40lbs or so. Although it was later in the evening and the sun was in my eyes, I placed the open sights on the shoulder and pulled the trigger while it was still running. At the shot, the little guy made a back flip, but started running in the other direction. I aimed in the same place (but opposite side) and shot again. This time it dropped. I examined the hog and found out that my first shot was at the base of the neck with a hole the size of a quarter. The second shot was right on the money - right on the shoulder.

I would surprised that the .480 didn't put it down quicker. After all, it kinda was a neck shot, and it was only 40lbs. Would my 454 put it down quicker? I don't think so. I guess it was just one of those things.

Anyway, I had a blast, more so with the little running pig and a handgun with open sights than with the big rifles and big scopes.

Handgunning for hogs if simply more fun.

Zachary