Last Berger VLD Hog, Lost Hog

[Double Naught Spy]

https://youtu.be/i7sUaeVngPA

Well, not all CNS shots go as planned. I had parked about 70 yards from my first game camera that was in a tree on the fenceline overlooking the oats field and was about to open the camera when I realized there were hogs in the field and my rifle was in the truck. So after scurrying back to correct that mistake, got back to the fence and lined up on the sow.

POA was center of the neck just behind the head. Should have been a good CNS shot. All I can figure is that the sow lowered her head as the bullet took flight. So the shot ended up behind the ear, but in the musculature and did not seem to directly impact anything vital. The sow managed to run into the bottoms and I was not able to find her. Despite being right behind the head and slightly above the spine, there was no hydrostatic shock to incapacitate the sow. With several weeks of rain and flooding, the bottoms are overgrown, muddy, nasty, full of mosquitoes. I had hoped that if she was down, that her piglets might be with her, but no luck. Given that the ground was muddy, tracking seemed like a good option, but there were tracks all over. Any place where I found exposed mud, I found pig tracks. Hopefully, I hit a blood vessel and she bled out fairly quickly, but I do not have high hopes for that result.

I only have a few rounds of VLD-Hunting left and will probably expend those on the range. I will next be moving on to testing some GMX 94gr. bullets and see how they do.

[ricsmall]

I don't think the 94 gmx will disappoint. Good luck. We all have a fouled up shot at some point. Don't sweat it.
Looking forward to the report from the 94 gmx pills

Richard

[Roe]

Is that 94gr GMX a custom mod? Can't find it w Hornady web.

[Double Naught Spy]

Yes, the 94 gr. GMX is a lathed-down custom modification (from 120 gr.).

[Roe]

Thanks!

[A5BLASTER]

As much as I hate wild hogs it sure does blow to lose some good pork meat like that, but it can happen with any bullet and the best of shooters sir.

PF has a new load listed 120 nosler etips have you ever tryed them on pigs ?

[Klem]

As much as I hate wild hogs it sure does blow to lose some good pork meat like that, but it can happen with any bullet and the best of shooters sir.

PF has a new load listed 120 nosler etips have you ever tryed them on pigs ?

Comparing the Nosler 120 e-tip (lead free) with the 120 Nosler Ballistic Tip (lead).



A longer bullet means less space for powder in the case. If you load it to the length of the magazine while maintaining the same peak pressure as the lead 120NBT you end up losing about 500fps.

The e-bullet claims 95% weight retention which puts it in the monolith category of hunting bullets. From this calibre it will be pretty slow by the time it gets to the animal and I imagine it will laser beam through with a crush trail only. Much like a subsonic Blackout. Certainly less killing potential than the lead version.

The slightly higher BC is more than offset by the slower speed. The Nosler e-tip is predicted to go transonic at 625metres compared to 875metres for the 120NBT lead equivalent, in the same length barrel with same peak pressure. PF's website claims the same 2,500fps for both their lead and lead-free loads. Unless they have underloaded the lead round then it is unlikely the claim is correct.

The e-tip is the poor cousin of the lead 120NBT. It is more expensive, slower, and has less impact on the target than its lead equivalent. No doubt designed for unfortunate hunters who live in a State that bans lead bullets. I would steer clear of this like the plague.

References
Pricing, Midway.
Internal ballistics, Quickload.
External ballistics, JBM (online).

[A5BLASTER]

Thank you for that info Klem but lets move this conversation to a tread i have started on this ammo so we dont jack DNS tread.

[Klem]

To be fair you did ask the question in this thread, and in answering I am rationalizing why (and likely why others have not also).

[Drift]

My (ever so slight) issues with CNS shots are 2. The first is "most any bullet will work well in any caliber" if I hit the CNS; so comparing bullets when all shots are CNS hits is futile. My 2nd issue is the piratical question "What happens when I miss that tiny little CNS target and instead hit that larger center of mass target?" Still and all, thanks for all the work on Bergers. I will give them another try next time I buy ammo. I am really looking forward to your impressions on the 94gr GMX bullets at 2850 fps.