Four Hogs Won't Be Feeling Their Oats Anymore...

[Double Naught Spy]

Since April 3, we have taken a total of 43 (recovered) hogs off of this property (~60 acres of fields, half in oats, half in hay). HuntTXhogs has been a big part of that when he can make it. Last night was a solo productive night with 4 more taken in fairly quick succession. The problem is that with the more hogs killed, the average height of the hogs is going down and they are getting harder and harder to see in the oats, LOL. Unlike other nights, I had nearly 4 hours of down time watching the fields where I was not pursuing hogs or predators as none were showing up. I would like to believe I am making a difference. Fewer hogs are showing up because there are less hogs to show up and because survivors don't want to show up lest they get shot or see their buddies get shot. That is my belief. Next week, the place could be crawling with them, LOL.

The Speer TNT 90 gr. bullets continue to perform well. I learned a valuable lesson that more experienced hunters probably already had figured out and that is even when the TNT rounds overpenetrate, if the exit hole isn't large, then much of the bullet is still inside.

[Sticks]

I would have thought that the predator hunting would be counter productive to the hog population issue.

[VASCAR2]

The TNT seems to be working pretty good on hogs. With the lower BC of the TNT and the way it sheds velocity this round should present less down range hazard in the event you miss your target. If you get a hit on the target the bullet that does exit doesn’t have as much mass so not as likely to have as much down range hazard. Might be an advantage for someone having to dispatch hogs in a more populated area.


Thanks for posting DNS I really enjoy your videos!

[Double Naught Spy]

You know, I had not given it that much thought from that perspective. I had been looking at it as the loss of velocity and energy making it less effective for longer distance hunting, not for being safer downrange. Good spin!

When exiting hogs, I have seen small holes and large. I assume the large hole include a more complete bullet, but no doubt it has lost at lot of energy going through the hog. Small holes will only be bullet fragments (based on the two examples here), so their down range danger is hugely reduced. Now that I am alerted to it, I will keep checking on the small hole theory with the metal detector.

So far, the tissue damage being done appears to be repeatably significant. I have not found any instances where it looked like the bullet didn't open. Logic and advertising (sold as varmint round) would suggest this round should not be good for hogs, but it seems to do a dandy of a job.

[LRRPF52]

Love it. Is that a 20", 22", or 24" barrel?

Looks like the little varmint bullet is putting them down.

[Double Naught Spy]

LRRPF52, only an 18" barrel and chrono'd at 2800 fps. I was shooting from a 22" Liberty barrel for a while and getting a whopping 2920 fps.

Yeah, I am really surprised the bullet is working like it is.

[VASCAR2]

As fast as the TNT sheds velocity you may see less fragmentation at extended range. With the higher velocity the varmint bullets will be more explosive or less likely to perforate the target with a full core. As the distance increases the bullets may retain more mass unless they hit bone and fragment. I’m really curious to see how 95 grain V-Max would perform on hogs. In water testing the V-Max and TNT gave very similar results. I think the V-Max has a higher BC which might prove advantageous for longer shots because of flatter trajectory.


Part of the varmint bullet advertising might be cartridge specfic. The 90 grain TNT at over 3000 FPS from a 264 WM might be more fur friendly than the 90 grain TNT at 2300 FPS from a 6.5 Grendel. The 90 grain TNT would probably not fair very well except for head shots on hogs out of a 264 WM because of the high velocity.

Not only is the 6.5 Grendel economical it shows how a low pressure (ie lower velocity) round with enough mass can be an effective hunting cartridge but still not be a barrel burner.

[HuntTXhogs]

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve heard you say SST - a credit to how well the TNT is performing...

I hope to join in on next weeks trip.

[Double Naught Spy]

The 90 grain TNT would probably not fair very well except for head shots on hogs out of a 264 WM because of the high velocity.

LOL, if placed right, the shot would not have to penetrate very far and would still be very effective!

[brut28481]

As fast as the TNT sheds velocity you may see less fragmentation at extended range. With the higher velocity the varmint bullets will be more explosive or less likely to perforate the target with a full core. As the distance increases the bullets may retain more mass unless they hit bone and fragment. I’m really curious to see how 95 grain V-Max would perform on hogs. In water testing the V-Max and TNT gave very similar results. I think the V-Max has a higher BC which might prove advantageous for longer shots because of flatter trajectory.


Part of the varmint bullet advertising might be cartridge specfic. The 90 grain TNT at over 3000 FPS from a 264 WM might be more fur friendly than the 90 grain TNT at 2300 FPS from a 6.5 Grendel. The 90 grain TNT would probably not fair very well except for head shots on hogs out of a 264 WM because of the high velocity.

Not only is the 6.5 Grendel economical it shows how a low pressure (ie lower velocity) round with enough mass can be an effective hunting cartridge but still not be a barrel burner.

I have a 95 grain v-max load worked up for my 12.5" Grendel. Hoping to get out and test on some hogs shortly. I have used the 129 ABLR effectively but seeing the success of the 90 gr. TNT my thoughts were similar on the V-max. Good work DNS!