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stevie_d_64 wrote: But that handload absolutely looks to be the right one for that situation...

The .223 I use are not handloads, but production stuff from "PMP", that South African stuff that came out a while back...I think I still got a case of it somewhere in the house... It'll do in a pinch...

If there was another thing I need to get up to speed on its "reloading"...

Steve,

I still have the better part of my third case of the PMP .223. I used that
in some of my first matches shooting the AR, before I started handloading.
It is good reliable ammo. Never had a failure with them.

I now use that same brass for my handloads. I have collected lots
of different types of brass over the last several years but stick to the PMP
because I can't seem to wear them out. The IMI stuff (headstamp TZZ)
is also tough stuff, and holds a bit more powder than the PMP. I use
it if I need to move up the load scale a tad, like loading the 75gr Hornady
bullets for long range shooting.

The AR is a great platform with many uses. Once folks get past the very
military look of it, it is easy to get them hooked on shooting it. And most
especially the women. My three daughters have all shot mine, and the
youngest shot service rifle matches with the Bushmaster with me. She
wanted to move up to the Armalite and I told her that she could as soon
as she beat me. Four matches later she had the Armalite. That was in
NC, and when we moved to TX she hit the road as a travelling nurse and
both of our match shooting days ended.

I got a Christmas card from a friend from Illinois last year. She is a
slight lady, maybe 100 lbs, and about 5'3" or so. She included a picture
of herself at the NRA range in VA shooting her sons AR-15. And she
left the impression that she really enjoyed it. Cracked me up, big time.

Regards,

Tom

stevie_d_64 wrote: The one thing I just found out this last weekend (Father's Day) is that unless you really have a good shot on a "hog" (ferrel or javelina)...A .223 to me is not a high precentage "insta kill" on something above 50-60 lbs...

I am not much of a hunter anymore...I will of course do so if I must...And I can do it very well when I need to...

My experience with these ferrel hogs is that they really have a tough "kill zone" on their bodies...I have a cousin who shot one last year on our property that took a .308, and ten minutes later got up and trotted off like nothing happened...And that shot, he said, was right behind the shoulder...

FYI, the reason we are shooting these hogs is not for sport, we are trying to cull a large multi-property "ranging" herd that is seriously damaging our land up there in N.E. Texas...

And if I had a .50 Barrett, I would use it on the "big ones"...

My 30.06 BAR Sportsman, is my hog culler of choice...And a Ruger .44 is my "cu-de-gras" (spelling??? echhh!)...

But this is all just my opinion concerning the use of a .223 for hogs...I think it is not a very good caliber of choice for these types of animals...

stevie_d_64

I agree with your shot placement statement, it is everything!

But one thing I do know about feral hogs is that if they are hit in the
head/neck area with a .223 they will drop in their tracks. I got one
yesterday morning at 90 yards (porch to feeder) with my Bushmaster,
topped with a 4X scope, and 55gr soft point handloads. I didn't weigh it
but guess that it was about 100-110 lbs. It was one of about 20 at my
feeder and they all scattered so fast I could not get a second shot.

I am working on my second dozen of these with this rifle and load.
I actually got three in about 5 seconds last summer, all head
or spine shots, and none ran or moved more than a couple of feet.

The only hog that ever ran off was the first one I shot. I hit it with a
140gr SP in 6.5X55 Swede from a Win M70. It took the shot in the ribs,
fell over, got up, ran off, and I never found it. I decided there and then
that I needed a better plan, hence the head shot routine ever since.

Agreeing again with Steve shot placement is everything. I am lucky in
that I can shoot from a known distance, at animals occupied with feeding,
and can get very stable sitting in my patio chair with just the muzzle
pushed out of a partially opened screen door. They never see me or
hear me and I only take high probability shots. I do use the meat from
the smaller hogs but the vultures get the bigger ones. They are feasting
as I write this - about 40 of them, both red and black headed, and a
few crows/ravens? too.

Back to AR issues: I replaced the standard Bushmaster trigger several
months ago with a RRA 2 stage and love it. It was a great bargain from
Brownells (I get dealer prices due to my C&R). I actually like the RRA
trigger better than the Armalite 2 stage that I have in my Armalite NM.
I did not however, use the RRA pins are they are oversized and I didn't
want to make that change. As it turns out the standard pins work great.

The AR is a great shooting platform due to low recoil, cheap ammo for
practice, quick followup shots, and if your skill level allows, will do the
job on anything you are likely to find in this part of TX. One of my
neighbors has a T/C Encore in .223 that he uses exclusively for deer
(Axis,Sika,Fallow) and antelope (Blackbuck) and is up to about 60
animals over the last 6 years and none have run off. He shoots from
both his front porch and from several blinds on his property.
He told me about doing the head/neck shot routine and it has not let me
or him down yet.
His wife uses a .243 and we had to work up a Partition load for her as
she was having animals run off after taking body shots with Ballistic Tips.
BTW the Partitions are working perfectly - no lost animals in over a year.

All this means is that if you practice to get your skills up the .223 in the
right place is plenty good enough.


Maybe we need a hunting forum to share our experiences.

Regards,

Tom