Haven't seen any hogs in a good while, but one gnarly and rank rogue boar changed that tonight.
More details to come later, but for now: I used the 24" .300 Savage barrel from Van Horn with a 125 grain Ballistic Tip at a bit north of 2700 fps MV. The range was fairly short and about 110 yards. The shot took the hog through the center of the shoulder, penetrating the massive shield and going on to destroy the top halves of the lungs before breaking a rib on the opposite side. To this point, it has not been recovered.
The hog, to my delight, dropped in its tracks.
The shield on this hog is the thickest I have ever encountered. I'll post a measurement in the next day or so.
The hog weighed 221 pounds.
OK, the bullet made it all the way into the far side shield. The core was not recovered, but we did not dig all that much. Even with the separation, the bullet did an outstanding job on a very tough target. The shield, which has the consistency of hard rubber, approached 2 inches in thickness on each shoulder. I hope to have a photo of it tomorrow in the daylight.
A few more details: I actually gave the .300 barrel to one of the kids a while back when dividing up some of my stuff. But for months now he has been pestering me to sell him my Van Horn 30-30 barrel (24" tapered). Told him I'd only trade it to him, so he offered up the Savage barrel. It currently wears a Trijicon Accupoint 3-9x40 scope with duplex reticle. I know I am going to miss the 30-30 barrel, but it's OK because Andy has lots of big plans for it. Seeing the kids enjoy some of the same things that brought me much enjoyment makes me smile a mile wide.
Hi Bobby
congratulations on a nice hog! Always nice when they drop in their tracks.
Hey Bobby!! Nice to see you're feeling perky enough to do some shooting!
I've been wanting to work on loads that will maximize the velocity of the 125s in my 30-30 AI. I've got case capacity for probably a couple more grains of Varget than I'm using and if the P-Max online ballistic program is fairly accurate, I could get to at least 2750 without pushing the pressure limits too much, either on the brass or on the Contender frame. I plan to set up for some chrony work out at my son's place sometime in the next couple of weeks and that'll be interesting to see.
That is a nice pig all around. And great shooting!
i wouldn’t mind trying one of Van Horns barrels someday, myself.
That's a doozy of a hog congrats. I'm sure Dave would always make you another barrel.
The 26" MGM barrel in 30-30 AI that I used to have reached 2800 fps with a couple powders and the 125 grain BT but was at its best in terms of accuracy and case life around 2750 fps. With the 23 and 24" barrels, I mainly used 150 grain BTs (and Accubonds) and ran them from 2400 fps to around 2550 fps.Originally Posted by J A XSP
If I recall, you were using some Vitavourhi powders? With Varget, I stopped at 38 grains because it was consistently accurate and I just never had a big enough supply that I felt comfortable using up a lot of components in further development. :) I've always estimated that load at around 2600 fps, probably less. I just did some loads with 125 Pro hunters stepped up to almost 39 grains and 3 shots cloverleafed at 100 yards. That should be getting me at least 2650. The BTs seem to want to stay within about 3/4" almost regardless of powder charge. I've shot 150s with 38 grains of Varget with no pressure signs and I estimate that load to be in that 2500 fps range. I'm very interested to see what the actual velocities will be. :)
Congratulations on a nice hog. Extra Congrats on using a .300 Savage. Looks like it did the job nicely.
In a small way I kinda wish we had some of them hogs up here to deal with in such a fashion, however as big of a pest as they are I am glad we don't.
Good shooting and take care of a couple more for those of us that don't have the opportunity.
204, 22 K-Hornet, 222, 223, 22-250, 22-250AI, 6BR, 243, 243AI, 6-06, 6-WSM, 250-3000AI, 270, 7-08, 7RM, 30BR, 308, 30-06, 375 H&H, 444 Marlin, 450BM, 458WM
JA-
I was using Varget, H4198 and Re-7 in that barrel. VV N160 was what I used almost exclusively in a long-throated, 26"/1:8 MGM barrel in 6.5 Bullberry IMP. I used it with everything from 120 through 140 grains.
That's right...it was that 6.5 that you got crazy velocities out of with Vitavourhi. Do you recall what you max Varget load was?
I haven't found the flash drive with the 125 grain data, but i did locate a set of ammo boxes with the labels from my 150 grain Ballistic Tip loads in the 30-30 AI. I used 38 grain of Varget with the 150 grain BT and 150 Accubond. With the 150 grain CT Ballistic Tip, which has the Lubalox coating, I used 38.5 grains Varget to get the same performance. All were in the 2550 fps range or just a tiny bit more and loaded in Federal Premium brass that I had previously fireformed.
I considered those max loads for the Contender.
I haven't given up on finding that 125 grain data and will post or message you when I do.
That 150 grain bullet load gives me the reference I need...I've used that load with a couple of 150s and I agree that it's about max. That should give me room, pressure wise, for about 40 grains of Varget with the 125s and that's what the predicted date is showing. I've got some test rounds loaded up to do a pressure/accuracy check and I can load up some finer gradients to dial it in.
Congratulations on that moonlight boar. The 300 Savage in a rifle length barrel is one that I'd like to have.
Nice to have you around Bobby.
I wish I knew what you meant about kids getting same enjoyment out of our things as we age.
I've got a whole safe full of guns and the kids don't really want any of it. I gave them a really nice 22 Ruger MKIV last year for Christmas, and they've only shot it the once, with me taking them to the range the day after Christmas.
With my rapidly declining health, I may not have to worry about it much longer. Poor Mrs Slim is going to have a lot of "stuff" to unload after I'm gone.
12F, McGowen 6.5x284 1-8" twist, Nightforce 12-42x BR<br />BVSS, McGowen barrel, 22-250 1-9" twist, Nikon 6-18x<br />16 FHLSS Weather Warrior, Sinarms 257 Roberts, Pentax 3-9<br />Stevens 200, 223 bone-factory-stock, Nikon 3-9x<br />Scratch-built BVSS, LW 243 1-8" twist, Viper 6.5-20x50 mil-dot
Slim-I am truly sorry to hear about your health and will keep you in prayer. No one knows what tomorrow may bring. With the range of health issues I have, my cardiologist was straight-forward with me and told me he did not think I'd make it to 50 -- and yet here I am and well past that mark. Sometimes -- and especially on days with bad flare-ups -- I sit here and think about how little sense life makes. Friends and family -- younger and healthier -- have been called home before me. When it's my time, I wanted specific music for my service, and my best friend was going to take care of that for me so that my family didn't have to. But an aggressive cancer took her away from us back in 2014. She was the healthy one...the strong one...the one who always helped and came to everyone's rescue, so to speak. And then an ER visit for what was thought to be a simple gall bladder issue changed everything in a heartbeat. Stay strong, my friend...and I'll keep the prayers coming.
It's an amazing round and one that is oft-overlooked for this platform. Despite some critics claiming there is too much taper, the geometry in fact is similar to that of the AI rounds, and I keep things on the mild side (my loads are generally book minimum or thereabouts).
Below, from left: 7mm Bullberry, .300 Savage and 30-30 WCF
That pic alone says it all, now just stick a rim on it. thinking a 30-40 case tweaked a bit ????? just kidding no more goofy rabbit holes for me
Bobby, I have always really enjoyed your photography and write ups, it's really good to see them again! (BTW I was Bobcat on SP)
It's better to shoot for the moon and hit the fencepost than to shoot for the fencepost and hit the ground!
Nice sausage material there Bobby. So glad to see you here. I tried to send you an email about subscribing here but couldn't find your address. Again, good to see you here. I always enjoyed your posts over on SP. Take care of yourself, keep after them critters, & enjoy seeing them younguns use some of your old iron.
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