Hunting & Fishing is the 5.56 enough?

[K_4c]

is the 5.56 good enough to take a 150lb to 250lb russian boar down without it being a center mass hit? If so, what ammo do you prefer? Has anybody ever used any blended metal loads??

http://www.rbcd.net/2009%20NEW%20PRODUCTSa.htm

My AR shoots 62-69grn very well but I'm willing to bump up to 75 if the added weight has better terminal value/impact.

Any advice would be great.

Kinnamon

 

[Sawyer]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Try moving this to the hunting section..... You will get better responses..... MODS?

 

[shadow2]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Just to throw it in there. I shoot hogs with my 16 inch barrelled AR and i use Silver State Armory 75grain with the Barnes triple shock bullet and have no problems at all. Do not use standard ammo. It will piss them off. Had one chase me up a tree.

 

[K_4c]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

fair enough.... even though I'm asking more about the ballistic value of the 5.56 and not hunting...

 

[K_4c]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Thanks Chase Smith. That's what I was looking for in a response.

 

[mavrick10_2000]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Unless you have a good chance of a shot in the ear, I'd stick with the Barnes or 60gr Nosler Partition to be safe.

69 - 77gr SMK's work well for an in the ear shot, but I wouldn't regularly use them for any other shot.

 

[GCMxVeGeTa]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

I like the 75 gr. A-Max from Hornady for long range and carries a good punch when it gets there. B/C on them is somewhere around .435 - .455

I've shot through small pine trees with the 75 A-Max at 200 yards but the 68 gr BTHP-Match ones seem to bust chunks off. So, I'm guessing the 75 would be better for bigger animals and 68 would be good for varmints.

 

[SingleShot85]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kinnamon_4c</div><div class="ubbcode-body">is the 5.56 good enough to take a 150lb to 250lb russian boar down without it being a center mass hit?</div></div>

that depends on where your non center of mass hit is. if you shoot him in the ass your going to have problems, if you shoot him in the head then you'll be just fine. Of course any caliber (w/in reason) will have some problems if you dont hit them in front of the diaphram.

I vote barnes or the Amax.

 

[Shady_Jay]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

I popped many with the 60gr V-Max pushed with RL15

 

[SNOW]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

62gr TSXs will kill the shit out of just about anything unlucky enough to meet one.

 

[Alaskaman11]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

I shoot Black Bear with 5.56, I like the 55 gr Barnes X in the lungs. They take about 15 steps and pile.

 

[Wild_Bill]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

my vote is get a 308 or at lease eompthing with a 270 bore diameter the 6.8 spc with 130gr projectiles works realy well. The key here is the shot placement if it is not placed in the exact place you will cause more troubles than it is worth. It is a humane issue i have shot animals with a 223 with the correct projectile for the job but they just are not good for anything realy large without perfect shot placement.

 

[pwc001]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Hogs do not seem to take hits as well as other animals, such as deer. I have killed a lot of 100# hogs with a 22 mag, because that is all we could use on WMA's. I have killed a few with ar's by my house, with various hunting bullets. The last one was a 250# boar, he went about 30 yards and fell over, then the 460 Rowland did him in. On the larger pigs you need a bullet that will get through their tough hide, so most hunting bullets will do the trick.

 

[kyreloader]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

I would give the 75g Swift Scirocco II a look also.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Judging from the replies so far, the chambering would appear to be marginally adequate, with a heavy dependence on good shot placement. I seriously doubt that unless the animal is well contained/restrained, precise shots are going to be sufficiently easy to make this strategy work reliably.

I would consider hogs to be a dangerous game with mass similar to that of a black bear, and a degree of aggression that far exceeds. I'd want that sucker to go <span style="font-style: italic">down</span>, and no doubt about it.

The idea off an AR appeals from a followup shot viewpoint, some sort of a semi, but I'd want something that's going to have a lot more knockdown than a 5.56.

I'd don't run so well at my age, and trees are out of the question. Running away from game is not why I go hunting.

I like something along the lines of a Marlin Camp 45 with a dot scope. I don't have one, but I do have a Win '94 .44 mag.

Another approach would be something like my 20ga semi with either 5/8oz slugs or #4 buck (22 pellets per load).

Greg

 

[spr1]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Thet changed the rules in the peoples republic of maryland, one can now deer hunt with the .223. That 62 gr TSX sounds interesting..... my son wants to use the AR to hunt this year....

 

[soteaser]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

The 556/223 has dropped somewhere in the neiborhood of 50 deer for me and I keep hearing "it's too light" from all these super dooper ultra mag hunters.(90%+ have dropped. In their tracks doown and dead) I stay under 200 yds but most Wi. Shots are 20-50yds in reality.Good luck and enjoy in PRM. Terry

 

[AK10mm]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

I remember hearing years ago that the Eskimos and tribes in Alaska use a .223 for everything,including Polar Bear.I don't know if this is true or not.Shot placement would be critical to say the least.

 

[smack]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SANDRAT</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I remember hearing years ago that the Eskimos and tribes in Alaska use a .223 for everything,including Polar Bear.I don't know if this is true or not.Shot placement would be critical to say the least.</div></div>

I also heard that SANDRAT'S taste like chicken if properly fried....

 

[ranger1183]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

FWIW - Washington state mandates that the lowest caliber projectile for hunting deer be at least 6mm.

If it were me, I'd use at least a 6.5mm Grendel if I were shooting an AR. Heck, stick a boar with a 6.5mm 120 grain Barnes TTSX and watch it drop!

http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/rifle/tipped-tsx-bullet/

 

[AK10mm]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

I built a 6X45 AR before the 6.5,6.8,and others came out,still is my favorite AR,HDY 100GRN RN give pretty good terminal performance at closer ranges,and I can use 55 or 58 GRN for varmints.

 

[shooter65]

Re: is the 5.56 enough?

Colt AR 15 with 55 gr. had no trouble dropping the 14 pt and these pigs.