I have a touch of experience with the 5.56 and killing stuff.
1) 230lb boar. Factory 64gr Speer Gold Dot. FN DMR II w/18" barrel. Approximately 60 yards. No chrono data.
- Hit the boar as it was quartering toward me. Bullet entered mid neck on the near side, crossing over to the opposite side and exited at the point of the shoulder. Total penetration was about 16". I did not hit the spine, but the animal dropped to the shot and kicked for about 20 seconds.
2) Approx. 250lb boar. Factory Mk 318 Mod 0. Daniel Defense DDM4V7 w/16" barrel. Approximately 110 yards. No chrono data.
- Hit the boar just behind the front leg from a full broadside (traditional hunting placement). Boar ran into the trees, where I recovered it 12 hours later. It had made it 94 yards as a crow flies before dying in thick vegetation. No exit. The SKS was just a rifle I didn't mind tearing up in the brush looking for him.
3) Approx. 300+lb boar. Factory Mk 318 Mod 0. Daniel Defense DDM4V7 w/16" barrel. 85 yards. No chrono data.
- Hit this boar mid neck as it was quartering away. Bullet exited the opposite side of the neck high, and went through the ear. Boar dropped and flopped. However, I shot it again in the rear as I was walking up because I was a bit worried about the lethality of the 5.56, and this dude was as tall as my mature bucks on camera. That bullet exited behind the front leg after more than 20" of penetration. The boar squealed at the second impact, letting me know it did not expire from the first.
4) 205lb boar (taped). Factory 64gr Speer Gold Dot. FN DMR II w/18" barrel. Approximately 80 yards. No chrono data.
- Hit this guy as he was already running. First shot anchored him, but he needed three...yes THREE more shots to die from about 40 yards away as he was flopping quartering away from me when I was walking toward him. I really felt bad about this one, and wished I had a clear headshot. No shots exited. The first shot broke the spine mid-back.
5) Approx 145lb boar. Factory Mk 318 Mod 0. Daniel Defense DDM4V7 w/16" barrel. No chrono data
- This was the second ever hog I killed. The first was one of the cleanest kills I've ever had, so I got overconfident way too early in my career. This guy was about 65 yards from me and through a fence. I tried to get cute and thread the shot through a gate. The bullet grazed the gate and struck this guy somewhere not lethal at all. He blasted through the fence and pulled up 20 yards from me...looking for a fight. His posture was that of a pit bull, and fortunately I was standing in the shadows since the moon was bright that night. I 5-tapped this dude as fast as I could pull the trigger. I think every shot hit, but I can't tell you where. He dropped and started flopping. This brought my confidence back to where it needed to be.
6) * This was the reason why I started using a 6.8*. Approximately 190lb boar. Factory Mk 318 Mod 0. Daniel Defense DDM4V7 w/16" barrel.
- First impact was at about 135 yards, final impacts were at about 25 yards. Initial shot was quartering away, which got him running from my 12 to 8 O'clock. I took four more shots, hitting him two more times. The third total impact had him change direction in his sprint now directly towards me. I quickly fired 6 more rounds, hitting him at least four times. By the time he slid to a stop 25 yards from me I had fired 11 total rounds and had 7 impacts. The last burst had broken both front shoulders, and I managed to slip one by and hit him in the dick. That was not the adrenaline rush I wanted.
7) Last ones. Approximately 60-70lbs. Factory 64gr Speer Gold Dot. FN DMR II w/18" barrel. No chrono data.
- I caught these guys one morning and lit into them wearing just boots and skivvies. All four died of a single gunshot wound. The only pig that didn't have an exit was the one on the far right who took a Texas heart shot.
I've killed quite a few more hogs than this with the 5.56, and will attest that it is a very effective cartridge on an opening shot. Where it starts to fall very short though is when the adrenaline is already running and the animal isn't hit perfectly...especially if it is decent-sized. That's why I wanted to show some success stories as well as some failures.
Aside from the hogs, I've probably killed ~ 40 - 50 coyotes with the factory Speer Gold Dots and Mk 318 Mod 0. Those bullets are both fantastic medicine for 'yotes. I've also killed a half-dozen feral dogs that were in the 55-90lb range with these bullets and they have been very humane.
