It was a good morning for my 24” MGM Contender barrel in 7-30 Waters but a bad morning for a couple area hogs. Right after daybreak, I popped a sow at what later lasered 197 yards. The 140 grain C-T BST, which is pushed by a book load of 748 for right at 2600 fps, smashed through the onside shoulder, ripped up one side of the heart, broke the opposite shoulder and wound up just under the hide on the far side. That bullet, which I have yet to weigh, is pictured above. The destroyed muscle tissue of the heart is shown in the background.
On impact, the hog whirled, ran perhaps 15-20 yards and piled up in a cloud of dust.
About 10 minutes later, just after having loaded the sow, I noticed something moving towards me at a pretty good clip. It was another hog, but he was still several hundred yards out. I am guessing he may have caught a reflection off the truck’s windshield as he soon skidded to a halt and was facing me at a slight angle. I had no time to figure the range as I knew I was busted and that he’d be gone any second. I quickly put the crosshairs just above the back – at what I figured to be a foot or so above the vitals – and touched off a shot.
Everything felt good, and I could tell the hog was hit hard as he made just a few steps before tumbling down a dry wash. It later ranged at 353 yards, my longest-ever shot on a hog. The bullet, which retained well over 1200 ft./lbs. of energy at that range, plowed through the onside shoulder, made a mess of the lungs, punched all the way through a grape-and-corn-filled stomach and apparently wound up in the large intestine. I did not find it – not yet, at least.
With my usual 220 yard sight-in, my ballistics program tells me the bullet should have been just over 14 inches low at that range. It all happened quickly, and I recall touching off a shot when the crosshairs elevated a bit above the hog’s back and I could see ample daylight. It was nothing more than a lucky guesstimate, but – fortunately – it worked out just fine.
I actually took yet another hog last night just after midnight with the 7mm Bullberry and the 140 grain Accubond at 2480 fps, but there are no photos of it. I had no help then, and it still was 90 degrees, so there were matters more pressing than snapping a photo. To boot, I misjudged the hog’s position, thinking he was perfectly broadside. He wasn’t (it’s really hard to determine that at night on a dark animal that was moving and has just stopped for a moment!). Anyway, the bullet entered tight behind the shoulder but exited between the last ribs and hip, leaving a rather nasty exit in its wake.
