308 win for driven boar hunting

[WildBoarHunter]

I've been hunting with this calibre for about six months now (I had 30-06 previously). I shoot a few smaller pigs with it, using the Federal Fusion 180 gr. I was dissapointed with this bullet, not enough internal damage in case of bad shot placement and bad blood trails on smaller boars. As a consequence, some of the wounded boars were not found, even after miles of tracking with a dog. Now, I realise that wild boar can be very tough animals to bring down, and 308 is not a calibre that will put them down quickly, unless shot in the head, neck or the spine. However, I would like to know which bullet workes well for you if a bad shot placement happens. The most frequent bad shot on a drive is placed too far back in the intestines, because we shoot at running boars. I'm looking for a bullet that will make massive internal damage and good blood trail even in a case of a bad shot placement too far behind in the intestines. I'm not interested in softpoints, but controlled deformation bullets as occasionally I may shoot at something a little bigger too.
I've had good results with 150 gr RWS TIG (ID Classic), but unfortunatelly they seem a bit light for anything bigger than small pigs. I have some experience with 180 gr Norma Oryx. A good, solid, hard hitting bullet which produces a lot of internal damage. Soft enough even for smaller game, but tough enough for big animals too. I've been thinking about trying the 180 gr RWS TUG (UNI Classic). And I have a brand new box of 180 gr Norma Nosler Partitions, waiting to be tested. These are supposed to cause massive internal damage, but also a certain exit wound in case of larger animal. So I would like to know, what do you guys use on driven hunts in 308 and what are your experiences with the above mentioned bullets.

 

[ejg]

You can't have your bread buttered on both sides. Just shoot better or leave it.
edi

 

[tozzybum]

try federal powershock 180 gr

 

[MARCBO]

You can't have your bread buttered on both sides. Just shoot better or leave it.
edi

Ditto.

SS

 

[Southern]

Yes, Federal 180-gr RN Power Shok or my favorite, Remington .308 RN SP 180-gr Core Lokt. The CL bullet is very accurate in .308, .300 Savage and .30-06, and stout enough for use on big game at close range from a .30-06 at 2,700+ fps. It shoots to the same place as the spitzers and boattails out to 200 yards.

 

[WildBoarHunter]

Power Shok and Core Lokt are an interesting suggestion. They are soft enough, they are opening and fragmenting fast, so they should cause a lot of internal damage. At the same time, they are "cup and core" design, so they should hold together well enough to stop a little bigger boars if needed. Not sure about the blood trail with these bullets though, as I never used them before.

As for "shoot better or leave it" - bad shots on a driven hunt are a fact. No one can make a perfect shot at a fleeing animal every single time. Bad shots happen. And the only things you can do about it is to train as much as you can on a shooting range and use a bullet, that will cause a lot of internal damage and massive bleeding, so that the wounded boar bleads out as fast as possible.

 

[Jagare]

Just my thoughts. RWS tig& tug bullets are old fashion bullets that were OK when there was nothing better available. Even the Nosler partitions are looking a bit dated when you compare them with the likes of the Norma Oryx with their high retained weight. I still have some Nosler partitions loaded somewhere but they are the last thing i would take if shooting driven boar There are plenty of premium bullets out there. Bigger boar don't bleed so much and on driven hunts sh!t happens no matter what size caliber you use. I do all my boar shooting with a .308.

 

[User00003]

try the 200g partition, it will be just the ticket for you.

 

[DAC]

Partition, SST and if you want to be really surprised Rws target elite 12.3 g this will put down even 200+ kg male board with no problem. But bullets alone cand do much without a decent shot placement.

 

[DW58]

I've used 180gr Partitions, no problems whatsoever - dead or massive blood-trail.

 

[WildBoarHunter]

Thanks for your suggestions guys. Partition is surely high on my list to try. SST is an interesting option. I read somewhere, that this bullet is soft and makes devastating shock and internal damage, especially on smaller animals. Definatelly a good choice for smaller pigs. I have some experience with Oryx in 30-06. I think it's one of the softer bonded bullets out there. It opens fast and makes a lot of internal damage. It also makes a "big exit hole", decent blood trail and works equally well on smaller but also on larger animals. But retaining a lot of weight is not necessarily a good thing, especially if the bullet is too tough. Then it simply drills a hole through a smaller animal without expanding much and doing very little serious damage as most of the energy goes through the animal and into the surrounding backside. That is why there's little effect on smaller animals and bad blood trails. This could explain why the 180 gr Fusion didn't do very well with bad shot placement in my case. This bullet is just a bit too hard for smaller animals - it's intended for larger animals, where it can deliver all of it's energy into the body. The same goes for Lapua Mega. A lot of hunters here are complaining it's just too hard for smaller boar, giving little effect in case of a bad shot and consequently leaving bad blood trails. The same probably applies for some, if not most of the monolithic bullets, like Barnes and the like...
I hope my writing makes at least some sense - I'm not a native English speaker.

 

[Harry mac]

With 180grn bullets, I've had decent results with Norma Vulkan, but not at driven game. On static stuff though I was impressed with the internal damage and the speed of the drop.

 

[Yorric]

The 150, 165 or 168 grain Barnes TTSX should do a fine job on boar. The 180 grain version will be a bit slow from a 308 to perform at its best - Barnes recommend using a light bullet driven fast loaded with a long jump to the lands.
When driven fast the TTSX expands well on smaller animals, doesn't loose weight or fragment giving good penetration & cuts a good bleeding channel on its way through.

Ian

 

[tozzybum]

off to the range then,get a ballistic jelly brick and try a box of each of your preferred choice at a suitable range .everyones favourite isnt always suitable for other rifles .if you find one your happy with stick to it .my parker hale is all over the place with privi but loves fiocchi ,wheres my bsa is happy with federal and ok with ppu.

 

[WildBoarHunter]

I have 168 gr Barnes TTSX at home, ready to be tested, but I haven't tryed them yet. I have some experience with Lapua's monolithic bullet, the Naturalis in 308. They work well with good shot placement and they also do very little meat damage. The issue here is, that I think, these bullets won't make even near enough damage when hitting something as soft as guts, considering, how little meat damage they do even when hitting something as hard as boar's neck or shoulders... But this is just my theory, I would love to hear some first hand experiences from you guys.
Norma Vulcan is a classic bullet for driven hunting and it's almost as popular here in my country as Oryx. I haven't tryed it myself yet though...