Posted By: Double Naught Spy
220 lb Boar Down! - 08/11/16 04:01 PM
Turned out to be a really long night for one hog, but was productive.
I am still working with the experimental lathed-down Hornady GMX bullets here, down from 120 gr. to 93-94 gr. As the video shows, the bullet performed well enough. It is loaded a bit light on the velocity, but did some interesting damage.
On the entry side, it penetrated the shoulder blade and then broke 3 ribs underneath it from the impact, but the bullet itself seemed to have passed between the ribs. Usually when I find a bullet had hit a rib, that part of the rib is missing. In this case, all the parts were there, just broken into segments. From what I could feel, one rib was snapped in 3 different places. The soft tissue damage around the broken 3 ribs was larger than that of a golf ball, which was neat because this was directly under the shoulder blade that only had a finger diameter hole through it. The bullet continued through the body, hitting lungs and blood vessels, but then striking the body of the vertebral column and taking a chunk out of it. I figure that this is actually what dropped the hog. At this point, I think the bullet had come apart, pieces ending up stuck in the meat and at least one piece exiting after passing through the cartilage of the shoulder blade on the other side. Aside from the large hole on the entry side ribs, the bullet seemed to bore a finger diameter hole through the hog to under the skin on the opposite side where some portion of the bullet exited.
A buddy had loaded these a bit light and I think the extra 100 fps or so that was lost might have made for a more impressive exit on the opposite side, but otherwise, the bullet performed well enough. This was a very respectable-sized hog. By comparison, I usually say that Hornady SST 123 gr. ammo can usually overpenetrate a broadside shot on hogs up to 225 lbs. Above that it is iffy and below that it is common. So this bullet performed right about in that performance envelope, even loaded light.
Here is the video...
I am still working with the experimental lathed-down Hornady GMX bullets here, down from 120 gr. to 93-94 gr. As the video shows, the bullet performed well enough. It is loaded a bit light on the velocity, but did some interesting damage.
On the entry side, it penetrated the shoulder blade and then broke 3 ribs underneath it from the impact, but the bullet itself seemed to have passed between the ribs. Usually when I find a bullet had hit a rib, that part of the rib is missing. In this case, all the parts were there, just broken into segments. From what I could feel, one rib was snapped in 3 different places. The soft tissue damage around the broken 3 ribs was larger than that of a golf ball, which was neat because this was directly under the shoulder blade that only had a finger diameter hole through it. The bullet continued through the body, hitting lungs and blood vessels, but then striking the body of the vertebral column and taking a chunk out of it. I figure that this is actually what dropped the hog. At this point, I think the bullet had come apart, pieces ending up stuck in the meat and at least one piece exiting after passing through the cartilage of the shoulder blade on the other side. Aside from the large hole on the entry side ribs, the bullet seemed to bore a finger diameter hole through the hog to under the skin on the opposite side where some portion of the bullet exited.
A buddy had loaded these a bit light and I think the extra 100 fps or so that was lost might have made for a more impressive exit on the opposite side, but otherwise, the bullet performed well enough. This was a very respectable-sized hog. By comparison, I usually say that Hornady SST 123 gr. ammo can usually overpenetrate a broadside shot on hogs up to 225 lbs. Above that it is iffy and below that it is common. So this bullet performed right about in that performance envelope, even loaded light.
Here is the video...
