223 73 gr ELDs

Me and n my buddy both have large cal guns, but we love our ARs more ! ? Wouldnt this the 73 grain eld match at 2700 FPS take out a pig pretty easy ?

Sure with a shot slightly behaved no the ear anything else they will die but prob run

Ya i know behind the ear,,,, but that will also take down a 1400 lb angus cross steer even with a 22 long rifle !

What do you, or does anyone know of the terminal ballistics of them?

I would try an ELD-X... the expanding version.

That ELD X with expansion control would be a better choice, but it starts at 270 cal and is not made in .224 also the 73 grain is the only ballistic tipped bullet in that heavy weight range that can loaded to fit the ar-15 mag that i know of,,,, nosler might make 70 grain that might fit ar mags not sure? I just put in an order for 500 of these at less than 20 cents a bullet...... gunna be hard to beat that price !

There are hollow point match in the 70-77 grain range but they are not recommended for hunting either.

It prob wont even matter,,, as we have not found any hunts for the pesty pigs that are even close to reasonable ! Makes no sense to charge to shoot pigs that are supposedly causing soooooo much damage, in so many states !!!!!

Makes no sense to allow strangers out among the cattle at night with high powered rifles and little to no experience hunting at night. Plus setting up a shot for some nimrod requires corn, blinds, patience and stress.

If they are gunna charge the price of a Beef then we will shoot a beef , MORE MEAT, LOL

Not Funny

Guess a sense of humor is needed,,, what you guys dont know is both my friend and myself where born and raised on Family owned Cattle/Ag farms and both of us has had our own cattle shot and killed by hunters on our properties with out permission.... So we know most if not all the problems out there,,, all to well .....

NO, match ammo is not what you want for good penetration. If you are shoulder shooting hogs, you want good penetration.

I know farm raised pigs are easy to kill with a 223 maybe these wild ones are harder to kill than farm raised ??? And i have killed many farm raised pigs over the years but only up the 250 -300 lb range....

You asked for opinions. You got opinions from knowledgeable people. You probably won't listen, since you already had your mind made up. So go shoot some hogs with that bullet and tell us all about it.

One thing about farm pigs (and pigs in a trap) is that they can't run off when you shoot them. When hunting there's the idea of a quick, humane kill but also the desire to avoid having to track them far. If there's thick brush nearby, you can bet a wounded hog will end up in the middle of it. Yes there are a lot of hunters who use AR-15s, but a good hunting bullet is particularly important when using a relatively small caliber. You're unlikely to find hunters with larger calibers using FMJ bullets — they're just not as effective.

Well would love to,,, but to pay 300.00 and up to rid them of there problem.... AINT gunna happen !

no use in whining it ain't gonna change anytime soon.

Dressed quite a few hogs with bullet fragments from 223 in them. Listen to good advice and get a better caliber and bullet.

We both have larger cal guns 25-06 30-06 they are bolt guns but we like our ARs ,,, Pulled this from a posting right here on TX hunting forum,,,, Seems its all a matter of opinion !

As a hog hunter myself and an outfitter I have seen these issues before. I typically carry my 22-250 hog hunting shooting them BEHIND the ear and have no problem dropping them. I have killed several over 200# this way and one that was close to 300#. As an outfitter I tell my clients to shoot them in the neck as it is a bigger target and will at the least knock them down for a follow up shot. Heart/Lung shots are almost always going to end up with a pig running off and slim chance of recovery because of the lack of bleeding they tend to seal up and absorb the shot. They are very tough animals but like anything else shot placement is key. FYI I shoot Hornady V-Max 50gr

Now i am pretty darn sure the 73 gr ELD match will do more damage than a 50 gr V-Max......

We found a reasonable guide with a very good hunting packet, if it happens maybe we will just find out how bad or good this round will preform on hogs...

Sounds like your mind was made up before you posted your original query.

It isn't that the ELD match won't work with well placed shots. Heck, a .22 lr will work with a well placed shot, but what is it going to do for not so well placed shots, quartering away shots, running shots, inexperienced hunter shots, etc.?

So you are starting with an caliber that isn't great for hogs and adding the ELD Match that is not hunting ammo and is not suggested as hunting ammo by Hornady.

Funny, you got your quote out of the same thread where a guy is having trouble getting good performance out of a highly frangible bullet that is more than twice the weight of what you will be shooting.

Good luck.

Hunt Public Land... Tis what i did... As pappy says: not every one can make that easy money ..
had no problem with 55gr hp & fmj .

Guess what this guide i found hunts with ??? A 22-250 with a 50 gr V-Max GO FIGURE

And your right i had made my mind up,,, Especially after talking to him on the phone this morning !!!!

I am beginning to think ARM CHAIR HUNTERS KNOW IT ALL .....

Since $300.00 is too much for you to pay a guy that puts a stand up, keeps corn in a feeder and in the hog toys, plus worries about his stock and has to keep an eye on you then maybe his thoughts are he can't afford you on his property. Plus your not going to get rid of the problem anyway! Of course I am looking at it from a ranchers point of view. There may be farmers out there, especially those growing peanuts that might allow you to hunt on their property for free after you have known them for a couple of years.

The problem wasnt the 300 as much as it was all the continuous added charges,,, on and on and on,,, till i figured it would cost about 2 grand by the time we where finished !

So i talked to Hornady today, they greatly recommended there GMX bullet for this hunt with the 223,,,

But when it came down to a 50 gr v-max VS the 73 eld for hogs , they said hands down the 73 ELD ,,, reason was a little stronger Jacket !

So i may just look into loading up some GMXs....

How many hogs have you got from your armchair? Pretty much everyone else in this thread are experienced hunters with documented hunting histories.

I am sure Hornady would recommend the 77 gr ELD Match over the 50 gr. V-Max. I would as well. A bigger bullet with a much higher sectional density is going to work better. A .22 lr is better than a .17 hmr for hogs as well, but that doesn't mean either is a great choice.

So you are impressed with the guide that shoots a 50 gr. V-Max in 22-250? Are YOU shooting 22-250? Sounds like you would be shooting a plain old .223 and so getting 500 fps less velocity or so. HUGE difference.

OK !

I went out after hogs late yesterday. I had seen a big black one on my hay field a week ago. He was running at a lope at 300 yards, so my chances were slim. All I did with the shot was to get him into a fairly impressive overdrive. So, I gave him a week to calm down. Here he came out of the woods at 6:30ish. Maybe 80 yard shot. He was walking slow till the crosshairs got on him and then he starts to trot. Dang it. So I popped him behind the shoulder with the 260. He stumbled, wobbled, fell, got back up and took off, going straight away. I planted the next one in his discharge chute and down he went. Almost got back up, but finally went quiet.

So...my point is that these are tough critters that don't go down easy, and rarely ever stand still to give me that 'behind the ear shot' that some folks always get, talk about, and suggest. I used to hunt with my 223 and the 220, but it was hard to anchor them. Shots were from 75 yards to 400 yards. I parked the 223 and 220 in the gun safe, and went to the 260 and 100 and 120 gr bullets. Now I feel confident, and I have been effective. Shot a real big one at 225 yards a few weeks back. He was trotting, as always. So, behind the shoulder went the bullet.

Maybe if the small pigs come to a corn feeder, I'll get that standing shot. I'd feel ok with the 223 then.

Ill echo this^^^

With blinds and feeders, good rests, stationary game, and known distances little guns do big things with exacting shot placement. When conditions aren't perfect its a different ball game.

Well ya all could be right ! And just maybe im going to get a chance to find out for myself! OR Maybe i just seen to many You Tube vids of them dropping all those younger ones from ground and helicopters with a 223......

Either way ya all talked me into taking my 30-06 or 25-06 just in-case !
Cant Hurt nothin to bring it along Right !

Good lord i just got to thinking ,,,, Im gunna have to blow alot of dust off those bolt guns they aint seen day light for years and years !!!

And just in case you did think about this the slower you push a bullet the less it tends to explode this providing a little deeper penitration

And just in case you did think about this the slower you push a bullet the less it tends to explode this providing a little deeper penetration

Double Naught Spy

Let me ask you this one,,,, if you have 50 cal black powder lead ball, a 30-06 fmj and a 223 fmj in what order will these 3 rounds penetrate the best in standing water ?

Good grief! Just buy a box of those 73 gr match bullets and go hunting. Quit listening to the voice of reason (us).

No kidding.

Take DNS's advice, it mirrors my experience with match bullets. I had poor performance from the 75 BTHP match, it shoots itty biddy groups on paper, but not so good on game.

I have been having issues with 223 period. It seemed OK in the daytime with a precision shot, but hunting after dark is causing more marginal hits and lost hogs. I am going to shoot up the rest of my 60gr Nosler Partitions and then think about a barrel swap to a 6.5 or larger cal.

FYI Not many keyboard hunters in this sub forum. I would imaging that the regular posters here have removed thousands of hogs. I have been taking quite a few each year the past 12-15 years with more each year. I love the 223, but my 300BLK seems to kill them better.



Based on his beaver hunts he knows about shooting in the water too....

I did better than that i bought 5 boxes of them !

We shoot P-dogs out to 650 yards,,,, now in case you didnt know they are tennis ball size up to a bowling pin size ,,, so they will be put to good use one way or another.....

OH so he is a great white bever hunter also ,,, impressive !!!!