458 Socom for hogs?

Anyone have any experience with it? Pros and cons? I'm not worried about cost of ammo, I will be hand loading.

I'm just not happy with my 300 BLK.

Ballistics are very similar to .45/70 as are recoil considerations, impacts on optics, and how quickly you can get back on target. .45/70 is a great hog round, so by extrapolation, so is .458 socom.

Saw a guy who had a m16 with the so com. It was awesome.

.458 SOCOM isn't white a 45-70 but it will kill deer/pigs fine. Not the flattest shooting cartridge either, but it's a big one.

I did calculate recoil as I have an x sight. It appears to be right at what. 308 is. Hopefully I did it right. I'll probably add a Whitt brake if I pull the trigger. Pun intended.

Inquisitive minds ask if you might share why the 300BO isn't working for you

I would stop short of saying it isn't working. I have had a few run off and not get recovered. The Palo Duro is literally on the edge of the lease and I don't want to go down into it to get a hog.

I want something that is more forgiving of a shot that is not optimal. I hunt at night, the target is often moving and I don't always hit where I want too.

My thought process is more energy is more likely to put them down long enough for a second shot if needed. My favorite hog gun is my 450 Marlin but when I started using NV scopes it wasn't an option. I would still be using it if I could.

No plans to get rid of the 300, just want something else for hogs on the lease. No offense meant to any 300 blk owners.

Even with an effective muzzle device the scope may shutoff.

The initial recoil impulse is very hard to mitigate its been my experience that muzzle devices are effective on felt recoil at the stock I.e once the bullet and powder eacape the muzzle and the forces are converted to recoil management.

In my opinion you'll be testing the upper limits of the Xsights ability to function.

Sounds like a fun project!

I would agree. You'll be pushing it with most nv optics.

Well, the good news is the Xsights are cheap, so if you blow it with recoil, you can just get another anytime, which is good.

My experience with the 300 Blackout also as quite a few pigs just ran off.

But, we are talking about the 458 Socom so....
I'm on my second one.
The first one had a copy-cat barrel and finally worked right after lots of work.
For my second one, I did my research and bought a barrel and matched bolt from Tromix, the guys that originated the 458.
I machined the ejection ports on the receivers on my Bridgeport using the Tromix specs.
I slapped it together and it worked right out of the box.
I primarily shoot 250gr and 325gr Hornady tipped handloads for hogs.
I shot 6 of my 74 pigs with it last season but none got very far.
I have carry handle/iron sights on it now and use it as carry gun on my 4wheeler.
They are known as optic killers and am pretty sure an XSight will not live long on one.
Make sure you use a solid stock, quite a few adjustable carbine stocks will collapse when fired and get one you can put a 1/2" soft butt pad on.
The Ace Skeleton works well for me - see pic at bottom.

Since my volume of pigs has gone up considerably this season, I'm back on my 6.8s.
I have three with ARP barrels setup for hog hunting and use them more than the 458.
One is setup for day and two for night with a Photon and a N750.
It's fun to take friends and family on their first night hunt!

HTXH and DF thanks for the feedback. From the recoil calculators it looked like it would be similar to the 308 but I may be going down the wrong road. Sure don't want to shake my scope apart if I don't have to.

Vern, looks like the 6.8 has about 1680 ft/lbs of energy. Have any pigs run off after a less than perfect shot with it. Sounds like you are happy with it. Nice looking weapon.

The 6.8 is excellent. We all have them run off, regardless caliber and shot placement.

Of course. You can't get away from that. The questions are, how far do they run and do you find them?

If the shot doesn't do significant CNS damage, then there is a real possibility the hog will run.

From what I understand, most guys using the socom at night are using the pvs 7 / laser combo.

If you haven't had a pig run off, you aren't hunting pigs.
Or maybe you are just lucky.
I can say without a doubt that the ratio of pigs running off with a 300 Blackout WAS considerably more than any other caliber I have tried.

I was an early adaptor of the "Silvers Bullet" and had more than my share.
I only hunt pigs and the 300 performed poorly for me so I changed tools.
I gave it every chance, spent lots of time working up loads and it didn't work well for me.
If you are OK with it, go for it but I like my pigs dead.

Vern did you get around to testing Barnes 110 gr black tips?

That's gong to be what I load for Pops 300 BO

I've yearned for 458 Socom or 450 bushmaster for awhile but cost per round keeps me from pulling the trigger .

Digital NV should be able to take the punishment in the next few revision cycles of the designs

Just about every hog I have killed in the last 5-6 yrs. has been with the SOCOM (various loads).

If you want to know more about the cartridge, here is the forum site:
http://458socomforums.com/

Contained below…is some general hog hunting information and a few hogs I have shot over the years with the SOCOM (its long…so get some popcorn).
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=449721

For the most part….the SOCOM will replicate ‘medium’ loads of the 45-70.

I purpose built my SOCOM with hogs in mind.

Got tired of having to pick my shots using a 7mm-08…and bow-hunting them (Archery is my first love)…wasn’t keeping them thinned out quick enough. I needed something that would give me good penetration from any angle.



As long as you restrict your shots to 150 yards (and under), the SOCOM provides adequate energy and trajectory to kill hogs with authority. Of course, as with any cartridge you can’t ‘shoot them around the edges’ and expect them to topple over dead.

Recoil (depending upon rifle weight) is not bad (with most loads). Most 300-350 grain loads result in felt recoil about like a .308. Heavier loads (405 to 600 grains) are more like a 12 ga. Shotgun.

IF you reload (and I recommend you do), you can tailor your loads to suit the circumstance.

At present, I use about 10 different loads….ranging from a 100 grain (yes I said 100) bullet at 3,000 fps up to a 540 gr. ‘pile-driver’ at sub to trans-sonic. Most of my hog hunting is done with either a 300 gr. bullet or a 405gr. bullet.









IF most of your hog hunting is done in open fields/pastures/croplands and shots are most often 150+ plus yards, then I do NOT recommend the SOCOM. Trajectory (beyond 125-150 yds.) begins to resemble a marble dropping off a table.

If most of your shots are inside of 150 yards and you want to see what ‘big bore’ hunting is all about, it might be a good pick for you.

Flint.

Flint

Excellent post

I don't recall losing a hog when using my 450 or 300 wm. Granted shots are typically short and by short I mean under 75 and usually under 50.

I don't think the distances will change in the near future. We have one open field on the lease but I seldom use it.

I'll mull it over a bit. Maybes I'll go with the socom and test with one of my gen 1 scopes.

Flint, thanks for the info. That is one nice rifle and one big pig. Light bullets in the socom may be the trick to not damaging my scope.

Did you have any trouble getting cast to cycle? That's all I use in my big bores.

It was a couple of years back when I played with the 300.
I shot a few boxes of the TTSX which is similar and I don't think the newer black tips were available at the time and the older TacTX was almost the same as the TTSX but had black tip.
The newer version of the black tip looks considerably better and says it's for 300/Whisper so it is probably optimized for their speed.
One interesting thing about the 300 was shooting VMax bullets.
The BO was slow enough that I had a few VMaxes tunnel straight thru 50-60 pound pigs with very little expansion.
I liked quite a few things about it and kept going back but it never lived up to the hype.

Flint - good straight up info and nice pig.

Beaubien - I really don't think a Gen1 stands a chance on a 458. And the XSight is a train wreck of scrambled eggs already.

I shot this little fellow in the eye at 105 yards with a 6.8 at night using a N750.

I don't have experience with either round. Brian is right about them running and damaging the spine or cns. However you will have more room for error with shot placement. That said, why not get a .308? It works very well on hogs. That that said, I'm with Vern on the 6.8. The 6.8 is my go to hog round. It was the best compromise for me when it came to effectiveness, weight, price of ammo, and the ability to be used in an ar platform

Beaubien wrote:



No, but my experience with 'cast' is limited to the 'Beartooth Pile-Driver' which is a hard-cast bullet with a gas-check.



I have an adjustable 'gas block' on the rifle now and the gas system is 'carbine length'. Though it isn't sensitive to cycling, I can adjust the gas impingement as necessary.











The only round that does not 'reliably' cycle in my rifle is the Lehigh Aluminum 100 grain bullet. There just isn't enough backthrust on the bolt carrier. It could be made to work... with some tinkering...but I don't shoot that bullet a lot.




Everything else is pretty much 100%.


Flint.

And good information!

LOL, yes, we all like to forget those events where things don't work out.

I was looking at 308's last night and it is a viable option. I may have made this a lot harder than it needed to be. I just find the socom round intriguing. Already have a bolt action 308 so I have all the dies and projectiles.

Any chance you have checked into the .45 Raptor round for the AR? Sounds like this should avoid the cost issue with the 458 and be better in the ballistic department. I don't want to train wreck this thread, but this seems like an excellent option.

I've got a purpose built .50 Beowulf exactly for the same reasons you are looking at 458 SOCOM.

I looked at the 450 bushmaster and I liked the ballistics on it, but my problem was that you can only get fully made uppers from bushmaster. They don't sell components and I wanted to build my gun, not buy it.

The up side is that 450 bushmaster ammo is made by 2 different companies and fairly readily available. With the 50, Alexander Arms is a PITA to get ammo from. But, I plan on hand loading for it anyway, so I went with the Beowulf.

Now I am hunting for decent optics for it.

sure, the big bores are cool. but for the sake of practicality, it just makes more sense to go with an AR-10 in .308. Especially since you're already set up to load for it.

I've have a .50 Beowulf with a N-750 on it and I love it. Recoil has not been issue for my optics or shoulder. However I am using 335 grain hollow points from AA.

[quote=InsaneIrish]I've got a purpose built .50 Beowulf exactly for the same reasons you are looking at 458 SOCOM.

" .... problem was that you can only get fully made uppers from bushmaster. They don't sell components and I wanted to build my gun, not buy it."


"The up side is that 450 bushmaster ammo is made by 2 different companies and fairly readily available."


Franklin Armory sells a 7.5 and an 11.5 barrel.
I agree with buying off the shelf ammo. I dont have time to sit down and load.
As far as our .450..... We have had half a dozen sight, light, and illuminator combinations on it. I am about to just go back to a green light and reflex sight, but thats just an opinion.

Oh gosh now I have 3 other cartridges to ponder! I had pretty much decided on a Colt LE in 308

450 raptor I haven't heard of so I need to check that one out for sure.

50 Beowulf I hadn't considered for this purpose but ruled it out at another time because of bullet choices but I now have 3 different molds for 50 cal. For my 500 S&W. So it could be back on the table.

450 bushmaster I hadn't considered for this but at a different time ruled it out because it used lighter pistol projectiles but that could be a plus now.

With all of these I am worried about recoil and destroying my x sight. Back to the recoil calculators.

Thanks for all the feedback and don't worry about derailing the thread, I'm looking for all options.

Here's one of the links to the 45 Raptor. I think the more this is looked at and used, the better it will become. The brass can be made from a 308 case. Optimum barrel length is 16 inches. People have been talking about it for about a year, but I just heard about it a couple days ago. You can find more info about it from Google.

http://www.45raptor.com/45RAPTOR/

I built a 458S bolt action integrally suppressed for pig hunting - I shoot 405gr soft points at 1000 fps and the pigs roll over. The large bore makes it louder suppressed than a 300blk out but it hits a whole lot harder.

Just for overkill I have since built a 510B bolt action suppressed (650 gr 50BMG bullet in an expanded 50 Beowulf case). It makes the 458S look small but I haven't shot a pig with it yet.

BCJ -

When you hit the pigs do they turn to ash and dust? Dangum' Man those bullets look NASTY!

Here is what I decided on. Couldn't take a chance on damaging my scope with some of the big bores.

It is a Remington R25 in 308.

Anyone familiar with them? Can't wait to get it to the range