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Forum Index > Rifles general discussion > Federal 130gn.308

Federal 130gn.308

13 Sep 2016
@ 09:31 am (GMT)

Aussie hunter

Anyone used Federal 130gn .308 ammo on pigs? I believe these are a Speer varmint projectile (Vital Shock packaging) Anyone looked at their performance, wound channels? I see these used in some culling operations but have not seen the performance or tried them myself. Probably because I think they are a varmint projectile. Not what I would pick for targeting multiple moving pigs, goats etc
Any thoughts

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13 Sep 2016
@ 02:24 pm (GMT)

Bryan Webster

Re: Federal 130gn.308
I have never hunted pigs, but from what I have read here, it would seem that a frangible bullet like this would not offer the penetration you need to go through the heavy shoulder shield on a male pig. I am sure others will offer more details for you here.
13 Sep 2016
@ 11:21 pm (GMT)

Nathan Foster

Re: Federal 130gn.308
As Bryan said, please do not use this on pigs.

I was a bit surprised to see Federal adopt this load due to the possibility of this load being used on larger animals with poor results.

The Speer 130gr is fully frangible, It has neither the weight or SD for reliable penetration on mature boar. This is further amplified by the extremely large meplat. If only this were available as a 200 grain bullet (e.g .30 caliber and 8mm) or as a 225 grain .338 or 250 grain .358 bullet, things would be vastly different and it would be a very versatile bullet. But as a 130 grain .308 load, its potential based on my field experience is greatly limited. A wonderful design but limited.
13 Sep 2016
@ 11:43 pm (GMT)

Andy Hrelja

Re: Federal 130gn.308
Out of curiosity, I guess it would be a similar deal with the OSA (Buffalo River) 135gr .308 with a Sierra Hollowpoint. These seem to have a slightly different projectile (still light weight though) and they're being flogged heavily as a "pig" round. Even the packaging has a big old pig on it. Funny, they advertise it with a pig but the text calls it a "varmint" round. Damn, those pigs a pretty big varmints...hahaha...
13 Sep 2016
@ 11:59 pm (GMT)

Aussie Hunter

Re: Federal 130gn.308
I have no plan to use these myself. I'm not sure about the OSA round. I think the Federal tactical round used a similar projectile when I saw them some time back.
These are being used in culling operations. I know other bullets were used in the past and availability of bulk ammo may play a factor in this. Apparently a lot of ammo has been tested by the shooters and heirarchy, including a Winchester offering with a 130gn Woodleigh soft point. I do not know if the testing included any autopsy or wound channel examination.
I expect many of these culled animals are moving and would be heart lung shots with more than one shot.
I'm not against the culling but question the ammo!
FYI I got a nice old boar late yesterday but I used a soft point reload in .308
14 Sep 2016
@ 04:51 am (GMT)

Mike Neeson

Re: Federal 130gn.308
Not sure if is me or not, but I have been noticing a "light projectile" trend here in Australia. Not long ago a young chap asked me what I was shooting and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when I told him about my 168's. He mentioned something about heavy recoil. Is the younger generation going soft? Is it poor education on making a clean kill? Want flat trajectory so they don't have to think? I don't know. That 130grn 308 load seems to be pandering to that market. Has anyone else noticed this?
14 Sep 2016
@ 07:21 am (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: Federal 130gn.308
sub 200 yards, on goats,hinds,wallabies, smaller pigs or sows I believe they would be very very effective...the 130grn speer hp has the nickname of "hand grenades". you would just have to switch out to a better projectile for bigger stuff...... the Amax has great reputation as it breaks up/dumps energy quickly, same deal here I believe
the chopper crews on the west coast liked them in their .308s and Belmont would load them up for them,for head/neck shots at chopper ranges they have merit if you think about it.
14 Sep 2016
@ 08:52 am (GMT)

Aussie hunter

Re: Federal 130gn.308
It's chopper culling I a talking about, Maybe they do have a good head neck shot average but I'm not so certain. The pigs in most areas may not be huge but still you don't know what you will see till it comes out.
I would have thought a 150gn soft point would be better than a varmint bullet. Even the 168 ballistic tips may be better.
They may come across big bellies, 80 kg pigs, fallow deer and in some places red deer.
I assume with a lot of shooting recoil is. Consideration but dropping them with less shots equates to less shots in total. It also means acquiring the next target quicker.
I myself have hand loaded projectiles as light as 125gn for .308 with a view to get flatter trajectory and less recoil but this was with a view to shoot from a vehicle and make the first shot count.
14 Sep 2016
@ 09:50 am (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: Federal 130gn.308
ok to clarify our chopper lads are head/neck shooting deer for venison recovery so head/neck is needed for carcase retrieval
ok culling pigs from chopper ,having watched video clips of it being done in Texas and having shot one or 6 myself........
a boar under 130lb isn't hard to kill
a sow / female pig isn't hard to kill
contrary to what the big bad wolf will tell you little pigs aren't hard to kill
the video that was doing the rounds of big mob of Texas pigs 50+ was mainly under 100lb...or appeared that way to me.
for the same reasons the Amax is good at long range a varmit/soft projectile will be good for that job....shot that's not perfect will still put animal down and it will probably expire before it gets back up. shooting from above gives you whole spinal column to hit and vitals aren't really protected by much else from that angle. you have head, pithing spot,spine,lungs,liver,kidneys,hips all in a line and all not covered by much even if you bugger up the shot the pig doesn't have anywhere to hide from a hughes 500 in open country.
to my mind a soft 130 would be heaps better than a hard 150-180
heck under 50 yards a good .12ga with load of BB or even #2 will take care of under 20lbers
yip I'm a fan of 125-130 grn .308 pills...that said I use 150grn in the tight stuff LOL horses for courses
14 Sep 2016
@ 02:41 pm (GMT)

Bryan Webster

Re: Federal 130gn.308
When I was shooting wolves from the air, I used frangible light bullets in my 7x57 and also in a .308 H&K. Very effective.

Culling animals from the air was not mentioned specifically in the first of your posts but I personally would use the 168 grain A-max if you are using a .308 Winchester. The 155 grain A-Max will likely do the job as well.
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