Every hog hunter eventually learns the hard way—some loads simply won’t stop a boar, no matter what caliber you’re using. Hogs are thick-skinned, gristle-armored, and tougher than anything else in the woods. You can have all the horsepower in the world, but if the bullet isn’t built for penetration, it’s going to fold before it ever reaches the vitals. Too many hunters focus on muzzle velocity or expansion claims on the box, forgetting that a hog’s shoulder shield can stop the best of them. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a .308, .30-06, or a magnum; if your load fragments or pancakes, you’ll end up tracking blood for miles—or worse, finding nothing at all. These are the loads that sound good on paper but consistently fail to anchor hogs when the trigger’s pulled.
Ballistic Tip Hunting Loads
Ballistic tip ammo was designed for rapid expansion and dramatic energy transfer—but hogs don’t play by those rules. These bullets tend to explode on contact with thick hide and bone, wasting their energy before reaching the vitals. It’s great for deer, where soft tissue and broadside shots dominate, but it’s a liability on a mature boar.
Even high-velocity cartridges like the .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor can fail miserably if paired with ballistic tips. They create impressive surface wounds with little penetration. Hunters often find massive bloodshot areas with little internal damage. If your bullet can’t punch through the shield, expansion doesn’t matter. Ballistic tips look flashy and perform beautifully on light game, but for hogs, they’re notorious for fragmenting too early and leaving you with nothing but frustration and a wounded animal to chase.
Varmint Loads in Big Calibers
Many hunters make the mistake of loading varmint bullets into their deer or hog rifles, thinking the extra speed will help. It doesn’t. Lightweight, thin-jacketed bullets like Hornady V-MAX or Sierra BlitzKings were never built to handle bone and shield. When they hit a hog, they disintegrate before doing any real work.
Even in powerful calibers like the .30-06 or .270 Winchester, these loads act more like fireworks than hunting ammunition. They’re built for coyotes and prairie dogs, not 200-pound boars. The result? Explosive entry wounds, no exit holes, and a blood trail that vanishes after 40 yards. Hogs demand bullets that hold together and penetrate, not those designed for maximum splatter. If you’re loading varmint rounds in hopes of flatter trajectories, you’re trading accuracy for effectiveness where it matters most—inside the animal.
Light-for-Caliber Soft Points
Soft points work fine when they’re heavy enough, but go too light, and you lose the penetration hogs demand. A 125-grain .308 or a 130-grain .270 soft point might expand perfectly on deer, but it’ll crumble when it meets a boar’s shoulder. The lead core deforms too early, and the jacket can separate before the bullet drives deep enough to matter.
These lighter loads also lose momentum faster, especially at longer ranges. Even if you hit cleanly, the reduced mass limits energy transfer. You might get lucky with a headshot or behind-the-ear placement, but body shots tend to disappoint. If you’re shooting hogs in heavy brush, where angles aren’t perfect, you need weight and structure. Light soft points are great for thin-skinned animals—but hogs aren’t one of them. They need deep-driving, bonded, or hard-cast bullets, not ones built for expansion over toughness.
FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) Rounds
Full Metal Jacket ammo might sound like a good idea for penetration, but it’s deceptive. Sure, it drives deep, but it doesn’t expand or transfer enough energy to cause fast, lethal damage. You might punch a clean hole through a hog, but without significant tissue disruption, that boar will run—and keep running.
FMJs are designed for military use and target shooting, not hunting. They over-penetrate and often fail to hit vital organs effectively unless placed perfectly. In hog country, “perfect” isn’t a guarantee. You’re dealing with thick brush, poor light, and moving targets. That clean pass-through might look impressive on paper, but in reality, it often leaves you following sparse blood trails. FMJ rounds might save you money, but when you’re chasing a wounded boar through the swamp, you’ll wish you spent it on proper hunting bullets instead.
Polymer-Tipped Match Bullets
Match bullets are engineered for precision—not terminal performance. They’re accurate, sleek, and deadly on steel targets, but they’re terrible at anchoring hogs. The polymer tips don’t turn them into hunting bullets; they just make them more aerodynamic. On impact, these bullets either fragment violently or fail to expand at all, depending on their construction.
A 140-grain match bullet from a 6.5 Creedmoor might punch a clean hole or come apart before reaching vitals. Neither outcome is ideal when you’re dealing with an animal that can absorb punishment like a hog. Even in larger calibers, match bullets lack the controlled expansion and bonding needed for reliable penetration. You’ll get tight groups at the range, but out in the field, they’ll leave you scratching your head—and tracking a wounded pig far longer than you’d like.
Subsonic Loads with Expanding Bullets
Subsonic rounds have their place, especially for suppressed hunting, but when it comes to hogs, they’re often underpowered. Even expanding subsonics lack the velocity needed to push through the shoulder shield and reach vitals. At best, you’ll get shallow wound channels; at worst, the bullet won’t even break both sides of the hide.
Most subsonic loads rely on heavy bullets to compensate for lower speed, but they still depend on expansion mechanisms that don’t always activate at subsonic velocities. A 220-grain .300 Blackout subsonic may sound ideal for quiet hog control, but in practice, it often fails to anchor large boars quickly. They run, bleed little, and sometimes never stop. Unless you’re using solid or specialty bullets made specifically for deep penetration, subsonic loads are better reserved for finishing shots, not first hits.
Lightweight .223 or 5.56 Loads
The .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO can work on small hogs—but only with the right bullet. Lightweight 50- or 55-grain loads designed for varmints often lack the sectional density needed to reach the vitals of a big boar. They fragment too quickly and fail to punch through the shoulder or shield.
Even when you hit perfectly, expansion happens so fast that the bullet loses steam before reaching anything critical. It might look devastating on the surface, but the energy dump is too shallow to be effective. For hogs, you need 62-grain or heavier bonded bullets that hold together on impact. Those lightweight .223 loads are great for coyotes or turkeys, but if you bring them to a hog hunt, you’re likely to end up with a long night and an empty freezer.
Hollow Points in Magnum Calibers
Big calibers don’t guarantee success if the bullet design is wrong. Magnum rounds loaded with wide-mouth hollow points are notorious for failing on hogs. They expand instantly, dumping energy in the first few inches of tissue instead of driving through to the vitals. The result is a massive surface wound with minimal internal damage.
Even powerful cartridges like the .300 Win Mag or .338 Win Mag can perform poorly with these loads. The sheer velocity only makes expansion more violent and shallow. These bullets were designed for thin-skinned game, not armor-plated hogs. Without deep penetration, energy means nothing. If you want your magnum to actually work, use bonded soft points or controlled-expansion bullets instead of hollow points made for deer or target shooting.
Frangible Rounds
Frangible bullets are made to disintegrate on impact, reducing ricochet risk—great for training, terrible for hogs. They’re built from compressed metal powder that breaks apart instantly upon contact with hard surfaces. Against a hog’s dense shoulder or gristle plate, they fragment before penetrating anything important.
They look devastating on small game, but on a 200-pound boar, they behave like sand hitting a tire. No depth, no damage, no stopping power. Even in larger calibers, frangible rounds fail to reach organs or break bone. Some hunters experiment with them for safety in tight environments, but the results are always the same: wounded hogs and disappointing follow-ups. If you’re hunting anything tougher than a rabbit, leave frangible ammo at the range where it belongs.
Lightweight .308 Loads
The .308 Winchester is one of the most versatile hunting rounds ever made—but not all loads are created equal. Lightweight 110- or 125-grain bullets, often designed for varmints or light game, don’t have the momentum needed for deep penetration on hogs. They fragment too quickly and lose all effectiveness once they meet heavy bone.
Many hunters assume that because it’s a .308, any load will do. That’s a mistake. Hogs require weight, structure, and bonded construction. A light bullet might look accurate on paper, but in the field, it’ll pancake against a boar’s shoulder. If you’re using .308, stick with 150-grain or heavier bonded soft points or solids. The lighter loads might be fun to shoot, but they won’t stop the animal you’re after.
6.5 Creedmoor ELD-M Loads
Hornady’s ELD-M loads are phenomenal for paper and steel—but not for hogs. The “M” stands for Match, not “meat.” These bullets expand too rapidly or disintegrate upon hitting the tough outer layers of a boar, leading to shallow wounds. Even with perfect shot placement, you won’t get the penetration needed for quick kills.
While the 6.5 Creedmoor shines for accuracy, it’s a cartridge that depends heavily on bullet choice. Match bullets are designed to punch clean holes, not expand through thick tissue. Hunters who rely on them often mistake tight groups for terminal performance—and learn the hard way that precision doesn’t equal power. Swap those match loads for controlled-expansion hunting bullets, and you’ll immediately see the difference.
300 Blackout Supersonic Fragmenting Loads
Supersonic .300 Blackout rounds sound promising, but some versions use lightweight, fragmenting bullets that fail miserably on hogs. These bullets come apart too fast, leaving shallow wound channels and almost no exit holes. It looks dramatic under night vision but does little to anchor a large boar.
Even though the .300 Blackout can be effective with the right ammo, fragmenting supersonics turn it into a liability. They’re meant for rapid energy dump in soft targets—not for breaking through gristle, mud, and bone. Use a bonded or solid copper load instead. Anything designed for controlled expansion will outperform these “tactical” loads in the real world. If you’ve ever hit a hog and watched it bolt like nothing happened, chances are you were running one of these flashy but ineffective options.
Frangible Handgun Loads
Handgun hunters face an even steeper challenge with hogs, and frangible or “safety” loads make it worse. These rounds crumble on impact, providing little to no penetration. Even with calibers like 10mm or .44 Magnum, frangible bullets lack the structure to break through a hog’s shoulder shield.
At close range, you might get some shallow trauma, but it’s rarely lethal. You need heavy, hard-cast, or bonded bullets that keep their shape and drive deep. Frangible handgun ammo is fine for the range, where ricochet risk matters, but in the field, it fails every time. If you’re hunting hogs with a sidearm, penetration is everything—and these loads simply don’t have what it takes.
*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.
