No, no break. I'm not bashing magnums. Anyhow... my point was two-fold: First, fifteen yards isn't very far for a critter to run. Heck, I shot a small running buck on a drive three times with a 12GA load of 000 at about twenty yards: one pattern perforated his ears, one pattern nearly severed a front leg, and another 8" pattern went squarely through both lungs and heart... and he kept going as if unhit; I was stunned, thought I'd missed until I followed that generous bloodtrail about fifty yards.

Second point - if his pig traveled fifteen looooong yards, and you're putting 'em down with .223 FMJ in a comparable distance... I'd say that takes some of the shine off the SuperShortFatMagnumBoomer with its high $ ammo, wouldn't you say? As to ammo... I'd stick with plain, non-primium ammo.

No, I'm not bashing magnums - but I could start, it's so easy to do what with so many magnum owners so tightly wed to their bit cartidges - but I wasn't doing that.

I eschew magnumitis, as it is a poor (& common) substitute for marksmanship. Just ask me, I'll tell a story about that.

Actually, you are missing the whole point of magnum cartridges, their purpose is to carry more energy to longer ranges, you obviously haven't figured that out yet, they also have a flatter trajectory because of their higher velocity, which you probably know little about. And judging from your post, you can't shoot very good anyway, so you can't reap the benefits. The "shine" you talk about is not putting game down in a given distance but to take game down at longer ranges with more energy. Take a bull elk at 450 yards with a .223, and then talk to me about magnums being worthless.

Wow... I'm learning all kinds of things here. What's this trajectory business?

It's true, sometimes I am a lousy shot. Other times, I do quite well.

I wouldn't shoot an elk with a .223, and I never said magnums were worthless; just overrated and not usually needed, by the majority of their owners. I know their purpose; I also know their common usage. You're getting testy for no good reason, Junior.

Here's my Magnum Anecdote: I joined a hunt club many years ago. One day, early in the season, I was out at what passed for our range confirming zero on my rifle (Savage 111F in Win .270). One of the other members - I'll call him Cletus - was sighting in his rifle. Now, he's sitting on a ATV that is in the back of his truck, on a very windy day. He shoots one round - BOOM! - and his pal with the binocs says, "You're about six inches low, about five inches to the left." Cletus adjusts... BOOM! - guy calls out - adjusts again - BOOM! and so forth. This went on for a good while. Wanting to be helpful but very aware that I was a new guy, I suggested that maybe got a better rest and adjusted for three shot groups, he might get better results. He peered at me like I'd said something stoopid and told me that .338 ammo was thirty bucks a box, he wasn't going to waste it. I said wow, that's a lot of gun. He asked what I was shooting, I told him... he sneered that if I shot one of the big bucks there with my little rifle, the deer would snort and run off! (we're talking whitetail, not T-Rex)

Well... after seeing how he sighted his rifle in, I had a good clue as to why his deer snorted and ran off after he shot them.... he MISSED! Anyhow... he was a decent fellow once you got to know him, and overlooked his magnumitis.

Well, in that case your right, 99% of the people that own a .300 Win Mag hunt in areas where their longest shot is under 100 yards, and yes, most of them use their gun as a bragging tool, even though they can't shoot the thing themselves. He wasn't that great of a guy was he?

Germinator: The sporting rifle and bullet has not been made that will stop a 130 pound pig in its' tracks one hundred percent of the time. It does not matter whether or not the bullet passes through thehog. Hogs do not bleed muchand leave poor blood trails even with a pass through. i have shot many dozens of wild hogs and boarsincluding one that weighed over 350 pounds field dressed. Shot them with crossbows, muzzleloaders, shotgunsw/slugs and rifles.Killed acouple dead with .22 rimfire shotsin the ears.

Few of the hogs that i have killed haveinstantly fell dead. The big guy instantly fell deadto a .50 cal muzzleloader, and 250 grain SST bullet driven by 100 grains of Pyrodex. The bullet went through both shoulders destroying the heart.

Naw, he was a decent guy; we were friendly after I got to know him. He just had a thing for big guns. Good story, huh? Even better... it's true.

I just don't like seeing people waste money on guns they can't even shoot. Just because they wanna have the biggest.

No, let 'em spend it; it's good for the firearms industry, and gives 'gunwriters' something semi-new to write about, instead of rehashing stories we've already read a few hundred times.

I've kind of gone backwards, and moved down the ballistic scale, having just acquired a Marlin 30/30. It's sweet! Not only that... I've suddenly realized that blue steel and woods are prettier than synthetic and matte. Only took me twenty-five years of shooting to get here... .

DiamondARanch???? Fences or no fences?

Yep, a littleover20 miles of fence just on ourperimeter.

best of luck