300 Blackout vs 5.56 for hogs: which cartridge fits your ground

Why the products on this page are scopes

This is a cartridge comparison, not a product comparison. Amazon doesn't sell ammunition or rifles, and we don't link either. The optic is the product we can link, so the two picks above are thermal scopes that suit an AR in either chambering: one under $1,000 and one between $1,000 and $2,000. We haven't tested these units; scores come from published specs and the rubric on our How We Choose page.

The cartridge facts come from SAAMI (the U.S. ammunition industry's standards body), Texas A&M AgriLife, a national feral-pig shooting standard, and named hunting writers. Where they disagree, we tell you who said what. For the wider question of which cartridges suit hogs at all, start with our guide to the best caliber for hogs.

300 Blackout vs 5.56 at a glance

One note on the velocities: SAAMI's figures are reference values from test barrels, and SAAMI itself says there should be no expectation of duplicating them in firearms, with barrel length a further source of difference. Use the maker's published velocity for the load you actually buy, from a barrel like yours.

Energy: closer than the reputations suggest

It's easy to assume the bigger bullet means far more energy. On typical supersonic loads, the published numbers don't say that. A 55 grain .223 bullet at 3,250 fps works out to about 1,290 ft-lb at the muzzle; a 125 grain 300 Blackout bullet at 2,185 fps, SAAMI's reference figure from a 16 inch test barrel, works out to about 1,325 ft-lb. The formula is bullet weight in grains × (velocity in fps)² ÷ 450,240, the same one that reproduces the published figures in Australia's feral-pig standard.

Measured against that standard, NATSOP-PIG003, both fall short of its recommended minimum for ground shooting feral pigs: .243 inch caliber, an 80 grain bullet and 1,819 ft-lb of muzzle energy. That standard is Australian animal-welfare guidance, not U.S. or Texas law, but it's the only published numeric floor for feral pigs we found. Texas A&M AgriLife's own advice points the same direction without a number: "use a high caliber rifle just like you would when hunting other large game."

So the honest framing isn't "which one is enough." It's that both are on the light side for hogs by the published yardsticks, and both ask you to be careful about distance, angle and bullet.

Bullet weight, diameter and the boar's shield

Where the two really differ is the bullet. The 5.56 gets its energy from speed with a small, light bullet; the Blackout gets it from mass, with a bullet more than twice the weight and a larger diameter. That matters on hogs because of what AgriLife calls the shield: a dense, tough layer of tissue under a boar's hide over the shoulder that "can also allow a pig to survive poorly placed shots with low caliber rifles."

Published hunting opinion on both cartridges is mixed, and it's worth reading all of it:

• Bryce Towsley (American Hunter, 2013) calls the .223 and 300 Blackout "outstanding cartridges, but not for hunting hogs," and in his view underpowered for serious, ethical hog hunting. He prefers heart-lung shots and exit wounds over head shots, warning that missed head shots can leave an animal badly wounded.
• Philip Massaro (American Hunter, 2021) says the .223 can be a deer cartridge with a proper bullet, but that he has seen deer lost despite what looked like a well-placed shot. If you use it on larger game, he points to heavier 60 to 62 grain bullets built for it, which still carry about 3,000 fps at the muzzle.
• Massaro on 300 Blackout (American Hunter, 2017) calls it an acceptable deer choice at sensible ranges, with a premium hunting bullet in the 125 to 135 grain range.
• RCBS, a reloading-equipment maker, claims supersonic Blackout loads with controlled-expansion 110 to 150 grain bullets are effective on whitetail and hogs inside 200 yards (maker's claim).

Whichever you run, placement carries more of the load than it would with a heavier cartridge. TPWD's hunter education course calls the broadside shot, just behind the shoulder, the largest target for the heart and lungs, and warns that quartering-toward shots risk hitting shoulder bone (TPWD). Australia's standard prefers side-on chest shots on boars because the shield can interfere with frontal ones.

Range and trajectory

The Blackout isn't built for distance. Massaro notes that zeroing a 300 Blackout hunting load at 200 yards means sitting about five inches high at 100, and suggests a 100 yard zero with shots on deer kept to about 100 or 125 yards. The .223, by his account, has "enough velocity for a respectable trajectory." RCBS gives common .223 bullet weights of 40 to 77 grains at typical velocities of 2,700 to 3,200 fps (RCBS).

Flatter doesn't mean better on hogs, though. A light bullet that drops less still has to arrive with enough energy and expansion to do the job, and Australia's standard caps even its acceptable .243 and .308 examples at 200 meters. If your shots run past what either of these cartridges handles comfortably, read 6.5 Grendel vs 300 Blackout for hogs, which covers the AR cartridge built for longer reach.

Subsonic loads and suppressors

RCBS says 300 Blackout was "built from the ground up with suppressor use in mind," and that subsonic loads work best paired with a suppressor. That is the Blackout's real edge: the 5.56 has no useful subsonic hunting load. Jeff Johnston (American Hunter, 2018) works out that a 55 grain .223 bullet held under the speed of sound carries about 148 ft-lb, roughly what a .22 rimfire carries.

Subsonic Blackout is much stronger than that, but still light for hogs: SAAMI's 220 grain reference load at 1,020 fps works out to about 508 ft-lb. Johnston calls subsonic loads marginal for big game "for all but the closest, perfectly placed shots" and argues a suppressed, full-power load does better. Massaro adds that the heavy 220 grain bullets move too slowly to expand reliably. If you want quiet, the published advice is to use a suppressor with supersonic hunting loads, not subsonic ones.

Suppressors are legal for taking wildlife in Texas, but TPWD notes that all federal, state and local laws still apply (TPWD, Means and Methods). For the federal process, go to the ATF National Firearms Act Division.

The chamber mix-up that wrecks rifles

If you own both, this is the section that matters most. Because 300 Blackout shares the .223's .378 inch case head and fits the same magazines, the rounds look at home in the wrong rifle.

The optic works on either upper

Here's the part of the rifle we can recommend. Both cartridges run in an AR, and both of our picks publish a 6000 J recoil rating, so the scope choice doesn't depend on which upper you mount it to. What changes the choice is distance and budget.

A worked example from those specs: each sensor pixel covers an angle equal to the pixel pitch divided by the lens focal length. On the ThOR 6 Mini (12 µm, 15 mm) that is 0.8 milliradians, or about 2.9 inches per pixel at 100 yards and 5.8 inches at 200. On the Talion XQ35 Pro (17 µm, 35 mm) it is about 0.49 milliradians: about 1.75 inches per pixel at 100 yards and 3.5 inches at 200. The same pixel-pitch and focal-length math reproduces both makers' published fields of view (11.7° and 10.7°), so you can check it. In plain terms, the Talion puts noticeably more detail on a hog at the same distance, which helps with identification and with seeing what's behind it.

Choose the ATN ThOR 6 Mini 256 if

• Your shots are mostly close, at a feeder or along a brushy edge, and the budget is under $1,000.
• You want the widest view of the two (11.7° x 8.8°) for picking up hogs quickly.
• A published IP67 rating, 6000 J recoil rating and five-year warranty matter to you.

Choose the Pulsar Talion XQ35 Pro if

• You want more detail per hog for identification, from a 384 sensor behind a 35 mm lens.
• You still shoot close: its 2.5x base and 10.7° view stay wide for a 35 mm scope.
• You can use Weaver-style Talion mounts rather than standard scope rings, and a budget of $1,000 to $2,000.

For more options in the lower tier, see the best thermal scopes under $1,000. And before any night hunt, check the rules in can you hunt hogs at night in Texas.

Which one for your hogs

If you already own a 5.56 AR, the first improvement isn't necessarily a new upper: it's a thermal, a solid rest, a load built for larger game, and the discipline to take only close, broadside shots. If you're choosing fresh and your hogs come in close, 300 Blackout gives you a heavier bullet and a real suppressed option for a barrel swap. If you're regularly shooting across open ground, look past both.

And keep the bigger picture in view: no cartridge fixes a hog problem by itself. Shooting finishes what trapping starts. The whole plan is in our hog control hub.