Boar Hunting....8mm Mauser or Yugo SKS?

[orangeninja]

I like cheap ammo...so keep that in mind. One question though, what is the recoil of the 9mm M48 Yugo Mausers like? 12ga?

Thanks

 

[R.H. Lee]

I have never shot a boar and I'm not a hunter, BUT I wouldn't with the 7.62x39. How much does a boar weigh, 3 or 4 hundred pounds? With heavy bones and a lotta fat? And tusks that can tear your guts open? You need something bigger. 8mm lead soft point sounds more like it.

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

8mm turk surplus isn't bad, but a 200 gr. soft point might have more recoil...

probally 12ga birdshot level recoil for the turk...

for hunting i would use the mauser, a well placed shot with a good bullet would drop an average pig easily...

 

[cracked butt]

Always use enough rifle

The full house 8mm loads recoil fairly hard, though I would put it less than a 12 guage.

 

[jame]

I raised the domestic type several years ago, so I have a little bit of an idea how pigs will react. (And yes, I know that comparing domestic pigs to wild ones is like comparing a labrador to a coyote)

I've talked to several buddies that put wild pigs down with .30-30's, and even .44 mags, so the 7.62x39 should be fine. Also, on behalf of the weapon itself, the SKS offers toughness, reliability, quick followup shots, and larger mag capacity.

I do have both, and the juice of the 8mm would be nice, but the idea of jacking a bolt rifle for reload, while under the gun of a charging pig, is not at all desireable to me.

 

[orangeninja]

You guys really think a 7.62x39 FMJ wouldn't penetrate enough? How available is the 8mm ammo?

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

i'd say 7.62x39 fmj would probally punch all the way through, but without good shot placement won't drop it right there...

i wouldn't use fmj to hunt anything bigger than a yote'...

8mm SP loads are available pretty much everywhere...

 

[jefnvk]

Well, I went pig hunting with a SKS and a .45 on my belt. These were domesticated pigs that were loose for a few months before the guy said just shoot them. Never seen one, but the neighbor did pull down a 300+ pounder with a bow. Course, he was in a tree stand.

I would rather have a few shots with the SKS than onme with an 8mm.

 

[orangeninja]

Hmmmm....what about hollow point ammo?

Does anyone know where to buy an SKS with the dragunov stock on it? I've seen it before on the net but cant find their sight now.

 

[RRTX]

You can buy an SKS and then put the dragunov stock on it, I've never seen one for sale with one on it already except maybe at a gunshow. Locally here you can get 8mm at any gunstore, CTD has several different kinds of it. I've hunted them before with a .44 mag lever gun and a .300 WM, both work quite well

 

[dev_null]

You're supposed to use a spear!

 

[Red Tornado]

I think it kind of depends on how big the pigs are, and how far away. If they're 100-150lbs at 75-100 yards, the SKS with soft point or HP ammo will probably suffice.

If it's a giant 350 pounder at 200yards, definitely the 8mm.

Like Cracked Butt said, always use enough rifle. Too much is way better than not enough.

The recoil on centerfire rifles seems sharper to me than a 12GA. The shotgun seems to have more oomph, but less snap. Not worse, but slightly different. Sorry if that's absolute gibberish. Anyway, if you can handle one, I'm sure you can handle the other.
Good luck bagging the bacon,
RT

 

[orangeninja]

Thanks guys.


Dev Null.........a spear? Why don't I just tie a 3 inch pocket knife on the end of a stick and charge a 400 pound animal with tusks.....

Oh wait...you already said that.

 

[cpileri]

8mm semi

Go get yourself a hakim. Its a 10-rd 7.92x57mm semi-auto and offers the punch of the 8m mauser round with the follow up of a semi-auto. Actually, aftermarket custom made 25-rd mags are available as well.
C-

 

[roo_ster]

alduro:

I own a Yugo mauser (M48). It isn't as refined as a Swede or the Czech, but it came to me pristine.

I'd go with the 8mm, specifically euro-manufactured 8x57, as US-manufactured 8x57 is downloaded.

S&B produces a 196gr softpoint that is a thumper:
MV 2592
ME 2923

BTW, mine came with a bayonet, so if things get a bit frisky, you can fix bayonets & go blade vs tusk.

 

[dev_null]

When men were men...

IIRC, the traditional (ie, Dark Ages) English boar spear was about 12-15 feet long with a foot-long cross bar 1/3 of the way up to keep the brute from charging his way the length of the shaft and taking you with him.

Me, I'm thinking 45-70.

Best of luck. Tell us how you do.

- 0 -

 

[SMLE]

Neither;

Use a Lee Enfield with 180grn RNSPs. Lots more hit than a SKS, way faster than any Mauser based rifle. A 12ga double with slugs might be a contender as well. Most African dangerous game hunters liked double rifles for the "instant" second shot. They felt that the quick second shot was more valuable than the slower third or fourth shot that you might not live long enough to use.

 

[Tamara]

Two very important words: "Sectional" and "density".

I'll take the 8mm, please.

 

[cracked butt]

Most African dangerous game hunters liked double rifles for the "instant" second shot. They felt that the quick second shot was more valuable than the slower third or fourth shot that you might not live long enough to use.

By the same token, those who didn't use double rifles pretty much used mauser 98s and not enfields.

Couldn't help myself

 

[SMLE]

Those who didn't use double rifles pretty much used mauser 98s and not enfields.

That's mostly because nobody bothered to make a Lee Enfield based magnum sporter. BSA did make a .405 version of the LE, but they really had no economic incentive to get deeply into the sporting arms market as they had a very comfortable Gov't. contract for military rifles. They were quite happy to make whatever sporting rifles they could from the standard LE action without investing in the tooling to make bigger, stronger versions. The Lee Enfield sporters were actually very popular IN THE CALIBERS THEY WERE OFFERED IN, and in the "envelope" in which those calibers were effective. In terms of African hunting and game, the .303 is good for light game and "pot shooting", but hardly enough for the "dangerous" game.

The Lee action rifles were developed as military rifles and were made to be just strong "enough" for standard service ammunition. The military designers gave no thought to their possible use for sport shooting or their suitability for conversion to civilian calibers. The argument that the Mauser is "better" because it is "stronger" could also be turned around to argue that the Mauser is, in fact, "over designed". The SMLE took 22 years to refine, it went on to serve 60 years in frontline service. The Mauser took 37 years to 'refine' and was being traded off to 2nd line units and cut up for scrap after barely 47 years active service.

 

[Nuts590]

I know you say you like cheap ammo, but turk 8mm is not what you want to hunt with. The pucker factor of a follow up shot going "CLICK" not "BOOM" can't really be described in words. I wouldn't try boar with only a 147gr FMJ anyway.

Find yourself some S&B 8mm. Cabela's has it bulk here: Bulk S&B 8mm

and single boxes here: S&B 8mm single boxes

If you get the single box, make sure to get the 8x57 NOT 8x57JR, JR is rimmed and won't work... the 196 gr soft point will punch a nice hole in swine, makes a hell of a mess on PA deer. Recoil is no worse than an average 30-06 load.

I wouldn't trust the SKS anywhere past "30-30 yardage" for a couple of reasons I'll second the 12 gauge slugs or 45/70 personally. I'd rather one big hole than a bunch of smaller ones.

 

[cracked butt]

I always love pokin' a stick in the Enfield hive

Nothing wrong with them, in fact the next gun I'm going to order (hopefully next week) will be a No.4.

 

[Feanaro]

That's mostly because nobody bothered to make a Lee Enfield based magnum sporter.

I always thought it had more to do with the feeding system. The controlled round feeding system will feed a round in any position. And if you have a brain fart you can't get the infamous doulbe cartridge jam. But it might have been as you said. I didn't do much research in the matter. Africa is too hot, even for this Southern boy.

As to the original question, I would take the 8mm. If I had to choose between too much gun and too little, I'll take too much.

 

[SMLE]

If anybody HAD wanted to make a Lee based magnum sized rifle, they could have easily made it controlled feed like the Mauser. However, consider the military Lee Enfield's reputation for speed. The record is 38 aimed shots in 60 seconds, all in a 12" circle at 300 yards. Then there are the German troops who thought they were under fire from massed machine guns. The LE feeding system certainly worked well in "high stress" situations didn't it?

 

[saddlebum]

we're talkin pigs here not rhinos. either rifle will work fine. i prefer the sks. i've killed them with 22mag, 357,41mag ,44mag, 223, 243 & 308. shoot em in the right spot. i once caught a 40lb wild pig in a trout net, now thats a rodeo. sb