150 grain 308 core-lokt for charging hogs

If you think your going to get charged by anything that can seriously hurt you, you owe it to yourself to use the heaviest weapon you can handle quickly and proficiently.

Hog charges are extremely rare though and are almost exclusive to following up wounded animals and sows with piglets.

The short answer is yes that is enough gun. I like fast follow up shots so my 308 would probably be a 30-06. The Remington 7600 I already have. Usually it’s a Marlin 44 mag lever action though. Never shot a charging hog.

It el get er dun.

Them little beasties are fast and can crash through brush like a bulldozer. Definitely advise making your stand as close to something climbable. You may not have time to make a shot at that distance plus your bullet could get deflected. 44 mag sidearm readily reachable might be the easiest to manipulate in brush.

A friend of mine just killed 15 of them in my trap with some 52 grain JHP loads I gave him, last night. He seemed pretty impressed. Helps that the range was less than 20 yards and head shots.

The last time I used



was on a cull buck in West Texas at 186 yards. Hit him the first time and nothing, hit him with #2 and he twitched like a horse fly bit him, the third one hit and he ran in a circle and fell almost right where he was to start with. Never seen anything like it and would have figured the story to be a lie had anyone told it to me but it was with my own eyes. Even the doe there took off by the sound of the bullet(s) impact on him. Truly an anomaly.

3 shoulder area hits within 3” of one another on the “in” side and zero exits.

Wouldn’t be my first choice on anything I considered “dangerous“ and not captive.

A TX hunting forum I ran across once had a member who was apparently the acknowledged expert on hog shooting and his philosophy was to always use heavy for caliber bullets. Cup and core were fine. No need for premiums. Just heavy for caliber.

So yes. Those 180s may be worth a look.

“Hogs” can be lots of different stuff. The last one I shot at a full run was with a caliber I wouldn’t trust in the hypothetical situation in the op but it was a DRT. The shot was fired when it cleared the woods into the lane and it rolled into the woods on the other side of the 12 foot wide road by its own inertia.

It likely would be more able to hurt someone if it had felt out of the sky though.

A few years ago, I was line hunting scrub in Texas. The gentleman on my left, about 15 yards, was in his late 70s and not very spry. About 10 yards left of him, no more than 12-15 yards out, a hog got up out of this wallow that you just couldn't believe. It was impossible that we didn't see it before it got up. But we didn't. It ran straight at the older fellow on my left, like a missile. Before I had time to really react, I heard the shot, then the old fellow went down.

He had been carrying his rifle by the wrist,barrel down,in his right hand. That hog, later weighed at 198 lbs, came in so darn fast, all the fellow had time to do was flick the safety, angle the barrel up, and fire. Turns out, he actually had muzzle contact or awfully close, with that hogs skull. Pulled the trigger and the hog dies right then and there. But momentum carried him into the shooter, where he gouged up his leg enough that it needed stitches. The post mortem showed the cranial cavity was blood jello - complete instantaneous CNS control center destruction.The rifle was chambered in 22-250.

I've had to kill two "charging" hogs. I don't think they were charging me by design but they wanted to kill my dog and my dog ran back to me. One was shot in thick palmettos at 5 feet. That's the first time I could see it. I used a 12 ga. with 00 buckshot both times.

I once shot a hog with an arrow and spined it. It broke down its rear but the front half still worked. It was coming for me as fast as it could with only two legs. I tossed down the bow and drew my 4" .44 mag. and shot it at 7 yards. It went down for good that time.

BTW, all 3 of these hogs were sows.

If you are going to be "in the thick stuff", use a shotgun with a short barrel.

Patocazador said:

If you are going to be "in the thick stuff", use a shotgun with a short barrel.

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I agree with this. Many here will not though.

On a 150 lb hog they'll be fine. On a 400 lb hog I'd want a tougher bullet.

While carrying a shotgun with buckshot do you carry slugs as a reload? Or would it be better to load 3 buckshot and 2 or 3 slugs? I carry a shotgun a lot when deer hunting with 3" buckshot and have thought about putting a couple of slugs in for a follow-up shot.

I have never been 'charged' by a hog but I have killed 125+ of them. If you put the bullet in the RIGHT PLACE just about any bullet will work. If you are being charged any good hit from between the eyes back to between the shoulders should get either the brain or spine and end the 'attack'. The closer the animal is to you the higher the probability that, 1. You will make a good hit. 2. That the bullet will enter at an angle that will make reaching the spine/brain more probable. Good hunting, THE ONLY GOOD HOG IS A DEAD HOG!

I've been charged once 25 years or so ago by a wounded boar. I put a .357 magnum 140 JHP Speer bullet (no longer available) in his head before he got to me. Now days I carry my .45 Colt Blackhawk pig hunting for tracking wounded pigs in the brush.....or I'll just let 'em die and come back the next day and follow the buzzards, especially since it's usually in the dark and I've got a headlamp on. There's plenty of pigs around here, no need to risk it. Only good pig is a dead pig. I do like my pork, though, so I try my best to plant 'em in their tracks.

The rifle I use is an old SKS (7.62x39) and a 154 grain bullet. It gets the job done. I shoot a .308 with a 150 grain Sierra game king bullet handload that I've taken a few hogs and lots of deer with. I've never fired a factory round in that gun, but on a pig, I see no reason a core lokt bullet would bounce off. They ain't wearing kevlar despite the reputation. I don't do factory except that those surplus steel cased 154 grain 7.62s are quite accurate, work well, and I can't handload that cheap. If it works, don't fix it I guess. I've got a green laser set up on that po man's rifle...po man's night vision. The rig works for me. I need to go get another one, but my freezers are full of venison and elk at the moment and I'm lazy. I do love smoked pork, though.

I kill them with regularity using 75 grain BTHP 223.

I get them with 22 mag here and there when it is mandated by statute. Just got to be careful with shot placement and it works well. The .223 also works great. It’s nice to have the heavier .223 bullets if your rifle likes them.

jmorris said:

“Hogs” can be lots of different stuff. The last one I shot at a full run was with a caliber I wouldn’t trust in the hypothetical situation in the op but it was a DRT. The shot was fired when it cleared the woods into the lane and it rolled into the woods on the other side of the 12 foot wide road by its own inertia.

It likely would be more able to hurt someone if it had felt out of the sky though.

View attachment 888615

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Awe, it's so CUTE!

,,,,,,,,two words.

Shot Placement!

I've been hunting hogs in Texas for over ten years. I don't shoot all that many, generally single digit or low 'teens each year. I've been using Hornady 180 grain SP Interlocks (basic cup and core) bullets in a .308 Winchester rifle. I'm in the process of switching over to 150 grain because I just don't see a real difference. As HamSlamma said above, shot placement makes the most difference.

Actually, for the past couple of years I've been using a 300 Blackout shooting 110 grain bullets. Although some folks like the Barnes copper bullets, I've stuck with Hornady. I've tried the V-MAX and the SP, and haven't noticed much difference in the end result. If I put a bullet in the right place the hog dies.

Well, we don't have a lot of hogzillas around here. Biggest I've taken is a little over 200 lbs. My theory on it is that hogs are shot on sight around here. The population seemingly has increased a lot over the last 10 years that I've been here. It's all small acreage and hogs are a great source of protein here, though we do have a lot of deer. I figure the hunting pressure, rather than lowering the population which it hasn't done, has lowered the survival age and, thus, the biguns don't survive long. The natality rate on pigs is such that they can withstand tremendous hunting pressure and still increase their population. But, you don't need a cannon to stop a sub 200 lb pig and anything heavier ain't that good eatin', anyway.

No charging hogs here but I have personally seen a 150 coreloct 30-30 drop a charging bear at around 6 feet. The bear weighed 264lb. The shot entered the nose and what was left of the coreloct was in the spine. A change of undies was needed for all involved. When we run the hounds on black bear the rule is open sights with a 30-30 minimum. Scoped rifles are not a very good tool for that job.

I know that is not a hog but it seems applicable here. As others have mentioned a shorter barreled 12g is good too

Most prefer .45-70, .444 marlin, .44 mag or another big bore but I think being able to take a snap shot is more important than caliber. And if a 30 30 is enough your .308 is just fine.