Possibly hog hunting later this year.

After carefully analyzing your situation; i recommend you buy a new AR-10.

I don't want to come off as the safety police, but I do want to give you something to think about.

1) you have never been hunting.

This said you have no idea how you will react once your adrenalin spikes in a 2 second time frame and you have to make a precision shot on a moving animal with people possibly between you and / or worse on the back side of the hog. Just thinking out loud here as I have hunted them for nearly 20yrs with all sorts of folks and all sorts of methods.

2) the spear things sounds good up front and is a hoot, but it isn't something that a group of folks go out to do. Hogs aren't stupid nor do they simply stand around and wait on you to tip toe up on them. Spear hunting requires stealth to get within range or else you whizzin in the wind.

The archery thing is cool, I do that a LOT and it is a hoot, but again it is not a group thing. The last thing you want while stalking is 4-6 other feet making noise while your working to get an angle or a shot on a hog.

Like I said I am not trying to put a damper on your hunt, but I DO want you to think about what you mentioned and how you laid it out. As for as using the shotgun verses the AR, well either will work, but neither will stop one if you don't put the shot where it needs to go. Hitting a moving hog in the brush with anything is a challenge even for experienced hunters, but more so for someone who has never experienced the rush of it all at once. If it is anything like where we hunt it is a in your face up close and personal thing and you don't want someone else behind you with an itchy trigger finger. Been there as well and it was all over as soon as I could get them back to the barn.

Just think on this a bit, I am just putting things I have been apart of and witnessed out there for you to think on. My hunting partner and I have put multiple hundreds of them down using all sorts of methods, and we hunt together safe knowing exactly where we are from each other at all times and hold back until we are sure of our shots and we even call them out when it hits the fan to help be sure. The last thing either of us wants is to end up with a major wound being an hour or more from the closest ER or having to hope a chopper can find our location if we ever need one.

When your in brush or tall grass where you can only see a few yards at most and a half dozen hogs bust cover, it will get your attention, and everyone else within 50yds, its not a time for shots at movement.

EvilGenius said:

Never been hunting before, however I did do the req'd safety course last year. Just have to buy a license whenever we have a date/time set.

So far the plan seems to be that a group of us are going out to a piece of property one of them owns and basically stalking around to find some pigs (abundant). A couple of them are planning on doing this by bow (and possibly spear) and I have been employed as the backup with a gun in case of a charge.

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I seriously would not worry about being charged by a hog. When the shooting starts, they take off like a bunch of greased pinballs on fire. The might accidentally run towards you, but their most likely paths will be
a) The shortest route to cover
b) Back to where they came from
c) Continuing the direction they were going, but a LOT faster !!

EvilGenius said:

It was suggested that I bring my benelli nova with slugs, but I also have an AR.

I know slugs will kill darn near anything within range, but there seems to be lots of doubt about .223 used without surgical precision on these beasts. But it will be lighter and faster.

Will either of these be acceptable, or can I spin this into an excuse to buy a new rifle?

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Any of three scenarios is good. I do like a larger caliber (I personally use a .308) rather than a .223, but a lot of folks hunt with AR-15s. However, the usual caveat associated with hog hunting and .223 is that shot placement is very important. If you're going to be shooting at moving targets, good luck! You might consider buckshot.

Come on man...wake up! This is a PERFECT situation to justify a new rifle purchase! Get an AR-15 chambered in 300 BLK (worst option in my opinion), 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC or 458 Socom or a lightweight AR in .308 like the DPMS Gen II.

All of this is contingent on hunting terrain and distance of shots. If you're going to be in thick cover where your shots might max out at 50 yards, I'd consider a mix of slugs and buckshot in a shotgun with an extended magazine tube to carry 7-11 rounds in the gun.

Good luck and have fun.

For your first time hunting, go with an experienced hunter, one on one. He can mentor you and make suggestions.

Going with a "fun group" sounds like a potential disaster. If your friends are experienced, ask one to take you to introduce you to hog hunting and safety practices.

IME, pigs are not likely to be walked-up. We've tried it on dozens of occasions, and walked them up twice. This was with two people, and I was still more worried about knowing where the other hunter was, and over him knowing where I was. I cannot imagine doing that with four or six people. As was stated, they are not stupid, and that many folks will have them bugging out before you get close enough to hear or see them.

I agree with the earlier post over pigs charging; I've taken a bunch of them and if they ever do run my way, it is just to get away and that's where they happen to be pointed when they ran. A simple side step and they keep right on going.

The best success you are likely to have is to bait them and sit behind cover until they show up. Not as exciting, but you may actually see something rather than just walking around the woods.

I am in the texas hill country, so my experience may not apply. East texas is pretty covered up with pigs, so you may be more likely than me to see some using your method.

I may have more to add to the bait & sit comment; I'm sitting a blind right now, with the feeder throwing in 2 minutes. The game cam says I'm waisting my time hoping for pigs, but we saw lots of tracks walking in. Little windy for doe, but we remain hopeful.

Baiting and sitting is the most productive way to pigs aside from trapping. Your best bet is to invest in some night vision and watch the feeders in the dark. Checking the feeders beforehand will let you know which feeders they are frequenting. I have probably killed well over 500 hogs in total, including 469 of them from the current property I manage (that is when I started keeping count). All aspects aside, the back up guns, charging hogs, and all that stuff is pretty well blown out of proportion. Most people that are giving advice about protecting yourself have very little or no experience with the hogs.
Hogs take the fastest route to get away from you...and if they come towards you it's just because they get confused generally. Don't worry about getting attacked

Being backup to other people in case of a charge is NOT a very good idea. Chances are either that you won't be fast enough to do any good or that so many hogs will be running towards you that you won't pick out the right target anyway to save your buddies (then what happens to you?). Charges tend to happen very fast and part of what makes them seem so fast is the amount of indecision that goes on when it happens, ESPECIALLY if you are concerned about NOT shooting people in the process.

I have shot individuals from the ground and sounders from the ground and hogs will run every which way. Ground hunting is some of the most exciting hunting of hogs you can do, no doubt about it. I am always glad when it is over, but enjoyed every moment of it while it was happening. I have not been "charged" but have had hogs run right by me within feet of where I was.

If folks are trying to spear hogs from the ground, expect there to be the very real possibility of the hog fighting back. Most of the folks hurt by hogs are hurt by wounded hogs, usually because they got to close to them before dispatching them.

It was noted above that hogs will run off when the shooting starts and they will run in the direction they are pointing. OFTEN this is the case, but not always. I have watched several that started off in that direction and then changed course, changed course in response to other shots, or were just confused.

These ran the direction headed...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2mDNVRN8v8

This guy took off one way and then turned around and ran the other...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YQotnc4EcU

If you look closely here, you can see hogs run different directions, but not necessarily the direction they were pointed when the shot occurred...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPUs0Gv6Ms

Here's my first hog experience that backs up what some of the others have said. A friend and I had been out plinking one afternoon on some private property in east Texas and he decides to take a stroll up into a thick stand of oaks thinking he'd find some piggies bedded down in the leaves. I remained in a small clearing with my SKS figuring there's no way he see anything since we'd already been in a nearby field shooting for the past hour. After about 15 min he let's off three quick shots with his 12ga. It sounded a little panicky by how fast he was working that pump action. Next I hear a bunch of noise of something crashing through the underbrush and it was coming in my direction.

Here's where my adrenaline and excitement kicks in. I wasn't expecting anything to happen much less him actually jumping something and now it's headed in my general direction. At this point my rifle was loaded but not at the ready and I can't see yet what's about to come busting out of the treeline. Right then six good sized hogs come bounding out of the brush 20 yards in front of me and turn slightly to follow the edge of the clearing. Why were they coming in my direction? Most likely it happened to be the way their snout was pointing when they jumped and ran.

The adrenaline was really pumping by then. I remember three things that ran through my head at that point. 1. Will they charge me? 2. I don't really have anywhere to run. 3. I can't shoot yet because my buddy is somewhere up in the woods behind them and he would be in the path of my bullets. Fortunately they continued to follow the treeline and ran broadside right along in front of me. By the time my hands and arms unfroze so i could shoulder the rifle and align the sights they had run far enough where I felt I could safely take a shot. I took aim at the largest one and jerked, not squeezed, the trigger. It seems like any marksmanship skills I had just went out the window in those few moments. It took five shots to finally scored one hit. Fortunately it was a head shot and a quick kill.

In hind sight I was definitely not mentally prepared for the rush of trying to track six running hogs and simply focusing on the one I'm aiming at. Especially since they were a little too close to me and I'm standing out in the open. It would have been a lot harder in close quarters especially if other people were nearby.

Many people forget to figure in the "sphincter factor". "Things pucker up in situations like that and a lot of training and practicing can go right out the window.

I'm also from Texas and simply hunt hogs like I do deer. The vermin will come into feeders just like deer, but you can also spot and stalk while they are tearing up winter wheat. However, for the most part they are nocturnal although we have seen a few groups in the afternoon lately.

Hogs aren't tanks and they aren't scary to hunt. I killed my first pig when I was 17 (33 years ago) and have never known anyone to be charged or harmed in anyway. I've had to kick a domestic sow or two, but never a problem with wild pigs.

The others have also advised you on guns, which is good. I do almost all of my hunting with black powder these days, and with sidelocks at that.

Hunting in a group as you described just sounds strange to me. I don't believe a bunch of guys tromping through the woods are going to have much success.

LOL, then don't tell us you are going to be the backup safety guy with a gun if that isn't what you are going to be trying to do.

The back up guy with the gun isn't really expected to be needed (as a lot of you mentioned it most likely wouldn't be). It's really more of a "Come along and bring a big gun in case we need you, but hey, while we're out here. Why don't you go ahead and pop one for yourself while we teach you some basic tracking, etc." kind of deal.

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^^^^^^
And that's fine too, just go and have fun.

It will be a learning experience...as with most things in life. Great if you can read up on what to 'expect', but not a prerequisite.

Most likely you will be shooting pigs over feeders or on trails to and from.

Water sources can be good at times. Be safe, have fun...that is what it is all about.

Flint.

I know slugs will kill darn near anything within range, but there seems to be lots of doubt about .223 used without surgical precision on these beasts. But it will be lighter and faster.

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The AR would be fine.

If anything, I've found the pigs on my place to be more fragile than deer, at least with regard to run-offs. Most of mine are shot with a .30-30, and some of those shots have been marginal (gut shots). The vast majority of those pigs still dropped in their tracks; a whitetail in that situation nearly always gives a good run for the hills. Your experience may vary; most of our pigs run on the smallish side, 80-120 lbs. if your hogs are going to run over 200lbs, I would choose something heavier.

I think they drop because they are smarter than deer, and they realize something bad has happened to them. I think the deer hear a loud boom, get an adrenalin dump, and run a half mile before they realize they've been shot.

AKElroy said:

The AR would be fine.

If anything, I've found the pigs on my place to be more fragile than deer, at least with regard to run-offs.

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+1

Stuff a 5.56 SP or a BTHP in their ear and it dumps them quick.

Polymer tipped bullets are almost all meant for varmints and fragments too quickly.

I mean you *can* take hogs with Winchester Ballistic Silvertip or Hornady VMax as I've done it before, but poly tipped quick fragmenting bullets aren't optimal on hogs especially on broadside torso shots.

SP's or BTHP works better.

Hornady 75 grn BTHP Steel Match (my pic, that's an exit).


Hornady 75 grn TAP T2 BTHP (not my pic, supposedly an entrance).


I've mostly settled on Speer 55 grn soft points, Federal Fusion in 62 grain, 70 grn TSX or Hornady 75 grn BTHP's depending on if I'm shooting a 1/9 or a 1/7.

I have taken a few hogs while deer hunting but most are with my Boykin spaniel who bays them up. I use a 12 ga. with 00 buckshot.