Ian Johnson
Member
anyone had experience using a .223 on pigs? just curious if I happen to get a close shot on one while im hunting yotes, provided a good bullet was used
.223 for pigs?
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MCgunner
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Head shots no problem. Meat size pigs no problem. Big tusker in the shoulder, possible problem. Use a PREMIUM hunting bullet, by that I mean controlled expansion, heaviest possible, if you plan on shoulder shots. Beware, you WILL have to shoot through the shoulder to reach vitals unless it's a head shot.
Me, I don't need no tacticool pop gun on hogs. I have hunting rifles for hunting in appropriate hunting calibers. No, sorry, the .223 ain't a decent big game, even hog caliber. It'll work if you just HAVE to or if you get a target of opportunity when you're 'yote hunting, but you're probably going to lose a few pigs if things don't go perfectly and especially if you're not using a good load. Hell, I've put 'em down in the trap with a .22 NAA mini revolver, but I don't HUNT 'em with it. My wife's uncle shoots 'em with a .22LR, old Stevens auto. They die eventually. He don't care about the meat, just shoots on sight and all he has is a .22.
Actually, lately I'm doing the black powder thing, got my first deer with a front stuffer this year. Do have a scope on that gun, no rails, though.
To each his own. I've shot yotes with my .308 when hunting deer, sorta the reverse of your situation. I don't worry about .308 killin' a song dog.
Me, I don't need no tacticool pop gun on hogs. I have hunting rifles for hunting in appropriate hunting calibers. No, sorry, the .223 ain't a decent big game, even hog caliber. It'll work if you just HAVE to or if you get a target of opportunity when you're 'yote hunting, but you're probably going to lose a few pigs if things don't go perfectly and especially if you're not using a good load. Hell, I've put 'em down in the trap with a .22 NAA mini revolver, but I don't HUNT 'em with it. My wife's uncle shoots 'em with a .22LR, old Stevens auto. They die eventually. He don't care about the meat, just shoots on sight and all he has is a .22.
Actually, lately I'm doing the black powder thing, got my first deer with a front stuffer this year. Do have a scope on that gun, no rails, though.
To each his own. I've shot yotes with my .308 when hunting deer, sorta the reverse of your situation. I don't worry about .308 killin' a song dog.
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Ian Johnson
Member
if i go hunting hogs im gonna use a 270 or 303, but i just meant if i get a shot on one while hunting yotes, and i was planning on using a premium heavy bullet
MCgunner
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I made some addendums after the original post to address that.
ricehombre
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Get a 70gr+ bullet in a 1-8 barrel, place your shots, and you will serve pork.
der Teufel
Member
It can certainly be done, and lots of folks use a .223 for hogs. I certainly prefer a larger caliber, but if I were out with a .223 and a hog presented itself, I'd do my best to get a shot at it. A somewhat heavier bullet (perhaps something around 65 grains or so) would help the odds.
TexasPatriot.308
Member
I kill them almost every day in my cow pastures, one of my favorite guns is a .17hmr with 20 grain hunting tip. if I get out of my pickup I will have at least a .357 mag,44mag or .45 colt on my hip. .223s work, but I got so many pigs tearing up my pastures, the little .17 will do. not just head shots, I have seen the internal damage it will do to their innards. I usually pack 2 or 3 rifles with me for hogs, my favorites include .22-250, 7mm-08 and of course a .308. I dont eat the nasty things so I dont care if they run off and die, I dont have to drag them off then. they are full of lice, fleas, ticks and I dont mess with them. yall can eat them, I dont.
Ignition Override
Member
Ian Johnson:
Frankly, I've never hunted, but have watched Texas hogs hunted with .223 on YouTube.
Have you watched some of these videos?
My favorite is titled "Death's A Comin' And It Has Rotorblades", to the grim music of AC/DC.
Door Gunner "V" and the attack pilot do a very nice job. Texas might now be my favorite state.
Frankly, I've never hunted, but have watched Texas hogs hunted with .223 on YouTube.
Have you watched some of these videos?
My favorite is titled "Death's A Comin' And It Has Rotorblades", to the grim music of AC/DC.
Door Gunner "V" and the attack pilot do a very nice job. Texas might now be my favorite state.
Kachok
Member
I have seen it done. Not impressive results on larger hogs IMHO I saw a 300 lbs shot several times before it went down and several more before it quit trying to get back up. I personaly would take a real hunting caliber: 270, 308, 7-08, or my fav the 6.5x55. I never had a problem putting anthing down with one of them. Now mind you feral hogs can get over 600 lbs around here, so we don't take them lightly. Several large hogs have been killed and found to have old .223 cal bullets and buckshot lodged in or just under their skin.
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Ridgerunner665
Member
There is no good reason to even try a shoulder shot on a hog.....even with a 30-06.
This is how its done...in the neck directly behind the ear also works. I didn't shoot this hog, my buddy Dave did.
This is how its done...in the neck directly behind the ear also works. I didn't shoot this hog, my buddy Dave did.
Just pick and choose your hogs. My favorite cal is 30-30 for normal hunting smallest to 150 Lbs or so, not a lot of wounded hog tracking. If there is a big hog 150+ tearing stuff up I will break out the 30-06 and crush him, shoot through both shoulders destroying the heart in the process, also it ruins both front shoulders for eating but I wasn't out to fill the freezer with him anyway. The .222 gets lots of use filling the freezer with small tender piglets mostly.
If you are using a smaller cal go for a shot just behind the ear and nothing else, be prepared to make another quick shot into the head region to put it down.
ID
If you are using a smaller cal go for a shot just behind the ear and nothing else, be prepared to make another quick shot into the head region to put it down.
ID
TexasPatriot.308
Member
lots of "hog hunters" believe in the head shot, most hunters aint good enough shots to do a head shot at along range. if you know the anatomy, you know where their heart and lungs are, and that is where I shoot. a few days ago I came up on a boar in the open, I put a good kill shot on him with a .22-250 at 50 yards with a Ruger No. 1, he spun and came right by me, I got a 2nd shot with the single shot and he went down in a ravine, I went to my truck and got a 12 gauge and my .45 colt. I shot hiim at point blank range with 00 buck,then a 300 grain flat nose .45 colt, the pig was still alive. he did die overnite. I have shot them with .308s, .270s, 30-06s and had them run off. dont believe all the head shot stuff you read. I kill them every day, I know.
Ridgerunner665
Member
Killing them every day...so does Dave.
Everybody misses occasionally, but given his years of experience and the number of hogs he's killed...the stats don't lie.
I've seen his videos of shots gone wrong...including one sow which charged right at him even though her front legs were not working "at all"...she was pushing herself along with only her hind legs...and moving quite fast too.
If you disrupt (or dismember) the nervous system...things like that don't happen.
Everybody misses occasionally, but given his years of experience and the number of hogs he's killed...the stats don't lie.
I've seen his videos of shots gone wrong...including one sow which charged right at him even though her front legs were not working "at all"...she was pushing herself along with only her hind legs...and moving quite fast too.
If you disrupt (or dismember) the nervous system...things like that don't happen.
Averageman
Member
There is no good reason to even try a shoulder shot on a hog.....even with a 30-06.
I used to call coyotes with a handicapped neighbor, I got him set up in a good position, then set up the call and turned it on and jumped in to a bush full of javelina's. The .223 I had with me did not do the trick, it mearly wounded the two I shot. It took a bit of time and a new pair of pants to track the wounded ones down.
I used to call coyotes with a handicapped neighbor, I got him set up in a good position, then set up the call and turned it on and jumped in to a bush full of javelina's. The .223 I had with me did not do the trick, it mearly wounded the two I shot. It took a bit of time and a new pair of pants to track the wounded ones down.
Kachok
Member
As much as I hate feral hogs a friend of mine brought home some aprox 2 week babies after putting a bullet through their mother, they are cute little things at that age, their names are Dinner and Supper LOL
d2wing
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I am curious, I have never hunted hogs but I understand they have a thicker hide and more fat and they are thicker than a deer. In a .223 would a FMJ work better?
I was advised to be armed in a campground in Oklahoma because of pigs. All I had was a .357. At the time I thought I was fine but maybe not. A deer came running through camp though followed by a couple of big dogs. It made me feel better to have something on my hip anyway.
I was advised to be armed in a campground in Oklahoma because of pigs. All I had was a .357. At the time I thought I was fine but maybe not. A deer came running through camp though followed by a couple of big dogs. It made me feel better to have something on my hip anyway.
MCgunner
Member
I wounded one with a 7mm Rem Mag and a 150 grain Sierra game king at 3200 fps MV. I shot that pig from 50 yards away. The REASON was NOT the caliber, but shot placement. It was my first Javelina and I instinctively held on him just as i would a deer, just behind the shoulder. Now hogs, and ESPECIALLY Javelina, have all their vitals under the shoulder. If you place a shot behind the shoulder, all you get is guts. That Javelina had his guts blown completely out, was draggin' 'em when I caught up to him, and he had enough spunk to turn on me charging and snapping his teeth at which time I popped him in the head with my .357 revolver (heavy cover on my hands and knees, rifle was slung) and he went down DRT. Trackin' him wasn't hard, all the blood and chunks of meat on the ground where he went. I then sat down for 5 minutes until I got rid of the shakes. We tracked a buddy's first wild boar for the same reason, he put the round behind the shoulder. I know where to shoot now days. LOL!
Javelina are one TOUGH little toothy critter. Those things can take a hit and they'll be dangerous when you go after 'em. A wild hog, while a lot bigger, will at most take a swipe at you as he tries to get away. A Javelina gets down right MEAN. This one was a big boar, is on my living room wall, weighed almost 60 lbs. That's huge for a stink pig. I never will forget that experience.
Since that experience, I've hunted Javelina with a .357 revolver successfully. If you get down wind and can use cover, you can get real close to 'em 'cause they're kinda the animal world's version of Stevie Wonder for eyesight. It's more fun to sneak up on 'em with a 4" revolver. I don't want to kill 'em for the meat, anyway, the meat sucked, but the challenge of getting inside revolver range is fun. If a .357 revolver is plenty, your .223 is plenty.
Now, Javelina are smaller and not as tough as a hog to penetrate. Hogs take more bullet, but I've shot 'em with the .357 successfully, too. All about putting the right bullet in the right place. If I'm going to use a rifle, I'm going for overkill, but the OP is talking about spotting one when he's yote hunting with his .223. I would not hesitate to take a shot if I had a clear, easy head shot and if you've got the accuracy for yotes, that shouldn't be a problem on past 100 yards.
TexasPatriot.308
Member
averageman, a shoulder shot is not like one on a deer. the lungs and heart on a hog are in the lower part of his anatomy, like I said, even my .17hmr makes jello out of their hearts. behind the so called "shield" and low. lots of my shots with higher caliber rifles are kill shots to this area at long ranges. but sometimes even with a good kill shot, hogs will not always drop right there, and like I said before, I dont care, as long as they go off and die.
Freedom_fighter_in_IL
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A .223 will kill them. Problem is, it MAY not kill them QUICK. And, as others have stated, a pissed off hurt wild boar is NOT an animal you want around you. I would limit my shots to head or center neck area. With the animal quartered away, a shot in the "pocket" would also be fine. But a dead center broadside vitals shot on a 150+ plus boar with a .223 would more than likely not produce the intended results.
788Ham
Member
I'll bet a .375 Win. 200 gr. FP would put a hole in his gristle! Wish I lived down your way, I'd like to try one of these rounds I've reloaded, see how far I could make him backup!
MCgunner
Member
Well, I would put a night scope on it if you wanted to kill a lot of hogs around where I'm at. I rarely see one in the open in daylight. I had a pack of 'em coming out of heavy cover right below my tripod stand one evening just at dark this year. I got swiveled around and into position and they got to the edge of the brush, turned around and went the other way. I'm sure they winded me. They have good noses. Had me goin' for a bit, though. Next morning, I had a nice boar in my trap. I guess I probably got him anyway.
I had my camera trap out and all season I was getting pigs at my feeder right at 10PM. If I was a night owl.......but screw it, the trap works and I don't need the meat at the moment. LOL I've had the door on my trap wired shut since I got that last pig. I already had a hog and a deer in my little freezer, so I didn't have a lot of room left in it. I might set it again before the warm weather gets here, debating it.
I had my camera trap out and all season I was getting pigs at my feeder right at 10PM. If I was a night owl.......but screw it, the trap works and I don't need the meat at the moment. LOL I've had the door on my trap wired shut since I got that last pig. I already had a hog and a deer in my little freezer, so I didn't have a lot of room left in it. I might set it again before the warm weather gets here, debating it.
rockn30809
Member
I have but it was buy chance when coyote hunting. I coyote hunt with a AR but I sure aint passing up a chance to put pork in the freezer. I would never try for a hogzilla but a good eating size hog will get a shot from me. With that said, if I leave the house to go hog hunting the .308 is what goes with me.
MCgunner
Member
Just had pecan smoked wild pork sausage and rims tonight. Yummmmm.....
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