A Hog Gun

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SC Shooter

SC Shooter

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I am looking at a compact MK 77 Hawkeye in a .223 caliber. Any thoughts on how this would be as a hog gun? It's lighter than I am used to with hogs, but it's a cool gun to take in the brush.
 
No. I normally use a Winchester model 94 .30 caliber. I also use a .270 for white tail but did harvest one hog with it. I am just looking for a new toy.
 
I'm never one to tell someone that they shouldn't buy a rifle. The Ruger M77 is a great series of rifles. However, I think that .223 is too light of a caliber for feral hogs except when using a head shot. I would be very cautious about shooting any hog over about 70-80lbs in the body with one.
 
A .243 or more would be my preferred choice. I have used my AR a couple times, but I shoot them behind the ear.

I prefer my .243, .308, .270 WSM, or even better, my .444 Marlin.
 
I would get the same gun in a .308.

Sounds like you are going to be using it in heavy cover, go with low powered optics or maybe even a quality dot sight that works in the Ruger rings.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
Thanks all. I may go ahead and get it, but will most likely stick with what I have been using for hogs. I am not into AR-15's but do enjoy short barreled or compact rifles.
 
With premium bullets it will most likely do fine on average size hogs. If you run into a lot of really big ones probably not the best choice.
 
Go bigger!!

A .223 bullet may or may not blow up on a hard mud-crusted hog shoulder.

If you want a .223, you should get one.

But if you want a 100% reliable hog rifle you should get one of those.

rc
 
It can work. There are better choices...but who has the money to buy a rifle for every type of game?

Stick with 75 grain or heavier BTHPs...and it should work.
 
I've shot a few right between the eyes with a .22 pistol, right before butchering them. It works fine. (Insert smiley face here, if so disposed.)
 
I would be really concerned about the one that ran into the brush, and you had to go in and get it's half-dead body out. Half-dead enough alive to take you to the hospital. I would go a larger cartridge, at the least a .243, and even then, I'd load with with a very high-quality projectile, such as a Nosler Partition or a Hornady GMX. I've used several different handgun and rifle cartridges for boar. Bigger drops them quickly. If you're hunting close-in, go bigger. If you're in a stand, and don't have to worry about retribution, use I guess whatever you want, so long as it qualifies as an ethical, clean kill.

My latest purchase as a hog rifle, the Ruger Gunsite in .308. That's about the smallest I feel comfortable.

JMHO,

Geno
 
If a 223 is what you want get it. Just limit your range, use sturdy bullets, and make sure your shot placement is kept within the kill zone behind the shoulder and you should be ok. That said, I would prefer to see you using something heavier. Some hogs are big softies and go down easily, then there's that OTHER kind...
 
The 30/30 you use now should be plenty. If you are looking for justification for a new toy you could call it a close quarter coyote rifle.
 
If a 223 is what you want get it. Just limit your range, use sturdy bullets, and make sure your shot placement is kept within the kill zone behind the shoulder
Click to expand...

Uh, no, not unless he's quartering away. I made this mistake on the very first pig I ever shot, not knowing pig anatomy, and I had to blood trail 350 yards through heavy cover and had to finish him with a .357 magnum to the head when he charged me. I shot just behind the shoulder and got nothing, but guts. The diaphragm on a pig is just at the rear of the shoulder. Guts extend well up into the ribs. This is probably the reason pigs don't have a lot of endurance, their lungs are pretty short.

Put that bullet THROUGH the shoulder. It has to be a heavily constructed bullet or a controlled expansion bullet like the Barnes and I much prefer a heavier caliber than .22, but to each his own. I find .308 Winchester enough for the biggest hog in the woods.

DON"T shoot BEHIND the shoulder, though. Either THE shoulder with a heavy controlled expansion bullet or the head. Fortunately, at least where I've hunted 'em here in Texas, shots are not long, well within the envelope of a .223, but use the right bullet and put it in the right place.
 
I’m going to add a little different slant on this, you want a Ruger M77, that is a bolt action unit and it is very slow to get to a second shot. Because it is so slow to that second round I would not have a small round like a 556/223, because of that slow recover to a second shot I believe it should be like a 308, 30-06, 300, something with a little knockdown power. Now we are talking about Hogs and shot placement is everything. You could shot a 155mm canon at the hog and if you miss, all you do is scare the hell out of it. I don’t have a problem with bolt actions, I have my friends old Win M70 pre 64 30-06 and that thing has done deer, bear, elk, but it is slow to a second shot. I do like the classic. but

The neat thing about the AR platform, you can have one lower and different uppers. You can have a dedicated 22upper, a 556 upper, 6.8upper, 300aac upper, 6.5G upper, etc. We have been using 6.8’s and AR10’s 308 on hogs and having very good luck with them. The AR is so fast that I have hit a hog in the front shoulder with 6.8 and rear hip as he moved. You can’t do that with a bolt action. I know guys that have used AR-15 556 on big hogs and they said that it bounced off the big ones (300+). IMHO
 
I've popped a lot of hogs with .223/5.56 caliber rifles.
They are light but they do work if you hit them in the right spot... which is not always easy or available. I consider it a experienced shooter's caliber and is not for new or inexperienced hunters. I personally use Remington model 7 in .243 Winchester loaded with 100gr SP ammo. It has always dropped hogs when shot at right spot.

Only time .223/5.56 caliber is frequently used around here is when working on hog eradication at farm fields and you don't want dead hogs stinking up all over the field. You shoot hogs with FMJ bullet so they don't die immediately. The idea is to wound them severely and then let them run off and die somewhere else later. I personally have problem with this method but then I'm not a farmer loosing thousands of $$$ to hogs.
 
I really get tired of all these threads about small caliber hog guns that turn into threads proclaiming that you need minimum of 308 or somesuch or better yet 45-70, or some other high powered big game cartridge. Same goes for premium bullets. Sure, you drew an elk tag in CO, do everything in your power to kill it. But hogs? Most people class these things as nuisance varmints. They are not indestructible nor do they need thousands of ft-lbs of energy to kill.

Lets talk about the most prolific group of hog killers in this country. Farmers and ranchers. The ones that i know use more than any other caliber, 22wmr, 223, and 22-250. Heck, ive killed 200lb boar hogs with my 10/22 and bulk federal ammo.

If you plan on using a 223, then i say good on you and have fun. 55 grain remington softpoints will kill em deader than dead and your wallet and shoulder will thank you over time.
 
I'm going hog hunting this winter a bunch, and I'll be using a 30-06, so no problems there. My question is about my pistol- I have a 9mm, which I would never go hunting with, but do carry for protection. Is there a suggested round I could use for finishing a wounded hog? I don't have the money for a .357/44/454 etc otherwise I'd pick up one of those and just hunt with it.
 
I bet 9mm 115gr or 125gr FMJ will penetrate the skull for coup de grace.
I normally use 158 gr SWC 38 Special loaded to 820fps out of my revolver and the load works well.
 
Hogs skulls arent unobtainium, theyre bone. How many millions of hogs do you think have been killed by farmers with a .22 pistol to the forehead? Literally any 9mm bullet will be fine for a finishing shot
 
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