Any .223 Rounds hit hard enough to take out hog hunting?

[tsanford405]

See title! I will take my 7mm Rem Mag, but I was curious if an AR would do alright. Thanks!

 

[3pairs12]

It would take down a hog with really good shot placement but I would use the 7mm Rem Mag if I were you.

 

[ccd]

Yes, plenty of 223 loadings will work for hogs, more or less any of the ones that are acceptable for deer will do. There have been plenty of recent posts on deer and 22 centerfires just search them. The 64gr Win PP, 53gr XXX from Corbon, 60 gr Partition from Federal or Black Hills, and the 55gr or 62gr TBBC Fedreal Tactical loads should all work fine.

These 22 loads are better suited for shooting hogs from blinds that are coming out to feed in fields, senderos or trails. If jump shooting or stalking hogs your 7mm would be much better, unless your AR is your work weapon or you are REALLY proficient with it. Hard for me to know over the Internet.

 

[TAB]

They can work, but I'd take something bigger... alot bigger.

 

[LeonCarr]

Another vote for the Winchester 64 grain power Point in the .223. You have to use good shot placement.

There are better tools for the job (.30 caliber and above).

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Zoogster]

Will kill certainly. Quickly and humanely with a single shot? That is a bigger variable.

Take something larger.

 

[W.E.G.]

I think the question one should ask regarding choice of cartridge for any game is, "Will it penetrate the shoulder bone of the animal."

If the answer is no, the chance of inflicting a very nasty slow-death wound makes the cartridge a questionable choice for the average hunter.

Aint ya got a .308?

Are you REALLY going to crawl through 50 yards of head-high thorn bushes to recover a hog that doesn't DRT after being hit with a too-small caliber?

Exit wounds make tracking MUCH easier. Don't expect one with a .223.

 

[rbernie]

Depends on the size of the pig. Up to 150lb, a tough bullet would probably work OK.

Over 150lbs, I'd want something bigger.

Go for head shots.

 

[TAB]

Depends on the size of the pig. Up to 150lb, a tough bullet would probably work OK.

Over 150lbs, I'd want something bigger.

Go for head shots.

I've personally seen .30-06 ball glance off a big pigs head... as in looking down the sites...

 

[rbernie]

Put one in the ear canal and it ain't bouncing anywhere.

 

[W.E.G.]

9mm will bounce off a human skull if fired at the right angle.

I know this to be true.

Head shots are not reliably sure shots.

 

[jaholder1971]

Shot placement is king.

I'm the court Jester.

I'm taking my 7X57 or something larger.

 

[Deer Hunter]

Down here in Texas AR-15s are used all the time for hog hunting. The .223 will do the job nicely when you do your part.

 

[BIGR]

Use a bigger gun for sake of a clean kill. Yea the right shot with the .223 will do it but why chance it.

 

[TCB in TN]

Use a bigger gun for sake of a clean kill. Yea the right shot with the .223 will do it but why chance it.

That are be very careful about shot selection. I have used many different rounds to take hogs, and a .223 will certainly work, but I would look for a good shot into the back of the skull with small rounds like the .223. Especially with real big heavy Russian type hogs. They have big thick ribs, and usually a grissle plate over them. Small rounds can be slowed and deflected more easily than you think. They also have a very thick sloped forehead so straight on head shots can easily glance off. Big bullets are better, but small ones can get it done!

 

[MCgunner]

.22s are for squirrels. Here's the perfect excuse to get a real hunting rifle.

Your 7 mag is overkill, but mas bien overkill than underkill.

 

[Sharps-shooter]

Put one in the ear canal and it ain't bouncing anywhere.

The ear canal in a pig is smaller around than a pencil eraser, and isn't where it looks like it would be from the outside. If i could make that shot, I could probably just use my light saber instead.

 

[rbernie]

The ear canal in a pig is smaller around than a pencil eraser

It's a figure of speech. The point was to aim for the ear area where the skull is relatively thin and doesn't slope heavily.

Having said that - I should point out that I am not a headshot kinda guy, and would bring enough gun to punch thru the rib plating on the largest hog imaginable.

 

[Hook686]

If your only choice was between the .223 and a M1 Carbine (.308 as suggested by some) with 110 grain JSP, or a .41 magnum revolver, which, if any of them, would you pick ?

 

[saddlebum]

i've kilt a bus load of hogs with a 41mag blackhawk

 

[TCB in TN]

If your only choice was between the .223 and a M1 Carbine (.308 as suggested by some) with 110 grain JSP, or a .41 magnum revolver, which, if any of them, would you pick ?

.308 any day.

 

[saddlebum]

yea, but he's talking about a 30 carbine not 308 win. i shot a 140lb pig 4 times behind the shoulder with a 30 carbine. i wasn't impressed and neither was the pig

 

[H&Hhunter]

There is no ammo in a .223 that makes into a reliable hog killer under normal field conditions.

Period end of story.

Remember I said reliable not one that is capable of killing a hog. The .223 is certainly capable of killing any hog on the planet with perfect shot presentation and perfect shot placement.

Rarely do you get either in real life hunting situations.

 

[MCgunner]

If your only choice was between the .223 and a M1 Carbine (.308 as suggested by some) with 110 grain JSP, or a .41 magnum revolver, which, if any of them, would you pick ?

.41 mag without hesitation. Or, sell the .223 and buy a .308. I'd say sell the carbine, only slightly more "pop gun" than the .223, but I sorta like those little carbines. I just don't care for ARs at all. Never got bit by the GI Joe bug and I'm old enough to remember the TV show "Combat".

 

[BullsEye10x]

I once dropped a 150 pound sow with a single shot to the neck from a 22-250. It was loaded with 55 grain Hornady Ballistic tips. She came out of nowhere with several piglets in tow and ran broadside from me about 25 yards away; I had my rifle slung at the time and was not expecting it. Had just enough time to get a flash sight picture in the scope and let one go. I fired as she was running over a ridge and thought I missed, but when I came over the top she was down about 10 feet from where I shot, dead before she hit the ground. That nasty little bullet exploded in her neck and severed the spinal cord. I got to thinking if I had hit her somewhere else it might have been a different outome, so now I don't take anything smaller than a 30-30 or 30-06 into hog country. Not to mention the HUGE tracks I've seen out there lately that have to be a few 300+ pounders