AR NV Hog Control in Cen Tex

[irondavy]

I do lots of hog hunting here in Central Texas and need help finding an AR cal to suit my needs.
In the next year or so I will build/buy an AR and I was going to get it in .308 put a night scope on it and call her done, but a trusted friend and several "gun counter guys" at Cabelas today told me that the shock from the .308 will break the glass on any NV scope post haste. sooo... What do people use?
Will the NV scope really stand up to the shock of the .308 or will it break up? should I be looking at getting a smaller caliber (223)?
I usually hunt from a elevated stand that I built and have 80+ acres that I am trying kill as many hogs as possible on. I know that most of the NV scopes will not see as far as the .308 will reach. I am hunting in Texas mesquite scrub with 100ft or less shots, last week the piglet I shot had powder burns from my Marlin 30-30! But from the 12 ft stand I can see 300+ yards.
If the 308 will kill my scope here is what I was thinking, an AR in 223 with a 20 or 24 in bbl and flash hider. Will the .223 have enough power to kill a big hog at 200+ yards. What about other cartridges 6.8spc? 7.62.39? I try to harvest as much meat as possible but I am not willing to follow a hurt Boar into thick brush just to top off my freezer.
I was thinking the ATI Paladin ($650) was about all I would need but given enough time I could get something much more expensive($1500). Otherwise I will continue walking the brush with my 30-30 and sitting in my stand with the 30-06 and going home after the sun sets.

thanks for any help you guys can provide!
Irondavy

I reload so cal expense doesn't mater as much. If I had to hunt them with the 50BMG I would, I just don't feel like cleaning up after the red mist.

 

[ugaarguy]

Have you thought about an AR-10 / DPMS LR-308 / in .260 Remington? Lots of punch, and not so much recoil. Here's an article by THR moderator Zak Smith that will tell you all about the .260 Rem - http://demigodllc.com/articles/the-case-for-260-remington/ .

 

[Zerodefect]

Hahahahahahahahah! NV advice from Cabelas. The guys there could hardly find the floor if you kicked out their legs. LOLz, thanks, I needed that. I'd recommend:

LMT .308
PVS-14
Aimpoint T1 or Eotech XPS 3-0 (or the single dot, no ring, model for dedicated night time use). I haven't had much luck with magnified scopes at night, keep it simple. I'd usually rather have the night vision mounted on my head, than my rifle, then you can use whatever caliber you want, as long as your setup clears the Eotech/Aimpoint and rifle.

Go here and read up:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_6/18_Night_Vision.html

A good IR laser will be handy as well. These guys have all the good stuff:
http://www.tnvc.com/


Also a Trijicon ACOG or Accupoint work well with helmet mounted NV. Sight on your dominant side. NV flipped down on your weaker eye. Even though a helmet setup NV is geeky as heck, noones going to see you wearing it, unless you want to be seen. It is night, and you're the only one with a PVS14 strapped to your head afterall.

If you have to have your NV attached to your rifle. Your probally best off with a 5.56 AR15 and a PVS-14 in a Larue mount with an Aimponit in a matching Larue mount.

My experience is that unless you can pony up $3000 for gen3, you're better off hunting hogs with regular gear and some really strong flashlights.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-m2s.html

We would usually just hunt them in the daytime in FL, unless we were thrill seeking or playing with new NV gear. Do they not roam about in NV during the day? Too hot?

 

[TIMC]

I have busted a lot of rounds with night vision on my AK and it still lives after several years; I haven't tried it on my AR-10 but I can't imagine the AR-10 being any worse.

 

[wesessiah]

check into 6.5 grendel as well... blah sliced bread blah.

 

[helotaxi]

They've gone nocturnal in much of the west and midwest because of hunting pressure.

 

[68wj]

These guys use 6.8 with thermal and standard NV optics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6_yT0GzJ8w

 

[bgr2014]

Night Vision Scopes

I just purchased a ND3X40, sighted it in to my crosshairs brfore going to the range yesterday. After sight-in the light had raised up above the view through the scope. The mounting and adjustment system needs some improvement, but is is real easy to adjust back to the crosshairs. Can't wait to do some night hunting since the hogs don't come out very much in the daytime anymore. I made a trip to my lease and went to my blind after dark to see what it would do, if there is any limbs with leaves hanging down in your sight line it effects what you see. Removed the limb and could see all of the feeder and about 12-14 ft. around it, with the beam turned in tight could see about 2 ft. with really bright green light. My feeder is 114yrds. from blind. Hope this info. helps.

 

[Tirod]

To a large degree, the optics are more important than the caliber. If you can't see them, you can't hit them.

Nonetheless, in a busy night, the hog hunters in Texas report the intermediate calibers in the AR15 work very well. Up to 100 shots a night means the recoil of a .308 will have an affect, not only on the willingness of the shooter to pull the trigger again, but be able to get back on target quickly. When a gun has twice the recoil than another - and most hog hunting is less that 75 yards at night - fast followup shots are the norm. That's the entire reason self loading actions are the #1 preference. Cranky manual levers are slow and prevent maintaining a sight picture.

The guys at 68forums will be worth reading up on, professional controllers chime in with their experience in the forum and by and large, seem to prefer the 6.8SPC in the AR. This should get you to the meat of the hunting : http://68forums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?59-Hunting-with-the-6.8-mm

 

[S. Hill]

Something that hasn't been mentioned is that most NV scopes have a very short eye relief. My Gen 2 model has a rubber eye cup and less than 1" of total eye relief. A .308 Win. would recoil the scope back into my forehead every time I pulled the trigger.

I've no hands-on experience with newer optics except for looking at them at the SHOT Show, so they may have improved dramatically since I bought mine in 2000.

 

[Zerodefect]

All the ones I've seen have the 1" rubber eyepiece. Not really a recoil friendly setup at all.

 

[wingman]

Mini-30 with a 2-7x35 scope on a moon light night good to go, less equipment
a good thing in some endeavorers.

 

[TIMC]

I have been hunting pigs in south central texas for 20+ years. My favorite is still the AR-10; recoil is very manageable and gives me the ability to stay on pigs when firing at multiple targets. Close eye relief is not a problem, I have played with the PSL rifles in 7.62x54 and they were not a problem with the 1" eye cup and they have similar if not more recoil than the AR-10.

When I do feel like using a medium caliber I chose the 6.5 Grendel; I found it very effective with 129 grain SST's on game out to several hundred yards.
I have even played with the new kid on the block a few times, the Kel-Tec RFB in .308 but the AR-10 is still my favorite and I have tried a lot of different rifle combinations over the years; many more than shown below.

This is not what I have read or heard or my cousins aunt told me, this is my own experiece through more than 2 decades of pig shooting.

Kel-Tec RFB - Works ok but needs the JP enterprises muzzle brake to stay on target; also very loud.

.50 Beowulf - totally devestating but short ranged and rough on the shoulder.

6.5 Grendel - excellent rifle- very accurate and good at very long range.

M1 Garand - not the best but sure is fun!

Mosin Nagant 91/30 - lot of nostalga - fun to hunt with - but bolt action so not good on multiple targets

Bushmaster AR-10 - my all around favorite - does the best job in every way!

 

[NAK]

6.8 SPC seems to be gaining ground fast in my part of Texas as a hog gun. I been using mine for about a year. An 8 point buck and at least a dozen hogs ranging from 30 - 250#....so far, I have not had a complaint from a hog or had to look more than 30 yards for one. Most do the dirt dance right where they are shot.

While there are lots of dedicated NV weapons sights suitable for heavy calibers, the 6.8 SPC is generally accepted as about the highest recoil a PVS-14 will tolerate. With the right mounts, this lets you use the NV monocle on a helmet or directly on the rifle.

6.8 SPC MUST be mainstream now, Academy Sports is now caring SSA 6.8 SPC ammo.