Feral Hog's

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McGlock

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Fairdale, Ky.
I'm going to get a Mossberg 817 (.17 HMR ) when I get my tax refund back.
My question is will this cal. kill a feral hog?

Less than 5 min. from my house is the 6000 plus acre Jefferson Memorial Forest. There is no hunting allowed in the forest, but I can damn sure shoot
'em' in the ditch behind my house. I know for sure my .22 mag. will kill them but I do not want to use any think bigger than a.22mag.as there houses behind my house (125 yards ). Over the years the forest has become infested with the hogs.

If anyone has a.17 HMR and has hunted feral hogs with it please let me know.
Thank's McGlock.
 
I am sure that your states wildlife service will have laws pertaining to legal calibers for different game, and those said laws will make it illegal for hunting anything but small game with a rimfire caliber smaller than .22.

If it's legal, it is still not a good choice for hog, or really any animal other than those in the small game category.
 
If you want the thing to run and die slow, maybe where you will not find it, by all means use the .17. If you want to drop it so you can find it, get something else. There are many sites dealing only with killing hogs, feral and otherwise. That.17 is expensive,too.
 
I won't go over a coyote with mine. Love the rifle though. I know a guy that uses a 9mm carbine on them all the time.
 
Hogs are tough creatures and need a bigger caliber. They are smart too. All creatures deserve a quick humane death. Using a .17 on a hog would be irresponsible and cruel.
 
People seem to like those hi-point carbines in 9mm for killing hogs. It used to be a cheap gun but not anymore.
 
I have killed probably 25 hogs with a traditional bow; but the only one I shot with a rifle was 425 lbs and I thought the 180 grain 308 did the job until it came out of the bush and tried the whip my ass.

I certainly wouldn't use a rimfire; especially if I had to track a wounded one.
 
I'd say no on the rim fire. Plus, I doubt you'd wanna be caught chasing a wounded hog into the forest by a game warden.

That's interesting about hogs in Jefferson Memorial forest though. I didn't know we had a sizable population this far north. Everything I've been hearing about hog wise has been down around the Tennessee state line.
 
The whole thing is a little nuts. Who in their right mind would fire any firearm (much less a rifle) so close to homes? I think both your choice in caliber and location show irresponsibility. What if you miss and it kills a kid? Was it worth it?
 
Mr.Blue said:
The whole thing is a little nuts. Who in their right mind would fire any firearm (much less a rifle) so close to homes? I think both your choice in caliber and location show irresponsibility. What if you miss and it kills a kid? Was it worth it?
Click to expand...
I grew up shooting right next to my house. It was safe and sane. Don't be so quick to criticize if you don't know the whole story
 
It is plenty strong enough to take down a medium sized hog with a head shot. Drops them in their tracks. No way can you take a heart/lung shot with one because of their tough shoulders.
 
I grew up shooting right next to my house. It was safe and sane. Don't be so quick to criticize if you don't know the whole story
Click to expand...

And yahoo behavior like that is what the anti-gunners feed off of. It's insane/ignorant enough to shoot around YOUR own house, but ingnorance to the 10th degree to do it around OTHER people's living quarters. Shooting a RIFLE 125 yards from someone's home is assinine. There are no mitigating circumstances on this one.
 
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Probably the best thing would be to trap them and then dispatch them with a shotgun. 125 yards is indeed too close to be shooting out there.
 
Mr. Blue, you need to stop letting anti-gunners cause you to be afraid to pursue perfectly legitimate activities. In VA 100 yards is the standard used for discharging a firearm from inhabited structures and roads. I took a quick glance at the Kentucky hunting regulation and here is what it says:

"A person shall not discharge a firearm within 100 yards of a residence or occupied building located on or off the area."

I agree that using a rimfire for hogs would not be a good choice, but you owe an apology for the Yahoo comment.
 
I have many acres and shoot off my back porch all the time. Silly to say "do not shoot around the house". Normal gun safety applies wherever you may be.

To the OP. Look at a .410 shot gun with slugs. Never a .17 or .22. I carry a .410 w/slugs in my truck as I see hogs/coyotes from time to time driving around the ranch and use either the shotgun or my .357 Tracker on them. The .410 will drop them quick out to say 35-40 yards.
th_Mossberg410002.jpg
 
you could always set up a hog trap at the end of your property and shoot the ones you catch i got a friend in texas that manages a little hunting ranch and uses them to help keep them under control.
 
I should have explained better about the 125 yards.There is a hugh ditch between our properties. During deer season we both hunt deer in this area. The house I refered to is about 100 years old and no one lives in it. His home is about 3/4 of a mile from the ditch.
We both hunt deer in this area and there is no danger to eiither family

As for as feral hogs in Kentucky, read this:
http://www.wfpl.org/2011/03/28/feral-hogs-a-growing-concern-in-jefferson-memorial-forest/
 
Dont put a lot of money into a trap as they become trap shy pretty quickley. Neck shots with a .22 have bagged me a lot of hogs at 25yds or so .22mag will be fine if you pick your shots and keep them close. As for .17 I've never tried it but my instincts say no. I think setting some hog snares might be a fun way to lower the population. I set a dozen or so on a regular basis and they keep me pretty buisy just be sure there are no dogs in the area or you will have them too. A deer excluder is also mandatory in my area.
Luck
T
 
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