Hog Hunting Rifle

[DetBrowning]

I'm new to Florida, not to hunting. When I lived in NY I deer hunted in the 80's and 90's then lost my interest in it.
Moving to Florida (3 years ago) I found that my dog is bigger than most deer they have down here.
I used my Ruger 77 bolt action in .308 with iron sights from a tree stand or cover on the edge of a field (no optics, I felt it made it more of a fair fight)
I think I may be interested in hog hunting as a few of my friends here hunt hogs. I have my Ruger .308, a mini 14 (no optics), a Keltec Sub 2K with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism,
an FN Scar 17 in .308 with a trijicon ACOG 4x32 and finally a Anderson AR 15 in .223 with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism.
What is the prevailing thought on which rifle I should use?

 

[Hugger-4641]

Mini 14 gets my vote for hogs, but you really can't go wrong with any you mentioned with the right ammo. I would not use a hollow point if you go with the sub2k. Go with FTX or a hard cast.

 

[marksman13]

I would use the SCAR.

 

[JohnMc]

It would depend on how you're going to hunt them.
Stalk through the woods, sit in a stand, pop 'em in a field at night.
I've done the stand thing at night with a green illuminator light and a bolt gun in .270 Win was good, .308 is good to go. I'd use the Mini for stalking as it's handy and quick to point, and the SCAR for getting more than one in a sounder in a farmer's field at night, depending on optics.

 

[LoonWulf]

All of them......no body likes being left home all the time!

Id probably use your bolt and the mini most often unless as stated you were trying to wipe as many out as possible.

 

[Anchorite]

Welcome to the area. I’m to the west of you, in lower Alabama. With your current battery, you can’t really go wrong. We use ARs quite a bit here and have no problems. Pigs in this region of the country don’t seem to be armor plated as some would have you believe. Pig hunting can be fun. When are you going to go after gators and pythons???

 

[Buzznrose]

I'm new to Florida, not to hunting. When I lived in NY I deer hunted in the 80's and 90's then lost my interest in it.
Moving to Florida (3 years ago) I found that my dog is bigger than most deer they have down here.
I used my Ruger 77 bolt action in .308 with iron sights from a tree stand or cover on the edge of a field (no optics, I felt it made it more of a fair fight)
I think I may be interested in hog hunting as a few of my friends here hunt hogs. I have my Ruger .308, a mini 14 (no optics), a Keltec Sub 2K with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism,
an FN Scar 17 in .308 with a trijicon ACOG 4x32 and finally a Anderson AR 15 in .223 with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism.
What is the prevailing thought on which rifle I should use?

Your favorite one! They all work for pigs with proper ammo.

But I definitely recommend an optic, again, your choice of what you like. I wouldn’t choose the gun based on what optic is mounted…I’d choose the gun and then mount my optic of choice on it.

 

[ms6852]

Everything you listed is good to go. But if you need an excuse to buy a rifle, when it comes to hogs I find myself using my 35 Remington or my 30-30 the most. Very fast on follow up shots with open sights. Buy yourself a lever action rifle.

 

[md7]

Either of your 308’s or the AR is what I’d use. Time to start stacking em now!

 

[Remington1911]

Welcome to the area. I’m to the west of you, in lower Alabama. With your current battery, you can’t really go wrong. We use ARs quite a bit here and have no problems. Pigs in this region of the country don’t seem to be armor plated as some would have you believe. Pig hunting can be fun. When are you going to go after gators and pythons???

I think it depends on where you hit them.

Silly me thought right between the eyes with a 357 would be a DRT type shot, I saw the bullet bounce off his skull.

It was a planned shot, just like target shooting, I wanted right between the eyes and I am 99% sure that is where I hit him.

I ended up killing him from a tree.

From now on nice side shots, and/or centerfire rifle. I am too old to make that mistake again.

I hate those things.

 

[Choctaw]

Whatever you happen to have in your hands when you see one of the filthy things.

 

[DetBrowning]

Everything you listed is good to go. But if you need an excuse to buy a rifle, when it comes to hogs I find myself using my 35 Remington or my 30-30 the most. Very fast on follow up shots with open sights. Buy yourself a lever action rifle.

My wife will be thrilled that I'm buying more rifles, roflmao. She actually said, before I get another rifle, she gets another handgun!

 

[Mk-211]

For putting bacon on the table, the .458 SoCom is what you seek.

If you have an AR lower, all you need is an upper.

And don't forget Tromix.

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tromix.com

There are cheaper options out there but they're the ones that designed it.

 

[Gun-Reck]

The Mini-14, if it is a 580 Series.

TechSights makes a very nice adjustable aperture sight for it, that also moves it back on the receiver a bit.

​

 

[ECVMatt]

I guess I would start with thinking about the area where you hunt and what might be the longest shot you would take and go from there.

All of the rifles you currently have would make great hog guns with the exception of the S2K.

If there is some open land, the prism sight or the Acog would be the ticket. For closer range, the Mini would be a great choice.

Have fun, keep us updated, and post pictures of the hunt!

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I'm new to Florida, not to hunting. When I lived in NY I deer hunted in the 80's and 90's then lost my interest in it.
Moving to Florida (3 years ago) I found that my dog is bigger than most deer they have down here.
I used my Ruger 77 bolt action in .308 with iron sights from a tree stand or cover on the edge of a field (no optics, I felt it made it more of a fair fight)
I think I may be interested in hog hunting as a few of my friends here hunt hogs. I have my Ruger .308, a mini 14 (no optics), a Keltec Sub 2K with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism,
an FN Scar 17 in .308 with a trijicon ACOG 4x32 and finally a Anderson AR 15 in .223 with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism.
What is the prevailing thought on which rifle I should use?

I don't know where you will start, but if you do it for any amount of time, you are going to want night vision or thermal. The SCAR's recoil may not agree with some electro-optics, FYI, even though .308 should be fine for all of them.

Also remember that the smaller, less powerful the round, the more precise you need to make your shots if you want decent kills. You can kill hogs just fine with a .17 hmr, .22 subsonic, or even a .177 caliber pellet rifle, but these will be all much more difficult to use at anything other than short range and with really precise shots. Larger, more powerful calibers do more tissue damage and are more apt to bring down hogs quicker with a slightly less precise shot than smaller, weaker calibers.

 

[gotboostvr]

I'd throw a thermal on the AR and use it at night, and the SCAR during daylight hours.

I'd use the others as well, at least occasionally just to keep things interesting. They're all nice rifles

 

[KCAce]

My wife will be thrilled that I'm buying more rifles, roflmao. She actually said, before I get another rifle, she gets another handgun!

Ha! I like her! Buy her the pistol she wants and get another rifle (even if you don’t really need it)
Dave
KCAce

 

[JohnMc]

Silly me thought right between the eyes with a 357 would be a DRT type shot, I saw the bullet bounce off his skull.

I did that too, on a sow with a .25 WSSM at ~165 yards. The bullet bounced off the skull and came out behind the ear. A LOT of blood, but I had to track the sow through briers and put one behind her ear to finish the task. The impact was about a dime's width left of center between the eyes. I had read on the interwebs that was a good place to shoot. Not for the first time, internet knowledge was a bit lacking. In my defense, it was my first large wild hog.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I have taken big hogs with everything from a .17hmr to 30-06 for longer ranges, for up close my favorite is a Ruger M77/44. .44 mag bolt action carbine and I have lots of hogs on my place....overrun with them. whatever I throw in my pickup when I go check cows.

 

[lightman]

Most of the guys here that make a dedicated hunt for hogs use an AR, mostly in 223/5.56 with soft point ammo. But we shoot them with all sorts of rifle/caliber combinations when we see them while Deer hunting. Head shots rule! I got 3 in a string once using a 300 WSM.

 

[Necessary_Nutrient]

For older, bigger hogs I can’t imagine better than the .308. Sounds like plenty of them are sized to be vulnerable to 5.56/.223 but I thought they varied in size and toughness quite a bit

 

[Random 8]

I like your .308 Ruger. If you wish to use something fun, use something fun, but it sounds like this is the most effective and practical tool in your box. You're not hunting assault hogs, so I don't like the SCAR. Too much magazine and extra weight to lug around. I don't hunt Hogs, but my understanding is tight cover hunting and similar terminal effects wanted to deer hunting. If you wanted something more classic, a Savage 99 in .308 or .300 Sav would be fun. IDK if you handload, but I actually prefer the .308 toned down just a hair. 2600 FPS with a cup and core 150 is perfect deer medicine, and a bit easier on brass, bolt lugs and meat, should kill hogs just fine.

I did hunt them many years ago in TX on a ranch hunt. I killed one with a cut on contact 3 blade head on a heavy arrow from a heavy draw weigh single cam. Pass through and embedded deeply in a tree behind the hog. Second one I killed for another hunter was a 300+ lb wounded boar I shot in the face with my .41 mag and a 210 Berrys over a heavy load of Blue Dot before that was Verboten. Ranch guide didn't want to track one in the dark. I was young and dumb and it sounded exciting so I volunteered. Now I see why he didn't want to do this, but I enjoyed the experience. Based on that, I'd choose the .300 Sav-.308 range of performance.

 

[tdbmd]

I'm new to Florida, not to hunting. When I lived in NY I deer hunted in the 80's and 90's then lost my interest in it.
Moving to Florida (3 years ago) I found that my dog is bigger than most deer they have down here.
I used my Ruger 77 bolt action in .308 with iron sights from a tree stand or cover on the edge of a field (no optics, I felt it made it more of a fair fight)
I think I may be interested in hog hunting as a few of my friends here hunt hogs. I have my Ruger .308, a mini 14 (no optics), a Keltec Sub 2K with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism,
an FN Scar 17 in .308 with a trijicon ACOG 4x32 and finally a Anderson AR 15 in .223 with a Primary Arms 3X micro Prism.
What is the prevailing thought on which rifle I should use?

Either the Ruger or SCAR would be perfect.

 

[alfsauve]

I'm with MK-211. While the .308s do very well especially if you're going to shoot at distance, for the under 100yds I'm like my .458SC. Put down several in a hunt near the lower Kissimee with easy one-shot kills. Just dropped them every time in their tracks.