Hog Rifle... what do you use?

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It all depends on the season for me. During deer rifle season I'll use my Remington 700LTR in .308 or a 12 or 20ga slug. During small game hunts I'll use my 10/22 or my Rossi single shot .17hmr. I pull out the PSE Firestorm lite during archery and turkey seasons.


However, my favorite pig gun is my AR10 with a red dot sight. I tend to use that when I go into the swamps on my lease. It's nice to have that kind of firepower when you bust a 175lb pig when he's 10 yards away in thick underbrush.
 
When I hunted in the swamps of Ga . I used a marlin 336 30/30 with a layman peep sight 150 gr ammo . I never lost a hog . A friend of mine then use a double 12 shotgun with 00buck He almost got run over by a charging one. Both barrels and it went down about 10' in front of him. He switched to a rifle.
 
If you buy used look to marlin and if a good deal shows up in a 30-30 get that and you have a rifle that can reach out to near 2250 yards.
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I always thought the bullet drop on a 30-30 was quite a bit more excessive than that? Where are you holding for that kind of range, and what bullet weight?

I may need to reconsider the 30-30 as a viable option if this is true.

BikerRN
 
1895 Marlin 45-70 with 300 grain hollow points is as good a feral pig combo as I have used.

Have previously used 308Win, 30-06, 222, 223, 303, shotguns and a few others. The 30 cals all work well but for under 200 yards nothing knocks them down like the 45-70 in my experience.

In fact I took it out this morning and knocked 4 pigs over - one boar and 3 sows - with the Marlin. I haven't downloaded the pics yet so have included a couple of older photos. Will post the new ones when I have them.
 

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I believe the 2250 is a typo :evil:

You might say 200-250 but the 250 is a lob with a 30-30 :uhoh: Hopefully you know the distance :)

This is a down range trajectory chart for the 30-30 Winchester cartridge with the scope mounted 1.5 inches above the bore center line plus if you were using this load, its effective hunting bullet energy range with well placed shots on,
Varmint / Predator size game, such as Bobcat, Cougar, Coyote.
Deer size game, such as Antelope, Blacktail, Hogs, Javelina, Mule, Whitetail.
Elk size game, such as Caribou, Black Bear, Sheep.
Moose size game, such as Brown Bear.
Bullet diameter .308"
Bullet weight 150 grains
Bullet ballistic coeffecient .210
Bullet velocity 2,400 feet per second

Range 100 yds. 200 yds. 300 yds. 400 yds. 500 yds. +
.........0..........-7.4.......-27.4.......-65.6.....-127.2
FPE....1348...... 930....... 631.......446........347..
Click to expand...

The lever guns and heavy bullets are good at 100 or so IMHO, as the 35 Rem is...
 
The best hog rifle is a B. Searcy PH grade .470 Nitro Express Firing a 500 Gr Woodleigh Bonded Soft point at 2150 FPS for just over 5,000 FPE.

When hunting piggys always use enough gun.;):)

Nitrohog1.jpg
 
It depends on what area you're hunting in.

For an area that I know I'm going to have longer shots (orange groves/pastures), I use my Savage Model 10 in .243. For shorter distance hunting (brush/woods) I either grab my 30-30 or my AR in .223, with my Ruger GP100 on my hip in case I get a close enough shot.
 
I have taken hogs with all 3 of these rifles.......
SANY1240.jpg

R to L = Wasr10/63, SAI M1A-A1, M14S Tanker.

Wasr10/63 :

This is my beater/truck/quad/el-cheapo gun. Reliable, easy to hump around, cheap to keep it fed (7.62x39mm), nice and compact, etc......
Not my dedicated hunting rifle, and use it only if I have a chance meeting with a hog while tending other chores. 3 hogs with this to date. All inside of 100yds and usually moving. Usually run Wolf or Brown bear through it simply because this fodder is the most economically priced. Iron sights only. Makes for decent practice at hitting fast moving targets.
Not very fond of the AK types as I do not care for their iron sights or ergonomics. I picked it up rather cheap from an ole boy who was selling it on account of all the bad stuff he was reading about them on the net. (go figure). The wife actually wanted it, but she grew bored with it and gave it to me.

M1A-A1 : I have used this rifle on several hog dumping excursions before. Run it with iron sights only, and using optics mounted up on a Bassett rec mount. Usually keep it for the more open areas where I hunt. ( I baby the thing too much according to the wife...lol)
I'vs used several different loads through this rifle,( 7.62x51mm and 308) but the one that she really likes = 168gr HOR TAP. ( Expensive, but alot of fun)

M14S Tanker : This rifle was my "purpose build rifle for general purpose utility". My version at least. The mount = ARMS#18 split rail, and have dumped several hogs with it..using iron sights as well as an optic. ( Longest shot measured out at 376yds deep using a Simmons 3-9x32 Deerfield Scope, zeroed at 300yds. Load used was FED 168gr OTM M852) I prefer precision/shot placement for personal reasons.
Also dump um up close with iron sights. The front sight is a SEI Gas lock hooded front sight, and makes for an excellent way to hit them little fast movers in close for me. When I get back home, I plan to try out them Barnes Triple shocks, (if my rifle likes um)....... as I have heard good things about this particular bullet.

There is a large selection of rifles/shotguns/handguns out there for a body to choose from. My suggestion would be for you to handle a few of interest to see which feels right for you. If the budget for such a firearm exists in your camp, then some might be eliminated from your list for this reason alone. I prefer 308/7.62x51mm, but there is a wide range of calibers to choose from when it comes to a hog hunting adventure. If possible, get in some trigger time behind a few different chambered firearms of interest....and go from there. You may find that you shoot a specific firearm/caliber combination better than another.

Good luck with your research.

11B
 
Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70 Gov't.

My second hog gun will probably be a Winchester 9422 in 22 WRM so I can hunt them during squirrel season on Alabama's WMA.
 
The best hog rifle is a B. Searcy PH grade .470 Nitro Express Firing a 500 Gr Woodleigh Bonded Soft point at 2150 FPS for just over 5,000 FPE.

When hunting piggys always use enough gun
Click to expand...

perfect example of overkill

use whatever you want on hogs, its your life, but at over 200 dollars for a box of 20 rounds, that seems like a huge waste of money...
worth it for cape buffalo or elephant? absolutely
worth it for feral piggies? holy crap no
 
SKS ( 7.62x39mm 154gr. SP) in Texas, I don't know the law for Florida. However, if you can't use one I would suggest a lever action .30-30win.
 
Florida law allows semi auto rifles (centerfire) with a max capacity of 5 rounds...other actions are not limited in capacity at all
that said, the above law only applies to game animals.
In florida, hogs are considered livestock and/or nuisance species, thus semi autos used for hunting hogs are not limited to using 5 round magazines
 
H&Hhunter,
Did that piggy run much??? Must have been a practice run for an Africa hunt:)

To shoot a rifle on a hunt you need to practice on something...Friend of mine was going Elk hunting trying out his 458 win mag, on deer...It went down hard and fast, though it was the 350 bullet, still quite a round...
 
I have two hog rifles. I have a DPMS flat top 5.56 with a EoTech 512 for close range pig hunting and I have a Marlin XS7C in .308 for long range.

But I've also used the ol' Mossberg 500 with slugs and my 1911.
 
The shots are closer in Texas........ need the followup shot
Click to expand...

Shots are closer, and there are alot more little (and big) piggies running around

AR for me ;)

Or the .270 WSM when brother wants the AR
 
Ummm...my .223 pills of choice out of the AR have become SP's and some heavier HP's.....not FMJ's

OTOH, I haven't tried them
 
A lever gun with a round like the 35 Remington is a good choice. ...short - easy to turn and point, reloads fast without moving your rifle much and fat heavy slow moving bullets tend to perform better in heavy brush.....

Lever guns tend not to be real tack drivers, but for hogs, this is generally not an issue.
 
My last hog, a large male, was about 20 yards away and running straight at me when I first saw him. My first shot, a 168-grain 308 from a Sako bolt gun, hit him just below the heart, then exited his body and tore up his lower left ham. He zoomed around in circles for a while, squealing like crazy, until stopping 50 yards away and standing still long enough for me to get another shot -- into his neck one side, out his ear the other. In retrospect I was VERY GLAD I didn't choose my single-shot Browning 30-06 that day. Next time I'm going with a Remington Model 8 autoloader in 35 Rem. I sold my 50 Beowulf years ago and still regret it.
 
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