Deer Hunter
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Go with the .44 magnum with the XTPs, as stated above.
Hog Rifle
- Thread starter mbt2001
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huntershooter
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My favorite hog rifle is a 5.5" Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt, with 335 gr. CP gas check cast lead bullets @ 1100 fps.
Lobotomy Boy
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We used to use a .22LR to butcher domestic pigs--just put the barrel at the base of the skull, pull the trigger, and start cleaning. I understand that wild boars have tougher skin, but it seems to me like the guy with the .22-250 whispering in their ears had the right idea.
I plan to start hunting hogs this spring and decided to try a different gun. I was thinking of a BAR Lightweight Stalker in .308, but then decided to try an AR in .223. I know it's not the ideal round, but hell, our government figures it's good enough for our troops to use against enemy that are far more dangerous than the biggest boar (unless some of you hunt boars that own AK47s and know how to make IEDs). If I end up with wounded pigs getting away, I'll start using my .30-06, or better yet, my Blackhawk. But if it works well and I have good success, I'll stick with the AR.
I plan to start hunting hogs this spring and decided to try a different gun. I was thinking of a BAR Lightweight Stalker in .308, but then decided to try an AR in .223. I know it's not the ideal round, but hell, our government figures it's good enough for our troops to use against enemy that are far more dangerous than the biggest boar (unless some of you hunt boars that own AK47s and know how to make IEDs). If I end up with wounded pigs getting away, I'll start using my .30-06, or better yet, my Blackhawk. But if it works well and I have good success, I'll stick with the AR.
i have always thought that you should shoot a hog behind the ears to knock them down dead. and i have shot 3 with a .50 cal muzzleloader right behind the ear. they all fall on the spot. they are not fun to track if yoou hit them on the shoulder or lungs. they can run really far before they expire.
A good friend of mine used to hunt hogs for a Colorado local utility district. He tried just about everything he owned or could borrow and did field autopsies of everything he killed.
Some of his conclusions:
1) Pigs are tough
2) Pigs are mean
3) Pigs can make a good stab at climbing small trees, or at least it seems that way
4) No handgun will reliably stop them unless you hit them right in the brainpan, in which case a .22 will do the job. That's easier said than done.
5) His best results were with a 12 gauge loaded with Remington Solid Copper Slugs.
6) He recommends breaking the shoulder first. If the pig can't run it isn't as dangerous.
7) Pigs can take a long time to realize that their heart and lungs are mangled.
He quit that job when he wounded a Russian boar. His boss told him to go into the pig's den. He handed his boss the 10 gauge(!) and said "You first."
Some of his conclusions:
1) Pigs are tough
2) Pigs are mean
3) Pigs can make a good stab at climbing small trees, or at least it seems that way
4) No handgun will reliably stop them unless you hit them right in the brainpan, in which case a .22 will do the job. That's easier said than done.
5) His best results were with a 12 gauge loaded with Remington Solid Copper Slugs.
6) He recommends breaking the shoulder first. If the pig can't run it isn't as dangerous.
7) Pigs can take a long time to realize that their heart and lungs are mangled.
He quit that job when he wounded a Russian boar. His boss told him to go into the pig's den. He handed his boss the 10 gauge(!) and said "You first."
MCgunner
Member
DigMe said:
Ditto. A .22 ain't enough gun. If you wanna use a combat rifle, get a Garand.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Dang it, MCgunner, you got me to remembering another "way long ago".
I was a high school junior in Manila in 1949/1950. Some friends of my mother thought I should go along on a hog-hunting trip. She strongly disagreed, so I just heard about it, later on.
Down on Palawan Island were thick jungles, with many very large wild hogs.
They had tunnel-like trails through this jungle, and you moved on your knees or in a squat. Duck walk. Hogs are faster.
It's a two-man hunt. The guy in front, Intrepid Nimrod, uses a Garand. The guy behind, Native Bearer, has a ten-foot spear with a heavy-blade head. There is a cross-bar behind the spearhead. At the butt of the spear is a sort of cup; when you put it to the ground with your foot on it, the boar can't shove you backwards. You hope so, anyway.
It is hoped that if the first shot(s) don't stop the boar, the spear will.
Per my mother's friends, the Garand worked just fine--except once, and the spear did its job.
I saw one set of the tusks; they had grown to almost a complete circle. A naturally-grown bracelet.
Unfortunately, a money-buddy of President Marcos got the mahogany concession on Palawan, and it got mostly logged off...
Art
I was a high school junior in Manila in 1949/1950. Some friends of my mother thought I should go along on a hog-hunting trip. She strongly disagreed, so I just heard about it, later on.
Down on Palawan Island were thick jungles, with many very large wild hogs.
They had tunnel-like trails through this jungle, and you moved on your knees or in a squat. Duck walk. Hogs are faster.
It's a two-man hunt. The guy in front, Intrepid Nimrod, uses a Garand. The guy behind, Native Bearer, has a ten-foot spear with a heavy-blade head. There is a cross-bar behind the spearhead. At the butt of the spear is a sort of cup; when you put it to the ground with your foot on it, the boar can't shove you backwards. You hope so, anyway.
It is hoped that if the first shot(s) don't stop the boar, the spear will.
Per my mother's friends, the Garand worked just fine--except once, and the spear did its job.
I saw one set of the tusks; they had grown to almost a complete circle. A naturally-grown bracelet.
Unfortunately, a money-buddy of President Marcos got the mahogany concession on Palawan, and it got mostly logged off...
Art
RaySendero
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mbt2001 said:
Don't carry a side arm. A friend and I hunt together - One will carry a 12gauge and the other a rifle. When its my turn to carry the 12 gauge I grab my 870 turkey gun with a threaded choke and use slugs. My favorite hog rifle is a sporterized Vz-24 Czech Mauser in 8x57. It has a 2X scout scope. My reload for it uses a 200 grain Speer HC.
Charles S
Member
RaySendero said:
That sounds like a perfect hog rifle for the type of hunting I do.
Charles
RaySendero
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Charles S said:
Charles S
Member
Ray,
That is very nice. Again I think that is a perfect caliber for hog hunting. The load you have selected sounds perfect also. I do a lot of hunting in thick cover so a rifle that is fast and packs plenty of punch is a real plus.
Very nice rifle.
Charles
That is very nice. Again I think that is a perfect caliber for hog hunting. The load you have selected sounds perfect also. I do a lot of hunting in thick cover so a rifle that is fast and packs plenty of punch is a real plus.
Very nice rifle.
Charles
nanookalexkaye
Member
This is my first post on this forum I was so inclined to register just to make this post.
I live in Texas and have asked my self this question a thousand times. Having NEVER BEEN hog hunting take it with a grain of salt.
Marlin 1894 16" Trapper 45LC w/ XS Scout mount 2X Leupold M8 EER scope, leupold aluminum vertical rings, loads are 335 GR H110 21.2 grains or 300 Grain XTP with 2400 (cant remember the exact amount of powder offhand but I like these more as the lighteset 335 load with H110 seems a bit overpressure yet still well under the 2000fps window)
That is for the bigger imported boars.
For smaller ones, I got this:
Marlin 1894P Limited 16" ported 357/38 trapper- load undecided but it will probably be a 160gr hard cast gas check with some hot powder as well.
I like the idea of a pistol cartridge to keep the "big bullet moving slow" theory alive, then with the limited range involved I am covered- hell, people are doing fine with pistols in these rounds, why not a carbine? I can't hit nothing with iron sights but didn't' want to be tied down to a scope if SHTF or some weird laser sight without enough magnification or batteries to short out- I seriously toiled! Finally decided the now discontinued M8 had a great reputation- my only gripe is the objective is a teeny bit to small for very rapid target acquisition but with practice it will improve- but enough to bet my life or limb???
I have not even started to think of the pistol to carry (if at all) Texas is still a big thicket in allot of areas so I am not going with the high powered magnums (a call to John Linebaugh will straighten you out on pushing a bullet too fast) so now I think the right composition of lead/tin/antimony on a big wide gas checked slug is the route. The fact that a 45-70 can penetrate deeper than a 458 Winchester Magnum is something to seriously consider. The scope/iron sights/peep sight has me all wadded up at the moment.
Thanks for tolerating this post.
I was so inclined to register just to make this post.I live in Texas and have asked my self this question a thousand times. Having NEVER BEEN hog hunting take it with a grain of salt.
Marlin 1894 16" Trapper 45LC w/ XS Scout mount 2X Leupold M8 EER scope, leupold aluminum vertical rings, loads are 335 GR H110 21.2 grains or 300 Grain XTP with 2400 (cant remember the exact amount of powder offhand but I like these more as the lighteset 335 load with H110 seems a bit overpressure yet still well under the 2000fps window)
That is for the bigger imported boars.
For smaller ones, I got this:
Marlin 1894P Limited 16" ported 357/38 trapper- load undecided but it will probably be a 160gr hard cast gas check with some hot powder as well.
I like the idea of a pistol cartridge to keep the "big bullet moving slow" theory alive, then with the limited range involved I am covered- hell, people are doing fine with pistols in these rounds, why not a carbine? I can't hit nothing with iron sights but didn't' want to be tied down to a scope if SHTF or some weird laser sight without enough magnification or batteries to short out- I seriously toiled! Finally decided the now discontinued M8 had a great reputation- my only gripe is the objective is a teeny bit to small for very rapid target acquisition but with practice it will improve- but enough to bet my life or limb???
I have not even started to think of the pistol to carry (if at all) Texas is still a big thicket in allot of areas so I am not going with the high powered magnums (a call to John Linebaugh will straighten you out on pushing a bullet too fast) so now I think the right composition of lead/tin/antimony on a big wide gas checked slug is the route. The fact that a 45-70 can penetrate deeper than a 458 Winchester Magnum is something to seriously consider. The scope/iron sights/peep sight has me all wadded up at the moment.
Thanks for tolerating this post.
TehK1w1
Member
Not a problem, welcome to the forum. This a good thread worthy of being revived, as well. That said, I think ***shot placement*** and bullet construction are at least as important as the round you use. I have had a 150 gr. .30-06 Nosler ballistic tip fail to exit a 90-lb whitetail, and had a solidly constructed .243 round exit a 250 lb pig.
MCgunner
Member
Well, since you dug this thread up, I'll post again. I recently set up one of my SKSs for night hunting hogs, primarily because I got nothing else to use it for. In the past, killed my hogs with .308 Winchester and .257 Roberts. My preferred caliber is still .308.
rhubarb
Member
MCgunner, what's that red light and what's the power source? How far can you see? Do you use it on the move or set up on a stand?
FWIW, I kilt my first piggy day before yesterday with a Hornady 55gr softpoint over 25 gr of H335 from an AR at 125 yards. It was about a 60 lb pig and the raging 223 bullet went plumb through both front leg bones and kept trucking.
FWIW, I kilt my first piggy day before yesterday with a Hornady 55gr softpoint over 25 gr of H335 from an AR at 125 yards. It was about a 60 lb pig and the raging 223 bullet went plumb through both front leg bones and kept trucking.
hobbeeman
Member
McGunner, Did you make a special mount for that SKS? From the picture, It looks like your scope is mounted not to bolt cover but to the receiver itself. That would certainly be more effective than my mount, that does not keep zero worth beans
Who did this for you? Did you buy the mount and then have it installed?
I also notice that you lengthened your stock, is that because of that longer scope?
David
Who did this for you? Did you buy the mount and then have it installed?
I also notice that you lengthened your stock, is that because of that longer scope?
David
MCgunner
Member
I bought the mount, I think maybe from Centerfire Systems, but it was back around 1990. Don't know if it's still available. Only bad thing about it is you can't field strip the bolt with it in place, but yeah, those replacement hoods rattle around and there's just no way one's gonna hold zero. The one I bought bolts down on four corners, two on either side of the action. I drilled and tapped it myself, not that hard to do considering the cheap Chinese steel it's made out of. LOL It came with a proper size tap and bit for the screws and I have a tap and die set out in the shop and a drill press with machine vice. The gun has held zero for a long time now and it shoots 3moa which is pretty normal for an SKS.
And, yeah, I lengthed the stock with a slip on pad because the scope won't mount much further forward, but then, the stock was a little short anyway, though longer than the chinese stock that came on it. It's not a perfect set up, a little tall, but I can see the irons underneath it which is kinda cool.
I bought that light back in the 70s from Gander Mountain catalog and never actually used it, lol. It's a 6 volt, have to carry a big lantern battery in a coat pocket when I use it. I'm stand hunting, not moving. It's at night, can move with it, but I bait hogs. I'd like to see if I could find a halogen lamp for it, but the lamp that's in it is good for about 100 yards and at night, heck, that's decent. I set my feeder up about 50 yards.
What I've added to the gun:
Choate stock.... $75
Ambi safety.......$18
vented heat shield w/ bolted on ... $18
case deflector
five round flush mount mag....$24
scope mount....$35
Lighted reticle 3x9....$40
I also cut that bloomin' useless bayonet lug off it. I was using it as a brush gun locally when I first got it and that thing kept grabbin' brush as I walked. I carry it with the front sight pointing backwards when it's slung, so that doesn't bother me. I haven't hunted with it since I got my .308 Remington M7, so I thought I'd stick that old light on it and maybe I'll get the energy to go sit and wait on a hog some evening. I've used that light a few times on coyote hunts, but not on hogs, yet.
I only gave 75 bucks for the bloomin' gun! ROFL! I got a little carried away dressing the little useless POS up, I guess, but it does look kinda cool if nothing else. That scope is sorta impressive, too. I shoot the thing at the range a lot and it's pretty rugged and has quite clear optics. I don't worry much about recoil with the SKS, wouldn't put it on a 300 mag or something, but it's great on the SKS. It's about a bazillion times higher quality than a friggin' Simmons, anyway, ROFL! So far, it's been well worth 50 bucks. It even has the Euro style focus adjust. I had a 1.5x4.5x20 Bushnell on it originally, but it wasn't a real bright scope for low light. This 40mm cheapo is pretty danged bright! Amazing, just bought the thing at this Homier traveling tool sale they had in Victoria some years ago. Didn't expect much out of it, but got a lot more than I expected. Could hardly see putting a 400 dollar Leupold on a 75 dollar SKS, but then, a 75 dollar stock don't make TOO much sense, either, LOL!
And, yeah, I lengthed the stock with a slip on pad because the scope won't mount much further forward, but then, the stock was a little short anyway, though longer than the chinese stock that came on it. It's not a perfect set up, a little tall, but I can see the irons underneath it which is kinda cool.
I bought that light back in the 70s from Gander Mountain catalog and never actually used it, lol. It's a 6 volt, have to carry a big lantern battery in a coat pocket when I use it. I'm stand hunting, not moving. It's at night, can move with it, but I bait hogs. I'd like to see if I could find a halogen lamp for it, but the lamp that's in it is good for about 100 yards and at night, heck, that's decent. I set my feeder up about 50 yards.
What I've added to the gun:
Choate stock.... $75
Ambi safety.......$18
vented heat shield w/ bolted on ... $18
case deflector
five round flush mount mag....$24
scope mount....$35
Lighted reticle 3x9....$40
I also cut that bloomin' useless bayonet lug off it. I was using it as a brush gun locally when I first got it and that thing kept grabbin' brush as I walked. I carry it with the front sight pointing backwards when it's slung, so that doesn't bother me. I haven't hunted with it since I got my .308 Remington M7, so I thought I'd stick that old light on it and maybe I'll get the energy to go sit and wait on a hog some evening. I've used that light a few times on coyote hunts, but not on hogs, yet.
I only gave 75 bucks for the bloomin' gun! ROFL! I got a little carried away dressing the little useless POS up, I guess, but it does look kinda cool if nothing else. That scope is sorta impressive, too. I shoot the thing at the range a lot and it's pretty rugged and has quite clear optics. I don't worry much about recoil with the SKS, wouldn't put it on a 300 mag or something, but it's great on the SKS. It's about a bazillion times higher quality than a friggin' Simmons, anyway, ROFL! So far, it's been well worth 50 bucks. It even has the Euro style focus adjust. I had a 1.5x4.5x20 Bushnell on it originally, but it wasn't a real bright scope for low light. This 40mm cheapo is pretty danged bright! Amazing, just bought the thing at this Homier traveling tool sale they had in Victoria some years ago. Didn't expect much out of it, but got a lot more than I expected. Could hardly see putting a 400 dollar Leupold on a 75 dollar SKS, but then, a 75 dollar stock don't make TOO much sense, either, LOL!
Marlin 45 carbine
Member
I had a 100+ lb field dressed weight Russky black run up on me in the Nantahala NF a cold late Dec. morning when I had a Ruger 10/22 loaded with Mini-mag solid nose, 10 shots all hits and one round left in chamber later it gave it up. .22 definitely ain't the right thing to use, but that's what I had brought to my buddy's place without being told there was chance of hunting and I doubted seeing one when told we were going out.
in '04 I got another one that size but feral hog with a BP '58 Remington max loaded with slugs one shot cracked the skull, a buddy with me had a .20 ga slug load.
in '05 I got a 300 live weight sow with my Ruger Old Army, took 2 shots the first one I took it was ambling along and I missed the heart but tore up both lungs which sent it running. found it 300 yards away after tracking blood some on snow piled in thicket whereupon another shot to the base of skull/neck anchored it.
now I have a chance to go onto private land in SC for feral hog this coming fall/winter and am loading some .45+P 250 gr cast slug loads for my Marlin Camp. 8 shots of that will be enough for anything short of Hogzilla. if I had a 44 mag carbine I would likely take it instead of my little Marlin Camp .45.
in '04 I got another one that size but feral hog with a BP '58 Remington max loaded with slugs one shot cracked the skull, a buddy with me had a .20 ga slug load.
in '05 I got a 300 live weight sow with my Ruger Old Army, took 2 shots the first one I took it was ambling along and I missed the heart but tore up both lungs which sent it running. found it 300 yards away after tracking blood some on snow piled in thicket whereupon another shot to the base of skull/neck anchored it.
now I have a chance to go onto private land in SC for feral hog this coming fall/winter and am loading some .45+P 250 gr cast slug loads for my Marlin Camp. 8 shots of that will be enough for anything short of Hogzilla. if I had a 44 mag carbine I would likely take it instead of my little Marlin Camp .45.
TehK1w1
Member
I could see hunting pigs with an M44... if it charges your gun doubles as a spear
HippieCrusher
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I've never had a problem with my .270 win 150 grain core lokt rounds before. Sometimes they wander into the food plots during deer hunts. Taken some with that load as well as my bow with a Beamon / Muzzy combo with no problem. The only hog I couldn't find is the one that tore the bumper off my truck and wrecked my suspension.
MCgunner
Member
Sorta a Ron White hog? "Well, I killed a deer with a Ford F250 at 55 mph with the headlights on and the horn blowin'. Whew, wily critter! If you really wanna kill a deer, get yourself a bullet that goes 55 mph with little headlights on it and a horn and the deer will just jump right out in front of it!" ROFL!
HippieCrusher
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Thanks for the laugh MCgunner. That was a couple of years ago so I can look back at it comically now.
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