Mosin for Hogs?

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Panzerschwein

Panzerschwein

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Hello all! I am going on a hog hunting trip down in Oklahoma at the end of the month. I have never hog hunted before, and want to be sure I'll come home with plenty of bacon and sausage!!! :D

So needless to say, I need a hog rifle. After a bit of thought, I realized my Mosin Nagant M44 might do the job. I'd prefer not to have to go buy a whole new rifle, as money while not tight isn't super plentiful or anything. I'm trying to save up.

What I am wanting to know is do you think a Mosin Nagant M44 carbine with 20" barrel would do okay on Oklahoma hogs?

I would imagine the caliber would be sufficient. What type of 7.62x54mmR ammo would be best for hog hunting?

My particular M44 is a post-war Romanian job, and the rifling is mint condition perfect. This gun will make about a one inch group at 25 yards provided I do my part. I have been shooting Mosin Nagants for years, and they are very natural to me and I can work the bolt from the shoulder very fast.

I have no upgrades to my Mosin, no scopes or anything. Do you think iron sights will be enough?

So what do you all think? Should I go buy a different rifle or will my M44 serve me well in the pig brush? Thanks everyone!!
 
Of course a Mosin will do fine putting paid to hogs. Find some soft points to feed it and make sure to get some practice in. The first hog I killed was with a Mosin 1891 from a tripod.
 
If you're night hunting, and that's the usual case, you should have an optic. Those military sights are hard enough to use in daylight, let alone with a spotlight.

No problem with the caliber. If it'll kill whitetail deer, it'll kill hogs, though you might wanna use a heavy bullet on a large boar. It'll have to penetrate some gristle plate.
 
Cooldill said:
Thanks, do you think iron sights will be okay?
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Absolutely. Well, I guess that depends on your eyes. If you can see the irons well enough to shoot a fist sized group at 50 yards, that will be good enough for what you need.

The important part to remember as a first time pig shooter is that most of the legend of piggy toughness comes from people shooting pigs in the wrong spot. The important stuff is in the lower third right behind the leg. Shooting them high up does nothing you will notice.
 
Your mosin will be no good at night. You at least need a scope, preferably with a lighted reticle, at the minimum. If you are going to try to shoot a pig at night with an iron sight mosin, then cancel the trip. Or rent the night vision gun.
 
If your gonna shoot with a scope in the dark, you need a "Night vision scope" and the cheapest run in the hundreds of $$ a regular scope might gather you enough light for a further 20 minutes before and after sun up/down, but the rest of the night its pretty useless.

Iron sight have worked for hundreds of years, have faith a few bullets and go shoot untill your comfortable with useing and cleaning the rifle.

Do yourself a favor and avoid military ammo, since theres plenty of commercial soft poits out there. Your iron sights will favor the 150 grain variety.

Good luck and get some practice before you go and get 'er done.
 
Of course a Mosin will do fine putting paid to hogs. Find some soft points to feed it and make sure to get some practice in.
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Ditto's! unless for some unknown reason hogs can only be hunted at night, with nightvision scopes in Oklahoma. Granted, odds are better, and they are more active at night, but a fair number are taken in daylight as well.

Is this a do it yourself hunt, or a hunt with some locals you know, or a paid hunt?
 
As everyone else has said, your Mosin will be just fine, even with irons for daylight hunting. I use an AR with irons and never have a problem killing the stinking things. Anyway, a night vision scope may be necessary for some situations, but it depends on how you are hunting. When we hunt at night we usually hunt one of our feeders, so we simply use a couple of good spotlights which allows us to shoot with just normal scopes. I've hunted coyotes and bobcats at night for 45 years and have managed to do so without a special night scope.
 
Why don't you use your 91/G3 clone? Plenty of power, good sights, quick follow up shots. Also be a fun chance to try it out under dynamic conditions. Depending on the particular rifle, a lot of Mosins are not particularly fast-cycling.
 
eldon519 said:
Why don't you use your 91/G3 clone? Plenty of power, good sights, quick follow up shots. Also be a fun chance to try it out under dynamic conditions. Depending on the particular rifle, a lot of Mosins are not particularly fast-cycling.
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Ooooh yeah, plus it would probably be easier to scope if you are so inclined. That rifle would be a hog killing machine.
 
Caribou, night vision would be nice, but it's not really necessary if you get a clamp on green light like I have. I can see 100 yards with it which is probably all you'd need, at least in the woods.

Some of these hog shooting ranches like the one up the road from me have lights on their feeders. The hogs come out, they can be easily seen and shot from 100+ yards.

Good night vision isn't in my future for the cost. But, then, I find it hard to stay up past 10PM anyway. :D I do have a lighted reticule scope, but it's on my CVA black powder "Wolf" at the moment. THAT gun will lay 'em out! But, ya know, it ain't much for a quick second shot. LOL
 
TimSr said:
Ditto's! unless for some unknown reason hogs can only be hunted at night, with nightvision scopes in Oklahoma. Granted, odds are better, and they are more active at night, but a fair number are taken in daylight as well.

Is this a do it yourself hunt, or a hunt with some locals you know, or a paid hunt?
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It's a paid hunt with No Mercy hunting. I am so excited!!
 
It's a paid hunt with No Mercy hunting. I am so excited!!
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I'd pick up the phone and talk to them! They can tell you what kind of lighting, and what kind of distances , and describe the method of hunt, and then you can decide how well your current rig will work for those conditions. I highly doubt they would set you up with a hunt that requires special equipment without making mention of it. If they handle archery and handgun hunters, I highly doubt you woudl need a scope. Best thing is to just talk to them and find out what you're in for.
 
Okay I'll probably do that!

Oh, and I just won an M38 Mosin Nagant on Gunbroker, so provided it is accurate with the soft points I buy I will probably use it since the bayonet on the M44 will be dead weight.
 
eldon519 said:
Why don't you use your 91/G3 clone? Plenty of power, good sights, quick follow up shots. Also be a fun chance to try it out under dynamic conditions. Depending on the particular rifle, a lot of Mosins are not particularly fast-cycling.
Click to expand...
Too heavy! I do know we will be stalking, going through the woods up inclines and stuff. My G3 is a tad portly for the task at hand IMHO. My Mosin M44 is more lithe, and the M38 I just won will be even more so. :cool:
 
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