Good .22 Magnum for hogs?

[Clifford L. Hughes]

Dear FTG-05:

Let my give you my experience shooting a pig with a .22 long rifle. I bought a sixty pound pig to roast in the ground. I didn't want it to suffer from cutting its throat so I bound its legs front to front and back to back. Then I put the .22rifle against the pig's head just above its eyes. At the shot the pig jumped around like a chicken that just had its head cut off and squealed for five minuets. I was so loud that I thought the police would come. What I'm sharing with you is that a .22 Mag. is no pig gun. Keep me posted on your results using a .22 Mag. on pigs, Please.

Semper Fi.

Gunny Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired

Gunny Clifford L. Hughes

[hogdogs]

I use a .177 pellet rifle to dispatch every hog I have penned or caged and I do not place the muzzle in contact with the skull... ONE SHOT and the big drops to his knees... Once or maybe twice i saw a hind leg twitch.

brent

[603Country]

I do trap a lot of hogs, and I use a 22 LR to kill them once they are in the trap. Just tap em in the ear and they're down. Still, I wouldn't want to rely on it more than 30 or 40 yards out. I was going to get a 22 WMR or a 221 Fireball or 22 Hornet, but finally decided to go with a 223. But...be careful picking your shot with the 223. I hit one at maybe 80 yards, and he was quartering away a bit. I tried to put it behind his ear, but I guess all I hit was skull bone. When the 55 grain Nosler BT hit him, all he did was shrug and keep walking. Didn't even run. And ya'll don't bother telling me that I was using the wrong bullet. I already know that. I was coyote hunting at the time, and didn't expect to see a 150 pound hog in daylight. I guess that shooting hogs with little bullets is a lot like what matters in Real Estate - Location, Location, Location.

And my 22 LR is a Winchester 9422. I was in a gunshop 2 years ago getting a rifle repaired and saw it in the rack. The gunsmith offered it to me for $80. That was truly a no-brainer. Nice little lever action. Was scuffed up a bit, but that's Ok. I've shot maybe 40 or 50 hogs of all sizes with it.

[Steel Talon]

Dear FTG-05:

Let my give you my experience shooting a pig with a .22 long rifle. I bought a sixty pound pig to roast in the ground. I didn't want it to suffer from cutting its throat so I bound its legs front to front and back to back. Then I put the .22rifle against the pig's head just above its eyes. At the shot the pig jumped around like a chicken that just had its head cut off and squealed for five minuets. I was so loud that I thought the police would come. What I'm sharing with you is that a .22 Mag. is no pig gun. Keep me posted on your results using a .22 Mag. on pigs, Please.

Semper Fi.

Gunny Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired

Gunny Clifford L. Hughes

Hey Gunny

Not hating just saying.

Your choice of bullet placement was wrong for butchering a pig. 22lr through the ear into the cranial cavity will scramble the brain. Its the path of least resistance. Also for a point blank shot you never place the barrel directly against the skull back it off about an inch and pull trigger.

Then cut jugular while heart is still pumping.

ST~

[Microgunner]

I've got a Brno ZKM-611 and it's an excellent rifle but the prices on these have gotten stupid.

[hogdogs]

I will, with experience, say that what we think of as "cuttiong the throat" has got to be the most god awful, in-human, noisy and messy way to take a life... ESPECIALLY a thick skinned critter like a hog! I know... I did this ONE TIME!!!

Since then I have learned to "stick" a hog and have toaught countless numbers to do the same. Quiet, minus a few squeals, and very fast. Short of a brainer shot, the most humane kill I can do.

brent

[Steel Talon]

OP,

Marlin bolt action, plenty good .22mag rifles. As others have said target the ear,and keep target within a close range ie 40 yards or less. Not always as easy as it sounds..

Hogs are pretty smart and cagey the tend to move around constantly and if they are hunter smart they will run at the least bit of noise. If your stalking. If your stand hunting they can get your smell pretty quick too.

ST~

[Steel Talon]

Since then I have learned to "stick" a hog and have toaught countless numbers to do the same. Quiet, minus a few squeals, and very fast. Short of a brainer shot, the most humane kill I can do.

Sage advice here..

For me, I shoot first then stick..

[M.O.A.]

how about a savage in the 22mag or 17hmr

i know alot of people are going to say that the 17 is not as good as the 22mag but i did my own test and the 17hmr with the new 20gn hp from hornady penetrates farther than the 40gn cci 22mag

[FTG-05]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

Here's the actual regs, read them on page 2, pretty much what 2damnedold said about them: http://www.dcnr.state.al.us/hunting/...rior%20Map.pdf

I've go to next Sept. to figure it out and fund the purchase, but I'm going with the .22 WRM, probably in a lever action, sort of a little brother to my Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70.

Thanks,

[FrankenMauser]

Let my give you my experience shooting a pig with a .22 long rifle. .... What I'm sharing with you is that a .22 Mag. is no pig gun. Keep me posted on your results using a .22 Mag. on pigs, Please.

.22 LR is not the same as .22 WMR.

It is in a totally different class.

[BIG P]

I've shot a few with a Ruger ALL WEATHER 22MAG dont know about the biguns but 100lbs.-200lbs good ear shots drop them like a stone. Its a good lite little rifle.

[22-rimfire]

I have always found the WMA requirements a bit rigid. But they are designed so that you are not out hunting other game (usually deer) under the guise of hunting other legal game (small game). In TN you can't even have for example... shot shells with you when deer hunting or slugs when hunting small game. It is their way of controlling hunting and enforcement. If you have the wrong caliber or ammo and you're caught, you're fined. But you can carry a handgun if you have a handgun carry permit in TN and I assume other states, but you can't "use them". Would that stop me from shooting a feral hog with the handgun? You answer that one.

Those Wincherster 9422M's are nice lever guns. They have gotten pricey. Saw one for $350 a year or so ago and passed because I had no use for a 22 Mag. My mistake.

The 22 Mag from a rifle is far more powerful than your typical 22LR and I think would work fine if you choose your shots fairly carefully. On the other hand, hunting feral hogs is about extermination and if one is wounded... you answer that.

[Hawg]

I saw a buddy shoot one with a 30-30. It was a bad hit and the hog charged him. He shot it five more times before it fell dead practically at his feet. A hogs internal structure is different from a deer. The heart and lungs are lower. There's a heavy bone shield protecting the chest. It wont stop a bullet but I do wonder if a .22 mag would still have enough oomph to do any damage once it penetrated. I do know I don't want to be charged by a wild boar with nothing but a .22 mag to stop him.

[hogdogs]

As for in the woods with mad, loose hogs... I would consider the .30-30 to be minimal.

For a mad charging hog, I would prefer a KaBar/Buck 119 over most guns with a bore diameter that ain't measured in inches.

Brent

[603Country]

Hog and Hawg,

Your mention of shooting hogs with a 30/30 brought to mind something from a couple of years ago. I had trapped 8 or 9 feral hogs (approx 100 pound body weight) in my big fixed trap and I hadn't started using the 22 LR to kill them at that time. I was using my 357 Mag and had a 100 round box of reloads with me. The 125 grain JHP load, which was pretty hot, did not kill them effectively. I switched to some old 148 (or was it 158) grain lead wadcutters, which weren't hot loads, and they did the job much better than the 125 gr JHP's. I have no explanation for why the lower velocity pure lead wadcutters worked so much better. Both head shots and chest shots were made. All I can assume is that the JHP's opened up too fast, whereas the wadcutters blasted right on through.

[M.O.A.]

i would say your right about the hps opening up to fast. most guides ive looked at dont like the hps for hog hunts

[natman]

Why anyone would deliberately set out to hunt hogs with a gun that will only kill them reliably if you shoot them in the ear is beyond me.

Sometimes when you're hog hunting the action gets fast and furious. If you really think you're going to get a perfect head shot on a 400 boar that's charging you, you're deluding yourself. Hogs call for a real deer rifle. Magnums are not required, but something in the 30-06 class is just the thing.

[M.O.A.]

read the first post thats all his state well let them use doring some seasons

[22-rimfire]

Sometimes when you're hog hunting the action gets fast and furious. If you really think you're going to get a perfect head shot on a 400 boar that's charging you, you're deluding yourself. Hogs call for a real deer rifle. Magnums are not required, but something in the 30-06 class is just the thing.

I agree with you, but not the first part of your post as the OP can't use his centerfire rifle where he hunts.

[thallub]

Why anyone would deliberately set out to hunt hogs with a gun that will only kill them reliably if you shoot them in the ear is beyond me.

Because i like to hunt hogs in small game season. i like the feeling of sometimes being the only hunter on 18,000 acres of federal land. Therefore i play by the rules and use a rimfire rifle. Most of my .22 magnum hogs are killed at ponds and feeders from tree stands.

Sometimes when you're hog hunting the action gets fast and furious. If you really think you're going to get a perfect head shot on a 400 boar that's charging you, you're deluding yourself. Hogs call for a real deer rifle. Magnums are not required, but something in the 30-06 class is just the thing.

Last year i killed 48 wild hogs. This year i've trapped and shot over 50 of the suckers. Yep, hogs can be big and mean but they ain't rhinos.

400 pound wild hogs are very rare. i've killed only two or three hogs in the past 11 years that came close to 400 pounds. Most of the 400 pound hogs i see on the internet are 200-225 pound hogs.

[603Country]

What thallub said about hog weight is so true. I finally bought a scale (now named 'The Lie Detector') because everyone was so sure their hog weighed 250 or more. The last 250 pound hog I weighed was actually 198 pounds.

[markj]

Then cut jugular while heart is still pumping.

I shoot em in teh head, then I have a long knife from the packing house days, I use it to cut the throat and slide it down to pierce the heart. We catch the blood and use it for bait on cats down at the river.

Used to be an old gent took all teh stuff I didnt want, he made some fine head cheese, jowls, knuckles and smoked ear sammiches. Them old guys are gone now so Ijust bag it and leave it for the garbage pickup guys.

[FTG-05]

Why anyone would deliberately set out to hunt hogs with a gun that will only kill them reliably if you shoot them in the ear is beyond me.

Sometimes when you're hog hunting the action gets fast and furious. If you really think you're going to get a perfect head shot on a 400 boar that's charging you, you're deluding yourself. Hogs call for a real deer rifle. Magnums are not required, but something in the 30-06 class is just the thing.

As has already been answered, during squirrel season, I'm limited to squirrel-legal guns. If I want to hunt hogs from Oct. - Feb on the WMA (outside the 5-7 days of deer season), then I need to use a squirrel-legal gun.

The fact that hog hunting can get "fast and furious" is mostly irrelevant since I don't plan on shooting them that way. If it's fast and furious, I've already failed in stalk hunting them (unless I've already shot one).

I'm not too worried about being charged, first it's not likely, second, I'll have my 329PD; while I can't use it for hunting or to dispatch a hog, I can use if for self-defense, which is perfectly legal (see note 29 on the .pdf I posted above).

A 30-06 will certainly work for hogs, but it's not much more useful than a .22 WRM in a "fast and furious" situation (if any) and it's totally useless during squirrel season, at least on an AL WMA.

[natman]

As has already been answered, during squirrel season, I'm limited to squirrel-legal guns. If I want to hunt hogs from Oct. - Feb on the WMA (outside the 5-7 days of deer season), then I need to use a squirrel-legal gun.

I do have to sympathize; this is a ridiculous situation. If you see something that doesn't make any sense at all, there's usually a government bureaucracy involved.

The fact that hog hunting can get "fast and furious" is mostly irrelevant since I don't plan on shooting them that way. If it's fast and furious, I've already failed in stalk hunting them (unless I've already shot one).

Pigs often travel in groups. Shoot one and suddenly there's pigs running everywhere.

I'm not too worried about being charged, first it's not likely, second, I'll have my 329PD; while I can't use it for hunting or to dispatch a hog, I can use if for self-defense, which is perfectly legal (see note 29 on the .pdf I posted above).

A 30-06 will certainly work for hogs, but it's not much more useful than a .22 WRM in a "fast and furious" situation (if any) and it's totally useless during squirrel season, at least on an AL WMA.

Sorry, but a 30-06 is a LOT more useful than a 22 mag when you have to take a fast shot at a running animal. I agree about the squirrels.

I'm not in favor of using the 22 mag on pigs for any reason, but if you must I'd recommend the CCI Gamepoint. http://www.cci-ammunition.com/produc...=2&loadNo=0022