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Old July 3, 2012, 06:47 PM   #1
Brennan19
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best pig caliber/rifle?

Every year I go on a pig hunt with my dad and a few other friends and every year i crave new artillery for the "hog assault". The farm we hunt has no bag limit. so We generally are pretty rough on 'em. so my Question to you all is what would you take to get the job done.
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Old July 3, 2012, 07:17 PM   #2
TXAZ
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Depends on a lot of factors but an AR-15 / AK-47 or other high capacity magazine weapon comes to mind. (Assumes there's no issue in your jurisdiction(s) with a 5+ or 30 round mag).

Either can drop most any hog with a half decent shot. We watched a heli-hog-hunt in Texas: Clearly the vibration and motion affects accuracy but many hogs in a pack went down in short order with a single magazine.

What do you have?
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Old July 3, 2012, 07:26 PM   #3
Nico Testosteros
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All my hogs have been killed with a Rem 700 in .270 Win.
But I'm thinking an AR in 6.8 SPC would be fun to use. Or a Garand.
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Old July 3, 2012, 08:04 PM   #4
Brennan19
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Ar is my gun of choice right now no mag restrictions haha. The first Year took my trusty smoke pole and it came back to bite me I killed a few but I could hAve realy done some damage with an ar. There is only 1 small problem with the ar were we hunt it is swamp so you can't blood trail to good in the swamp water so knock down power is important I have honestly been leaning torwards the ole pump gun my trusty 20ga 870 with some good saboted slugs it's got great knock down and fast follow up shots also I have a 270 it does do a fine job on the hogs I've shot with it
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Old July 3, 2012, 09:42 PM   #5
ripnbst
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Easy, AR 15 in 6.8 SPC ALL DAY LONG. 5.56 works fine too but 6.8 is preferable.
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Old July 3, 2012, 11:27 PM   #6
farmerboy
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Any caliber. Depends on each individual likes, range or just what's at hand. No bad choices.
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Old July 4, 2012, 12:17 AM   #7
Jim Watson
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A club member here has a feral swine problem on the old family farm.
He and the family have shot them with everything from .223 to .338 Lap.
He says nothing is better than a .30-30 and most not as good, even when more powerful. I can't explain it, but he is killing hogs.
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Old July 4, 2012, 12:21 AM   #8
BIG P
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AR-15 223-308-6.8
pumps-270-30-06 for the big ones

bolt actions- 25-06,270.
300Mag & 454casull for the real biguns.
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Old July 4, 2012, 07:53 AM   #9
Brennan19
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That wouldn't be the first time I've heard good things about the 3030 don't own 1 maybe I need to change that.
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Old July 5, 2012, 07:45 AM   #10
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Best Hog killing gun/caliber? Whatever is at hand. If I thought shooting one in the ass with a pellet rifle would cause it to get gangrene and die, that'd be enough of an arsenal for me at tha time.

My favorite is still my .243 with a 70 or 90 grn Ballistic Tip to the ear hole. We shot one the other evening with a .308 and 165grn BT to the neck, that made a hole on a 250+ lb sow who was about to spawn more vermin.
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Old July 5, 2012, 08:11 AM   #11
Doyle
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Quote:
Best Hog killing gun/caliber? Whatever is at hand.
I'd go one step further and say whatever you have on hand that you can shoot accurately. The less the killing power, the more accurate it needs to be. For instance, even a .22 Hornet is instant death on even the biggest hog IF you can place the shot behind the ear. That same caliber in a heart/lung shot is inadequate for anything but very small hogs. .223 is a little better, but you still need precise placement to get that ear shot. Moving up to more power, allows a little more leeway.
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Old July 5, 2012, 09:08 AM   #12
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There is no "best" but like you said you want something new. I think a lever action in .45-70 would be "fun".
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Old July 5, 2012, 10:42 AM   #13
farmerboy
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I read on here a 30-30 and thats my favorite cartridge there is just because I grew up on a 30-30. But about 2 years ago I shot a 300 lb boar right between the eyes at about 130 yards and that thing ran for about 150 yards into the most thickest crap he could find before dying. It was the only shot I had right at dark and he was at a feeder looking my direction. I like a 223 or 22-250 in the ear myself. But nearly any gun will do the trick if you do yours.
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Old July 5, 2012, 03:38 PM   #14
Brennan19
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They are tuff critters the first hunt I when on I got into a group of em and laid down two hogs with 1 shot I reloaded my muzzle loader and lined up a bead on a 250 lb sow shot her in the neck she didn't even slow down now I shoot a 240gr 44cal saboted load with 150gr of pyrodex. I make whitetails breakdance when I shoot them. and that pig kept on a truckin
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Old July 5, 2012, 03:57 PM   #15
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I have an old 8mm Mauser I had cut down to 18", parkerized, and dressed in a synthetic stock. My gunsmith called it the "Fire Breather". It does a number on East Texas hogs!
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Old July 5, 2012, 04:25 PM   #16
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Anything that you can shoot well will work. It all depends on what size exit hole that you want.

I do not want any exits, many of the pigs i shoot are literaly underfoot of cattle. so I have used a variety of .223 ammo, all with excellent results. My favorite pig cartridge tends to cause an uproar, so, again I won't get into the specifics. But, I will say that my favored cartridge lays them down in place.
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Old July 5, 2012, 07:49 PM   #17
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Rick, if you don't want exits I'd choose one of the frangible bullets and go for an ear shot.
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Old July 5, 2012, 08:22 PM   #18
Brennan19
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Might I recomend a 17 fireball no exit wound there. It would work great with a well placed shot. Or maybe
a 204 ruger
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Old July 5, 2012, 08:32 PM   #19
rickyrick
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I do have a bullet choice that works perfectly as needed. No suffering pig and no exits... And I shootem in the neck sorta near the ear, which, by the way, is the larger target on a pig. The ear is a touch high for me, but there's nothing wrong with shooting them in the ear.
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Old July 7, 2012, 10:19 AM   #20
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i use an m14 when i go hog hunting because it packs a punch and has a 20 round mag
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Old July 8, 2012, 12:14 PM   #21
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I suppose a Mosin-Nagant would work well. Cheap to buy and ammo is cheap too. Plus, you wouldnt have to worry about scratching her up in the brush and such.
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Old July 10, 2012, 03:10 PM   #22
Jack O'Conner
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I've had good luck with .308 and 35 Remington rifles for hogs.

Jack



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Old July 12, 2012, 11:14 PM   #23
Mayor Al
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I have used a Winchester Model 100 .308 and a Saiga 12 gauge using slugs, to take Hogs on a hunt last summer. Here those two proven hog-takers are



This year We have added a Mini-30 in 7.62x39mm, and a Ruger 44 magnum Carbine to the hunting gun arsenal for my wife and I to use on our upcoming September Hog Hunt.


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Old July 13, 2012, 02:08 AM   #24
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The best in my cabinet is a Marlin 444.
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Old July 14, 2012, 12:27 AM   #25
kilimanjaro
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Howdah Pistol, from an elephant.
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