Give me some of your experence.......

bswiv · February 8, 2008, 06:46 AM

Once our deer season closes here in Florida we can still hunt hogs but we are restricted to rimfires or shotguns. In the thick stuff, which is where we find most hogs, the shotgun works good. Over the last few years we've been using 00 buck in 3 inch 15 pellet loads.

What I've noticed is that when I clean them penetration of the 00 does not seem to be very good. On the big ones it just does not look like a big enough shot. In fact I lost one last year, shot very close, but he was BIG and I think there was not enough penetration in the front area where that thick shoulder hide is.

So I was thinking about trying 000. Or maybe the Hevi-Shot.

Anybody got any experence with how much difference this will make?

I wonder if the reduced number of pellets is offset by the larger size and increased effectivness of the individual pellets.....?

What do you think?

And no I'm not a fan of slugs even though my wife is using a rifled 20 ga with the Hornady sabots and it does a good job.

wildfowl4444 · February 12, 2008, 04:23 PM

Even though you are not a fan of slugs, that is what I would recommend. In states like Illinois we are not allowed to use centerfire rifles to deer hunt. Slug only. There are THOUSANDS of deer killed each year with slugs and many in THICK brush. Buck shot is not as good of killer as slugs. 1oz of lead in one spot does the trick!
Slugs also give you a lot more range than buck.

hogdogs · February 12, 2008, 05:09 PM

There is only 2 types of ammo I would use for intentional hog shooting... A big .30+ honkin' heavy boat tail center fire or a slug...
My POI with rifled slugs in a smoothbore 18.5 inch barrel is 4-6 inch... at up to 60 yards plenty tight enuff to aim for the shoulder at worst and just aft of the shoulder if given time to aim. The hydro-dynamic shock of a pass thru slug is still going to devastate the vital organs. A shoulder hit will at minimum shatter the joint and it takes them a while to learn to "tri-pod".
Brent

Ruger4570 · February 12, 2008, 09:21 PM

W e don't have any hogs up here in NY, BUT, not having hunted Hogs, my choice would be a slug. I have shot some completly thru a deer at over 50 yards. I find it hard to believe they wouldn't work on anything less than Hogzilla, which was apparently shot with a .223.

hogdogs · February 12, 2008, 10:54 PM

Ruger 45-70, That would be a fine round to THEE-UMP a hog... just remember that the shield is non existent on a deer but 1.5-2 inches thick on the side of a hog right where you want to shoot one. until way into cleaning a hog we had no idea we wer going to come across a 2 inch long intact broadhead arrow tip laying sideways in the shoulder. While not full on zombies they are at least deer with kevlar jackets! .223, .243, .270 are all less than adequate on less than ear shots for routine hunters on routine hunts. .30-30 under 60-70 yards is borderline. .308 is baseline okay with .30-06 pretty good. .45-70 is a FINE hog bonker!
Brent

ActivShootr · February 12, 2008, 11:53 PM

If you have a rifled barrel for your shotgun you could shoot sabot slugs. IIRC some of them are as small as .50cal 400gr. That should stop even the biggest piggy.

rantingredneck · February 13, 2008, 12:00 AM

I'm gonna chime in on the slug bandwagon too. Smoothbore barrel?? Brenneke KO slugs. All you need and then some when it comes to penetration and killing power.

chris in va · February 13, 2008, 12:26 AM

I don't pretend to know jack about slugs, but I was amazed how accurate the rifled ones are out of my smoothbore 500. Hit right where I aimed at 80 yards.

I suspect they would work better than buck on something like that.

Dave McC · February 13, 2008, 09:36 AM

Use slugs.

Both to shorten the time the hog is in pain and to extend your life expectancy.

Growing up I knew lots of hog farmers with bad limps.

hogdogs · February 13, 2008, 09:47 AM

Any wild pig (even a 60 pounder) is a threat if not an actual DANGEROUS animal!
I hunt them with dogs and a MUST HAVE item is a well stocked "cut bag" which includes many items the best "first aid kit" does not... It is intended for use on injured dogs but a human could easily need the same repairs if unlucky enuff to "get the horn" as we call it. I have both in ternal and external sutures, a staple gun (surgical type), several clean old t-shirts, a roll of duct tape, pliers and razor blades, blood stop powder, betadine, alcohol and peroxcide... among the regular essential items...
piss off a sure nuff hog and chances are better than 50-50 he is coming after you and has evil intentions of doing mass damage in short order! The round pellets in a buckshot just cannot be counted on to penetrate and do enuff instant damage to stop a hog at more than 10 yards... If you are within 30 feet of a good hog you better be climbing a tree right now!
Slugs are just fine! Take a few shots at a target to learn how to "bead" in at various distance and learn where to say "Too far" and go whack some pigs...
For a real rush leave the guns at home load up a couple bay dogs and one bull dog and "GIT YOU SOME SON"...

That is a better rush to me than base jumping could ever be... unless the chute failed...
Brent

bswiv · February 13, 2008, 05:38 PM

During our deer season I actually have a O/U 45-70 that I use most of the time. It does a good job.

Once our deer season is over we've got about 2 months of small game season during which we can also take hogs. Even during the deer season we spend most of our time in the palmettos and swamps hunting hogs so the extra time is used for more hogs....... Problem is that during the small game season we can not use our rifles. In the past I've used my Contender .44 mag to good effect. My wife has a NEF 20ga with a rifled barrel that does good with the Hornady sabots.

The last couple of years I've taken to carrying my shotgun ocasionally. At the ranges I've shot hogs with it so far, less than 30 yards, it's done well. Still after taking careful note of the penetration of the pellets of 00 buck I started wondering about larger shot, like 000........

Have not tried the slugs but I will. Even if they shoot well I'm still inclined to test the 000 buck as in the really thick stuff buckshot does have it's place.

hogdogs · February 13, 2008, 07:34 PM

I will do my best to steer you off ANY buckshot if they had 6 or 7 ought buck I would still steer you to a slug... Them round balls cant be counted on to penetrate the vitals... The shields I have exposed have held broadhead arrow tips, buckshot balls, small bullets and even pieces of barb wire... The vital section is a tuffer shot than on most game animals and the bigger the hog the tuffer the shield...
Picture 2 inches thick of a cross between skin, ligament and kevlar...
Brent

45Dave · February 13, 2008, 08:31 PM

Just want to express Hevi shot is an excellent alternative to steel shot on ducks and geese however man is it expensive. I have no idea what it's performance will be on something like a hog having never shot one with anything. HOWEVER...a quick question and not to steal your thread. My son is stationed in north Florida in the Air Force (this is his first year their) Anyways...is there some place he can read or learn about hog/deer hunting in Florida? He hunted here for white tail and rabbit but and is finally has time to find out about his new home. Thanks

hogdogs · February 13, 2008, 08:41 PM

45dave, without violating any security orders... is yer boy anywhere near Eglin AFB? If so I can stear him to hog shooting and maybe a hog dog hunt on private lands...
Lemme know...
Brent

hogdogs · February 13, 2008, 08:46 PM

While I never used any shot other than lead or coated lead... Ballistics is what i want to see! either a high speed heavy .30+ boat tail poker or a ton of foot pounds per square inch of impact from that 7/8 to 1 ounce lead gob of thump...
That is where the slug excels... Shear overkill in the thump department all in one square inch... one thousand pounds in an inch give or take a few hundred is more than most critters can tolerate!

Brent

45Dave · February 13, 2008, 10:33 PM

Hotdogs, thanks for replying..yes he is near Eglin. It would be great if you can get him pointed in the right direction.

hogdogs · February 13, 2008, 10:39 PM

well if he gets an eglin permit I will buy the hiker pass and show him how to find the sign.... He will be the shooter. I will PM you my cell # so he or you can call. If it is a dog hunt he would like to try he may have to drive 30 or so miles if'n I can't get anyone to hunt dogs on eglin... (hogs tend to be in the closed section alot) he wouldn't want to risk an AF career gettin' caught with us rednecks in the closed section as our dogs can't read the "DON'T YOU DARE TRESPASS OR YOU WILL BE SHOT" signs posted....
Brent

Super-Dave · February 14, 2008, 08:27 AM

Does anyone here think that 000 buck would be sufficient for wild hog?

I plan on going on my first Hog hunting trip this year as well. And I was probably going to use 000 Buck 2.75 inch.

Is this sufficient or should I only use slug?

Also would 000 Buck 2.75 inch be sufficient for Black Bear?

hogdogs · February 14, 2008, 11:07 AM

If you are close enuff to COUNT ON any size of buck shot to drop a sure nuff HOG (anything over 150 pounds IMO) you are in a dangerous place! The hog you see may drop like a rock but where you see a hog there can be others in the vicinity and when a hog squeals he is callin' reinforcements! Trust me... slugs are easier to use than you think... If you can get buckshot where you want it than you are close enuff with a slug... if you need the random patterning of buck shot you are likely in need of practice before going after DANGEROUS Animals... Never hunted bears but expect I would use buckshot in a defensive situation but slug for bear hunting.
Brent

Doyle · February 14, 2008, 11:53 AM

Where are you getting that you are restricted to only rimfires or shotguns? That only applies to specific management areas. Outside of those areas, there is no restriction on caliber.

bswiv · February 14, 2008, 09:00 PM

Hunting Twelve Mile Swamp RUA here in St. Johns county.........

Not a ton of hogs but enough in a couple of areas to make it worht the effort.

Quail Fat · February 14, 2008, 09:24 PM

These Brennecke Black Magnums should do the trick.

Wolf Lies Down · February 18, 2008, 02:21 AM

Typical Fish & Game nonsense.

"Rimfire or Shotgun". No mention, and obviously no research, as to how safe these might be for the hunter. Or, perhaps there is a rather twisted sense of humor there in F&G Central HQ(?).

If your F&G allows spear hunting, get you one of those hog spears from Cold Steel. They are pretty cheap and will separate the men from the boys. Also, another good spear is a 3/4" piece of oilfield sucker rod with the Cold Steel spear tip welded to it. Or, you can heat up and hammer-forge your own spear tip from the coupling end of the sucker rod, making a one-piece arrangement. The weight of the steel shaft will allow the pig to impale itself, nose to anus, on the spear, leaving you to thump your chest and howl like a coyote.

'Course if the pig dodges the spear, you'll be looking for a paddle.

hogdogs · February 18, 2008, 09:14 AM

Well if you want to separate the men from the boys... Try letting one bulldog do her best to hold a mad hog while you reach in with a Buck 110 folding pocket knife and get it stuck all while waist deep in a creek....
That is a rush... once I couldn't find my buck so I grabbed juniors case 3 inch blade (half dull) not intending to need it but insist on having something in my pocket and same thing... caught her in a creek. That was fun!
Brent

February 8, 2008, 06:46 AM	#1
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Give me some of your experence....... Once our deer season closes here in Florida we can still hunt hogs but we are restricted to rimfires or shotguns. In the thick stuff, which is where we find most hogs, the shotgun works good. Over the last few years we've been using 00 buck in 3 inch 15 pellet loads. What I've noticed is that when I clean them penetration of the 00 does not seem to be very good. On the big ones it just does not look like a big enough shot. In fact I lost one last year, shot very close, but he was BIG and I think there was not enough penetration in the front area where that thick shoulder hide is. So I was thinking about trying 000. Or maybe the Hevi-Shot. Anybody got any experence with how much difference this will make? I wonder if the reduced number of pellets is offset by the larger size and increased effectivness of the individual pellets.....? What do you think? And no I'm not a fan of slugs even though my wife is using a rifled 20 ga with the Hornady sabots and it does a good job.

February 13, 2008, 08:31 PM	#13
45Dave Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Location: South East Michigan Posts: 109	hevi shot and geese Just want to express Hevi shot is an excellent alternative to steel shot on ducks and geese however man is it expensive. I have no idea what it's performance will be on something like a hog having never shot one with anything. HOWEVER...a quick question and not to steal your thread. My son is stationed in north Florida in the Air Force (this is his first year their) Anyways...is there some place he can read or learn about hog/deer hunting in Florida? He hunted here for white tail and rabbit but and is finally has time to find out about his new home. Thanks

February 13, 2008, 10:33 PM	#16
45Dave Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Location: South East Michigan Posts: 109	Hotdogs...thanks Hotdogs, thanks for replying..yes he is near Eglin. It would be great if you can get him pointed in the right direction.

February 12, 2008, 04:23 PM	#2
wildfowl4444 Member Join Date: April 6, 2005 Posts: 27	Even though you are not a fan of slugs, that is what I would recommend. In states like Illinois we are not allowed to use centerfire rifles to deer hunt. Slug only. There are THOUSANDS of deer killed each year with slugs and many in THICK brush. Buck shot is not as good of killer as slugs. 1oz of lead in one spot does the trick! Slugs also give you a lot more range than buck.

February 12, 2008, 05:09 PM	#3
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	There is only 2 types of ammo I would use for intentional hog shooting... A big .30+ honkin' heavy boat tail center fire or a slug... My POI with rifled slugs in a smoothbore 18.5 inch barrel is 4-6 inch... at up to 60 yards plenty tight enuff to aim for the shoulder at worst and just aft of the shoulder if given time to aim. The hydro-dynamic shock of a pass thru slug is still going to devastate the vital organs. A shoulder hit will at minimum shatter the joint and it takes them a while to learn to "tri-pod". Brent

February 12, 2008, 09:21 PM	#4
Ruger4570 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2005 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 2,136	W e don't have any hogs up here in NY, BUT, not having hunted Hogs, my choice would be a slug. I have shot some completly thru a deer at over 50 yards. I find it hard to believe they wouldn't work on anything less than Hogzilla, which was apparently shot with a .223.

February 12, 2008, 10:54 PM	#5
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Ruger 45-70, That would be a fine round to THEE-UMP a hog... just remember that the shield is non existent on a deer but 1.5-2 inches thick on the side of a hog right where you want to shoot one. until way into cleaning a hog we had no idea we wer going to come across a 2 inch long intact broadhead arrow tip laying sideways in the shoulder. While not full on zombies they are at least deer with kevlar jackets! .223, .243, .270 are all less than adequate on less than ear shots for routine hunters on routine hunts. .30-30 under 60-70 yards is borderline. .308 is baseline okay with .30-06 pretty good. .45-70 is a FINE hog bonker! Brent

February 12, 2008, 11:53 PM	#6
ActivShootr Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2007 Posts: 1,040	If you have a rifled barrel for your shotgun you could shoot sabot slugs. IIRC some of them are as small as .50cal 400gr. That should stop even the biggest piggy.

February 13, 2008, 12:00 AM	#7
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	I'm gonna chime in on the slug bandwagon too. Smoothbore barrel?? Brenneke KO slugs. All you need and then some when it comes to penetration and killing power.

February 13, 2008, 12:26 AM	#8
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I don't pretend to know jack about slugs, but I was amazed how accurate the rifled ones are out of my smoothbore 500. Hit right where I aimed at 80 yards. I suspect they would work better than buck on something like that.

February 13, 2008, 09:36 AM	#9
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Use slugs. Both to shorten the time the hog is in pain and to extend your life expectancy. Growing up I knew lots of hog farmers with bad limps.

February 13, 2008, 09:47 AM	#10
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Any wild pig (even a 60 pounder) is a threat if not an actual DANGEROUS animal! I hunt them with dogs and a MUST HAVE item is a well stocked "cut bag" which includes many items the best "first aid kit" does not... It is intended for use on injured dogs but a human could easily need the same repairs if unlucky enuff to "get the horn" as we call it. I have both in ternal and external sutures, a staple gun (surgical type), several clean old t-shirts, a roll of duct tape, pliers and razor blades, blood stop powder, betadine, alcohol and peroxcide... among the regular essential items... piss off a sure nuff hog and chances are better than 50-50 he is coming after you and has evil intentions of doing mass damage in short order! The round pellets in a buckshot just cannot be counted on to penetrate and do enuff instant damage to stop a hog at more than 10 yards... If you are within 30 feet of a good hog you better be climbing a tree right now! Slugs are just fine! Take a few shots at a target to learn how to "bead" in at various distance and learn where to say "Too far" and go whack some pigs... For a real rush leave the guns at home load up a couple bay dogs and one bull dog and "GIT YOU SOME SON"... That is a better rush to me than base jumping could ever be... unless the chute failed... Brent

February 13, 2008, 05:38 PM	#11
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	During our deer season I actually have a O/U 45-70 that I use most of the time. It does a good job. Once our deer season is over we've got about 2 months of small game season during which we can also take hogs. Even during the deer season we spend most of our time in the palmettos and swamps hunting hogs so the extra time is used for more hogs....... Problem is that during the small game season we can not use our rifles. In the past I've used my Contender .44 mag to good effect. My wife has a NEF 20ga with a rifled barrel that does good with the Hornady sabots. The last couple of years I've taken to carrying my shotgun ocasionally. At the ranges I've shot hogs with it so far, less than 30 yards, it's done well. Still after taking careful note of the penetration of the pellets of 00 buck I started wondering about larger shot, like 000........ Have not tried the slugs but I will. Even if they shoot well I'm still inclined to test the 000 buck as in the really thick stuff buckshot does have it's place.

February 13, 2008, 07:34 PM	#12
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	I will do my best to steer you off ANY buckshot if they had 6 or 7 ought buck I would still steer you to a slug... Them round balls cant be counted on to penetrate the vitals... The shields I have exposed have held broadhead arrow tips, buckshot balls, small bullets and even pieces of barb wire... The vital section is a tuffer shot than on most game animals and the bigger the hog the tuffer the shield... Picture 2 inches thick of a cross between skin, ligament and kevlar... Brent

February 13, 2008, 08:41 PM	#14
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	45dave, without violating any security orders... is yer boy anywhere near Eglin AFB? If so I can stear him to hog shooting and maybe a hog dog hunt on private lands... Lemme know... Brent

February 13, 2008, 08:46 PM	#15
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	While I never used any shot other than lead or coated lead... Ballistics is what i want to see! either a high speed heavy .30+ boat tail poker or a ton of foot pounds per square inch of impact from that 7/8 to 1 ounce lead gob of thump... That is where the slug excels... Shear overkill in the thump department all in one square inch... one thousand pounds in an inch give or take a few hundred is more than most critters can tolerate! Brent

February 13, 2008, 10:39 PM	#17
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	well if he gets an eglin permit I will buy the hiker pass and show him how to find the sign.... He will be the shooter. I will PM you my cell # so he or you can call. If it is a dog hunt he would like to try he may have to drive 30 or so miles if'n I can't get anyone to hunt dogs on eglin... (hogs tend to be in the closed section alot) he wouldn't want to risk an AF career gettin' caught with us rednecks in the closed section as our dogs can't read the "DON'T YOU DARE TRESPASS OR YOU WILL BE SHOT" signs posted.... Brent

February 14, 2008, 08:27 AM	#18
Super-Dave Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 795	Does anyone here think that 000 buck would be sufficient for wild hog? I plan on going on my first Hog hunting trip this year as well. And I was probably going to use 000 Buck 2.75 inch. Is this sufficient or should I only use slug? Also would 000 Buck 2.75 inch be sufficient for Black Bear?

February 14, 2008, 11:07 AM	#19
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	If you are close enuff to COUNT ON any size of buck shot to drop a sure nuff HOG (anything over 150 pounds IMO) you are in a dangerous place! The hog you see may drop like a rock but where you see a hog there can be others in the vicinity and when a hog squeals he is callin' reinforcements! Trust me... slugs are easier to use than you think... If you can get buckshot where you want it than you are close enuff with a slug... if you need the random patterning of buck shot you are likely in need of practice before going after DANGEROUS Animals... Never hunted bears but expect I would use buckshot in a defensive situation but slug for bear hunting. Brent

February 14, 2008, 11:53 AM	#20
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Where are you getting that you are restricted to only rimfires or shotguns? That only applies to specific management areas. Outside of those areas, there is no restriction on caliber.

February 14, 2008, 09:00 PM	#21
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Hunting Twelve Mile Swamp RUA here in St. Johns county......... Not a ton of hogs but enough in a couple of areas to make it worht the effort.

February 14, 2008, 09:24 PM	#22
Quail Fat Junior member Join Date: April 17, 2001 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 120	These Brennecke Black Magnums should do the trick.

February 18, 2008, 02:21 AM	#23
Wolf Lies Down Member Join Date: October 1, 2007 Location: California Posts: 53	Typical Fish & Game nonsense. "Rimfire or Shotgun". No mention, and obviously no research, as to how safe these might be for the hunter. Or, perhaps there is a rather twisted sense of humor there in F&G Central HQ(?). If your F&G allows spear hunting, get you one of those hog spears from Cold Steel. They are pretty cheap and will separate the men from the boys. Also, another good spear is a 3/4" piece of oilfield sucker rod with the Cold Steel spear tip welded to it. Or, you can heat up and hammer-forge your own spear tip from the coupling end of the sucker rod, making a one-piece arrangement. The weight of the steel shaft will allow the pig to impale itself, nose to anus, on the spear, leaving you to thump your chest and howl like a coyote. 'Course if the pig dodges the spear, you'll be looking for a paddle.

February 18, 2008, 09:14 AM	#24
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Well if you want to separate the men from the boys... Try letting one bulldog do her best to hold a mad hog while you reach in with a Buck 110 folding pocket knife and get it stuck all while waist deep in a creek.... That is a rush... once I couldn't find my buck so I grabbed juniors case 3 inch blade (half dull) not intending to need it but insist on having something in my pocket and same thing... caught her in a creek. That was fun! Brent