Some have asked about my choices, in firearms and ammo, for hog hunting. I am a rifle hunter, although on my one trip to Africa, I used a muzzleloader. All rifle hunting is a compromise. One must decide the size, distance, and angle that shots are to be taken and what shots the hunter is willing to make or not make. My hunting is mainly over feeders or ‘fed’ senderos(similar to pipeline or highline right-of-way). It is all thick chaparral, mesquite, or shin-oak and juniper. The senderos are scouted and corn is spread to keep passing hogs in the open long enough to shoot. The shots can be long, but my max, to date, is around 300yds. That, I suppose, is my first compromise. I mainly hunt for meat pigs. These pigs are 150-200lb fat, non-lactating sows or boars that don’t appear to be the dominant breading boar. While I am not hunting them, if I see a big boar with good ivory, I will shoot one. I want to kill a hog, where he stands, if possible. To date, most all my hogs, shot correctly, have DRT. A few, unfortunately, have run off. Most all of these were shot behind the shoulder. Some were shot there, on purpose, before I learned a hog’s anatomy, and some were just hunting mistakes. I try for an ear/eye/brain/spine shot if they are within 100yds or so. Anything farther than that, I shoot for the ‘crease’ between the neck and the shoulder. Pigs tend to ‘scoot’ around, but seldom back up. Any pig shot through the shoulder will generally die within a few feet. If it’s shot 2/3 the way up it will hit the spine. If 1/3 up it will cut the heart/plumbing. I do not think hogs are all that tough or hard to kill. I don’t think that pigs leave a reliable blood trail if they are wounded. The fat and hide cover the holes. If you shoot at a hog, and it runs off, cover the ground for ay least 100yds or so in that direction. I have learned the hard way that a mortally wounded hog can run off and die without it being obvious that it was hit. I think that most hogs that are wounded are shot too high or too far back. The spine of a hog is generally lower in the neck than that of a deer. The vitals of a pig are basically between the shoulders. A deer’s vitals extend considerably behind the shoulders. I do not usually shoot at uninjured hogs running, at extreme angles or THS.
I believe that a hog rifle should deliver around 1300ft/lbs of energy when it hits the pig. This is about the energy of a 20†barrel 30-30 at around 75yds. Some say it takes 1000ft/lbs to kill a deer, some say 1500ftlbs. Some want a minimum of 1500 to kill an elk, some want 2000. Most deer are between deer and elk in size. Although it is truly arbitrary, 1300 is about what I think should be minimum. Because I use my guns to hunt exotic and whitetail deer I use Nosler Partitions. I have found that they are soft enough to open on behind the shoulder shots on deer and will also penetrate both shoulders of a big pig. To be as effective as they are, they destroy a relatively small amount of meat, compared to the standard soft/polytipped bullets. While I use to hunt with a 25-06, I consider the 25s and smaller to be two small for an all around pig gun. They are fine for eye/ear/brain shots; I consider them too small if you’re looking at a big pig in the brush at 150yds. I think that a 260/6.5x55 shooting a 140gn bullet around 2700fps to be a good place to start. The 270 using 140-150s is good as is my favorite the 7x57 Mauser or its twin the 7-08. Mine shoot the 150gn around 2700fps. The 280 is a small step up. The 308, 165s at 2650 or the 30-06, 165s at 2750 are also excellent. My 7x57, 308 and ’06 all carry 1300ftlbs to well over 300yds and are only 7-10†low at that range. The smaller magnums 264, 270,7mm, and 30s, are ok, but not really needed unless your shots are well over 300yds. As for the bigger and slower lever guns 30-30, 35, 375, 444 and 45-70 these are great, if the shots are kept within reasonable ranges. These are my observations and opinions, you may agree or disagree. I would love to hear yours, capt david

captdavid-can't argue with any of your positions. I use which ever gun I happen to have in my hands, from a .22 LR at close range at water holes, a .22-250 (brain 'em), a .25-06 (again, brain shots) and my 7 mag. Only have had one pig depart after being shot, and it was a medium sow that I shot at about 100 yds with the .22-250. I shot, she flopped, and I began unloading the gun, putting binocs away, etc. This was all premature on my part, as when I looked again, the pig was gone. I found zero blood or hair, only scuff marks in the dirt where she had fallen. No idea which way she might have gone either, and you know the vegetation in S. Tx. So, no recovery. All the rest of my kills have been bang-flops, and I limit myself to 150 yd shots.

I like to get up close and personal and my favorite rifle is my Marlin guide gun in

45-70. I am going to try to find one of the new Remington Spartan doubles in that caliber.

I like to get up close as well. Oddly enough, I like hunting hogs with my open sighted big-bores, necessitating close shots (my eyes aren't that great!) -- by close I mean I try to limit my shots to 100 yards or so with iron sights. While I enjoy scoped rifles, sniping prey at a long distance just doesn't appeal to me. I think 300 yards is reasonable, but half the fun in the hunt for me is stalking the animal. I will talke long shots as well, but I like to limit that as I derive so much pleasure from sneaking up on them.

I like 120 grain Sierra or Speer SP in my 6.5 Swede. They have always worked for me. Or the 240 Sierra JHC in my 96/44.

My pig gun of choice over the last 30+ years has been my Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum. I use a Williams 5D receiver peep sight, and shoot 240 grain JSPs most Sierras and Speers and H110 powder. Largest pigs have been over 300 lbs. and longest shot was 125 yards, but most shots are a 1/4 that range on average. I've never had to shot more than once nor track a wounded pig when using this rifle/load combination, great gun to say the least.

For a serious hog rifle. B4owning blr81 in .358 winchester and red dot scope. Nothing better but Many just as good.

I'm really itching to try my Ruger M77 in .338 win mag on hogs. Bought it last year but still haven't had the opportunity to blood it. Hopefully that will change in the near future!

So, if I keep my shots within 100 yds I won't be undergunned with a Marlin lever in .35 Rem?


Thanks, Rob

Yes, It's a perfectly adaquate pig gun. Of course use the 200gn bullets. You might try the new Lever-Revolution ones by Hornady. I'vebeen keeping my eye open for a Remington pump in 35 Remington myself. captdavid

I've had thg good fortune to have shot a lot of pigs, probably 30 or so, and all have been shot with a .270, with the exception of two: those were ~150# gilts in a trap, and I dispatched them with .22 shorts. (I shot both of them twice, because I didn't want to be inside a swinging door trap and have one of them decide he wasn't dead!

I have lost a total of one pig: a sow of ~130# that I apparently shot too far back, with a Speer 130-grain GS. She bled buckets of blood for about 30 yards, and absolutely dried up.

My experience is that a pig is not hard to kill, but like Captdavid says, you have to hit them right... I, too, try to take head shots, because it is a big target, is an instantaneous "drop them right there" and nowadays it is really hard to find anyone willing to use the head to make tamales...

I think we just WISH they were some awesome beast that had super power. It would make it more 'something' than just shooting a piggy.

I've made mush out of a whitetail's heart and lungs and still hade them run (quite well, I might add) for 100+ yards. I don't think you can kill them any deader than that, but they still run sometimes.

Seems from my limited experience, the shooter is more important than the gun/caliber/bullet.
I bet a gut-shot hog with a .375 bullet is just as lost as a gut-shot hog with a .25 bullet.

Let's spend more time becoming better hunters and marksmen and less time worrying about....

... oh never mind. Hell, let's keep talking about something FUN. Like GUNS, and AMMO, and HUNTING!

Sometimes we (read I) forget the reason we come to AR.

Keep posting pics and telling the stories!