Is it legal to shoot pigs in Texas with fmj ammo? I have an invite to go down in the spring to shoot pigs.
One of the rifles I might use is an AR15. A head shot behind the ear should would turn off the lights with a fmj. Or am I mistaken. I also have several 308 rifles that might be used as well.

Pigs are considered a nuisance animal and there aren't any ammunition restrictions. I've killed a few with Barnes turned solids in .224 from a 220 swift and they turned the skull into bone flour. I draw an imaginary line bewteen the eye socket and the ear hole and shoot the center of the line. "Behind the ear" can miss the skull and spine if it's too far back or too high. Ball FMJ wouldn't be my first choice in an 223 AR15 but if you can make the shot reliably, it will do the job.

Okay might just use the .308's I have instead ad go for the boiler room then. The guy who lives there said his shots are usually less than 100 yards. I guess having the extra umph of the .308 will be better. Of course dead is dead... right?

You can't kill 'em too dead I've heard.
I have turned some animals heads into mush though. Only problem with that is whether someone might want the head.
Good huntin when you get to go.
George

I don't think there is an illegal way to kill pigs in TX. Anything goes here! Full auto? You bet! .22 short? Sure, why not!

In answer to your question, even an FMJ 223 behind the ear or head shot will kill em dead.

That said, I prefer rounds bigger than 223 and softs on piggies.

Only illegal way I know of is using explosives-

That pic with the line between ear and eye is the perfect depiction of a "DRT" aiming point if you have a rile you are confident with, zeroed well, and have a steady rest. I generally shoot 'em right behind the ear also, depending on their stance when I'm getting on the trigger. And, since I shoot 95%of my kills at night at a feeder under lights, it's normally the "DRT" feature.

The .223 or .308 will do the job, but as others have said, FMJs probably not the best choice of projectile.

Now, come on down and help me get rid of some of these hogs!

Only advice I can give is that with the various .224's stick to head shots such as the one diagrammed. With the .308 and good bullets, I personally prefer my clients to take dead on shoulder shots to at least get the animal off its front legs.

My philosophy is that they can drag their ass a long way, but have hell pushing themselves anywhere.

One thing I have noticed on several occasions however and this includes animals shot with .7mm Rem Mag and .30-06's is that on a broad side shoulder shot at much over 100 yards, there is not always an exit wound, especially on 150 pound and bigger boars.

From experience, while the bullet will pass thru the first layer of gristle and breaking one or both shoulders, many times there simply was not enough steam left, even from the listed calibers, to pass thru the off side gristle layer.

That is just from experiences I have had.

Depending on the capabilities of the shooter and the range of the shots, head shots on pigs with the various .224's are pretty damn hard to beat.

Nothing beats a .223 on a hog for efficiency. We've never lost one shot with a .223.

Used a 270 for most of mine.
Let 2 of them line their heads up and
take them both out with one shot.

As has already been said, shooting a pig is just like real estate: location, location, location! It isn't the same, and I wouldn't portray it as the same, but I have shot 160# gilts in a trap with a .22 short and killed them deader than last year's bird nest. The idea is to get the brain or close enough to the brain that the impact of the shot and hydrostatic shock destroy the brain. When that happens, they belong to you.

I shy away from shoulder shots because if you don't completely break them down and they run, a lot of times the fat will close the exit hole and they simply stop bleeding. An error too far back just a couple or three inches and you have absolutely nothing.

I once shot a sow of about 150# with a 130-grain Speer GS out of a 270, MV ~3150. I got too far back, and although she literally bled buckets of blood for the first 30 yards, it dried up and she disappeared. I never did find that hog.

Shoot for the head; it is the biggest part of them. Just make sure you get the brain...

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:
Only illegal way I know of is using explosives-

Are you sure? This is an honest question because I thought it was ok.

With the problem hogs are over practically all of Texas, is shooting one and losing it really that big an issue?

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:
Only illegal way I know of is using explosives-

Are you sure? This is an honest question because I thought it was ok.

Just looked thru the 2013-14 H&F book and couldn't find the reference to explosives. I thought it was there--but maybe from an earlier year. Under Means and Methods (page 59) it says "Non-game animals (Non-Protected): Any lawful firearm, pellet gun, or other air gun is legal." So, while it doesn't say explosives are forbidden, doesn't say they are allowed either. Guess it would take a GW to give the answer.

Well hell, guess I'll have to run down to the hardware store and stock up on claymores.

How about a gallon paint can full of nuts 'n bolts or marbles, with a tannerite core? Put it in the middle of a circle of corn where the sounder will find it, and when they are all around, let 'er rip-BOOM! Dead pigs.

You guys might laugh at this but I will tell it anyway.

We (my 2 sons & I) used to (for lack of a better word) play a game we called elephant hunting.

We took 22 magnums and got as close as we could then brain shot the hogs. The boys loved it and it was great practice for stalking. We were always within 20 yards. We killed hundreds with those 22 magnums.

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:
How about a gallon paint can full of nuts 'n bolts or marbles, with a tannerite core? Put it in the middle of a circle of corn where the sounder will find it, and when they are all around, let 'er rip-BOOM! Dead pigs.

Yeah, them projectiles are not picky about where they go or who they kill!

I'll pass thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:
How about a gallon paint can full of nuts 'n bolts or marbles, with a tannerite core? Put it in the middle of a circle of corn where the sounder will find it, and when they are all around, let 'er rip-BOOM! Dead pigs.

That would make a destructive device and you'd have some explaining to do to the folks at ATF....on your way to federal prison.

LWD

Yep--OK to explode tannerite, just can't make these type of devices---

don't film it and post it on you tube for sure

zgunbear- I used solids in my .375 Ruger BLR on javelina, drilled nice round holes if I didn't hit big bones. On bigger hogs, FMJs would be best suited for head shots, and only @ close range, IMO. Happy hogging!

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
My philosophy is that they can drag their ass a long way, but have hell pushing themselves anywhere.

Well said, Randal

I've hunted several times on Tx ranches where I either didn't see a hog or the ones I saw didn't offer a any shots. All paid hunts. Also, its never OK to wound & lose any animal if it can be avoided.