What would be the ideal hog only gun?444Marlin 375win.?30-30?other

Whatever answers you get, it will depend on the size of the hog. A young 150lb sow will take a lot less gun to put down than a 400lb boar will.

With a good, heavy for caliber bullet any one of those will do very nicely.

I've always been partial to big bores, but most centerfire deer rifles do just fine on hogs.

I agree,A 400# boar needs a big bore hard hitter!Thats what made me buy a 338wm and a 375H&H.I have seen 4 that were over 400# easy and that is one tough/bad dude!i also saw a 475# sow that a fellow took on a hunt i was on that he shot in the ear with a 35marlin!Dropped it in its tracks!Hog was a monster,fellow made a super shot on it!Hope i get one that big one day!We weighted it on the game wardons check in station scales.He said there were about thirty with it when he shot.Pigs went everywhere.She was the big mama in the crowd!458wm would be a good one too!

I agree, blackbearhunter. I like using my big bores on hogs -- better practice using them on live game than on paper. I've hunted hogs with both my .416 Rem and my .458 Lott. Is that much gun necessary? Nope, but it is fun. I picked up a .338 win mag recently, scoped it and plan on using it on hogs in the near future.

I really like my .45-70 guide gun. I have used 300 gr. nosler partition golds, to take 2 hogs. It is good out to around 200 yds., which is farther than I shoot 90% of the time.

Mad Dog

best?

that's hard...
my favs, in no particular order
358 win
376 steyr
45/70
416 (any)
458 winmag

<drumroll>

22 hornet!!

oh, and if you are traking a wounded hog in heavy brush, 12 ga coach gun with 00 in the left and slugs in the right (due to chokes)

jeffe

FYI: Craig Boddington in one of his books recommends the "mid 30s" for hogs. So, something like the .350 Remington Magnum, .356, etc

This is because they have enough knock down power for the biggest hogs, but can still reach out and touch one at 200 yards if the terrain is open.

I prefer the 45-70 or .308 personally.

Hunter308

A lot of stuff will work on hogs depending on the size of the hog..my kid killed his first hog with a 7.62x39 (sks), I have seen 7.62x54, 308, 280,30-30 and 6.5x55 all work successfully..but a couple of years ago I lost 2 big hogs that were well hit, one was shot with a 6.5x55, the other was hit twice once with the 6.5x55 and a 308... The shots were close, and well placed..the hogs were in the 200lb class and no doubt died..but they left no blood trail and we could not find them in that south TX brush...

After that I built a 35 whelen and last Dec I tried it out...3 good sized hogs..Bang...Flop.
Boddington may just be onto something there!

The 35 Whelen gets my vote!

Zeeriverrat!

I use my 308 as my hog gun loaded with 180gn Power Point H/Ls. This is for pigs up to around 300lbs. Hogzilla aside, most pigs in the western part of Texas don't get much bigger than that. If I had a chance at one bigger than that I suppose I'd load a Partition. I've considered, on the cheap, building a 'nothing but pig' gun. I will probably buy a Yugo 48, restock and trigger it and shoot the 200gn Patrtition. Unless I could find a 98 in 9.3x62. Just my ramblings, capt david

My favourite pig calibers are the 45/70 and the .375 H&H loaded with 300 gr Hornady RN's.

I am also keen to try my 9.3x62 cz 550 on them, I figure the 30/06 would be good to but I have had bad luck with my 30/06 loaded with 165 gr ballistic tips, I figure the bullet may not have been up to the task, the .375 H&H and 45/70 in my experience puts hogs down much better than the 30/06.

I've had great luck with both the 356 Winchester and 350 Remington Mag., both with factory soft points. The 350 Rem Mag shooting 200 grain Core-Lokts is perfect in my humble opinion.
Best, Starcharvski.

My little .270 has killed two pigs, each with one shot using 130gr barnes xlc bullets. Ok, I still want a .375 H&H!

-Sean

.375 H&H never failed - 260 Grain Federal Accubond.

Roland

The 9.3x62 has worked wonderfully for me,
either with the Norma Plastic Point 285 gr. or the RWS KS 247gr.
I normally shoot hogs on driven hunts, with the 285gr, or from high seats at night with the KS.
The shots are from 20 meters to 100 or 150.

I’m sticking with the 9.3x62 mm

You can never be over-gunned but believe me you can be under gunned.
I know nothing about hogs, but have taken my fare share of warthogs and bushpig. The warthog I have used my 22 Hornet with 35 gr GS HV point(day hunting), on the bushpig I use my 338 Lapua with 250gr Rhino's(night hunting)
Bushpig have a bad attitudes.

Wimpie
Cant wait for this weekend might even get a WARTY with the bow

375H&H...270gr Fed Classics....puts 'em down all the time!!

I've seen wild boar take 4 body shots from a .44mag and still be on their feet. I've seen them hit directly between the eyes with a 30-30 and stand there and take it. (the bullet deflected and went up the skull between the skin and the bone), and i've seen them killed with one shot with a .22mag placed behind the ear.
The caliber you need to use is the one you are most comfortable with. For hogs I use a 30-30, a .357mag a .308 or a .45acp depending on my mood that day. I've never felt like I needed a large bore caliber and I've killed tons of hogs.
Rule #1 is bullet placement. Rule #2 is bullet placement. When you forget one, see the other.

I shoot hogs with a 22lr but they have a 1/8 inch cable around their neck and are tied to a tree. Kinda easy that way.

When I am hunting them I really like my 257AI with 120gr NP at 3000fps. Mostly because it is short and light. My 45-70 with 405gr LBT at 1900fps is good for pigs as well, might be overdoing it but I like to see how bullets will hold up under adverse conditions.

My .340 Weatherby will sure warm up their chili. The bad part is you don't get to hear them squeal much.

22-250 loaded with 45 grain hollow points, Texas heart shots only.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
22-250 loaded with 45 grain hollow points, Texas heart shots only.

I change from the .375 H&H & 45/70 to a diana .177 air rifle "texas heart shots only" beat that

I take the 22-250 remark back. I have had good luck with cartridges from the 6.5x55 thru the 45-70. The best cartridges are probably the 308 and 30-06 with good 180 grain bullets. But I have a new 45-70 that will soon nail it's fourth pig and I like the way it works.

Ryan Campbell pretty well nailed it, the best all around hog gun is the one that you shoot the best. Hogs are usually moving, often even when they are eating bait, so you need a gun that you can comfortably PLACE your shot at at least 50, and preferably 100 yards, in the standing position if you're stalking them. Almost any cartridge will work if you put it in the right spot. For most shooter's a .308 or similar recoiling class rifle is nearly ideal. I often use a .45-70 and that might be my favorite hog/deer cartridge (assuming the deer are in heavy cover with no possibility of a longer shot).

In spite of the host of people who recommend the .375 H&H and up, it is a heavy kicker that most people don't shoot often enough to be competent with it. 100 plus years of experience of the military strongly suggests that .30-06 level recoil OR LESS is the comfort level for most shooters and that is in a relatively heavy rifle. Give me a good man with a .308 anytime over 99% of the big bore shooters FOR HOGS. BTW, the above rant includes heavily loaded .45-70s which kick the snot out of you in Marlins and are totally unnecessary for hogs. None of the above is meant to insult people who choose to use big bores, it is meant to inform people who think they have to have them for the dreaded hog charge.

I've got a new to me .38-55 but have not killed a hog with it yet. Shooting Buffalo Bore loads, the performance on a feral cat was impressive.

My son, now 11, killed a 195 pound live wt boar on Sunday, graveyard dead with a .243. One shot at about 90 yds thru the spinal column in the neck was the end of that story. That boar will be the guest of honor at a BBQ this weekend if anyone in the area wants to attend. Caveat: My son may have a little league baseball tournament on Sat so the pig cooking might be delayed.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
I take the 22-250 remark back. I have had good luck with cartridges from the 6.5x55 thru the 45-70. The best cartridges are probably the 308 and 30-06 with good 180 grain bullets. But I have a new 45-70 that will soon nail it's fourth pig and I like the way it works.

Rick the 45/70 is awsome on hogs within it's range limit...............I have shot a few with the 300 gr sierra HPFN pro hunter, that bullet is pretty soft, as is the speer 400 gr bullet, the rem 405 seems to hold up a tad better than the other two mentioned bullets and the premium bullet for the 45/70 for big tough game is the woodleigh 405 gr 45/70 flat point. That bullet expands geratly and loses bugger all weight.......................it is really worth a try.

I also agree with Ryan Campbell. Use a rifle that you shoot well. I have killed most of my hogs, and some of the biggest ones, with a 7x57 and 139 gr. Hornady bullets. That Ruger #1A in 7x57 is accurate and is a compact, light little rifle to carry. I have also used a .300 Win. and .350 Rem. and a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. The farthest I ever had a hog run was with the .300 Win. and the 180 gr. Nosler partition - a huge sow that I hit through both lungs and went about 50 yards. If I had to choose one rifle, it would probably be my Rem. 700 classic in .350 Rem. It is light, accurate, and puts the hogs down. I like Nosler partitions, but I think I will try the Barnes Triple-X also. I shot 6 hogs one weekend with the 220 gr. Speer FN, and while they were all one-shot kills, bullet performance was lacking. The Speer comes apart too much at .350 Rem. velocities.

Dale - We're on the same page... the 350 Rem Mag is one hell of a hog stopper. I have one of the new Remington 673's in 350 Rem mag, and I absolutely love it. It's one of the "handiest" rifles I own.
I've found that the Remington "Core-Lokt" 200 grain rounds do a great job. It puts them down right now. Best, Starcharvski.

Browning BAR in .308W
APB

I just noticed not one hog hunter has voted for the 7mm magnum.I wonder why?
I like it for hogs...

Well, I'll put my vote in for a 7mag since that is what I shoot. As others have said on this thread, there's a very wide range of rifles that you can use to shoot hogs. I don't consider an unalarmed hog a very difficult animal to kill with a good shot in the vitals.

For close distance shots, nothing works like 00 buckshot in my opinion. I've killed hundreds of hogs from the back of pickup after chasing them out of grain fields. In that environment, nothing else will really work but buckshot because you just can't steady a rifle even enough to get off a shot in the general direction. The best part is sitting in an established and well worn trail with a couple of automatic shotguns while someone else runs the hogs out of the field. This is always done at night and you really can't turn on your flashlight until they are right on top of you because you don't want to turn them too soon. It's a pretty big adrenalin rush when a pack 20 hogs comes barelling down on you and you are standing in their trail armed only with a shotgun. I've had to help guys out of trees before because they didn't have the nerve to stand there and shoot while the hogs came crashing through.

I have always felt that the biggest thing on a hog is its head, so that's where I shoot 'em. And I have shot them with .270, 7MM mag, 30-'06, .357 Mag, and .22 LR.
Body shots to me are too risky, period, even with big calibers. There is too much chance the bullet won't leave a big enough hole, and even if it exits, the hole closes up with fat, and what do you have then? If you don't knock them down, you have nothing.Had it happen ONCE, and that was enough for me. She ran off, leaving buckets of blood, and disappeared.
Now it is head shots only. "Nuff said." (Of course, that won't work if you are doing what Rattlesnaker is talking about doing...)

I've shot a bunch of them from 80 to 350lbs. One shot below the ear with a .223 has worked every time.

BOWHUNR

I'll second Rattlesnakers vote for 12 ga. 00 Buck. That is what we use when we shoot them out of a helicopter. It rolls them out pretty quick. Talk about fun.

For close range work I personally use a 500 Nitro Express double rife. Most hog hunting is close range where I hunt in TX, spot and stalk. It is possible to chatch them on the flood plains and in this case for fun,(as you can always stalk close to a hog even in open country) I have a single shot bolt action 50BMG that I use and it is quite good fun. So I guess to answer your question, any gun that suits you is a great gun to shoot hogs with.

Around Izmir, Turkey in the mid 70's we used an Auto 5, 1100 or 870 with Brenneke slugs. We used the ones with the impressed rifling, square nose and the little tit the front end. Some of the Russian boars would push 250 kilos and the sows would do 180 -200 kilos. Turks weren't supposed to eat pork, but after smelling the hogs cook for 8 hours they couldn't resist. I remember some of the rib racks were 2 feet long. They tasted wonderful if they were eating in the fields or someone's garden, but were terrible if they come out of the woods and were eating roots of some sort.

Hunt in the AM, cook all day and drink Beck's beer until the pigs were done, stuff your face with pulled pork, backstrap and ribs and if you're lucky, get laid....those were the days!!!

I use whatever I'm using to deer hunt. The first two hogs I used my Wby. 240mag. with 85grs. XLC handloads. The last I used my Wby. 257mag with 117grs. SST handload.
Hog 1

Hog 2

Hog 3

Until recently I didn't have a particular favorite. I've shot 'em with a big range of calibers and all worked but my new toy is a 458 SOCOM on an AR15 platform put together by MartW and man, am I in love. No recoil, 8 accurate rounds as fast as I can re-aquire the target and 350 grain .458 bullets at almost 2000 fps. Much faster recovery than an M14 or M1 Garand.

To be honset I haven't blooded it yet but that will be soon.

I have no problems with "the rifle you shoot accurately" recommendation. However, I sure do like the performance of the .338 WinMag, 9,3x62, and the 9,3x74R.

The bigger the better if you shoot it well.

To my way of shooting hogs, whichever gun I have in hand is the one I use. I've killed them with everything from .22LR, .22-250, .25-06, to 7mm Mag and they all fall down dead. Brain 'em and there is no doubt.

Tiggertate.....What part of the year do you hunt pigs in your area? I'm thinking about Texas in the late spring. Maybe March or April next year. Don't know if I'll take the 35 Whelen or .358 WCF. The 45-70 will probably get left home. I'm considering 225 gr Triple Shock Xs for my main bullet. Perhaps the 280 gr WLN cast for brush. Later Packy