The neighbor boys hate pigs cause they ruin the corn & milo crops and make it hard to harvest pecans off the ground. They use dogs and hunt the adjoining ranches on horseback. Their favorite rifles include various AK47 semiautos and a Ruger 40S&W semiauto rifle.

My pig hunting experience has been limited but it sounds like everyone is using a really big gun. I have found that my 6MM in a 77 ruger with Barnes triple shock 85 grain bullets will stop anything that I have come up against. Also if you want to hunt almost anything else with the exception of elk or bear, it is very effective out to 300 yards.
The Barnes TSB is a great factor. I try to shoot for right behind the front shoulder and have never had one run at all.
Bogey

Anyone here use a .338 win mag on hogs? I picked one up almost two years ago and have yet to try it on hogs. I imagine that it will be good hog medicine.

Whitworth,

One of my German sidekicks uses a Browning BAR in .338 Win. Mag. with the barrel loped back a little with an Ultra Dot 1.5-4.5x30 Red Dot Scope mounted.

He is the undisputed King of Wild Boar Drive Hunts in this region and I've seen him take 5 piggies out of one sounder as they rushed by him.

While I haven't used a .338 Win. Mag. myself (I'm a 9.3x62 fan) I've seen his results with this cartridge and they ARE impressive so I would venture to say it works real good.

I used a 338 on pigs a good deal and it works kinda over kill though

Crusher, I think your 1oz slugs at proper range would be the ticket also. there is a guy called Yogi at www.gunshop.com he is experimenting with a sxs sluggun. about 15 page thread. Kurt.

thanks ill give it a look

Crusher, what is overkill? There are no degrees of dead! I've used .416s and .458s on hogs and have had a great deal of fun hunting them. I am well aware that a .22 behind the ear will drop them deader than dead, but it's not for me. I am planning a trip to Tanzania in '08 and I can't think of better practice than on a live target. Again, haven't blooded the .338, but I have a feeling that it will be good hog medicine despite the fact that many may consider it a bit much too much.

Whitworth,

I'm in agreement with you on the subtle degrees of deadness.

German law is minimum 6.5mm and 2000 joules at 100 meters (European energy measurement like we use Foot Pounds) for large Cloven Hoofed Game so the smaller catridges are illegal anyway.

Hell I've used my .375H&H's on piggies too and they normally stop so fast they leave a furrow in the ground with their snouts as they expire!

overkill ie. 338 wm on pigs.

I kept having the bullet penetrate 3 or 4 pigs at once seems a bit much.

if you are hunting pigs to practice for something else or just realy love to shoot your 416 or whatever thats great with me.

I kill them with a 22 lr sub sonic all the time maybe im under gunned.

some here would have you believe that 500 n.e. is the only suitable round for anything over coons and gophers in size. but hey I just like to kill em so its all good.\

Hey, whatever gets you through the night.......

My point is that heavy artillery isn't necessary, but it is whole hell-of-a-lot of fun and for me that's good enough and the whole point of hunting hogs. JMHO.

If you like the AR-15 get one in 458 SOCOM !!! A semi-auto in 45-70 .

Hello, new guy here... Interesting thread, "dedicated pig gun".

I'm from Texas and some years back my state officially declared feral hogs a public nuisance. I have been hunted them since I could carry a gun, 40 plus years.

I must agree with the majority of the posts in this thread that almost any caliber of say .243 and above in a modern rifle is potent medicine for old stinky. Given the rifleman does his job and sticks one in the boiler house. But.... If you routinely hunt where conditions aren't so great, it pays to have an added edge.

I harvest hogs over bait, behind dogs and in traps. When hunting over bait my choice is the gun I dearly love to shoot the most, my custom Ruger #1 in .300 WBY Mag. My old #1 with 180 grain bonded pills do the job nicely and are very reliable in exiting on the far side. An exit wound with a large enough hole will leave an obvious blood trail. Good blood trails are a must here in East Texas due to the density of the briar thickets. Here even the most dedicated tracker will give up promptly without sufficient spoor to follow when faced with our head high thorns that are thicker than mommas gravy. Entrance wounds ONLY do not reliably leave good blood trails and sometimes no blood trail at all beyond the immediate area of bullet impact. I am called upon all to often to track wounded animals others have shot and can't find. By far the most common and confirmed reason they couldn't find the animal is a lack of penetration resulting in NO exit wound. Sorry, I don't want to open that can of worms, but I just couldn't leave it unsaid.

When hunting with dogs I shoot from a horse and my Winchester, 94 does a great job. Nope, no spears, knives or pigging string for me.... With the 30-30 meat loss is almost none and I can eat right up to the hole.

I also build traps and run them regularly with my 15 year old daughter and 6 year old son. God help me if I run the traps and don't bring them along to shoot the occupants!!!..... This poses an entirely different problem for me and the real reason I responded to this thread.

While the kids are having at the squeelers caught in the trap, I have to watch for the occasional boar or sow that is in the area and doesn't appreciate the festivities that the kids are enjoying..... On two occasions (without the kids) I have been charged from the a thicket while tending traps. First by a boar and second by a sow, both of whom didn't appreciate my being close to their friends in the trap. Let me assure you that an unannounced, surprise charge from close quarters by a grown, ivory snapping hog will precipitate an instantaneous tightening of ones sphincter that goes completely off of the end of the pucker scale! Or worse.....

Luckily both incidents ended with yours truly not requiring a seamstress to do any creative stitching. The sow was dropped promptly at about 15 feet with a load of 00 buckshot to the face.

On the other hand the 350+ pound boar soaked up two loads of 00 buckshot without much visible effect other than turning from me and tearing his way through a thicket in a direction other than mine. The first load hit the boar with a quartering-front shot at the junction of the shoulder and neck and the second went through the ribs at mid-level right behind shoulder, both at about 20 feet. After two loads of buckshot the boar still ran 150 yards before collapsing. Considering the time it took before he collapsed I am glad he turned and did not spend that time chewing on me with his three inch tushes.

Now to the point from my perspective on "the right gun"... For up close and nasty, I started out considering a 45/70 lever gun to replace my old 870 because they pack a substantial wallop at close range and it would have done the job nicely. But... With my two kids stumbling around the traps I wanted something to do the job MUCH better than "nicely". I needed an absolute "stopper" if there is such a thing. If not I think I got as close as I could get. I chose a Winchester Mod. 70 Classic in .458 Win Mag. I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet, but I think it will do the job.

I left the gun as it came out of the box with the Winchester express sights. At nearly 50 I can't see open sights as good as I once could, but off hand at 25 yards I can still shoot one ragged hole with it. This gun was my first exposure to express sights and I have to say they are awesome. They are VERY quick to acquire and get on target. I guess a century or more of hunting critters in Africa that want nothing more than to kill you tends to weed out those sights that aren't effective.

Based on my experience and reading those experiences of others, big bores with modern big bullets at moderate velocities rarely fragment excessively and penetrate reliably. I couldn't live with myself knowing I didn't take every precaution should the odds catch up with me again when the kids are around. If and when I am once again the target of charge I will see how quick a Barnes 450gr X at about 2100 fps can end the show...

I would post some pics, but my computer at home crashed recently and I lost everything. I should get some more pics when it cools down this fall.

Later,
Mickey

Mickey,

That made an interesting read, keep up the good work.

Send us another thread when your new .458 Win. Mag. is up & running!

actually anything from a smooth limestone creek rock up to and including 20mm is the ticket for hogs. there's always more and bashing them with whatcha brung is the majority of the fun. hunt pigs and have fun! Kurt.

Me and and my 3 best friends had identical .375 H&H mausers built. 400 gr solids at 2000 fps puts them down nicely! http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k152/Poer_bullet/F1010022.jpg

Me and and my 3 best friends had identical .375 H&H mausers built. 400 gr solids at 2000 fps puts them down nicely!

Bullet .375

Now those are some ugly hogs!

And those warthogs they killed aren't to pretty either!

I've shot hogs with a bunch of stuff but I really love my little Pre 64 M-70 FWT in .358win with 225gr TSX bullets. It is topped with a ghost ring and is light and nice to carry.

My second favorite is a M-70 375H&H.

I also love to shot them with my .470NE just for fun.

Surestrike -- it sure is fun hunting them with a big-bore! I've found that sometimes the smaller hyper-velocity rounds do more meat damage that my slow-moving, heavy bullet big bores. It's a lot of fun having to sneak up close to hit 'em! Like I said before -- if it's fun, that's good enough for me!

note: My apologies for the over use of the word ËfunË.

I'd use my 1895 Marlin Guide Gun in .450 Marlin with Rem 405gr JFP at 1850fps...

Yall are making me think that maybe a CZ 9.3 fullstock with its 20.5" barrel and stock set up to shoot irons might be just the ticket for an allround WT & Elk brush gun and hog thumper... Not too fast not too slow doesn't throw little bitty boolitz or ones that are way too big to get out to over 250 yards without looking like a rainbow...and not too dang 'spensive either. Hmmm and Speer makes some cheap 270 gr'ers to boot to go along with the Privi's 285 SP's.
Anybody usin' one of these guys on piggies now?
Ron

Verhoositzs,

I don't know anybody with just that set up, but it would be a spectacular hog thumper!

ok I admit I like weird but how about a 45 acp 98 mauser

Crusher, that would definitely qualify as weird!

it is but it works great thats it in the picture

verhoositz...i don't have exactly your setup but close.



cz 550 lux. 270 grn speer at 2450. very dead piglet at about 70 or 80 yards.

if i didn't already have the long barreled version i would get a 9.3 FS. my son has a FS in 6.5x55 and it sure is classy. a cz FS in 9.3x62 would be a great "dedicated" pig gun.

I'm dedicated to shooting hogs with my Ruger OM Blackhawk in .41Magnum. I handgun hunt the way I used to bowhunt. Get close and then get closer. A 250gr.WFNGC will sail through all but super-hog. My largest to date is @450lbs. Pig guns need not be long arms.

IF IM GONNA GET THAT CLOSE 1911 WILL DO IT

I'm a fan of the .375 H&H barrel in my T/C Encore.

I can't get a fast enough 2nd shot anyway so the 1st better count

As we can see, just about anygun, well handled is a good pig gun....
However the bigger the pig, the better the bullet, the bigger the gun.

Also, pig hunting is a great time to use your big bore, especially if you stalk them up close.

quote:

Originally posted by Rolland:
I have found I like a 45-70, I use a converted SMLE I built a while back. I have two now and hope to use the new one this coming March. Both rifles shoot under one inch at 100 yards. The pig I took this year was 200 pounds a 300 grain bullet seems to put them down quite well.

Now that's something you don't see every day. Awesome. If you weren't so far away I'd look you up...man those are nice firearms. Thanks for posting.

Exit31

wow got to find out what this 9.3 is ..as long as it burns lots of powder and makes a big boom .. used everything from night vison 308 to 30-06-- hey ratelsnaker-- my favorite is still a short barreled rem 1100 with screw in full choke.. the way a lot of pigs are killed around this area is load up in the back of a pickup fire up the spot lights and run em till the are all gone or they cross the fence... notsporting way to harvest hogs but they are such a problem to farmers that the theorie is old enough to run old enough to die..