has anyone used the 243 with premium bullets on hogs? If so what has been your experencies?

Back in the mid 70's my hunting partner and I took anumber of hogs by teaming up. He shot his 243 and I used a 308, we took a number of hogs up to about 250 Lbs with them. He used 100 grain Remington corelocts and I used 150 grain Win factory loads. We didn't notice any major difference between the effects of the two rounds but we were just ignorant teenagers who didn't know what premium bullets were.

100gr Hornady interlocks work,most if the pigs are bailed by dogs and shot in the head at less than 10 yards,for longer shots partitions would be a better bet, as interlocks are pretty soft.

Fjold,

Just to confirm, I'm in favor of tits!!!!!

Properly placed .243 will do the job quite nicely!! I've had good luck with Sierra 85 gr HPBT out of a Rem 660 with a 20" barrel thru the ribs for Florida hogs.

Yes, a .243 Win with controlled expansion bullets will work, but you'll have to put a premium on precise shot placement and try and limit your range. In south central Texas, the hogs have a strong Russian/Euro bloodline and are not the curly-tailed, slick-haired ferals featured on many hunting shows. The bone structure is heavier than that of our area whitetails, the older hogs often have a thick layer of fat and a hide that is thick and rhino-tough. And then there's the gristle plate, which can and will soak up an inadequate bullet with relative ease.

I don't mean to make it sound like hogs are bullet proof because obviously they are not. On average, a fully-mature boar in this area will max out at 210-225 pounds on the hoof -- and 180-200 pounds is close to "average." Yes, you can find larger ones, and I've taken a couple that were impressive to say the least and far from "average." I hunt them with handguns and rifles, and most of the hogs I've killed have succumbed to a 6.5mm, 140 grain bullet at 2700-2800 fps MV (depending on the caliber and load). The long, skinny bullet has a high sectional density. That, combined with the modest starting velocity, assures good weight retention and excellent penetration, even with the "standard" bullets I employ. In the 140 6.5mms, I've used the Hornady grain SP and SST, the Speer Hot Core and Grand Slam, Nosler Partition, Remington's PSP-CL and as of late the Sierra BTSP GameKing. I've used others but have taken countless hogs with the bullets mentioned. I had been very partial to the Speer Hot Core, but the recent performances of the Sierra BTSP GameKing have been all that one could hope for in a bullet for game such as hogs.

In handguns, my preferred load for a 9.5" Ruger SRH features Cast Performance's heat-treated, 320 grain LBT-style projectile with its wide, flat meplat. At 1400 fps, it's quite a thumper and a load that I use all year long on everything from vermin on up. You do have to exercise additional caution with this load, however, as the penetration is phenomenal, and an exit on even the largest hogs is pretty much a sure thing.

So, yes, your .243 will work. But in my opinion, it's a tad on the light side and far from the optimum choice.

And one last thing: be sure and familiarize yourself with the anatomy of a hog as the vitals are located slightly farther forward than on a whitetail or mulie. My favored shot is fully broadside; I then align the crosshairs in a vertical line with the front legs and for the bullet to impact 1/3 to 1/2 ways up on the chest. That particular impact (given a properly-matched bullet and caliber, of course) breaks bone, shreds the vitals and is close enough to the spinal column to transfer ample shock to put the animal down on the spot.

I've killed several hogs, did some work for a guy who has a boar hunting preserve.
Used a 243 for several years on deer etc. but have never used it on a hog.
I just wanted to see what other people thought. thanks

I've shot at least a couple of thousand pigs,probably closer to double that with a 243 since the mid 70's mostly with 100 grain winchester power points but did use alot of hornady 87 grain soft points & speer 90 grain btsp's.

They all work if you hit em in the right spot but I do think the power points were superior to the others.

These days if I was going to use a 243 i'de probably use barnes new tsx bullet, 85 grains from memory.

I've never found hogs any harder to kill than whitetails, and have killed a number of them with a .223. Wouldn't hesitate to go after hogs with a .243 loaded with a "deer" bullet.

That said, there are always exceptions. "Hogzilla" of recent National Geographic fame was found to have weighed about 800 lbs. A hog of that size can certainly be killed with a .243, but if you knew that Hogzilla was your target, you'd no doubt opt for something heavier.

slammer
My wife and I have killed a lot of deer with a 243. We always used either a 100gr Sierra or a 95 gr Nosler Partition.
When we got a deer lease with wild hogs I moved her up to a 308.
However if I "had" to kill hogs woth a 243 I would use a 95/100 gr Nosler Partition or some other premium bullet.
If you find a boar 250 lbs or up he will have a thick gristle plate over his vitals. I have seen these near 3/4 inches thick.
A friend of mine was having problems killing hogs with his 7mm Mag due to lack of penetration. I switched him to Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. His problems were solved.

Howdy,
I've zapped an awful lot of groundhogs with that 85 grain Sierra HPBT and never even thought of it as a bullet for real Hogs!! It always turned the inside of a ground hog to mush, grossly effective there!
LLS

quote:

Originally posted by Lowrider 49:
Fjold,

Just to confirm, I'm in favor of tits!!!!!

Properly placed .243 will do the job quite nicely!! I've had good luck with Sierra 85 gr HPBT out of a Rem 660 with a 20" barrel thru the ribs for Florida hogs.

Sierra,

I call that post impact lung material "strawberry jello".

A few years ago we slaughtered a three 250 - 280 lb domestic hogs all shot thru the ribs for effect and I used a 6.5x55 with a 120 gr Rem PSP thru the ribs on the first one. He bleed out pretty quick and just fell over. The next one was shot with a 22-250 with a Win 64 gr power point. He jumped into the air with impact and fell down and never moved. The 3rd was shot with a 243 and an 85 gr HPBT. She was almost knocked off her feet and fell over, shook a little and never moved again.

The 6.5x55 exited the ribs on the other side. Neither of the others exited. My butcher's comment was...what the hell did you shoot these two with?? He was refering to the 22-250 and the 243 hogs.

Now these guys and girl were inside a fence and I waited for the perfect shot, so, perhaps it is not realistic from a hunting stand point but I was trying to see how the rounds performed on real pigs. From a butcher's view point, the 6.5x55 was a better kill because it bleed more slowly and completely but all 3 had a full chest of blood. I could see a 22 LR working just as well under these conditions.

This was just a little experiment I performed. Doesn't prove anything, but it did convince me that both the 64 gr power point and the 85 gr HPBT at adequate to take a 300 lb animal if it is placed properly. The .223 has killed a lot bigger animals too. Maybe the lesson supports the notion of shot placement is more important than what shoots the bullet!!!

No matter what you shoot...shoot it into the right spot!!!

Back in December I used a 25-284 with 100 grain Barnes TSX to take
4 hogs. This combo did a fine job on boiler room shots with very good
expansion and 1.5" exits. (200# sows)

If I were to use a 243 Win. the 85 grain Barnes TSX would most likely
give you great performance and if you run into a larger boar it oughtta
punch through the plate and keep on goin'. YMMV, Bruce

This hog was done in with a .243cal. .85gr. Barnes XLC out of my wby 240mag.
HOG

I use them for really long range shots in my .243Win. with the Sierra 70gr. HPBT (not really a hunting bullet) and the Nosler 70gr. Bal.Tip. You can really make a mess of a woodchuck with it depending on where your shot hits. I've left tiny little entrance and exit holes and also turned the little guys inside out with them. It's difficult to tell what it's going to do unless you can reliably call your shot. .243Win. is a great long range varmint rifle. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Dang Ifly, you shot that hog while it was riding it's bicycle. That's coldblooded....Rojelio

Ifly,

Damn!! That's a great picture!! Mind if I use it on one of the Harley sites??? Some of my Harley Owner's Group (HOG) buddies will love it!!

Please advise.

quote:

Originally posted by Ifly:
This hog was done in with a .243cal. .85gr. Barnes XLC out of my wby 240mag.
HOG

Where is he going on your bicycle?

quote:

Where is he going on your bicycle?

She's headed to never, never, land..just gave her a ride out.

I don't care Lowrider 49.

There's a bad group of bike thieves in there..here's a few more I caught...

Bike Thief

Another One

Bike Bird

Another One1

I've used one with 100 grain core-lockts and 100 grain interlockts. No problems on the 10+ I've taken up to about 200 lbs. I normally try to shot them in the head or neck though.

Damn, I gotta get me a bike! Ferget the damn cammo!

Hogs die easy but I wouldn't recommend varmint bullets on 'em...'cept for the Hornet and .257 Bob.