Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game First-time Florida Hog hunters need advice on rifle, caliber

The wife and I are thinking of trying our hand at Florida hog hunting. Most will be stalk hunting in relatively dense brush with some clearings here and there. Probably have our best chances at them at dawn and dusk.

She already is set up, I think, pretty well - a Tikka T3 Lite in 6.5x55 with a Zeiss 3.5-10x50 with Zplex reticle. Good punch and penetration, light recoil.

I have a Tikka T3 Lite in .223, but don't know if that is a little weak for this application. I reload and have a wide selection of bullets, so if the .223 with a heavier bullet would do the trick on Florida hogs, that would save me some money! I also have a Tikka M695 Whitetail Hunter in .30-06, but it is quite a bit heavier than the T3 Lites.

I do have a number of ARs in .223 and .300-221 (Whisper) - the 8" barreled .300-221 is nice and lightweight as well.

I was considering getting either a T3 Lite in .308 or 7mm-08. The 7mm-08 intrigues me due to the lighter recoil and ballistics of the cartridge, and would assume it would handle hogs quite well.

It will more than likely sport a Weaver Classic Extreme 2.5-10x56 with illuminated reticle - yes, a bit big and heavy, but I think a perfect choice for low-light and brush shooting. I could go with a 1.5-4.5x24 illuminated reticle version of the Weaver as well, and have some other Zeiss scopes, too, but I like the idea of maximum light transmission from the Weaver.

Thoughts, comments, and opinions welcome!

So whatevers the problem a 30/06 or a 6.5x55 Swede solves it. Unless you feel a need for a shotgun for rifles slugs? Or an RPG...

You may want to change her scope if 3.5x is too high a magnification at the short ranges your describing. But try it out first.

Of course if you want a new Tikka light then by all means indulge whatever you can afford.

I've killed hogs with 22mags, 22-250, 243, 250 savage, 300 savage, 30-06, 35 Whelen and a few more that I can't remember. Shoot good bullets in a rifle that your comfortable with. Although with the lighter calibers I only do head shots.

The 7-08 would be my choice if you are looking to get a new rifle.

Have fun .. BP...

I think the AR .300 Whisper may be a tad too heavy. The T3 .223 would be ideal, but again I have to wonder if it is enough - maybe with 75 grain bullets?

I vote 308 or 708 t-3. My personal preference would be 308 just because I think it may be easier to find an accurate load. And ammo is easily available (not that 708 is all that sparce). Just my 2 cents.

I like 6.5x55 156 grain RN bullets and you can kill a moose! I use a CZ 527 Carbine in 7.62x39 123 SP Leupold 1x5 VXII. Most shots around 25 ft. to 100 yrds. Haven't lost one yet. As for 308 WIN. vs 7/08 there isn't enough difference in them to matter. Lots of bullets for either calibre! I am just a metric nut!

I have killed a few hogs....take the '06 not the 223....

What twist is the .223 Tikka? It might not be fast enough to stabilize the heavy stuff. I'd go with the 6.5x55 and 30-06.

If you're close in, in the brush, take something that will anchor them quick. They have some run in them, and thick brush is their friend when it comes to finding a deep dark place to die.

Although a .223 will kill 'em, take the '06. Load that and the 6.5 with some tough heavy bullets, and make sure you take pix.

I happen to have killed a few hogs myself. 142 so far. And from those, more than a few at the closer ranges by freehand.

Up until about 2 1/2 years ago, I used a full sized Weatherby Vanguard in the 300 Win for all hunting, hogs included and it certainly did the job after the bullet impact. But what about before the shot?

At about 45" in rifle OAL, 10+ lbs with scope, it sometimes was awkward, less manuverable and in certain cases a royal PIA in the much thicker terrains. When slinged on my shoulder, the muzzle was well above the top of my head, sometimes clipping the barrel on branches and brush. It was too long to carry comfortably by the pistol grip, arms down at my side without the muzzle coming close to the ground. When shouldering, speed is necessary for quick freehand shots. It was also slower. Simply put, you must be more careful with a longer rifle in dense cover. So I decided to finally make a change.

For wonderful carrying, handling ease, great manuverability, increased shouldering speed and stalking in the thicker dense terrains, you cannot beat a true compact rifle.

2 1/2 years ago I bought a 16.5" barreled, 35.5" OAL, 300 WSM Ruger Frontier. With my scope it weighs 7.5 lbs. For my purposes, it was quite a wonderful switch, which made a huge difference in every way on my hunts before the kill shots were fired. There a a few compacts out there from which to choose, but for a bolt rifle, none will handle, shoulder or manuver quite like the Ruger compact.

Although the 223 can be used for hogs, my minimum would be at least a 25 caliber. Imo, the 7mm/08 you`re considering is a better hog round and available in most if not all compact rifle offerings from the various makers; ie, the Ruger compacts, Remy M/7s, Weatherby Vanguard compacts, Savage compacts, etc.

Good luck with your new hog hunting adventures!!

I would carry a lever action .30-30, .35, .444, or .45-70 in heavy cover before a 16 inch bolt action 300 mag.

But that's just me and my experience with enough hogs that I stopped counting... YMMV

Hmm - well, I'm just, I dunno, trying to either save money by using the .223 I already have or use the .300 Whisper 8" barrel as a brush gun, or cough up the dough for the 7mm-08. To me, even though I love the .30-06 Tikka M695 (hell, it did the job on every animal I took in Namibia), I think after a day of slogging around in the brush it might be a tad too heavy, especially if I mount that monster 2.5-10x56 scope on it.

.........Oh I`m very sure you wouldn`t use a 16.5" bolt 300! And I`m sure that most if not all wouldn`t either. I like to be different or a rare breed! But I did also mention the 25 caliber and did reco the 7mm/08.

BTW Loco, I do use my 300 for more than just good `ol hog hunting. I also use it for larger game at much further hunting distances, where much better long range flat shooting capability is needed. It does what the 30-30, a 35, a 444 or a 45-70 cannot do, while doing most if not all of what they can do on hogs!
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It`s a called dual or multipurpose rifle!!......

..........You`re right about the scope. A 2.5-10x56 scope is not exactly ideal for shorter ranged quick shooting brush work.

I don`t hunt hogs in extremely low light or in the dark, so the best scope for low light wasn`t a priority. However, for the terrain you`re talking about, fast both eyes open acquiring and aiming is more important imo.

Atop my Frontier sits a 1.5-5x20 VX3. Light weight, wide FOVs, is very fast and much better for closer ranged hog hunting purposes.

Yeah, I do have a 1.5-4.5x24 Weaver Classic Extreme 30mm with illuminated reticle that may do a much better (and lighter) job, plus a Weaver 1-3x20 scope - may go that route.

........Yep! Either one of those scopes would be a much better choice for sure. Your 8 oz 1x3 Weaver V3 imo, with its 87' FOV at 100 yards while on the low power would work just peeeechy. It has very fast both eyes open acquiring and aiming and help keep your rifle very fast handling.

I`ve seen some of the more compact rifles with big and higher variable scopes on them. That defeats the whole purpose in owning a handier more compact rifle.

So if you do go the compact rifle route, that V3 you have would be ideal for your type of hog hunting which is about like my style as well.

Yeah, kind of figured that going with the much smaller, lighter scopes would be better given the terrain. Hmm, now what the hell am I going to do with this 2.5-10x56 scope? LOL

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I have killed about 150 hogs most being in Florida with a 35 Whelen & a Leupold 6X42 scope w/heavy reticle. Most were with dogs but I have done lots of stalking & even used tree stands. I have also used a .44 Mag pistol & a bow. A 30/30 or 44 Mag is the minimum I would recommend. With chase dogs you really don't need a scope. I recently decided to use a classic 94 in 32 Win. Sp. & shot 3 in South Central Florida. My 6X works well but any low power scope will do the job.

I shoot them with whatever is handy from .22 rimfire, centerfire rifle, handgun, and shotguns.

If they crawl off and die someplace else it's just as good as if they fall over dead right there.