Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game opinions needed 22LR for Hog hunting

Trying to convince a guy its not a good idea to do this, my opinion is not enough Gun.

Wants to shoot hogs at night from 50yrds off with a Ruger 10/22 says hes gonna kill em with an ear shot.
Now if I was gonna hunt hogs at night it sure as hell wouldnt be with a 22LR.

Your opinions please.

Swifty

Frankly that one is irresponsible, Hog's are a one shot and they're gone deal.

22's WILL NOT penetrate the skill if it's hit at the wrong angle. I watched a guy shoot a hog point blank 3-4 times with a 22 pistol once and not kill it (butching).

some things are just wrong, I'm afraid this one falls right into that space. It might be different if he was on an island starving and only had a 22 - but this isn't the case.

+1

Even when considered a pest and feral - they are still mammals and warrant a certain decency on the hunters side. JMHO.

A .223 Ruger Mini 14 is just as cheap and much more of a good thing.

We trap hogs here and dispatch them easily with a 22 pistol to the forehead.

Heck, a friend of mine killed 3 with a .17 HMR. Granted, none of them were over 100lbs.

I'd have no problem with it on a trapped hog. Out in the field? Nope.

It might work, but there's far too much downside for both the hog, & possibly me.

FC

Dispatching a trapped animal by shooting it at very close range and being able to carefully pick the shot is vastly different than most any hunting situation. The 22LR isn't a reasonable choice for hunting hogs.

Hogs at 50 with a .22LR? Yeah, it would work if he just wants to shoot a pig.

If he wants a pig on the ground, however, I wouldn't bet on it - too many things that can and likely will go wrong. Any centerfire is a much better choice.

Well when the hog he pizzes off covers that 50 yards in 2.6 seconds....this guy might wish he made a "better" caliber selection...

There are alot of guys that hunt hogs with dogs that use 22 LR on them. Its like anything else if pulls good shots it will be fine. If he mis-places the shot it does not matter what he uses.

Dink

In true to life night hunting situation.... I've seen less than perfect shot angle taken with a .44 mag and 357 mag... only to be tracking a wounded pizzed off hog in the thick nasty stuff...

That is a bunch of hogwash.

It is a metter of degrees, of course, but a misplaced .30-06 will, depending on location, slow the hog down and/or provide sign for tracking in a much more usable fashion than the .22 LR.

If above logic were true, we would only have the .22LR - after all, just put it where it shines and all is peachy.

cmg;
I hope this finds you and yours well today. I trust the newest addition to your family is doing fine?

With regard to hogs and .22's, I'll say up front I've never seen a free ranging hog, much less hunted them. Well we did have a wild boar ranch that had some "footballs" escape across the road from the ranch one time, but we only took photos of them. We did dream of the hunting possibilities we'd have if the escapees "took", but the owner rounded them up quickly and that was the end of that.

I do recall Dad shooting hogs on the farm on butchering day with a .22 and they indeed died promptly. I'm going to say he was using a 40gr solid as that was all we seemed to get back then in the '60's in very rural Saskatchewan.

We've shot a few coyotes with .22's and I've noted a very noticeable discrepancy in the performance of different types of .22 ammo/bullet types on them.

My preferred "yard load" currently is the 40gr CCI Velocitor as it has a nice balance of weight, speed, penetration and apparently it opens up OK too. It has a record of 3 one shot stops on body hits with local coyotes, one being a very large male.

The local Conservation Officers have been known to dispatch problem bears with a .22 from time to time as well, especially when they are in someone's plum tree in the middle of town. I can't say they ever shared the type of ammo they used with me though.

Anyway, I am fully aware that wild hogs at night aren't yard coyotes, or slaughter hogs or even plum tree bears for that matter. My point here is that from my experience, a .22 isn't a .22 sometimes and a bit of testing can show one what might work and what likely will not.

I hope you and yours have a good week cmg.

Regards,
Dwayne

That's funny CMG, I think a lot of poachers have taken your advice and used it all too well.

Good friends of mine run hogs in SEMO with dogs and shoot them with a .357 when the bay-up.

I wouldn't shoot a hog fighting dogs with a .22LR not even a .22Mag.

Spoken like someone that has not killed much with a 22LR.

In these parts the 22LR is considered a great deer cartridge for most spotlighters and turkey poachers.

Shooting pigs in the head at 50 yards is not hard and the 22lr will get the job done.

Dink

Surprised Digital Dan hasn't seen this yet.

He's got shooting hogs with .22 CBs down to a fine art.

- Tom

How is that for a rousing endorsement of a cartridge?

When I was a kid I saw cattle put down in the slaughterhouse cleanly with a 22, but I would think that using a more potent round for the conditions given (up to 50 yds in the field) would produce better results.

Greenhornet47 sssshhhhhhh.... I was getting to that. When I was in college I worked in a butcher shop. I can't tell you how many beef and hogs I seen killed by a lowly 22 short.

I will say though. On a big mean bull that might tear up the kill chute they used a .410. Worked.

Dink