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

I used to work for a Swine Genetics lab, had one boar go down and normally used 45+P loads to dispatch any hogs but all we had this time was a .22 mag

Point blank, in the ear in the eye in the ear and on and on we couldn't kill the poor thing. Finally went in and gave it a cocktail injection to knock it out.

Don't know why people think they need to try and prove themselves by using guns that aren't adequate to dispatch whatever it is they may be shooting at?

Dwayne,

thanks for asking - the little one is very well.

BSA, Dink, Dwayne and others,

the .22LR or even the .22 Short sure have been used to kill hogs. Or steer.

The adage "put into the right place anything works, put into the wrong place nothing works" can be taken to extremes.

All examples given here - butcher shop, bear in plum tree, coyotes, digital dan and his 22 Short have one thing in common - skilled and knowledgeable personal in "pick your shot situations".

In a butcher shop or dispatching a bear in a plum tree there is good reason, too, to choose a .22Lr to limit collateral risks.

I differ in lining nighttime hog hunting in with the circumstances above - and appearantly so do quite a few others.

Spotlighting/poaching I do not consider to weigh in this discussion - wanton waste is far more likely to occur than risking discovery by trying to follow up the escapees.

Best wishes.

cmg

cmg;
Thanks for the reply, it's good to hear the freshest member of your family is doing well!

I believe that we are on the same page seeing the difference between using a .22 for hunting as opposed using one for removing unwanted 4-legged visitors from the yard.

Should the day come where I get to chase some wild pigs, I hope that I'll get to use something a wee bit bigger than a .22 rimfire.

I hope you and your fine family have a great week cmg.

Regards,
Dwayne

May the day come soon for you, Dwayne. Wild boar hunting is fun.

Thanks for your kindness.

All blessings for you and your family.

Carl

The target area is too small for a high percentage kill. Hogs have a no mans land, so to speak, between the ear and neck above the spine. Similar to that area above the lungs and below the spine of white tails. Shots in these areas are often less than lethal. Some may not agree, but I have seen proof of this several times. Everything is a better choice under the said cirumstances.

If its noise that has to be overcome, try one of those 50 cal air rifles. Other than that, go all out with night vision and some sort of centerfire. The guys I know that hunt them at night just tell the neighbors they are hunting pigs and use 223's or Hornets.

Joseph

Joseph

I can only give my own experience and rely on my own proficiency. I have killed many (more than twenty over the years I'd guess) with a 22 lr while squirrel hunting. I have missed some too, truth to tell.

If the hog is reasonably still and I can get a solid rest against a tree or something a 50 yrd head shot with a 22 is easy. Easy if you got the right angle that is. I don't hesitate to try it.

Just catch as catch can hog hunting there are better cartridges you can use.

BCR

I"ve shot a load of hogs with a 22 over the years. 50 yards one should with a good rest, easily be able to hit the ear socket on a broadside hog. IF not you can simply pass the shot. If you have that patience there isn't a hog the low side of 400 that won't die instantly with a 22 solid. I've never shot a wild one bigger than that so have no comment past that.

I've also been along taking guys to kill hogs a lot on an old deer lease that was overrun with em... I carried an MK1 and CCI hps.... I"d let them shoot, hogs would scatter and then stop a bit. Usually close enough that I could dink one of say 100-150ish pounds or less in the ribs... and leave em alone, go find the other hog and so on, and then go get the one I shot, never beyond 50 yards and dead. The HPs didn't do the lungs any favors. Granted most of those shots were inside 50 yards but never less than about 25 or so.

As to a comment that a mini 14 is as cheap as a 10-22 or such, please let me know where I can find a bunch of those mini's....

Now granted, one has to have a good shooting gun, and be accurate enough and the ability to say yes or no to a shot. But given those parameters I've yet to see a hog I wouldn't kill with a 22.

Personally IF I move up when shooting stuff like pigs, I go straight to a 308... I don't see enough energy gained by going to a 223 etc.....if I"m going to step up, I just step up plenty.

Jeff

Thanks for the replys guys,
For awhile there thought I was pure chicken chit. Over the years I have killed quite a few hogs on the farm, and on hunts. Usually a 22 was all that was needed, but I am a firm believer in Murphys Law, especially at night.
Had the great displeasure of tracking a wounded, pissed off hog at night, and needless to say a 22 was not what I carried. Low percentage or High, big gun, small gun it really doesnt matter. Murphy always seems to be right.
To finish this I will say a guy I know really liked to run coons, had 5 or 6 dogs, horses, the whole shabang. (Also liked to run Deer) anyways one night he went out to have some fun, about an hour or so his wife got a call from the local sherriff, hubby was F***** up pretty good on the way to the hospital. Turns out he thought he had treed a coon, put a few shots up there from a 22 mag, he was sure he hit it twice, but it wouldnt fall outta the tree, so he commences to climb the tree, when he gets to the limb it was on, to his great misfortune he found a very wounded, but very pissed off Bobcat that was still very much alive at that point. After a good scarring blow to the face with some sharp claws, a broken arm & leg,3 ribs, and a severe concussion from the 20 ft fall through the tree. He came out alright after about 6 mos. Dont hunt coons much any more to my knowledge.

So, Basically I dont hunt mean critters at night with just a 22LR.

Again thhanks,
Swifty

We, "put down", all the beef/pork animals that we butchered on our farm with a .22LR. I would not hesitate to remove a feral hog with my .22mag auto, or LR, if that is what I had with me. If I were going hog hunting, my high cap Mini .223, old Rem .300Sav, or Win .308 autos would get the call. I do believe in autos for hogs. Once that you start, shoot all that you can.

My state has made it especially difficult to hunt hogs legally, while paying hunters from copters to remove them. Hogs fall under the agriculture dept, because it seems that they are domestic. What would one expect from a state the has a crow season and requires a trappers license to kill coyotes and cats? In my youth, I carried coyote ears to the courthouse in a coffee can to collect the bounty. Not all of life is good.

If you have to "convince" him of that, he probably shouldn't be hunting to start with.

Point blank cows, chickens and ducks with a .22 on a farm are FAR different than hogs. Sure it can be done, but the weenie in question obviously has no clue about hunting, probably can't hit his hat and has no experience with anything gunny. So for him to hit a 1 inch moving target at 50 yards will be all luck. I am sure he is buying the cheapest ammo he can find as well, won't be sighted in for it and will complain when the pig runs off, "because he missed it". He won't bother tracking it, because it was a clean miss, even though the pig has a blown off ear or shot out eye. He won't have the patience or fortitude to wait for the perfect shot either, especially after the first "scattering" shot. I have shot several deer in the head at close range with .22's (they were hit by cars, stuck in fences, sick etc.). Several took multiple shots to the noggin to end things. Several sat there with blinking blue eyes and blood pouring out of their ears with little or no reaction to the hit. It's a horrible feeling. I want things over quick. I don't care if it is pig or rat, they deserve better. .22's are for small game, not hogs. Tell him to take a knife, jump on one and stab it to death and be a real man. I wouldn't hunt with an ass like that. Flinch

Tell us how you REALLY feel. But funny thing; I actually know someone who sat in a Mequite tree with a knife and jumped on a passing pig to cut it throat. That big porker carried him through some of the thorniest brush you can imagine. He did manage to kill it with that knife though.

Hah - all the people saying energy and velocity don't matter - why use a .22LR when a .22 CB cap would be just as good... Or maybe a Daisy 880...

...I thought I did ;o) Flinch

Yeah, a .22 rimfire can kill hog. So can an arrow....so can a truck.

Killing a confined pig with a bang stick at point blank range and making a killing shot at distance...at night with a .22 rimfire are two very seperate and distinct things.

Your friend is an idiot and will likely get his ass tore up trying to recover one of his .22 shot pigs at night.

Tell the genius to use enough gun. It will save both he and the hog alot of trouble.

JM

With the limits of a .22, a killing head shot is as much angle of impact on the skull bone as it is placement.

This opinion comes from having shot and seen shot a lot of domestic hogs and cattle. Shot well with a .22, huge hogs and huge cattle drop instantly. Shots that hit at the same spot at a different angle appear to have zero effect sometimes.

The angle at which such a light bullet stikes hard skull bone determines whether it will penetrate through. The angle on a head shot also detmines whether it will enter a vital brain section or lodge in the sinus. Hits in some parts of the brain itself allow the critter to function for quite awhile after the shot.

It takes some knowledge of anatomy to use a .22 well on big critters. That's true of all cartridges. The goal is to damage something important beyond the surface placement.

My uncle use to do it with a 22 LR when I was a kid.. and then as the rolled down the hill the pen was on, they would try and rope its leg or two and cut the throat with a butcher knife..

until one big hog kicked and cut my uncle's thigh deeply with a kicking hoof, from knee cap to crotch..

after that season, they'd corner one in the top corner and Richard used a 30/30 instead...

What about the 5mm rem

The hog will teach him what works and what doesn't.

Indeed

I have a 5MM and love it. I bet it would drop a hog straight down with a head shot.

Now that I've thought about it, maybe you should encourage your friend to use the .22 on hogs, at night. It just might help clean up the gene pool and that'd be one less vote for Obama.

He'd be better armed with a 22mag - for those "raking shot" angles.

OH BULLSH*T! Lots of people here act like they know your friend personally and he's a commi pig who voted for Obama!

Let's just cut the crap! It ain't anybody's business but his what he wants to try to kill a pig with.

That does not sound like a good idea. I would go with a at least a center fire.

A 223 might work.

The pig might like a little input. Also, the op came in asking for information.