My son in law lives in Texas, he's looking to buy an AR. Says he wants it for killing hogs.

Does anyone have experience with the .223 for hogs? Most of what I read suggests something a little heavier.



P

It will kill hogs, you may have to do some tracking though and the blood trail may not be the best? There are certainly better options.

He can get an AR in almost any caliber and configuration. 308 Win, 300 blackout, 6.5 Grendel, 7.62x39 are all options he can look at?

I live in Texas and have shot a few wild hogs. They come in all sizes and all are legal 24/365, as is trapping them, and shooting them with full-auto from helicopters. It is probably legal to blow them up.

A .223 would be light for body shooting the bigger ones, but a lot of people use accurate light caliber rifles and try for head shots. The only real trophy is one with large tusks, which makes a reasonably impressive mouth open shoulder mount. Or better IMO, a cleaned skull with big tusks sitting near the fireplace. I digress, but my point is that since you usually aren't trophy hunting per se, and since they are usually plentiful when you find them, waiting for a good head shot is usually not difficult.

But if I'm going pig hunting, I just take a deer rifle, .30-30, .270, or larger if you want. Much of the choice being about the expected type of hunting and range.

I've killed quite a few hogs with 62 TSX's and Fusion bullets. A suppressed AR would be close to perfect hog medicine.

Load a TSX, GMX or Nosler 64 bonded solid base and go kill hogs.

Use a good bullet. Avoid the shields on the larger ones.

Contrary to most thinking, I've killed a LOT of pigs with a 22lr pistol and CCI Mini mag Hps to the lungs... NOT in traps. Lung shots kill pigs pretty quick.

If I was worried about anything TSX and rock on... killed lots with 63 sgk semi points too...

Ive only killed a handful, but I find if you can hit them in the brain, they die real dead in front of a .223

Use a good bullet....just in case.

personalty,I prefer a 44 mag marlin lever action,loaded with 310 grain hard cast for hogs, but I think most of us want an EXCUSE TO OWN AN AR 15 so I'd also point out that its fully capable of killing hogs , Ive seen it done repeatedly with these bullets

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/13...aliber-224-diameter-64-grain-power-point

and 25 grains of VARGET powder

Basically, depending on the size of the hog and the size of deer in your area, they are deer-sized critters. I'm assuming all the posters who say a .223 and good bullets are fine for hogs also assume the combination is fine for deer.

I won't get into the debate of what people ought or ought not use on deer, but, head shots excepted, I hope no one is treating hogs differently from similar sized deer.

We've had excellent results with 64 grain soft points & head shots. My buddy even scored a double in such a fashion.

FC

.223 works just fine on hogs. Ive killed lots with a .223 mostly with 64 grain WW power points but quite a few with the 55 Hornady as well. I shoot for neck/head area.

I have killed a lot of hogs with a 223 both in a bolt gun and AR platform. It will do the work BUT it is a bit light for some situations. If I had to kill a particular hog I would use a larger caliber.

62g TSX through the front 1/3 yields good results.

My initial loads with the 62 TSX shot into just over 2" in a very accurate RR Varmint that shoots other bullets into tiny groups.

I'd be interested in some loads with that bullet, including overall length, powder, primer, and any other details you find pertinent.

Clarence

26gTAC/62g Tsx's, LC hulls, load to mag length.

Double post

Killing and stopping are 2 separate things.
If your looking to eradicate them and run them away...223 in the guts will do solidly.
If your hunting them for food and you want them down quick, I'd opt for something else. Something that doesn't nessesitate a CNS hit to incapacitate.
Consider this, a hog at 35mph can travel over 1000 yards in just under 1 minute.
That's a long way to track.
This pig was hit at 40 yards , in the spine (see behind the ear) and he still needed a follow up shot to stop him from trying to get dad.
That's with a .308, 165 soft point.
Hr went down then started getting back up when the old man got about 6 feet from him.

Ya can't kill much of anything with the .223 unless it has been blessed by the Poobah. I recall that service is free but that's subject to change. Otherwise the bullets will bounce off.

He probably doesn't recall, but he blessed my .22 CB shorts years ago. They are pure poison on hogs. Really.

Trust me,

Dan

[quote]
That service now requires an appropriate 'whistle wetter' as I understand it.

I am loving back to back posts where one guy says you should use a .308 and the next is OK with CB shorts


For future reference the Poobah will not bless any bullets over .224 diameter.

I think is stems from recognizing that " gonna die" and "dead right there" are not the same thing.
Like the difference between shooting one behind the ear or through the lungs.

Re: My earlier post comparing hogs to deer. If you have to follow up a badly hit one, while any animal can be dangerous, I think the average hog would be a bit more dangerous than the average deer.

Also, some people are interested in shooting as many hogs as they can, which is seldom the case on deer. Here, the semi-auto AR platform is an advantage. However, after the first shot, the shots are going to be less than ideal, and if you hope to recover any animal you hit, you might want more cartridge. In this case, a semi-auto .308 looks pretty good.

In short, the right choice for hunting any animal often depends on factors such as range, terrain, etc. But it seems that with hogs, there are more things to consider than with deer, i.e. head shots, how many you are trying to kill at once, if you want to recover them or not, etc.

If we could all shoot as well as the young German(?) in the oft posted hog hunting video, we would all be better off. That man can truly run a bolt gun!

Amen... That boy can shoot...

Would not be my even second choice, but with proper shot placement and a good bullet it will indeed work. I would take my 9.3X62, I know for a fact it will bust things up and the hog will not go very far. If needed will bust through the "plate" as well. Something a 223 may not. Most hogs and hunting of them I have done does not allow very many shots or chances at second shots so the ability to rapidly fire more is moot.

This thread is pretty revealing about who's killed many hogs and who hasn't. I've yet to see the hog I couldn't drop with a .223, and I've seen, and killed, some big ones. Big bore cartridges will work too but are not necessary. I have friends who hunt them with knives....

A .223 is fine for hogs, but getting more than one (good) shot is rare. Sounds like he just wants a toy, which is good!

Like most things (assuming we aren't making head shots), the bullet does the work and many bullets for the .223 can work well on hogs. I guess it depends on what you set out to accomplish.

I will suggest that there are few cartridges that will make a pig leak from two holes as readily as a 300 TSX in a 400 Whelen. Is it necessary, no, but you wont ever be faced with a long or difficult tracking job.

Truth be told, I've seen a better blood trail with a .224 compared to a 35 caliber rifle; the diff was bullets, and we're talking premo stuff.

IMO, good game bullets come before good cartridges...

PHARM.....Rost beat me to it. FT. BENNING says you gotta use whatever firearms are in use for the particular season, sooo...
During small game season I used rim fires-- L.Rs and Mags; both solid and H.P.s AND... .17HMRs with HOR. 20gr XTPs or SPEER's 20 gr. Game Point. Either right behind the shoulder in the lungs or right behind the ear.... they are D_E_A_D kilt. During regular firearms season for deer, I used either my Savage Mod 12 or my Mini-14- both in .223- with Nos. 60gr Partitions, Sierra 63 SMPs or SPEER's 70 gr SPs. Never lost a pig. I'd think 55gr FMJs would work if allowed in your area, provided they were put in the boiler room. or behind the ear. HAPPY HUNTING...
WILL.

From what I understand, Cambodia is having good results with old Russian landmines.
Boys in tehas use tannerite.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=29d_1412811329

We've killed truckloads using hornady 75 bthp, but the extra mass helps. I also been using the 300 blackout using 110 barnes.

A lot of good points here....

I'm a huge fan of the below/behind the ear shot and will take that shot anytime I can get it done that way. I also know that a big boars hide will eat small bullets ocassionaly. In the event two holes aren't punched will leave absolutely NO blood trail at times, even when vitals are smoked. A big, gobby fat sow will do the same at times by filling entry and exit holes with enough fat to keep a blood trail to minimal/nonexsistent till said fat is jarred loose or knocked away by trees, brush, etc. All in all.... They ain't hard to kill. If your 100% against head shots, go with a good, hard bullet in any caliber. Another thing I've learned is if taking behind shoulder shots..... Try to stay in the lower 1/3 as the shields are thinner in that area and the leakage significant....

If you are into just plugging them as someone said..... I've seen more hogs die than any other way combined through an EOTech or over a gunners shoulder with a simple PMC 55FMJ to the front 1/3..... Long before it was cool and blasted all over YouTube....

Have yet to see a hog not drop on the spot with a 62 ttsx.

i shot a sow a few years back, a little over 200 dressed, and we found a perfectly-mushroomed .224 soft-point in the hindquarter....skin had grown over it. we also saw some spectacular scarring on the scapula, same side. bullet glanced off the scap, stayed just under the skin, came to rest in the buttcheek. coulda been from an ar-15, coulda been a .222--no idea. but it was a .22 centerfire soft-point.

we've also dropped numerous hogs with .223's by not trying to shoot through their shoulder blades. earhole 'em....they won't even run a foot.

^^^PREZACTLEY ^^^

yep, I have killed with both 223 and 308, the 223 with good bullets works the same, people that have to track them more with a 223 than a 308 are shooting them in the back half of the body.

That's fairly easy to do when the are running away at 30 MPH.