Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hog Hunting Choices

Got into a lease this year to hunt hogs on while in FL. Shot 5 with a 308 150 Corelokt and no complaints. Killed one a couple of years ago with a 270 140 Hornady, no complaints. A couple of these hogs were over 200 lb. All center mass shots.

I have an AR 15 in 223/5.56 and read a lot about the round and pigs. No surprise that some swear by it and some swear at it. I am thinking it might be fun to hunt them with an AR style gun thus my question:

For those that have hunted pigs with the 6.8 SPC and the 223/5.56, how much more effective is the 6.8 SPC than the 223/5.56 on pigs? Center mass shots. The cover is very thick and it sure is nice to "stop" them before they get too far in that stuff.

The 308/270 loads were very effective at putting them down with center mass shots. The farthest one made tracks was about 40 yards and I did hit that one back just a bit farther than I should have. My thoughts are the 223/5.56 maybe not so good unless a head/spine shot is taken, especially on a larger hog. How much better would the 6.8 be?

Our lease is a "hog" lease they've ran off or killed all the deer.

All of our members much prefer the 6.8 over the 223 -many are ex-military and shoot AR's .

Thanks for the info, it is the kind I am looking for!

You're welcome .

.223 to the brain pan will do just fine. Heck I have a friend that killed a couple pigs (80lb and 100lb) with a .17HMR.

Here's one I killed with either a .223 or .204 (can't remember which) when I was a younger man.

Where you at -on the beach ? grin.

Falfurrias in Brooks County, TX. All sand and Oaks there.

OK, not much feedback on the 223 vs 6.8 question so...

After reading a bunch on other forums I have decided to try the 223/5.56 that I already have and use the funds to buy some GOOD night lights, looking to set up 2 rifles for various reasons.

So now looking for a good AR load to do the trick on hogs. My Stag has a 1/9 twist so my choice for tips is narrowed down to the 62 Barnes TSX or 60 grain Nosler Partition.

Any input on those bullets for use on hogs?

try the nosler 64 gr BSB
Comes in a home defense load.

has a wider me plat and thus should smack harder and dump more energy faster.
Worked for me on deer and pigs just fine.
ToA

Saw the 90 grain version for the 6.8 and liked it, did not see the 22 cal, looks like a good one! Should be fine within my self imposed range of about 200 yards with this cartridge. Thanks!

By the way when I refer to center mass, I am referring to shoulder/heart/lung shots, not center of the pig. A friend of mine had not heard that term and questioned me over the weekend so I thought I would clear any misunderstandings up.

We use 6.8 with Federal 90 gr gold dots. Very effective on Oklahoma Hogs have killed them up to 350lbs no problems. Also ammo is on sale at palmetto state right now for $9.99 a box.

Load up Barnes X, Nosler e-tip, or Hornady GMX and put the bullet in the vitals or CNS...

The problem with hogs is that they are so many different sizes. I have shot them from 10lbs up to 400. If I knew I was going to just see Big Ones I would go bigger than the 6.8. The big boars don't bleed much with the grissle plate. The last Big Boar I shot with the 6.8 only went 30 yds. But he left no blood trail the bullet went behind the shoulder and stuck in the plate on the far side. He was 355Lbs

My son and I went to Texas last year. It was my third trip down hog hunting.

I took a 223 w/ 65 gr SGKs for my son & my 257 AI w/ 90 gr GMXs and my 6-250 loaded w/ 90 gr NBTs.

The night we arrived I talked to the ranch owner who said that the 223 was great if a perfect head shot was guaranteed but for my son he thought the 6-250 and a guaranteed exit left a better margin.

He uses a 22 Hornet on a regular basis but he kills me and leaves em.

The 6-250 did great by Elijah; he made two perfect shots, with one second shot for the sake of grace not of necessity.

The 257 & fast monos did wonderfully also.

I'd go SPC.

efw - Glad to hear about your son's successful hunt! Always nice to read about young hunters.

My gut still tells me you and others are not too far off recommending the 6.8. That said I read enough from others singing the praise of the 223. So I am gonna load up the best bullets I can find, start out slow, pick my shots carefully and see if I can find MY limits with the 223.

There may still be a 6.8 in the future...

With head shots the .223 works great. My sample of three hogs. They have also died with head shots from a .25-06 and a .250/3000. If I thought I was gonna have to shoot for the heart and lungs I would probably use a bigger caliber.

My thoughts exactly. An AR is so accurate, there's no reason you can't make head shots.

The last hog I shot, about a month ago, was a boar, just a bit over 300 pounds, died on the spot, 22LR subsonic HP about 40ish steps away.

They don't take much. They do take some thinking though... IE if you are going to shoot X size, at X distance and where in the body are you shooting, will regulate what is needed.

I've shot quite a few this year suppressed sub sonic 300/221 and 194 lehighs. Including deer(last fall's season15/16).

Arrows work really well.

Where you will find an issue, at times, is a pig with heavy shields, shields will not stop a sharp broadhead. Then CAN and will at times, cause a cup and core bullet, even a mono bullet at times, to expand and expend most if not all energy without getting past the ribs... There is a crease in that shield, that will allow even a 22lr into the ribs...
This area of the shield is the area that makes pigs into big ol tough unkillable animals. Just that shot placement/location/bullet choice was not enough to do the job.

That said I"ve also shot quite a few pigs in the 100-150ish pound range, and obviously under... with 22lr pistol and HP bullets, one to the lungs and let em run.

The other thing, no animal, unless CNS is taken out, dies nearly as quickly as folks think, go follow a lung shot pig to soon, you will have fun. Well to some of us its worth a chuckle. It'll raise your hair sometimes.

More than a few pigs bed up facing their backtrail while bleeding to death....Your timing is the difference between dead and interesting.... I used to follow to quickly... I've had to kick a couple of wounded ones away. Thankfully they were all around 75-80 pounders.

well i can think of a reason... a standing shot over 150 yards away at an animal that is moving around. sure i would have loved to shoot it in the head, but i figured 168 grains would explode the shoulder bone into enough of the vitals and hopefully the CNS to drop it. unfortunately i hit a little back, right in the arm pit. it's a pretty tough animal that can run that far and that fast hit in the chest. 223 is fine for a lot of things, but it's not my first choice for a hog gun no matter what bullet comes out of it.

I couldn't list all the different calibers I have killed pigs with here on the ranch, I like to test different bullets on pigs, lately I have been on a cast and coated bullet kick, shot 3 pigs yesterday with a 38-55 245 gr, hard cast, it killed the hell out of them. tonight I am going to use a 45-70 with 420 gr hard cast and see if it will bounce off a pig. Rio7 P.S. I have killed a couple of semi loads of pigs with a ar-15 .223