When out and about in the truck or on foot it is a .45 Long Colt revolver or 92 Lever gun. Load is 10 grains of Unique with the Hornady 225 FTX. Always dead right there, never a runner. Typical distance is 25 yards to 50 yards max in the heavy brush here.
Hunting from a stand for deer and when the occasional piggy pops up it is usually a .308 Winchester or .300 Savage with 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. Once again, always dead right there, never a runner.
This season I got angrier at the wild hogs and bought a dedicated rifle for stand hunting in low light for distances out to 100-150 yards. Ruger Scout in 450 Bushmaster, 8x56 S&B scope, and so far factory Hornady loads with 250 grain FTX's are about as good as it gets:
What do you think is the best pig rifle? I’ve shot them with most common deer caliber rifles as well as 223’s, 45’s, 40’s, 9mm. I’m thinking about getting a Ruger American rifle 22-250 with the 1in8 twist barrel to use when it’s not deer season. The 62 Barnes rips them a new ass shot out of an AR. They would be even better at 22-250 speeds. I have Creedmoor rifles too, but want a 22-250. I’ve had Swift’s and other slow twist 22-250’s but I like heavier bullets than they would shoot. Thank you for your support!!!
Any rifle is fine for pigs. I have shot more than I could ever count with a range of cartridges I could never recall between the .223 Remington and the .460 Weatherby. Nothing, did not work well.
Although they are a stocky animal with an overly promoted claim of a bullet proof gristle plate shielding, (Not so much in the US but many Aussies were full of it) I have always found the flesh to be relatively soft which is why even a 55gn Sierra works on them.
When truth is ignored, it does not change an untruth from remaining a lie.
I've probably shot more with my Marlin 1894 lever in .44mag by just jumping them up while out walking.
If I was to build a gun for shooting them at feeders, it would probably be a AR-10 platform chambered for .243 You'd have a heavy enough bullet (I only shoot mono-metal bullets) for the really large hogs and as light recoil as possible to allow you to get multiple shots at running pigs.
Can't fault in any of that idea.
I use my lever 44mag similarly. What bullets are you shooting? I was using store bought ammo- the Hornady 225 grain Lever Revolution stuff. It shot great but I didn't care for its performance. I switched to 240 hollow points but haven't shot anything with them. What amazed me when trying different ammo in that B92 was how wildly it flung lighter weights.
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I've probably shot more with my Marlin 1894 lever in .44mag by just jumping them up while out walking.
If I was to build a gun for shooting them at feeders, it would probably be a AR-10 platform chambered for .243 You'd have a heavy enough bullet (I only shoot mono-metal bullets) for the really large hogs and as light recoil as possible to allow you to get multiple shots at running pigs.
Can't fault in any of that idea.
I use my lever 44mag similarly. What bullets are you shooting? I was using store bought ammo- the Hornady 225 grain Lever Revolution stuff. It shot great but I didn't care for its performance. I switched to 240 hollow points but haven't shot anything with them. What amazed me when trying different ammo in that B92 was how wildly it flung lighter weights.
I shot the Lever Revolution a few times, but I've had two instances where it jammed feeding. I think their length might be a problem. I typically just shoot Winchester white box 240 grain soft points. When I get my reloading equipment set back up, I'll probably load the Hornady XTP bullets.
I've killed pigs with 7x57, 338 Win Mag, 260 rem, 25-06 and 300 Black Out.
If you hit 'em where you should, it is not much of a problem to kill them.
donsm70
Life Member...Safari Club International Life Member...Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Life Member...Keystone Country Elk Alliance Life Member...National Rifle Association
I have friends who own land in Oklahoma and are always trying to shoot off the pigs to keep them from tearing everything up.
They have used many different guns, but they tell me the one that is their "standard" is now the AK47.
No maintenance or near none, always loaded, always works and is always with them in the trucks and 4 wheeler. Some have low power scopes and others use iron sights, but the AK is the "pig-tool" and they have all gone to keeping them near by in the vehicles at all times. Jordan said he's killed more pigs with his AK in the last 5 years then with every other gun combined.
Based on the cages you build to trap hogs. I’d go with a 9mm or a 45ACP and get some pistol work in. 😎
My daughters little Henry mini-bolt in .22LR works perfect for that. You stick the barrel in and they get curious and come to smell it, raise it a few inches and pop them right between the eyes. Quick and humane with no mess.
Based on the cages you build to trap hogs. I’d go with a 9mm or a 45ACP and get some pistol work in. 😎
It is fun to shoot them with a 45 or a 40 in the round pen traps. Takes me a few rounds to kill them. I need cataract surgery, I suck with open sights.
Stretching back to my teenage years, I've probably killed more hogs with a .22 LR with solid bullets than anything else. In recent years I've killed them with .30-06, .270, .300 Savage, .300 Win Mag, .22 Hornet, 12 gauge, 20 gauge (buckshot in both smoothbores), and .44 magnum. My favorite hog gun is a Thompson Contender with 14" barrel in .44 mag, with a 16" suppressor on the end of the barrel ("permanently" attached). This rig is in a carbine stock. My favorite loads are hard cast bullets of 300+ gr loaded to just under 1000 fps. Not a long range gun, most of my shots are under 50 yards. Pretty much always one shot kills - twice I have shot into a group and had two hogs drop dead at the shot. Single shot firearm works fine for me, not planning to shoot more than I want to butcher at one time. I've used night vision scopes on this "gun", mostly shot it with a 3x9 Bushnell, but just replaced that with a 512 EOTech. I use red-dots on several semi-auto handguns and a few revolvers, expect to really like the EOTech on my hog gun. Speaking of handguns, usually have one when hog hunting, as a backup if nothing else. I'm partial to .44 mag. but also use .45 LC and .45 ACP. Lately my favorite handgun round is 10mm. In a 1911, it is handy hog firepower.
I hunt my own small property, and don't raise crops or livestock on it. Hog hunting is GOOD, can do it year round, any time of day or night, hardly any restrictions, and the meat is good.
What do you think is the best pig rifle? I’ve shot them with most common deer caliber rifles as well as 223’s, 45’s, 40’s, 9mm. I’m thinking about getting a Ruger American rifle 22-250 with the 1in8 twist barrel to use when it’s not deer season. The 62 Barnes rips them a new ass shot out of an AR. They would be even better at 22-250 speeds. I have Creedmoor rifles too, but want a 22-250. I’ve had Swift’s and other slow twist 22-250’s but I like heavier bullets than they would shoot. Thank you for your support!!!
After carefully considering your post, I'd suggest a .22-250, maybe with a faster twist than traditional. The Ruger American is a lot of rifle for the money.
Seriously, - How far is long shot for where you are likely to find pigs? - Do you care about damaging a lot of meat? - Do you plan to take only "sure shots" or plan to keep shooting as long as a shot is available regardless of the shot angle or how fast the pig is moving? - Do you consider pigs to be a "game animal" deserving of humane hunting ethics or vermin not deserving of the same consideration you would have for a game animal? (No judgement here. I can see good arguments for either side.) - Do you want a "nice" rifle or a "truck gun"? - Do you shoot iron sights well enough, or do you need a scope even for relatively close shots? - Is weight a consideration? - Is ammo cost a consideration? - Do you plan to hunt them at night, need to mount a light? - And on, and on, and on.
There are a lot of "best" pig rifles.
Logic over. Back to our rifle looneyism.
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It’s really amazing how easy they are to kill. I had really good luck with a Brno 611. If you got into a covey, follow up shots are really quick. Hasbeen
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