Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Looking for caliber recommendation...dedicated hog rifle

Have a 260 Rem model 700 youth rifle that doesn't get shot anymore. Wanting to rebarrel and make a dedicated hog rifle out of it. Will be suppressed. Wanting to run subsonic. What caliber would you go with? .308? .350 legend?

8.6 Blackout

.473 bolt face. Don't think that will work with the blackout

300 Blackout or 8.6 Blackout if set on subsonic. Personally I’d leave it a 260 and spend the money on a thermal. Or build an AR pistol in 6 ARC/6.5 Grendel/300BO.

Bolt face won't accommodate the blackout. Also noticed it won't accept the legend either. .473 bolt face on this one

358 Win, just change out the barrel to a 1-14 twist, length, keep it above 16.25" to save filing as a SPR. The 260 setup works with he 358 Wn fine. It is a pure hammer on hogs. I prefer AR platform for hogs, but each to his own. I am stocking a Mauser 358 Win conversion and finishing another 35 Whelen 700 barrel now.

8.6 Blackout is made from 6.5 Creed cases.

8.6 Blackout is a 473 case. It is NOT the same as the 300 BO.

Don't think I would go to, to much expense for a hog gun, a .223 in a bolt gun or AR-15 will kill the hell out of Pigs, pigs are easy to kill you don't need anything special to kill pigs. Rio7

Probably cheaper in the long run to buy a new gun - say a Ruger American, et al.

From what I understand, the 450 Bushmaster with put hogs a d*ck in the dirt . . . .

Within those parameters, 8.6 blackout.

At those speeds, maintaining penetration while also getting some expansion or fragmentation on the varying body weights you encounter hog hunting is difficult. 8.6 is probably going to have the best bullet selection for those purposes and velocities at this time.

Getting consistent performance from bullets given the size variability you have with hogs is tough. Deer or elk hunting gives you a consistent body profile to match a bullet too generally. Shooting hogs may mean a sub 50 pound pig that needs a more fragile bullet or a boar with a shield that weighs north of 200. Getting a bullet that performs in both situations is tough. Even tougher with subsonic velocities.

Have only ever killed three hog's. One this past spring with my 6.5x55 and a 140gr Speer HC and the other two while stationed in Germany helping out a butcher with hogs belonging to the people we rented from. There the first time I used an ax and hit it in the forehead with the blunt side. second I shot in the fore head with a handgun firing a metal rod moved by a 22 blank cartridge. My experience, limited though it may be tells me deciding on a cartridge to shoot pigs with should be really simple! Have though about it some and if I go again I'm thinking I just might use my 22 mag for a head shot! If it had to be a cf cartridge might be a tuff call and end up being something really easy to shoot! Doesn't take anywhere near a 30-06 to kill a hog!

Bigger the caliber the bigger the target area, we guide hog hunts, we see it all the time, you have a larger area for shot placement when you have more whack. we shoot at 50 yards from the feeder, i have a 308 surpessed and subsonic a cheap plastic ruger set up, sounds like a clunky truck to operate but is really really accurate for head shots. If i was going subsonic, i would go 308 lots of ammo no thinking involved, really accurate for head shots. If full range i like a 35 caliber gun, 358 norma or 35 wsm, i stuff the cross hairs in the fornt shoulder and let it eat, if there is aseond pig behind it that one is dead too.

My dedicated Pig Gun:
Sig Cross 308, 16”
Pulsar Talion XQ38
Ball Turret blind window mount


16” barrel has worked very well. My feeder is at 100 yards. The 308 puts ‘em down with assurance.

These topics can be very frustrating to me too read. I have killed hundreds of pigs in my life. It would be unsurprising to me to learn the number I’ve killed is over a thousand. I haven’t ever really kept count enough to know the true number beyond keeping up with “I killed this many tonight” or “this many so far this week”. I have made a study of what bullets work on pigs. I’ll often carry a knife to perform quick studies on how a bullet performed on a pig by opening them up. I often will buy a rifle in a new cartridge to test how a different set of bullets will perform. However, whenever the topic comes up, there are inevitably a number of people who will espouse opinions based on how they will “kill” hogs by shooting them in the stomach under a corn feeder so they run off and “die in the brush” never having actually confirmed a hit, much less a kill. They will use that “experience” to claim something such as “a fmj 223 kills hogs easily”.

To sum it up, basically the problem with broadly asking for an opinion on “what should I shoot pigs with?” Is most people that will answer have fairly limited experience they are far too eager to extrapolate from. Then to take it further, they don’t typically worry about ensuring the bullet they used actually performed the way they think it did because it isn’t a deer and they aren’t worried about actually recovering the animal.

So define what you want the bullet to do. If you just want a rifle to put a bullet into a hog, then yes any caliber will work. If you want to know the hog will “probably” die “eventually” then again most will work. If you want a bullet that will perform on small hogs, that’s a different selection. A small hog needs an easily frangible bullet or one that expands quickly. They don’t offer much resistance to obtain proper bullet deformation and they aren’t very wide so it doesn’t require much penetration. If you want to kill big hogs then you want something with more controlled expansion for deeper penetration into the vitals. Most bullets good for small pigs won’t penetrate deeply enough for instant kills on larger bodied animals. By the same token, a bullet optimized for penetration won’t do violent enough wounding on smaller animals for fast killing.

A bullet capable of fast killing of both large and small animals needs to be capable of deep penetration and fast expansion. That is more difficult to find and is VERY velocity dependent. There is nothing particularly difficult to kill about hogs other than the fact their body weights vary dramatically in the animals you encounter and unlike most game species, you are not shooting only mature animals.

They CAN be dangerous if you let yourself get close to one and are attempting to use a bullet that is unsuited for the size animal you are shooting. Again, they can be killed with anything. I have killed them with a wide range of things. I have used pocket knives, hammers, even the steeple pulling hook on a pair of fencing pliers once. I have killed them with a wide variety of bullets. I have also had them charge me and die at my feet because the bullet I was using was not well suited to the task.

I would go with the 6.5 creedmoor and use a fast twist barrel to stabilize the slower bullet. I would then use the bullets designed for the Grendel as they open up at lower velocity. Just my speculation.

8 twist 308 with 220 eld's. 9.5 grains to Trail Boss.

260 Rem with a youth stock only needs a stock. Nothing will be any better or worse than that 260! Didn't get mine back in time last year to use on hog's so simply used my 6.5x55 and it did a great job!

.223 55 gr SP home made AR-15 from 60 to 125 yards 1 round per customer.

Same as above killing Pigs is not Rocket science


Same .223 same bullet same .AR-15

Rio7

Subsonic only? I’d probably trip the M7 and buy a RAR 450BM for the SubX ammo.

I’ve shot several with suppressed rifles and supersonic ammo, minutes apart. If going that route, it’s hard to argue against the boring old .308win.

Me and a buddy have killed as many as fifty in on night with thermal and fmj 7.62x39. I’ve killed a number of them using an old 700 bdl in 222 with Remington core lokts. I’m not saying you can’t. I will also say I can remember very well a time where 5.56 out of an AR ended with the boars nose touching the toe of my boot. He had been bayed up with dogs. The adrenaline was flowing in him and me. I was having to take marginal shots when the dogs were clear. He would have died immediately if I had been using a better round. Instead I got to experience the fun of a charge that nearly ended with me getting cut.

What I am saying is if you are using 223 your margin for error is low. Anything will die from the first shot if they don’t know you are there as well. When you are putting bullets into something after they are already spooked you need to do enough tissue damage to cause fatal loss of blood pressure quickly. That means a more reliably performing bullet.

Can any bullet work? Yes. I believe I said that above. I’m talking about dead where they were standing/running at the time of shot. Dead right there even after I’ve shot their buddy and they are running for their life already. Dead right there no matter their size. I think I see one exit wound on the little red shoat? My preference is for a bullet that can penetrate through both shoulders to anchor one. I have found the ELD-m bullets with sectional density over .3 tend to deliver reliable expansion and penetration in the mid 2000’s velocity.

Keechi Kid, Over the years I have killed 4 or 5 Boars And 1 very big Sow that looked to be charging me ?? all with a .223 AR-15 , the SOW was after a dumb ass Dog that came running back to me.I am not as hung up on sectional density, and all the other B.S. you expound, But it is good you know your limitations Bless Your Heart. Rio7

Perhaps you have amazing luck or amazing skill to always hit the vitals from all angles with marginal bullets. I will grant you may be an exceptionally skilled hunter and shooter who fortune continually favors. For the rest of us, I will continue to reiterate. Sub-optimal bullets can perform exceptionally in some circumstances. An optimal bullet will perform better in all circumstances. Eventually, the law of averages will catch up to you and the better matched bullet will perform better when experience eventually lands you in a sub-optimal situation. Simple as that.

However, as some other posters will continually say on here in regards to other topics. Headstamps don’t kill, bullets do. I was merely trying to share what my extensive experience testing specific bullets on hogs has been. Feel free to follow Rio7’s very specific advice of a “55 gr SP” out of an “AR-15”. However, ignoring what some most perceive as witchcraft in the form of sectional density, is failing to avail yourself of a simple measurement that can aid you in making informed decisions. A higher sectional density bullet will penetrate better than a lower section density bullet. A high sectional density bullet is simply a heavy for caliber bullet.

The goal for hogs should be a bullet that will expand violently, with a large degree of fragmentation to aid in generating secondary projectiles, while retaining around 50% of the bullets mass for purposes of penetration. I am well versed in bullets that will do this at supersonic velocities, not as familiar with bullets at subsonic velocities. As I stated earlier in this thread, I think the 8.6 was developed with that velocity performance envelope in mind. I would look there. It matches the case head of your donor.

Don't go to local LGS very often but the last time i was there I didn't see any 6.8 Ammo but they had a bunch of .223 of every make and flavor. take that into consideration when your no where close to a big box store. the local gas station carry's .223. Rio7

Really about anything will work. If you got something in mind you might as well try it.

If it’s going to be a high volume user I’d pick something with cheap and readily available brass that I don’t mind losing in the weeds.

If it’s a once a year thing where you go shoot a pig or two then knock yourself out with whatever oddball or boutique cartridge since you’re not going to be burning up tons of ammo and leaving expensive brass all over the countryside.

I keep a suppressed 223 AR in my truck year round and kill a pile of pigs with it every year.

What are you going to do with that rifle if you run into a gang of 20 hogs that need killin' ?
Answer:
You're going to kill 4 or 5 (maybe) and then by the time you reload the rest are gone.

Leave the M700 alone and get an AR or AK type weapon and you'll have magazine capacity to handle a large passel and/or running hogs.
Chambering ?
Check ammo availability in your area. Many of us buy ammo on line.
7.62 x 39
6.5 Grendel
300 Blackout
5.56/.223
6.8SPC

Hunted hogs this weekend with buddies and we used all sorts of rifles. I used both a bolt (6mm CM) and an AR (.300 AAC) and much prefer the AR due to taking multiple shots quickly. I shot the 110gr Barnes through the AAC and most pigs ran a bit unless hit in CNS.

375 Raptor or 450 BM
Let me know if you part with the 260 barrel

Buy a 308 Savage hog hunter, load some sub sonic, kill the bastards

I like my Bushmaster Predator AR 8" twist with the Hornady 68 OTM the best! I grew up shooting them with a .22 Magnum and sometimes my 30-30. Later I worked on them with a Model 742,'06, best ammo then was Federal's Red Box loaded with the Sierra 165GK. I live nowhere around hogs now, I sure miss killing them, and BBQing the smaller ones!

This ^^^^^^^^^^^

Unless you just want something different; if you do, I'd make it a 7-08.

MM

Lots of good info in this thread. Its a good read so far.

But to answer your question, ( Wanting to rebarrel and make a dedicated hog rifle out of it. Will be suppressed. Wanting to run subsonic. What caliber would you go with? .308? .350)

I would say 308. Ammo is readily available. There is a wide variety of bullets available if your reloading. I know it's probably the boring choice. But a 308 will knock the $hit out of hogs large and small.

I know you didn't ask this question but, If it were me I would probably sell the 260 and buy an AR-10 or semi auto rifle in 308 for a dedicated hog gun. Jmo.

As already mentioned in this thread. There is something to be said about being able to shoot multiple hogs in quick succession. usually they show up in numbers and it is nice to be able to take advantage of the situation with quick follow up shots.

I like my .358 Win. Was a shot out Pre-64 .243 FWT that was sent to JES. He does good work with cut rifling. MOA gun.

That may be less expensive than new barrel.

DF

Haven't shot many. Went with a 308. Next would be a 358 Winchester. Maybe an AR10 in 358 Winchester. Heavy for caliber long bullets penetrate. Be Well Brothers, RZ.

I couldn’t have said it better RIO. I’d go 308, just cause.

308 WINCHESTER = AMMO IS EASY TO FIND

This old 32-40 will kill cshit out of them at 50 yards, tons of fun!

This little bolt 223 is awesome for dispatching piggies. A 62 grain Bear claw will slay them quickly





I think I bought it from Chlinstructor

A 358 will certainly do the trick

308 subsonic loads are fun to shoot, made a mess here. I have something I should be doing, having a hard time motivating myself this morning

By the way, for a pig killer, what is the 8.6 BO? I know 8mm and 8.8 (358 or 9mm)? RZ.

Little girls can blast them with a 223 AR

Killed lots of hogs with .223 but they were nearly all head shots and a 6.8 SPC with a green light capable of taking hogs at 200 yds. I love big calibers like the 444 Marlin also just because of the sheer knockdown power.

Seems like getting it bored out to .308 Win, 338 Fed, or 358 Win would be straight forward and damned effective.

Just an opinion, would think a 6mm BR Norma would be a nice sweet spot for a custom pig rifle with low recoil and accuracy that takes a back seat to nothing at 300 yds. Plenty of punch as well.

We don't have wild hogs in Wyoming (thankfully).
But if I were asked to make such a rifle I'd opt for an AR10 type in 358 Winchester. PacNor makes a barrel with a 1-10" twist so I'd get one from them and do my own profiling and set my gas system up for a sub-sonic load using a 270-300 grain cast bullet, powder coated. A 35 caliber bullet of a weight in that range, fired from a semi-auto suppressed rifle at about 1100 FPS would seem to be about perfect in my mind.

Would be very tough to whoop a 16” Ruger SFAR with a light suppressor and a 10-20rnd mag of bargain 150/165 loads. My Saint Victor 16” runs a bit heavier.

Ar15 in 223 is good for hogs but if you want something different then go bigger. 308 ammo is everywhere and will do the job on hogs. Step it up to a 358 if you want something that’s capable of killing anything in North America. I love my 358 but I reload for it and love the premium bullets I can get for it. Good luck with your decision.

AR10 style rifle in 308 supressed.

This.