Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Favorite pig cartridge, bullet, shot placement

First off. I'm well aware that "lots of stuff works."

I don't need to hear about how 22 shorts or Huey helicopters kill pigs. I've shot a pile of pigs myself with various things. This is just a fun thread to discuss your favorites for perforating pork. You head out specifically for dropping pigs. What are ya shooting?

I shot my last pig, a big boar hog, with a 6.5 Creedmoor and 127 grain LRX bullets. Range was about 150 yards and I shot it thought the lungs. It was a one shot kill. The 6.5 CM has low recoil, is accurate and kills well. I think it makes a good pig cartridge.

In my opinion, either 6.5CM, 7mm-08, or .308, as all work rather well with minimal fuss. Cup/cores are fine, as are bondeds or monos. If they are darting around a lot, I shoot for shoulders. If more stationary, I'm going for the center of the neck.

Day in, day out, it's tough to argue with just a run of the mill 150gr factory load in a .308 autoloader if heading out on a dedicated hunt. If I'm out rambling around or if some daytime pigs maybe show up on a cell-camera and I make a dash to see if I can intercept them, I'm generally just grabbing my suppressed AR15 loaded with 77gr TMKs. It still gets the job done pretty well.

I hope to be hunting some hogs in west Texas in a couple of months. My intended arsenal will probably be a 6.5 Creedmoor loaded with the trusty 129 Hornady Interlock, a 7-08 loaded with Nosler 120 Ballistic tips, and a 308 loaded with 125 Accubonds. I’ve never shot a hog but I think I have the bases covered. What are the ‘fires ideas on my arsenal?
Thanks, and take care,
Rick

I have shot them with dozens of cartridges from 22LR through 45/70. I try to put the first shot somewhere between straight up the front leg and the eyeball, 9 times out of 10 this will result in a flop with just about any CF. After that it’s a melee of pigs running everywhere and bullets and brass flying. Root of the tail, back edge of the ribs, square in the shoulder, or right in the middle of the front depending on which direction they’re headed.

Most often they get it from my AR 223 and some kind of 75-77gr bullet, though I have used down to 40s on them many times. A strong nod goes to the 77TMK. It’s not that the 223 is magic. It’s the fact that it works just fine and has next to no recoil for getting on the next pig and I can leave cheap range pickup brass lying around the countryside without worry, mags are cheap and reliable, blem bullets are cheap and available, uses small powder charges, and it is great for double duty as a truck gun being flat shooting for coyotes and such.

I’ve never killed more than 10 out of one bunch before but it’s always good to have room for improvement. Half the fun is getting as many as possible before them make it into the brush. I’ve also never seen any .224” bullet have any issue with “The Shield” (said in my most dramatic scary voice).

I mostly use a 223 when i catch them. I shoot a few when im deer hunting, so then it’s whatever I am hunting with.

.22LR when they are in the traps.
.22-250 from stands.
.30-30 walking around.

Yes, the dreaded "Shield"......lol. Any high-powered rifle don't give a damn about any shield, except maybe in that it does sometimes choke off an exit wound a bit.



For the archery guys, it's another thing though. My buddies that shoot them with stick and string will often just shoot the neck and bleed them out.

Whatever's in my hands at the moment.

My experience has ranged from 55 TTSX in a .223 to 250 grain IL's from a Whelen. DRT on all counts. Ear holes are my preference, but shoulders work fine, too.

Lately, the hardware choice has been more about trying out new scopes than about the rifles they might be riding on.

I'm heading out in 2 weeks, and will take whatever rig is shooting best at the time. Hopefully it's the new Tikka .308 I've been wrestling with, probably using 150 IL's over Varget. That rig is running the Hawke mentioned in the hunting reticles thread.

FC

At our camp the 129 Interlock out of a 260 Remington settled the hog hash no problem. Your Creedmoor is a ballistic twin.

My campmate had good results with 120 grain Sierras out of his 7-08. That particular Ballistic Tip should be even better.

I'd have no problems trying the 125 Accubond out of a 308, but I haven't done it yet.


I've killed them handily with smaller stuff than those. 243 Winchester and 95 grain Ballistic Tips, 90 grain Accubonds, 85 grain Speer boat tails; 250 Savage and 100 grain Sierras (I forget which PH or GK)

I’ve only shot about 3 or 4 dozen with the 7 TCU but I’ve had exactly one that didn’t die where he stood. It’s a pretty efficient killer pushing 110s, 115s, and 120s with little charges of powder. The Speer HP is my favorite but the Hornady HP, Nosler Ballistic Tips, and Sierra SPs are all good.

44 rem mag out of my ruger 44 carbine is one. 35 whelen in a Remy 7600 and 750 carbine

Ive killed pigs with all of those, all great pig and deer killers. I hope you get a bunch

I'd say +/- 7/8ths of the number of porkers I've dispatched have been perforated with the Norma 150 gr. Soft Points from my Sig Cross in 308 Win. since 2022.






























ya,

GWB

.223 with 75 gr Gold Dots.

My absolute fav is the 400 Whelen with 300 TSX's.

Have shot them with 222 Mag, 25/06, 338, 35 Whelen, 44 Mag, and 45 Colt but my fav is always the 400.

You can hit them almost anywhere at any angle, I've never recovered the 300 TSX and the entrance and exit holes always lay down some track.

Kampfeld Custom 6MM Creedmoor - Hart 1-7”
95gr Ballistic ST & Superformance

Same for me albeit a lesser count overall.

I have killed 3 wild pigs and 2 domesticated pigs. The first wild pig was shot with a .243 Winchester w/100 grain Corelokt factory loads. The other two were shot with a .308 Winchester w/180 grain Corelokt factory loads. All three were taken inside of 50 yards with a single bullet fired from the offhand position.

The two domesticated pigs were slaughtered for meat. Each was shot at very close range with a .45 Colt and 250 grain cast lead factory ammo.

Like Hanco said “ what ever I’m hunting with at the time. This one was in my yard so I grabbed a 12 gauge with 00 buck in the corner and shot him in the face at 40 yards