Most Effective Feral Hog cartridge?

Oh, sixgunner455, you mention .308, I have killed most of the hogs I've shot outside the trap with a .308 M7 Stainless Remington. I LOVE that rifle. I have a Savage 110 in 7mm Rem Mag, but the .308 is SO much nicer, lighter, handier, and a tad more accurate to boot.

McGunner, my muzzleloader is a T/C Hawken, .50 cal. I've hunted deer with it in the past, but not since moving to southern AZ.

Has anyone figured out that a hog is not a hard animal to kill with even a small bullet and good shot placement.

Has anyone figured out that a hog is not a hard animal to kill with even a small bullet and good shot placement.

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Yes, but many have also learned that with less than proper shot placement that small bullets result in the hog likely surviving and that it isn't always possible to get wonderful shot placement.

And, it isn't just shot placement, but shot placement, penetration, and trajectory. Lots of well placed shots at the wrong angle result in trajectories that won't carry the round through vital organs even if the round has sufficient penetration.

There is such a thing as underkill. There is no such thing as overkill. Stick to traditional deer calibers, though, and no problem. Leave the .223s at home IMHO.

But the bottom line is they are not really any harder to kill than most other large game. When young we use to catch them with dogs and stick a knife in there heart to kill them. If a boar, cut there you know whats and turn loose again. If no knife shoot behind the ear with a 22 mag and try not to kill a dog too. If pinned up wild in a trap. Put a round in the back side of there head with what ever you had. Know an old guy now gone that used a 22 hornet for 50 years, hogs and deer. I used a 357 mag for lone hunting if only after hogs. Never a big deal. New some guys that did underground utilities, they allways had a cooler in the truck and a old browning 7mm rem mag behind the seat. If some one wanted a hog for a bbq they would shoot one going home or comeing in the next morning. Have it dressed and iced down. They killed many off I-75 a couple hundred yards off the fence line max..Depends more on how you are hunting those piggies to deside what you need to use to kill them..

I've shot a LOT of hogs in the trap and stuck one with chase dogs. I've shot 'em with .38 special and even a .22 NAA mini revolver in the head, but if I'm on foot or if I'm shooting 80 yards at one from a tower blind, I'll take my deer rifle, thanks. I own a variety of guns from SKS to .257 Roberts, to .308, to 7mm rem mag to my BP rifles, even a .357 magnum lever gun. Any of these will do the job fine. I've killed one 200 lb boar that was wounded, gut shot with a 7 mag, shot him in the head from about 15 yards as he charged me using a 4" .357 magnum revolver. I don't really wanna relive that experience. I shook for 5 minutes after that charge until I calmed my nerves of the adrenalin rush. I'd rather get my adrenalin rushs racing motorcycles, much safer. That experience testifies to the importance of shot placement with any caliber, but you can also get inadequate penetration on a BIG hog with a .22 caliber rifle using less than appropriate loads. I go for the overkill, myself. I'm kinda in a black powder thing lately and I don't see where a .50 caliber 360 grain cast pill at 1400 fps is a bad thing on big hogs. Haven't shot one, yet, with it, though.

Try the .303 Brit, its a sweet low recoiling cartridge . Stands between a .30 30 and .308.


And penetrates pretty good on headshots

MCgunner Fun to relive some of those stupid moments ain't it. I had a couple times deer hunting and slipping quietly thru some palmetos and jump up a pig at 10 feet and before you can swing a rifle down they have cut a path by you and head'n around a head of trees. Gota shake my paint leg out before try to get back to hunting deer. I learned to worry about a loan pigs more than rattlers.

I always had great luck with a 357 but the load was 180 or 200gr hardcast and I had mainly pass thru shots. Even double shoulders shots almost always past out the other side. I learn with the first couple hogs shot that I did not trust HP or even softies when your in close chase'n dogs. I was young then and could do the double step when needed . Today I would be hog bait if that happen. Running around in swamps and palmetos was stupid enough with out have'n to worry about a wounded pigs too. The old man that used the hornet would set in one of a hand full of spots and just wait for something to pass buy. We allways new if that hornet fired he killed something.

Personally, I have never shot any hog, however if I did hunt them, I would use my S&W 500 Magnum Revolver that I have worked up accurate loads for using Barnes 275g Solid Copper HP's (basically just real fancy flying ashtrays).

I think that would give me an excuse to purchase one or two speedloaders that I have seen are now available for that gun!

Ive taken them with my old saddle gun 30/30, my 06, a 357 mag revolver and a assortment of shotgun rounds. Most die within a quick sight from where they were shot. However, my father all 70+ yrs of him always hunts them with a 22 or 22 mag. And it always goes something like this. He shoots the behind the shoulder they run around and squeal for a moment then just lay down like they are going to sleep. He waits for the rest of the group to move on then goes and throws it on the 4 wheeler. Done. Dead is dead. I still dont have the balls to shoot a hog with a 22 revolver tho.

I went a bit overkill with a rifle that was new to me and hadn't taken any deer fron the PA woods for over 2 hunting seasons; I used a .300 Weatherby Mag on a ranch spot-n-stalk hunt for a 'meat hog' that wasn't quite barnyard porker nor angry Russian razorback; I shot a 300lb sow @ 30 yards with a frontal head shot Weatherby 180gr softpoint factory load; she went down and died promptly; I got 130lbs of mixed meat cuts and sausage from her