.17 for Pigs?

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Big_E

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I will soon be going to my friend's ranch to hunt feral pigs. I am wondering what to use on our hunt.

I have a .17 HMR, .30-06 and a 12 gauge. I am concerned that the .17 HMR will not be enough to down a pig but I am accurate enough with it to place the shot pretty much where I want. I think the .30-06 will be enough but the rifle is a lot heavier and I got it mainly for deer or elk. Then I have a 12 gauge, should I use 00 buck or slugs? The barrel isn't rifled so slugs won't be that accurate.

I will also be carrying a .357 S&W highway patrol model for backup. So do you think I should use a .17 hmr? I wouldn't mind the 12 guage but would like to use the .17 for soemthing other than rodents and paper punching.
 
17hmr for hogs when you have a 30/06 and a 12 gauge.......pure folly


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As to buckshot vs slugs. I no longer use buckshot to hunt, the few times I did were all spectacular failures even at bayonette ranges. In my opinion shot should be illegal for any critter over 50 lbs
 
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Nah I can shoot the .30-06 just fine. I was just curious whether or not .17 could work for pig because the rifle hasn't seen a lot of action.

I think I had better play it safe, i'll take the .30-06 for when were sitting up at his cabin and the 12g for hiking in the field.

I have heard some have taken pigs with a .17hmr so I wanted to know if it was enough. I'd rather not chase down the **** thing because I want some pork.
 
I dont know what CA pigs are like but in TX a 17hmr would be crazy talk. Even an AR in 223 is a bit underpowered for a 200 lb pig. I would grab your 30-06 for sure. I prefer a decent sized round as those pigs are mean. Make sure you keep your 357 on you.

For what its worth I have dropped a decent sized pig with a 17hmr but i was in a truck and I made a good head shot. This pig was also wounded by my dumb friend who hit it with a pistol a few times. He was never invited back...
 
TXHORNS is dead on. Taking a 17 on a pig hunt is something you will probably never get a chance to do more than once. You won't get asked to come back when someone else has to go after a wounded hog in the brush. My texas pig gun is a Wincheter Trapper chamberd in 357 mag and loaded with Buffalo Bore 125. They are expensive but they do the job. I use a peep sight/ghost ring as I am more sucesful with a snapshot than I am with a scope. I am headed to brother in laws game ranch in Texas in Oct. Last year 4 of us got 6 hogs and made some decent sausage.

blindhari

ps where we hunt I will not take a shot over 100yds, thats why the .357 otherwise .308
 
Okay thanks for your input. I was thinking about reassembling an AR but I need a bullet button but now some are doubting the .223

My buddy is going to use his new .22-250 i think, but his grandpa makes it a rule that when hunting on his land we carry a sidearm.

What ammo do you recommend for the .30-06? soft points or ballistic tips? it will most likely be 168 grain 180 seems like overkill to me.
 
Blindhari - Sweet Traper, Id love one of those!

If you make a decent shot with a 30-06 the pig is dead, doesn't matter what grain you use. 168 would be fine.

I dont doubt a .223 for a pig hunt, but its not the "best" round for me. I do use them all the time and have brought down pigs up to 200 lbs with an ar. But they get alot bigger out here so i prefer a bolt action .308 or winchester 30-30. Shot placement is obviously very important. There are plenty of great pig guns, which is what makes it so fun. I just dont consider the 17hmr a good choice. Stick with a .223 and up and you should be fine. Use that 17hmr on coyotes and smaller.
 
BigE-"The barrel isn't rifled so slugs won't be that accurate." You're kidding,right?
Before my friend passed away from stomach cancer he had tallied over 30 bucks. All were taken between 35 and 100 yards with a 12 gauge 3'' magnum loaded with slugs in a smooth barreled Remington 870. Of the three you mentioned,I would go with the .06.
 
BigE-"The barrel isn't rifled so slugs won't be that accurate." You're kidding,right?
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Just becuase your friend did it doesn't mean that all 12 gauges are accurate with a smooth barrel and slugs. 100 yards with rifled slug doesn't seem much smarter than 17 on pigs, now if it were saboted slugs and rifled barrel that would be different.. Go with the 30-06.
 
I think the .30-06 will be enough but the rifle is a lot heavier and I got it mainly for deer or elk.
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Hogs are much tougher than deer, and probably even elk. I saw one, about 400lbs+, that a friend took with a neck shot. When he skinned it, he found two .44 slugs under the skin, but on top of the shoulderbone. Each slug was flattened out to the size of a quarter at the nose. The wounds were completely healed over, so it had been running around the woods like that for a while.

If I was going specifically after hogs, I wouldn't take anything smaller than a .257" bullet. Preferrably a .30 of some sort. Bullet construction in the smaller calibers are just too light, they're made for varmints and light skinned game.

Wyman
 
Shotguns with smooth bore barrels are much more accurate shooting slugs (without sabots)than many people seem to think. My friend was the example I chose because that was all he used. He died young so no telling how many he could have taken. Many here alternate between rifle and shotgun and take a lot of deer(not much hog hunting yet). Do your own test to see how your specific shotgun handles slugs before dismissing it as inaccurate. Again go with the .06 for hogs IMO.
 
I have and its about 3 " off @ 30 yards. Now I was using modified choke so that probably contributes to inaccuracy a little as cylinder would be better, but I still think a rifled slug @ 100 yards is just not that great of an idea. Your freind did it thats great, but that doesn't mean that everybody should. I have done my tests and it is nowhere near accurate at 100 yards in my gun.
 
I didn't say everyone should use a shotgun. I know too many who do though and do so very effectively. I am only saying smooth bore shotgun with slugs are as a rule hunting accurate up to 100 yards. There are of course exceptions to the rule.
 
Ok thanks for the replies. I meant that the shotgun won't be nearly as accurate as the .30-06 or .17 I have hit target as 50 yrds w/ rifled slugs but I had Imp. Cylinder when shooting it so it may have caused a loss in accuracy.

If I remove the choke, will firing slugs damage the choke threads in the barrel? I would think not but I want to be sure.
 
Me, I'd take the '06 and any old 150-grain bullet. If only the really largest hogs were the intent, though, I might move up to 180s. But not for the "normal" hogs of 300 pounds and less.

A buddy of mine has the head of a 260-pounder "charging" out of his office wall. Three-inch tushes. He used a .357 at about 20 yards. He said the killing was easy, but the adrenalin control was a bit of a problem. :)
 
Yeah most of the time when I practice shooting I am always relaxed, adrenaline control would be an issue when a 300lb hog is charging at me. But then again thats what hunting buddies are for...
 
A buddy of mine has the head of a 260-pounder "charging" out of his office wall. Three-inch tushes. He used a .357 at about 20 yards. He said the killing was easy, but the adrenalin control was a bit of a problem.
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Done the same thing, myself, wounded pig in my case and only about 200 lbs, but it still gets the adrenalin to flow. He was moving a little slow from the first hit, fortunately, as I was totin' a 4" .357 mag with which I popped him. The shakes took over after the shot. I just had to sit down and take about 5 minutes to work it off. I was out there on my own, would have been hard put to get to a hospital if I'd been bad hurt. This was before cell phones, too.
 
I'll make it easy for you. CA DFG defines pigs as big game. Methods of take are centerfire cartridges in pistols and rifles for big game.
You may even be in "condor range" and have to use lead free ammo. Be sure to check before heading out.

§350. Big Game Defined.

"Big game" means the following: deer (genus Odocoileus), elk (genus Cervus), pronghorn antelope (genus Antilocarpa), wild pig (feral pigs, European wild pigs and their hybrids (genus Sus), black bear (genus Ursus) and Nelson bighorn sheep (subspecies Ovis canadensis nelsoni) in the areas described in subsection 4902(b) of the Fish and Game Code.

§353. Methods Authorized for Taking Big Game.

(a) Except for the provisions of subsections 353(b) through (h), Title 14, CCR, big game (as defined by Section 350, Title 14, CCR) may only be taken by rifles using centerfire cartridges with softnose or expanding projectiles; bow and arrow (see Section 354, Title 14, CCR, for archery equipment regulations); or wheellock, matchlock, flintlock or percussion type, including "in-line" muzzleloading rifles using black powder or equivalent black powder substitute, including pellets, with a single projectile loaded from the muzzle and at least .40 caliber in designation. For purposes of Section 353, a "projectile" is defined as any bullet, ball, sabot, slug, buckshot or other device which is expelled from a firearm through a barrel by force.
 
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