7mm too big for javelina?

[DonaldW]

I am in search for a new well rounded (can use with many game) hunting rifle. A friend of mine wants to put in for javelina next year and my other rifles are either too big or too small and I have never put in for javelina.

Is a 7mm too big for javelina? Is there a risk of losing too much meat?

 

[30-06 lover]

I think a 7mm would be a great choice, provided it is a 7 mag.
-Mike

 

[MCgunner]

Hard to get "too big" on game. I mean, a 458 will kill a Javelina just fine. Do I think it's the perfect rifle for piglets? No. A .223 is plenty on a Javelina. I've shot 'em with a 7 mag and a .357 magnum handgun and both killed 'em. A HUGE bore is maybe 60 lbs on the hoof? I mean, it sure don't take a gun like a 7-08, much less a 7 mag. Perhaps a 7mm TCU would be more appropriate in 7mm calibler, but yes, a 7 mag or 7 anything will do just fine.

If you want a do all gun, a 7mm remington magnum is a fantastic choice. I bought mine in favor of the .280 reason being I figure I can load the 7 mag down if I don't like the power/recoil, but you can't load a .280 up to the big 7's power level. The gun is no worse than a .30-06 in recoil and shoots flatter and with a little more energy and velocity. The .30-06 has lots of fans claiming it the best all around caliber, but I like the big 7 mag for the great ballisitic coeficients in the caliber and the better power and flatter trajectory for no more recoil or heavier gun or longer action than the 06. The differences ain't that great, though.

 

[bigcim]

thats why i own a sako 75 synthetic stainless 7mm rem

 

[1911ShooterTJ]

MCgunner gives all the reasons I use a 7mm Remington Magnum. It's my absolute favourite. My "go to for anything" gun. Lots of factory loads available too, great ballistics, etc.

 

[Art Eatman]

The best shot on Piggy is in the head. He doesn't really have a neck to use as a target. So, somewhere around his ear.

As far as specifically hunting Javelina, a .357 is just about right. 110- or 125-grain bullets. They're ultra-nearsighted, so you can easily work upwind or crosswind and get to within five or ten yards if you can move quietly. Just don't make jerky movements.

(Don't make jerky movements, Jerk Sorry; couldn't resist. It's a character defect.)

I've had good luck watching a drinking spot or a vegetated, moist area around sundown. They'll come in to drink or feed. Their trails are easily spotted.

I'd never shoot a big one. The best ones for eating are the young mature ones; they're usually a couple of inches shorter for shoulder height.

Art

 

[hps1]

Javelina are nearly blind, as Art pointed out, and easily approached so just about any center fire rifle and most handguns will do the job.

Have never seen a javelina that was not covered in fleas (which abandon ship as the carcass cools and seek out the next warm body) guess who that is?

I think everyone should shoot one javelina. I shot mine many years ago. Have fun!

Regards,
hps

 

[Anthony T.]

I can do lots of different types of hunting with my 7mm saum. It is one of the most versatile rifles ever made. Highly recommended by me.

 

[1911 guy]

7mm VS. "other rifles"

Anthony T., if you're gonna buy another rifle anyway, 7mm is a good round. If the primary motivator is javelina, though, you could use nearly any centerfire, excluding the .17's and the .22 hornet. They're too small but .222, .223 and larger will suffice.

Now I'm gonna rain on the parade. While the 7mm's are good rounds, the thing they have going against them is component availability in a lot of areas (doesn't matter if you don't reload) and ballistics that are nearly identical to a good .30 caliber. A comparison would be the .222 and the .223. Both are fine varmint and paper punching rounds, but brass is sometimes harder to come by for the .222 and they are nearly identical for bullet weight and velocity.

 

[MCgunner]

Now I'm gonna rain on the parade. While the 7mm's are good rounds, the thing they have going against them is component availability in a lot of areas (doesn't matter if you don't reload)

I guess if you live in Terlingua, Texas... ...this might be true, but I don't have any problem of the sort finding 7 mag components or factory loads. I have a pet thin skinned game load involving the 150 game king bullet and I'll just buy factory Federal Premium with the 160 partition for heavier game. Those Federal loads are fantastic accurate in my 7 and shoot nearly to same POI as my handload. I guess one of these days, I'll buy a box of partitions and work up a recipe, but haven't yet.

If you can't find components, they're as close as your computer at http://www.midwayusa.com . I've bought a LOT of stuff from them over the years, deliver to your door. I've settled on RL22 for powder for the big 7, seems to give the best burn rate I've tried. I've done a lot of experimenting in this gun because the Savage I have seems to be a little load picky. It's a 1 MOA gun when you feed it something it likes, though.

My primary hunting rifle now days is not my 7, I'll admit. I have had this infatuation with a Remington M7 in .308 Winchester and since I got that gun, the 7 has sat in the safe. I shot quite a bit of game with that 7, though, before I got my .308. I just like that little rifle, stainless, rugged, accurate, light and compact. The round is very accurate, too, and plenty powerful enough and flat enough shooting I've taken coyotes out to 350 yards with it. I won't shoot much farther than that with ANY rifle. But, if I ever get a chance to go after elk, I'll probably break out the big 7. Not sure, though, that .308 with Barnes X bullets has taken a HUGE hog. It's got penetration enough for Elk.

 

[Anthony T.]

Also, if you reload, you can get 115 gr bullets and load them as fast a 3600+fps. loaded light, around 3200 maybe, would be perfect for these animals. Theres a load for anything with a 7mm. But if you don't reload, you might not have quite that much versatility.

 

[duvalhunter]

My question is why do you even want ot shoot a lina

They are just oversized rats and arn't any good eating





That said I like my 7mm-08 it works good for just about anything..

 

[MCgunner]

I've got one on my wall, nice boar I shot with the .357. I've shot a couple. Soak the meat for a week. When you lift the lid on the ice chest and the smell doesn't make you through up, it's time to butcher. Meat's so friggin' dry, though, it's hard to cook the stuff and not get it tough. It ain't that good in the crock pot, but at least it's tender. The back straps tasted like little pork chops, though, little dry pork chops.

 

[killzone]

Shoot him with the 7mm - go for it. I have shot one with the 7mm remmy mag. It was a bad shot. His lungs were gone out the window. hit him in the head, Just like Art said - near the ear.

By the way. You killed him, better eat him.

killzone