Hunting wild pigs?

[kamagong]

I guess a bit of background info is needed here. I have never hunted. It was not something my family participated in. Truth be told, I don't even know if any of my relatives have ever hunted, and I come from a huge family. For some reason though, I want to shoot for blood. I can't explain it, other than I find the prospect incredibly exciting and think it'll be an adventure to remember.

Because I have never hunted, I do not want to travel far. I want to stay within driving distance because there is always the chance that hunting is not for me. After all, what's the point of going to the trouble and expense of safari if you don't have the makings of a hunter.

In my state we can hunt duck, deer, wild pig, elk, antelope, bighorn sheep, and bobcat. I've ruled out bobcat because I don't know if you can eat bobcat, and I don't want to hunt just to kill something. I've also ruled out elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep because the tags are pretty expensive and more than I want to spend as a first time hunter. In addition, you also have to enter a drawing for the tags. That leaves duck, dear, and wild pig. I guess I can rule out duck and deer as well because I don't like the taste of the meat. That leaves the wild pig. Everybody likes bacon, ham, and baby back ribs right? There are guided wild pig hunts on private ranches nearby, and I think that'll be a good introduction to the sport.

My biggest problem is that at this point I don't have any gear (i.e., I don't have a hunting rifle). I have a couple of ARs, but most of what I read indicates that 5.56 does not have adequate power to maximize your chances of a quick, clean kill. The first order of business then is for me to choose a rifle and kit it out. I've settled on a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .30-06 (it's gorgeous). At 6 lb. 12 oz. this gun should be a good weight for carrying. I'm choosing the .30-06 because my research indicates that it's a versatile caliber that will take down any animal in North America. I'm going to top it off with a fixed Leupold FX-11 4x33 scope. While I want the versatility of the .30-06, I want simplicity and ruggedness for my optic.

I know that there's more to hunting than getting a gun and hunting license. My Rod & Gun club offers Hunter's Education classes and I'm going to sign up for one. I'm also going to sign up for Appleseed so as to improve my marksmanship skills. I'm giving myself a couple of years to do all this, I want to do my first hunt by 2014 at the latest. You might be wondering why I'm giving myself a firm date, it's because I think it'll make me less likely to put it off.

I've been thinking of this for a while, but I'd appreciate it if you guys could share your thoughts. What do you think about my choice of rifle? What about going after wild pig for my first animal? What other things do I need to consider?

Thanks for the input.

 

[hsiehjohn]

I think the rifle is probably the last piece of equipment to buy. The first piece of gear you might want to look into is a good pair of hiking boots because you will need to find the piggies first, which means scouting miles and miles of public properties; unless you are lucky enough to have access to private land. Expect to pay over $100 for a decent pair of boots with good support, Danner, Irish Setter and such.

Can't shoot what you can't see or find. Pigs are smarter than people give them credit for.

 

[kamagong]

Thanks. I've already taken care of the boots, which is why I didn't mention it. The wife and I like to go hiking a few times a year. I think that my hiking boots should be up to the task. I would appreciate your thoughts on the subject though.

 

[gatorjames85]

.223 with a good bullet is plenty of rifle for hog. Contrary to widely held internet beliefs, armor-piercing .50 BMG ammo is not necessary to penetrate the mighty shield of wild boar. Take the hunter's safety course, but forget about the rest of the gear, unless you really want it. As far as taste of the meat, keep in mind that wild hog meat is not going to be the same as corn-fed supermarket pork.

 

[41]

I think it sounds like you are pretty much set. The 30-06 is a good round and the model 70 is a fine rifle. I think that the wild pig would be fine for a first hunt, just remember that they supposedly have better noses than a blood hound, so watch your scent.

The only thing that I would change is the scope. I like a variable power scope. I think that it would make your set up more versatile, that way you could use the setup to hunt anything that you wanted to North America.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I can usually shoot them in the pasture behind my house off my porch., usually when ridiing in my pickup checking cows, me and a buddy shot 6 last night, I had a 6.5 x 55 swede and he had a .22-250. I kill big pigs all the time with a .17hmr and I carry AR15s or a mini 14 tactical, plenty for hogs, then again I dont care if they drop or run, one less pig in my pastures. I got a call today from an old classmate to come out to his place to shoot pigs....so many pigs...so little time. cold beer is my biggest expense.

 

[hsiehjohn]

I think 223 would work if you hit them behind the ears, shot placement is key; there's a video on gamo.com that shows someone taking a pig with a .22 air rifle. But basically any rifle big enough for a deer would work.

Have you looked at a Tikka? I just got a Tikka T3 .270, have been happy with it.

 

[Pokyman]

Having never shot a pig I guess I am not the one to give good advice on what is a good caliber to use on one.
One very important thing to remember is your hunting experience. Shooting at a living target is not the same as shooting at a target at the gun range. Buck fever will show up just in time for you to shoot. There is a good chance that your first couple of kills may not be as clean as you would like.
A bad hit with a bigger caliber is a lot better than a bad hit with a small caliber.
The 30-06 is probably a lot more power than you really need to kill a pig, but that is not a bad thing. If you decide that hunting is not for you, the rifle will not be that hard to sell.

 

[TheCracker]

Some may want to bash me here but I've killed a load of pigs with .233!! I don't have an exact count but somewhere around 25. A few were 300 pounders.

The farthest one has ever ran is about 20 yards. Usually they just drop and squeal for a few seconds.

I use standard fmj and on a big hog it will usually not fully pass through but stop on the opposite rib cage and be in fragments. Yes, I've had fmj's explode on big pigs. you could try a nosler partition but I don't think it's necessary.

If they are close enough and not moving go for a neck shot. Then they won't take another step.

Your ar's will do fine, but a '06 would definitely have more power.

The people that say a .223 won't work on pigs are likely the ones that have never tried it.

Personally, I like having a good semi auto because pigs can get aggressive and you never know when you might see a group of 30+. I bought my mini 14 to hog hunt with after getting charged by a boar that I did not know was down in a creek when I shot a sow. At that time I had a 270 bolt and did not have enough time to get more than 1 shot off at him before he decided to turn only about a car lengths away! I did shoot him as well but only AFTER he changed his mind and turned.

 

[SubSonicSnipe]

.223 is definitely plenty of firepower for taking pigs ...may not get a clean kill though without proper shot placement so i generally see that round used more for pest control purposes as in just getting a round into the pig so it dies shortly thereafter.

I watched a 120 lb. sow get taken with a 22wmr out of a heritage revolver. And here is a vid of me getting a feral pig with a round similar to the .223... (5.45x39) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Ftwt_zVFA and my buddy using his mini 30 (7.62x39) to take another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Q4yJ-XaTU&feature=related

and if you guys haven't seen this one, it's worth a watch (heli hunting pigs w/ an ak and ar) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Q4yJ-XaTU&feature=related

 

[6.5swede]

I hunt hogs frequently for several ranchers in my area as "pest control" as well as my hunting lease. The 30-06 is more than enough and the Win 70 FWT a classic. I've harvested many hogs cleanly with 6.5x55, 7mm-08, and 270. In fact, I often carry a 22 mag while riding our lease during work detail as we often come across predators and hogs at close range. A 22 mag to the head, "economically" takes care of them as well. You should familiarize yourself with the anatomy of a hog as it somewhat different from deer. The heart/lung area is much lower in the chest on a hog. Finding hogs is all about finding their foods sources during different times of the year which is fairly easy when hunting property with food plots and feeders. Happy hunting!

 

[bison]

You will be happy with the M70 and more firepower is better than less for a new hunter. While a well placed 223 (or 22) will indeed drop a hog, a poorly placed one won't do much and it's highly likely that in your first few (or few dozen) hunts that you'll be nervous, excited, and scared and thus unlikely to shoot as well as you have on the range. A 180 grain -06 bullet has a lot more room for error than a 223 does.

 

[quatin]

I'm pretty sure you'll be ok with the AR15 for pigs. Just pick a heavy soft point bullet and it will do fine. I would go ahead and go on a hunt before buying anything. No reason to spend serious money on something you might not like. Try it out first, shooting/killing is barely 5% of hunting.

 

[Cob]

You might want to do a little research on how to butcher the hog, once you have succesfully hunted one... Hunting and killing is just one step in the whole process. I prefer to process all the game that i harvest, and I'll be blunt here:

Gutting, skinning, cutting, carving, deboning, and preparing the meat for freezer and table can be a chore. You will need a good hunting Knife

You might want to check around your local area to see if there is someone local who can process the hog into the baby back ribs, prokchops, and bacon that you are after. they generally charge a small to large fee for their service.
Smaller hogs taste better than larger ones, and are a little easier to handle.
Once he is on the ground, he won't walk to the truck all that easily, and will take some work to get him field dressed if you desire, and home or to the processors.

 

[Jim Watson]

There are guided wild pig hunts on private ranches nearby, and I think that'll be a good introduction to the sport.

I think so.
One of our guys, Boarhunter on the gunboards, likes that a lot. Shoots them with magnum and bigbore revolvers mostly.

 

[MattTheHat]

cold beer is my biggest expense.

New product idea. A rail-mounted beer can holder!


-Matt