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Hunting & Fishing What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

T

TheGoodDoctor

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Sep 20, 2009
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North MS
#1
I am going to hunt some wild pigs with a friend of mine in a few weeks and was wondering what ammo I should use. I currently have a bunch of .308 OTM and FMJ as well as 556 OTM, FMJ and some Wolf HP's. While I don't mind going our and buying some hunting rounds for my guns if any of you guys have any experience with any of the above on medium sized game I would appreciate it.

The bottom line is that I really like the way my Federal and Privi OTM shoots but I don't know how well it will expand.
 
#4
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

The open tip match ammunition has a small hole like a hollow point but I am concerned that due to the small hole and what I believe to be a shallow cavity at the tip of the bullet it will not expand properly.
 
#5
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

Laffin... I would hose a wild pig down with whatever I had when it comes to using a .308 for them. Who cares FMJ's, round nose, semi-spitzer, hollow points, I personally don't mind having to whack one several times with a .308, he's just as dead and I get a little more rifle time..
wink.gif
 
#7
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

If you are hunting on somewhere other than private land, check the game laws. Illegal to use FMJ here, has to be mushrooming ammo. If not illegal, use what you are comfortable with. Behind the eyeball, or in the ear, and no worries.
 
#8
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

Ask a stupid question get a.............. (jk)

I live in MS and will be hunting on private land so you can shoot a wild pig with anything you want. Hell I know a guy who uses dogs and a knife (not kidding).

I have a 18" Larue upper w/ a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20 TMR and I have a new LWRC REPR 20" on the way. Basically I just need an excuse to empty several mags and want to use the best bullet for the chore. Hell I may just use a little bit of everything!
 
#9
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

...you obviously never shot a pig and had it run away, only to bleed out God knows where.....so savvy the shot placement and bring enough gun....
 
#10
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BOLTRIPPER</div><div class="ubbcode-body">...you obviously never shot a pig and had it run away, only to bleed out God knows where.....so savvy the shot placement and bring enough gun.... </div></div>

The last pigs that I took down were taken with a little bit too much gun........a .300 Wetherby Magnum
shocked.gif
. Needless to say the bled out right as the bullet passed out the other side.

I assume that a 168 grain .308 or a 75 grain .223 will most likely do the job?

BTW that is a crap ton of posts you have there!
 
#11
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

A Wild Pig, Ferral or whatever is still a living creature and deserves a bit more respect in my opinion, certainly they deserve a quick demise.
Some of the comments above are just fuel for the Anti Hunting crowd and are counter productive to the hard work some of us with a more ethical approach to hunting do.

If using a .308win, I have found Hornady 220gr round nose factor to be a reliable pig stopper.

If all I had was a .223. I'd be looking at a heavy bullet and head shots only.

Personaly ive been hunting Boar nor for about 2 years with my wildcat 9.3RSM ( and we are just about to have it CIP listed) with great success.

Previouse to that I used 9.3x62, 30-06, .308win and .450 Marlin.
The .450 and the 9.3 bieng the better pig stopper, but the 06 and 308 doing the job with carefull shot placement.

Pete
 
#12
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: The Good Doctor</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hell I know a guy who uses dogs and a knife (not kidding).
</div></div>

Haha, down my neck of woods, using guns for pig hunting is considered puss.

Pack of dogs and a spear. That's what a real man hunt hogs with.

[but if you really must use a .308, then hollow point heavies through the head or shoulder will get the job done. Never use a FMJ, it'll just piss them off.]
 
#13
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

Thanks for the information guys! I will go with the true hollow points and soft points in .308 or a heavy (75gr) .223.

When I go I will take pelnty of pictures. We have a couple of farmers that would like us to rid them of these pests and several of the locals who want to take them off of our hands for processeing so we should have a pile of them.
 
#15
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

If you want a match bullet that performs well on pigs I would look at the Barnes TSX bullets. There are a few different companies loading them now if you don't reload.

My girlfriend and my buddy both shot pigs with .308's this year and both pigs went down. They tend to retain most of their weight and have good expansion.

Chuck
 
#16
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

earhole them with most any .223 and you will be fine

this is for most pigs, i mean it might not work on hogzilla but for little shoats and good eatin sized pigs it does fine
 
#17
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

I will be looking for Hogzilla when I go but it is not likely that I will see him this trip.

About 7 years ago a game warden friend of mine shot one that weighed over 800lbs
eek.gif
. I have a picture of it being hoisted by backhoe(sp?). Its head was the size of a large turkey! The picture I have is atually a 35mm pic but I will try to dig it up and scan it.
 
#18
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

I am partial to the Barnes bullets for hogs
never lost one using them in my 6.8

a standard SP of just about any caliber works fine if you hit them behind and below the ear, but, they dart around a lot faster than deer when feeding...and it's REAL easy to hit them in the shoulder

a lot of people make the mistake of shooting them behind the shoulder like a deer, the heart is between the shoulders and down low...

a fast SP at close distance can come apart and fail to penetrate to the vitals, a barnes bullet in a rifle or a hardcast in a handgun will work if you aim center of shoulder and down low a bit...
 
#19
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pete Lincoln</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A Wild Pig, Ferral or whatever is still a living creature and deserves a bit more respect in my opinion, certainly they deserve a quick demise.
Some of the comments above are just fuel for the Anti Hunting crowd and are counter productive to the hard work some of us with a more ethical approach to hunting do.

If using a .308win, I have found Hornady 220gr round nose factor to be a reliable pig stopper.

If all I had was a .223. I'd be looking at a heavy bullet and head shots only.

Personaly ive been hunting Boar nor for about 2 years with my wildcat 9.3RSM ( and we are just about to have it CIP listed) with great success.

Previouse to that I used 9.3x62, 30-06, .308win and .450 Marlin.
The .450 and the 9.3 bieng the better pig stopper, but the 06 and 308 doing the job with carefull shot placement.

Pete </div></div>

Perhaps this is the case in Germany, but in the states hogs are not wildlife. They are vermin that destroy native habitat and cost farmers millions each year. They should be exterminated like mice in a grain bin, ruthlessly and without compassion. <span style="font-style: italic">AND</span> all the better if they die somewhere else so I don't have to bury or drag the nasty SOB's out of the field.
 
#20
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

My Uncle Vernon has a place just south of Oklahoma down in Northern Mexico. We all use ARs with whatever ammo we can get the best bulk deal on at the time. It doesn’t really matter. If a pig is worth shooting once, it’s worth shooting five times. I would use whatever weapon that allows you to successfully put rounds down range without spilling your beer. After all, a man’s got to have priorities.
 
#21
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

50calcruiser.
I'm not saying dont shoot the hogs, I'm saying use enough gun to do it cleanly and as painlessly as possible, because irrelevant of what they get up to, they deserve enough respect to ensure a fast, clean and instant demise.
and if anyones got a major hog problem, i'm damn sure i'd love to come over and help out !!

but comments like that: <span style="font-style: italic">AND all the better if they die somewhere else so I don't have to bury or drag the nasty SOB's out of the field. </span>
are just plain un ethical, mindless, and are fuel for the anti hunting crowd who i can tell you, do not differenciate between a Mule deer buck and a feral hog.
why waste all that meat, I'm sure there are starving kids some where local to you in the USA that could benefit from it.

and that the hell happened to one shot kills ?? sounds to me like some of you guys have a blood lust for a wargasm, rather than a desire to be in the out doors hunting.
Thank God and my Dad and Uncle that i learne to do it a different way.

regards Pete
 
#22
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pete Lincoln</div><div class="ubbcode-body">50calcruiser.
I'm not saying dont shoot the hogs, I'm saying use enough gun to do it cleanly and as painlessly as possible, because irrelevant of what they get up to, they deserve enough respect to ensure a fast, clean and instant demise.
and if anyones got a major hog problem, i'm damn sure i'd love to come over and help out !!

but comments like that: <span style="font-style: italic">AND all the better if they die somewhere else so I don't have to bury or drag the nasty SOB's out of the field. </span>
are just plain un ethical, mindless, and are fuel for the anti hunting crowd who i can tell you, do not differenciate between a Mule deer buck and a feral hog.
why waste all that meat, I'm sure there are starving kids some where local to you in the USA that could benefit from it.

and that the hell happened to one shot kills ?? sounds to me like some of you guys have a blood lust for a wargasm, rather than a desire to be in the out doors hunting.
Thank God and my Dad and Uncle that i learne to do it a different way.

regards Pete
</div></div>


do you feel the same for rats? how about spider poison? God forbid you ever encounter those little poisonous gopher pills...

I"m not advocating intentionally un ethical shooting... but if I encounter a group of hogs, I'm going to shoot as many shots as I can get off on them...and some shots are not going to be well calculated heart shots. They are destructive, disease carrying vermin.
 
#23
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pete Lincoln</div><div class="ubbcode-body">50calcruiser.
I'm not saying dont shoot the hogs, I'm saying use enough gun to do it cleanly and as painlessly as possible, because irrelevant of what they get up to, they deserve enough respect to ensure a fast, clean and instant demise.
and if anyones got a major hog problem, i'm damn sure i'd love to come over and help out !!

but comments like that: <span style="font-style: italic">AND all the better if they die somewhere else so I don't have to bury or drag the nasty SOB's out of the field. </span>
are just plain un ethical, mindless, and are fuel for the anti hunting crowd who i can tell you, do not differenciate between a Mule deer buck and a feral hog.
why waste all that meat, I'm sure there are starving kids some where local to you in the USA that could benefit from it.

and that the hell happened to one shot kills ?? sounds to me like some of you guys have a blood lust for a wargasm, rather than a desire to be in the out doors hunting.
Thank God and my Dad and Uncle that i learne to do it a different way.

regards Pete
</div></div>

Dude, why waste all that meat? Because there are exactly 52,774,783 hogs behind the one I just gut shot (okay I estimated) but the point is we're not hunting the "kings game" over here. We are dealing with a HUGE fucking problem. And to be honest, having the "lets be ethical hunters and treat the hogs with respect" attitude is now down right unrealistic if we ever want to gain a foot hold on the hog populations. In Oklahoma you cannot, by definition "hunt" a feral hog. Hunting is a term reserved, at least in Oklahoma, for WILDLIFE. Feral hogs are not wildlife.

I understand completely that this is not the case in Germany. It's sport in Europe. It's just not here. Perhaps you could lecture the Australians on their feral cat problem or their feral donkey problem? Please, don't search for the feral cat thread, you will be most unhappy.
 
#24
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

OK OK, so you have a pig problem, Ive an openmind and can see where you are comming from. you should still shoot to kill as cleanly as possible, use a caliber with enough energy to do it cleanly and save the comments that could be misenterpreted for the bar and a few beers with the guys after the cull.

Wildlife, all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms, now does that include feral ? duno. but i'd still want to shoot em cleanly.

and i sure as hell would like to come over and give you a hand, !!!
I would expect an AR in a suitable caliber would be a very efficient tool. and I would love to convert my H&K MR223 to .50Beowulf for exactly that job.

and rats,, i grew up on a farm. killing rats was a pleasureable pass time, but it was clean one shot kills,

<span style="font-style: italic">I"m not advocating intentionally un ethical shooting...</span>

thats all i wanted to hear.. some of the comments didn't quite sound that way mind. just think on, not only fiendly folk read these boards and maybe its good sence to word things so as not to fuel the anti hunting nutcases plight.

Weve a bit of a plague of boar in Germany at the mo, they are tearing up gardens in the middle of Berlin..

regards Pete
 
#25
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

I plan on my first shot being one shot one kill and possibly a follow up due to my suppressed weapons. I must say after that I may have to empty the 20/30 round mags rapidly.
 
#26
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?



I use 165grain Sierra Game King (soft point) .308 win.
Behind ear, between eyes, DRT. Lower trans-chest, DRT. High-neck, behind ear about 6 inches/45-degree - down and paralyzed, gurgling (over 250# estimated). Shot placement still matters.

I had one spectacular failure with 5.56 55grFMJ. I have used 55-grain V-Max Hornady Load several times, right behind ear, about 35-yards, DRT. After a 'knock-down, then run-away' from good trans-thorax hit, I went to .308.

I have also killed a pig with a single 9mm Hydra-Shok at 35-40 yards at night, left rear behind rib entry, transit to right shoulder. It ran, but within 100 yards, died. I was almost foolish enough to go into the woods after it, before it died. I don't recommend a 9mm, obviously. Just because I did doesn't mean I should. It was all I had on me at the time I was driving a ranger back to camp, rifle unloaded and cased.

Picked up a 6.8 SPCII, hope to see a pig through it's sights this weekend.


In summary - good soft-point, ballistic tip, hollow-point or a Barnes TSX.
 
#27
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rat-30</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

I use 165grain Sierra Game King (soft point) .308 win.
Behind ear, between eyes, DRT. Lower trans-chest, DRT. High-neck, behind ear about 6 inches/45-degree - down and paralyzed, gurgling (over 250# estimated). Shot placement still matters.

I had one spectacular failure with 5.56 55grFMJ. I have used 55-grain V-Max Hornady Load several times, right behind ear, about 35-yards, DRT. After a 'knock-down, then run-away' from good trans-thorax hit, I went to .308.

I have also killed a pig with a single 9mm Hydra-Shok at 35-40 yards at night, left rear behind rib entry, transit to right shoulder. It ran, but within 100 yards, died. I was almost foolish enough to go into the woods after it, before it died. I don't recommend a 9mm, obviously. Just because I did doesn't mean I should. It was all I had on me at the time I was driving a ranger back to camp, rifle unloaded and cased.

Picked up a 6.8 SPCII, hope to see a pig through it's sights this weekend.


In summary - good soft-point, ballistic tip, hollow-point or a Barnes TSX. </div></div>


That was quite informative.

If you get some, post the pics!
Thanks
 
#28
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

i used Hornady 168 TAP ammo one time and advise against it. It knocked the pig down and 30 seconds latter the little shit got up and never found him. Perfect shot placement, just a bad bullet for pig. IMHO

Now 175 grain SMK
hogs011.jpg

And another with 175 SMK
pig089.jpg
 
#29
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

I have taken a few pigs with 168 smk. They work beautiful. This last pig was 850 lbs on the hoof. 2 arrows from my Hoyt. Trying for a fast dispatch of the animal,I would not recommend 9mm as a backup sidearm. I gave it 2 shots at 5 feet from my CZ52 in 9mm with 115gr fmj. Did not even go through the 3/4" hide. The processor dug them out and gave them back. 357 magnum is what I carry now.
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx318/musket_0/JEFF6.jpg
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx318/musket_0/JEFF1.jpg
 
#30
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Musket_0</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have taken a few pigs with 168 smk. They work beautiful. This last pig was 850 lbs on the hoof. 2 arrows from my Hoyt. Trying for a fast dispatch of the animal,I would not recommend 9mm as a backup sidearm. I gave it 2 shots at 5 feet from my CZ52 in 9mm with 115gr fmj. Did not even go through the 3/4" hide. The processor dug them out and gave them back. 357 magnum is what I carry now.
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx318/musket_0/JEFF6.jpg
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx318/musket_0/JEFF1.jpg </div></div>

Are those from Bear Mountain on the U.P.?
Michigan DNR has placed a $75 bounty on hogs, just bring in the head.
 
#32
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

I guess its kinda like pre-freezing for the meat cutters. The hogs are for sure becoming a problem. I live in Traverse City and know of some local ferrels. Just very hard to get to them. Some of the land owners refuse to believe the pictures of hogs came from their land. Guess Ill have to wait and hunt them when the farmer wakes up.
 
#35
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

Do any of you guys use any of these baits, potions, exixors, and potions that I see in places like Bass Pro. The couple of times that I have shot a fiew pigs was by hapenstance.

Do any of you have a good word on baiting them in?
 
#36
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SteelPanther</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My Uncle Vernon has a place just south of Oklahoma down in Northern Mexico. We all use ARs with whatever ammo we can get the best bulk deal on at the time. It doesn’t really matter. If a pig is worth shooting once, it’s worth shooting five times. I would use whatever weapon that allows you to successfully put rounds down range without spilling your beer. After all, a man’s got to have priorities. </div></div>

You have a way with words...
 
#37
Re: What type of ammo for wild pig hunting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: The Good Doctor</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do any of you guys use any of these baits, potions, exixors, and potions that I see in places like Bass Pro. The couple of times that I have shot a fiew pigs was by hapenstance.

Do any of you have a good word on baiting them in? </div></div>

Run a deer feeder as normal. I don't think you can pattern hogs at all. Can you hunt at night in Missouri?
 
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