Hog rifle?

MPFD

MPFD

Well-known member
How many hunt hogs with AR's in .223? I feel like it would be enough gun with a decent bullet at 3000 fps or so, but I've never done it. Anyone have any experience? I have heard alot of stories about shooting hogs with AR's but if you wanted to recover the hog and were not just shooting them to reduce numbers, would and .223 be plenty of rifle or not?
 
I've never shot a hog but I just watched Bone Collectors shoot one with a r-15 on tv. It seemed to work ok, he didn't run too far.
 
Probally work on a javalina to somewhat and the ones on bonecollector were also javalina's but you will have to shoot them in the ear hole here in the texas panhandle if you wanna drop them. these around here are domestic hogs gone wild... most shoot with 30-30 or 7mmag or 30-06. there shoulders are like a steel plate of armour.just my 2 cents
 
Quote:would and .223 be plenty of rifle or not?

"Plenty" is debatable. I have killed hogs with a 223 to the brain. Like a lot of things - shot placement is key.

You can read some of the threads on the Big Game forum where most of the hog hunting stuff is posted.
 
I was looking on a hog hunt lodge website and they were talking about people hunting with a 204 and getting good results. These were all head shots and they said most all dropped in there tracks. I would think a 223 would be fine if you make head shots. 243 would be the minimum on regular shots because there shoulders are pretty thick.
 
I just got back from a feral hog hunt in southwest Alabama. I used a 260 A.I. the first 3 days and killed three hogs with it using a 140 gr. Sierra GameKing. The last day I used a 788 Rem. that had been rebarreled and chambered in 223 with a 1 in 9 twist barrel. I was shooting a 65 gr. Sierra GameKing at 3050 fps. I got a chance at a boar that weighed about 150 lbs. He was about 90 yards out. I was going to shoot him behind the ear, but decided that is no test of a bullet. So I put the cross hairs on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger expecting him to run off. He hit the ground kicked twice and was DRT. When I rolled him over there was a small exit wound behind the off side shoulder. I was surprised. All in all it was a very good trip. In the four days we hunted, seven of us killed 20 feral hogs. And yes it does snow in southwest Alabama.

That was the first game animal larger than a coyote that I have taken with a 223. And 1 shot proves nothing, but it does show promise. Since a hog is a thicker skinned and heavier boned than a deer, I am certain that bullet would work well on deer with proper shot placement. I would post a picture but I have no idea how.

PaPa 260
 
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My unle who shoots alot of feral hogs in florida kills alot with a 223,,he told me quartering away,,or broadside only he kills them out to 200 yards,,he has shot a couple quartering toward and had to track and finish them,,bullets will take the path of least resistance on the shoulder plate..hope this helps....X
 
I have killed several with a AR in 223 but with that being said I have also had to track several down and finish them off with the same rifle. If you hit them just right in the head and neck area they will go down but if you try to shoot a big hog through the shoulders with a 223 you never know quite sure what the outcome will be. In my honest opinion the 223 is not a good choice for hogs.
 
I think either one of those work just fine. One of guys that I hunted with used an AR chambered in 300 Whisper shooting 130 gr TTSX's and had no problem killing hogs with it. Pass throughs on the three he killed with it.

I am not saying a 223 is a good hog cartridge, only that it did work once with a complete pass through on a shoulder shot on a medium size boar.

Feral hog hunting is a lot fun. If you ever get a chance to do it. Don't pass it up, go hunt the hogs in swamps and pine thickets.

PaPa 260
 
Send GUESS a pm over on big game forum here,,he has killed truck loads of hogs,,think he uses a 243 mostly,,but he has probably shot some with a 223...............X
 
We have lots of guys shoot pigs with a 223. Shoulder shot is not a good idea. Put one in the vitals quartering away, and it will die, just depends on how long he wants to run. Right behind the ear seems to be the best place.
 
I have only killed 2 hogs and both were here in Indiana and both weighed over 250 pounds but I used a 243 but the GW was all for the 3006. My shots were under 200 yards. Some of the locals here use dogs and a knife to hunt them and a few of them has gotten hurt and you would think they would learn to at least use a handgun. I will carry my rifle and a 44 mag RedHawk.
 
Texas Feral Hogs

Go here and look around. The vitals may not be where you think they are!
They have a graphic showing the lungs and heart.
We have used .243 100g SP 75# hog DRT .308 150gr SP 100# DRT with a fist sized exit wound, both rounds were hand loaded and the .308 was a little hot.
A lot depends on the setup, ours were mostly 100-200 yards shots. Something fast and flat with good shot placement would do it.
Rick H...
 
in Texas we have lots of hogs and 90% i shoot with my 223....i wont use ballistic tips or hp's you need a lead tipped bulled. black hills makes a good 55gr that i use, and when placed behind the ear or a neck shot they always fall DRT. havent had a runner yet.
kipshog.jpg

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sorry not all AR kills but they are all 223 55gr kills
 
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Thanks for the post orrbull, I was getting a little worried about my recent purchase of a RRA predator pursuit in .223 that I intended to use pulling double duty on pigs and coyotes.

I've shot plenty of pigs over the last few years, but with my 7mm Rem Mag I generally only get one good shot before they hit the brush and I lose them. I purchased the AR-15 thinking that I would be able to maintain my sight picture through the scope while pulling the trigger on a couple more hogs as they headed off into the brush.

My thoughts were that the .223 would kill the hogs, they just might run a little while before they die. My shots will be from 125 - 150 yards on average so the first shot will be an ear hole or neck shot and then I'll just be going for the body on the run. Also planning on adding some type of night vision at some point as I think that could really allow me to stack them up also.

The supply of pigs seems endless, I've shot close to 2 dozen pigs off my 160 acres in the last couple years and I think there are more now than when I started. I think really need to trap them to make a dent at all, but that wouldn't be as much fun!
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