Hog rifle?

MPFD, I think you're on the right track by going with the AR platform, however .223 wouldn't be my caliber of choice. I've killed several hogs with the .223 but I've lost a few also. I've shot a lot of hogs with my T/C Encore in .224 TTH which is a 6mm case necked down to shoot a .22 caliber bullet. I shoot an 80gr A Max at 3250fps through a 1 in 8 twist barrel to stabilize the long skinny bullet. This has worked great as a hog gun and I shoot 20+ does a year with it. However last year I was hunting along the Brazos river when I came across the biggest boar I've ever seen. I'd guess him to be 350lbs+ easy. My first shot was head on and I guess I must have gotten a little "Boar Fever" because although the shot knocked him down he got up and took off across a wide open field. I hit him hard two more times leaving but I looked for him for two hours and never found him. I never thought I'd be heart broke over loosing a hog but I was crushed. He had huge tusks and I already had a spot picked out on my den wall just for such a boar. That day I vowed to carry a little more gun when hog hunting. Since then I've killed a pile of hogs with my 7mm STW with a Hornady 139gr SST Interlock and although it's a little overkill I haven't had to track a single hog yet. This year we started shooting the DPMS LR 243L for the Predator Pursuit TV show and back in January I carried it along on a hog hunt with my wife and two boys. We killed 15 hogs in two day with it including three boars that weighed between 200 and 275lbs. This is by far my new favorite hog gun. It was almost a fist fight between the four of us over who got to shoot it next. On several different occasions we eased up to a field full of hogs, counted down, and opened fire. As with anything shot placement is key and on the first shot we always shoot for the ear hole. After that when there's hogs running chaotically in every direction we're just trying to knock down as many as possible. Even my eight year old was able to knock down multiples before they could get off the field. We were shooting Hornady Superformance 95 gr SSTs and I was very impressed. We got pass throughs on most of the hogs we shot. If I were looking for a hog gun it would be a no brainer to go with the DPMS LR in .243, .260, or .308. Sorry about the extra long reply. Hope this helped.
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That sucks!! Now you've got me second guessing my rifle before it even gets here!!

That .243 looks like it might be the perfect size to knock out some coyotes without too big of holes while still being able to put the smack down on some hogs.

My biggest boar to date is 250lbs (on a scale, not a wildly exaggerated guess
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) and I've always put them down with my 7mm Rem Mag and it generally does the job although I've actually lost a couple even with it when I was shooting at them on the run. I found one big sow a few weeks later close to 400 yards away when I was shed hunting.

I guess I might as well see if my .223 can get the job done when it gets here and if it doesn't I can always upgrade.
 
P.S. - one of the big reasons for buying the .223 for me was the cost of ammo, but when you buy premium type bullets it is just as expensive as other ammo.

A box of 20 Winchester Power Point 100gr .243 bullets are $19.79 at www.midwayusa.com and a box of 20 Winchester 55gr soft point in .223 is $19.99. (I realize neither of these are really "premium" bullets, but basically anything other than a jacketed hollow point is a premium bullet for the .223 it seems)

Not much difference. You can buy the .223 in some bulk packages, but not the kind of bullets I would want to be throwing at pigs.
 
the .243 in an AR 10 or the DPMS LR platform is nice and would definitely put the smack down on some pigs/deer.

but when you step up to either of those platforms things get heavy and expensive fast.

i would stick w/ the AR15 platform and go w/ a 6.8 spc....you can get close to .243 performance and stay around the 7.5 # mark loaded w/ optics... plus you can carry/buy 25 round mags for cheap compared to the bigger platform mags
 
The .223 will definitely kill pigs! Barnes TSX's would be a great bullet in the .224 caliber rifles. But a 60 grain V Max was all I needed here.

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I've killed bunches of pigs with this bullet. Placement is everything! Hog anatomy is NOT the same as deer anatomy!! The spine is lower, and the heart and lungs are in line with the front leg, not behind it. Get spine anywhere in the neck and they are done
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There are lots better cartriges than the .223, but it can get the job done with the right bullets and shot placement.
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Im ordering a rr predator persuit 223 on friday. its main use will be for predator hunting and once a year praire dog hunt and gravel pit shooting. but I want to go hog hunting and a semi auto would be nice. I also deer hunt with rifle 1 weekend a year its a family trip I hunt with bow for deer the rest of the year. I already own a cz 527 223 for predator hunting. so should I get a 6.8 or 243 or 308 but if I buy one of these guns they will only have about 10 rounds a year run through it. or should I stay with the 223 and buy one of larger cal upers and install it for hog a deer hunts and then return it to a 223 for the rest of the year.
 
Ive put a few hogs down the the 223. 60gr nosler partion running at 2900fps. Neck & spine out to 200 yards. Up close thru the shoulder, it wont pass thru every time but it doesnt have to.
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I've used my R15 with Wolf 62 grain FMJ's with fairly good results. Anywhere from the neck to the head is a stone-dead kill. I was using mine for shooting pigs under 100 LB's and it worked pretty well. Not sure how it would fair on a 200 LBer in the vitals though.
 
I cant believe no one has suggested the 450 bushmaster. What a wonderfully powerful cartridge. Factory ammo, less expensive (no licensing fees) barrels. Mags are easy to mod, and alot of times you dont need to, very very accurate.

And best of all- fits a standard ar upper.

I absolutely love mine, and I think everyone should have one.
 
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