Best way to hunt pigs as quietly as possible.

E

El Rojo

New member
I just received an e-mail from my aunt. She was telling me the latest adventure for her and the family have been the wild pigs tearing up their back yard. She lives in the coastal hills by Los Gatos, PRK. She said she probably wouldn't want to shoot a pig, but she wouldn't mind if someone else would. Her being a of the liberal persuation, I think that was a major hint to her pig killing nephew to come do some pgi control.

Here is the problem. They live in one of those really nice houses up in the foothills where people actually have backyards (and sideyards even), but there are still houses within a quarter of a mile on each side. If I recall correctly, there is a large hill in their back yard so I would have a good bullet stop should I shoot my .30-06 or .308 at a pig. Max distance across their backyard from the the house is no more than a 100 yards if IIRC. I don't really want to freak out the neighbors, but is it really that big of a deal if I shoot one or even two rounds at a pig in their backyard? I don't believe it is in an incorporated city. I would think if my shots are under 100 yards and it sounds like these pigs are fairly relaxed around the houses, I would be able to use my Remington 700 VS and make a good head shot anywhere around 100 yards. The next quietest thing I have is maybe .30-30 (I don't really know if that is quieter, I don't shoot it much), sks (I doubt that though), M1 Carbine (should be quieter, but accuracy and stopping power is going to go way downhill), and then there is my Ruger 10/22 custom job that has moa to sub moa accuracy to about 50 yards. Of course a .22 bullet is going to be severely restricted to a head shot, but even then, I have shot pigs in the head with a Remington 7mm Mag and have them keep going.

So, should I think about quieter methods or should I just take the tack driving VS in .308 with a hot 125 gr. Speer TNT HP load or the Sierra 165 gr. Gamekings? The last pig I shot was with the Speer TNT's since I was coyote hunting at the time. It wasn't that great of a shot, I hit it in the back right in front of the hind quarter, but it dropped dead due to the explosive power of a speer 125 gr. TNT HP. I would imagine shooting a pig in the side of the head with one would do some damage, but might it not be as good as a deep divign 165 gr. Gameking? Do I want a bullet to exit like the Gameking vs. a TNT HP that is going to destroy itself and not travel on?

I am leaning towards a Speer 125 in the side of the head since it will be within 100 yards on pigs who probably won't expect me to be harvesting them. The neighbors will just have to deal with it. Thanks for your comments.
 
Most states have laws against shooting within 1/4 of occupied structures, so I'd be careful.

I 'd be tempted to set a couple of steel traps around some bait. If you don't have any, maybe you could find some at swap meets or even borrow a couple. Even though the bleeding hearts banned their use on public land here in Arizona, we can and do still use them on our own properties to get rid of unwanted pests.

Hogs are pretty smart but if you put bait out for a few days and let them become accustomed to finding food there, once you set the traps there you'll almost certainly get one.
It'll then be a simple matter to walk up and put a standard velocity .22 between his peepers and your neighbors will be none the wiser.

If you decide to go this route but haven't trapped before, email me and I'll be glad to offer some suggestions.

Hope that helps.

BG
 
Trapping is evil!

Sorry Bottom Gun. The people of the PRK decided it is evil to trap poor innocent animals and then shoot them in the head. It is more proper to shoot them and have to track them down as animal control. My dad was a great trapper and we might still have some traps around somewhere. However, would a rubber jawed trap (the PRK is very humane) hold a wild pig for long? The pigs hadn't really migrated to the ranch we trapped on before we stopped trapping. Great idea though. In that case I could use a subsonic .22 load and that would be that. I will check on the laws of distances to buildings.

I am pretty sure baiting is illegal period around here.
 
Shoot from a window, keeping the muzzle of the rifle WELL inside the house - like 10 feet inside. That will muffle the noise quite a bit. Only fire ONE shot - people won't know where it came from. If you can have someone else run a lawn mower or gasoline leaf blower outside at the time, that will further mask the noise.

Needless to say, you don't want to do this a lot; lead from the priming compounds distributed all over your aunt's living space would be rather unhealthy. (Ummm . . . I wonder if the concussion from a .30/06 or .308 will crack the glass on the windows? If you try it, let me know.)

Have you considered a crossbow?
 
You might want to check to see if there is an exclusion for trapping on your own property. There may be.
If not, The window shot is probably a good idea.

A .22 at 100 yd may not stop the hog. I've had javelina survive head shots with .22's.
 
From a stastical basis of one......firing .405 Winchester from well inside the house does not hurt windows. Does strain relationship with others in house tho.

If nice warm cat food or dog food is placed outside right by the back door every mornin.....whose to say it is piggy baiting.

Sam......Eh ?
 
If you didn't stop it with an arrow, you might have a pig running around the neighborhood with a shaft sticking out of it.

The way my luck runs if I stuck the pig with an arrow, it would run off and finally drop in the local animal rights activist's front yard after leaving a blood trail leading to my house.

Maybe the safest way is to just start regularly feeding the neighborhood critters in a strategic location like C.R.Sam suggested and pop it from inside a window or doorway.
 
Do you have any friends with NFA type weapons or maybe a SUPPRESSOR? I know a cop in Massachusetts who borrowed a suppressed MP5 to get rid of some coyotes that were stalking his dog right in his back yard. One shot each with heavy (158 gr) 9mm in the neck did the trick. If you could lure the pigs within 25 yards or so this might be the ticket.
 
Why can't you get any closer than 100 yards? I'd rather just get close enough to use a small caliber than blow out windows and alienate the entire county with that routine...Maybe you could just contact animal control? Sherriffs Dept? Geez...has to be a better way than this...Talk about overkill...What kinda' hogs come up to her house anyway? Maybe I'm missin' the point here...Run through this story again and why this is necessary?!
 
gyp_c2, hogs can do damage that has to be seen to be believed. Imagine your yard getting tilled up - it's that bad.

Not sure how Kali's wildlife control types are, but if their like those here, their pretty sorry.

El Rojo, legality aside, the best suggestion is to shoot from inside the house. If you keep the muzzle way back from the opening it's pretty quiet. Either the 165s or 125s will work. I'd go with what ever is easiest to shoot accurately as you won't get much chance for a second shot. Check the neighborhood's patterns - may be that mid-morning on a week day would be the best time. Here most people in the hood are at work at that time of day/week.

Be safe!

Giz
 
My aunt just wants some pigs shot.

Yes, you wouldn't believe what pigs can do to an area. One day you drive by and don't notice anything. The very next day, you drive by, and it seriously looks like somone came out and tilled an entire area underneath the oak trees. They root a lot. So with that in mind, my aunt lives in a semi-secluded area near Los Gatos and was telling me about how bad she has a pig problem in her back yard. She is semi-liberal so her family doesn't have firearms around. She was saying she wouldn't shoot a pig, but she wouldn't mind if someone else did. Basically a big hint to pig shooting nephew to come harvest some pigs.

The thing is, there are houses not too far off. Their back yard is about a 100 yards from house to back fense. I was just curious on a quieter way to take a pig out. The I concluded that I would probably just nab one with the Remington 700 VS in .308. I figured one shot wouldn't startle the neighbors too much and I have sub-moa accuracy with that gun. I figure a good head shot and dead piggy. The other pigs will naturally not like the idea of their fellow piggy's head exploding next to them and might go else where. I clean the pig, give it to the relatives. End of story. I was hoping to do it legally since I can easily get pig tags.

Next thing I know, everyone has gone further than I was thinking and we have all of these great ideas. I just don't know how keen the aunt and uncle are going to be about me shooting pigs from inside the house. If it were my place or if they were a little more conservative, it would sound like great fun.

Anyone know any LE in the area with suppressed MP5's? Or a suppressed bolt gun? Let me know.
 
If you are 100yards (300 feet) away from a house you can legally shoot a rimfire/centerfire with out them hippies being able to call the police. What county are you located in?
 
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This is going to be in Gilroy south of San Jose (mistook it for Los Gatos earlier). Don't know what county that is. Let me check right quick. Santa Clara county.
 
Rojo, are her neighbors have similar problems? If so, you could make the rounds of her area and talk to them.

Explain you are a professional hunter and target shooter and concerned about safety. As a favor to your aunt's neighbors, you would help them end the problem and yet waive your usual fee.

While I firmly believe that it is easier to get forgiveness than permission, there are times when checking into a situation is helpful. Folks with hog-sign in their yards might become quite receptive to your offer of help.

:), Art
 
.22 ON A HOG

in a word...no. a lucky shot in the eye might drop the animal, but the skull of a wild pig is several inches thick. a body shot might not even puncture the hide.

if you shot them from the yard you are likely to go to jail. i recommend that you track them for a couple of days, find their habitation, and then shoot them there.

i might be able to get away with shooting from my yard here in texas, but i would not try it unless i absolutely had to. no sense going to jail over a pig.

stinger
 
How do you go to jail for shooting pigs in season from your own property? Any statutes to back that up Stinger? Pigs don't have habitation. They roam around and eat. That is about it.
 
El Rojo,

weren't you the one looking for advice? i was just giving my $.02.

unless you are outside of the city limits, you will face at least a fine, if not jail time. just because you are on your own property doesn't give you the right to shoot at whatever you wish.

You said, "Pigs don't have habitation. They roam around and eat."

don't we all:D

stinger
 
Only elephant, and cape buffalo have skulls over one inch thick.

22 Mag to the head from 25 yards will do the job quickly and quietly. Solid point right in the eye, or just under the ear. If you can't get to withing 25 yards of them, something is wrong with you!! Keep the wind in your face, and you can crawl right up on them..

Bowser.

p.s. - in Texas, they only have mini-pigs. Javelinas are not wild pigs, they are more like overgrown rats ;)
 
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