Hog hunting question.

A 223 will kill hogs just fine with good shot placement. Find a diagram of a hog and you will note that the heart and lungs are higher and behind the shoulder as compared to a deer. 223 may have a hard time on a shoulder shot, so aim for right above the elbow.
 
If you have a 6.8 use it . If you happen to find your self on the way to close side of a hog that 223 better have 3 shot burst. Is the cost of a box of ammo worth makeing a bad shoot? If not then sell the 6.8 if you can't aford to shoot a couple rounds.
 
If you happen to find your self on the way to close side of a hog that 223 better have 3 shot burst
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A .223 is fine. The critical thing with a caliber as small as .223 is getting the right bullet selection. Use the heaviest bonded bullet your gun will accurately shoot. Learn the correct shot placement (which is different for a hog than it is for a deer - the organs are in a slightly different place). If your rig is accurate enough, always try for an ear shot. Quick kill, no tracking, no meat damage.
 
A lot of people in South Florida use the .233. People like to shoot the smaller ones anyhow so its more then enough here. Not sure about other places. If you're on a paid hunt or want a "trophy" hog then maybe you might want to rethink you caliber.
 
Doyle I have a friend that uses a 22 hornet for hogs but if you have a 6.8 barrel for your gun your crazy not to use it. Thats my point. I grew up down there and killed a couple with a 22lr. Smart?? hell no. Does it work ,yes if your to stupid to pay attention, and can shimmy up a tree. If you happen to walk up on a big hog along the side of a palmeto patch that 223 might not be the barrel to have on that rifle. Thats all I am try'n to point out. If all you own is a 223 then take your chances and shoot at some kind of distance. For many years i used a 357 revolver with 180gr hard cast bullets. Now adays it would be a red dot on a 44mag 270gr flat points for me. Older ,slower and can't shimmy anymore.
 
Scorch, those are in my bookmarks just for these sort of threads...

Yeah I am in the older, slower... SWO group... (SWO= Slap wore Out)

when a guy would ask kind of boots to wear, I would say Rubber Boots... Big tall heavy rubber boots... I wear sneakers... I don't have to out run the bo' hog, I just gotta out run you...

Brent
 
Catfishman It's one thing to snipe at hogs from a distance no matter if in the air or on the ground, it could be different if a 400lb piggy walks out of a palmeto patch at 10 paces'. I would hate knowing i left the 6.8 at home because of ammo prices. What does that upper cost 700 +. Like i said ,have old timer that use's a 22 hornet but out of his buggy or stand. Not walk'n around.
 
MR Hendrix

I have killed them with a .22 Rimfire pistol.
Bullet Placement is everything.
Yes you can kill them with your .223.
 
For many years i used a 357 revolver with 180gr hard cast bullets. Now adays it would be a red dot on a 44mag 270gr flat points for me. Older ,slower and can't shimmy anymore.
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You would use a .357 or a .44 mag revolver but not an AR-15 loaded with 30 rounds of .223???

Amazingly I've never killed a hog but everone around me has. Friends and family have killed hogs with deer rifles, .22 mags, bow and arrows, and knives. I've yet to here the story of "the one that got away" or "the one that nearly killed me".
 
I've yet to here the story of "the one that got away" or "the one that nearly killed me".
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Well, I body shot a hog on the run with 5.56 that did get away. It died, but we didn't find it until after the coyotes got it. As ever with any caliber, shot placement is important such that the vitals are hit in a manner to produce a quick death or you may be crawling through the briars and brambles looking for a wounded hog. It seems that many of the "hog attack" stories (which are actually hog self defense stories) you see or read involve hunters going after wounded hogs.

Here is a fellow I took with 5.56 two mornings ago at 33 yards way out in west Texas outside of Fort Davis. The CNS shot dropped him in place, no problem.

hardluck1 makes a good point. Few folks are disappointed about having more powerful calibers for hunting hogs than those with less powerful calibers, but you can make either work for you.
FortDavisHog.jpg
 
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