Which buckshot for boars ?

Buckshot is super effective at CLOSE range, but I am a bit doubtful of it's effectiveness at 40 yards.

Helicopter shooters are often shooting form about 30-40 FEET not 40 yards.

The problem I see with the OP's question is the issue of range. At 40 yards you must understand that even magnum shot with muzzle velocities of 1600 FPS is going to have striking velocity of only about 950 FPS. A 32 caliber ball weight only 49 grains. If you fire 9 of them it's probable that only 4 or so will hit at 40 yards. And those that do hit have a 50-50 chance at best of hitting something vital. A 49 grain ball at 950 FPS not very impressive if they hit liver, guts, one lung and so on.

Will the Hog die?
Probably.
But maybe not.

And if it does die I have some questions in my mind as to how fast it will happen, and how many will be brought to bag. Maybe that is not important, but maybe it is. Game laws in Belgium are likely to be a lot different then those in Texas.

I see the question as being parallel to asking "what is the best 30-30 load for shooting deer ---- at 600 yards?"

There is no doubt that the 30-30 is a good deer killer, but when you add the condition of being shot at 600 yards things fall apart, and the truthful answer is "none".

I am guessing the same thing applies to buck shot, hogs and 40 yards.

Now, I am talking strictly from knowledge of ammo and firearms. I am not going to be dogmatic here because in all my life, and in all the hunting I have done in many states, and in other countries, I have never killed a single wild hog.

So someone out there that has killed a lot of hogs with a shotgun at ranges of 40 yards is welcome to correct me. Real knowledge is better then theory every time.
 
I'm not going to discourage it, but there are things that do it better. Will buckshot kill a pig? Answer: yes it can. I've done it. I didn't take long to switch to rifle to get more predictable results. I finally got into a groove and settled on a carbine as my preferred pig gun.
Pig hunting for me was always darkness or extreme low light, you can hunt in half moonlight with a good optic, if the moon is behind you. Mostly you'll need some help with extra illumination. If they are engrossed in rooting, you can get pretty close to them. You can also ambush them on a trail. Some are skilled and can shoot more than one. I usually get one maybe two. After the first shot, any remaining pigs will participate in a speedy exit, can be a spectacle.
I'd say yes to buckshot again, but there's better options.
 
Adding to it. Distance does limit the shotgun's effectiveness but distances can get fuzzy real quick. What you thought was 20yds can turn into 70yds after the dust settles. I would set up mental limits before it got dark. I'd decide boundarys and parameters to taking a shot. Things that usually set around on a farm, say an old feed trough is about 50 yards, tell yourself not to take a shot if it's further than the trough. Just and example.
 
Well… The US is a paradise compared to gun's laws in Belgium :mad:

My Mosberg pump action with a 20 inches barrel is completaly illegal in Belgium !
I can keep it cause I inherited it from my Dad and can be only used on private land… normally, I'm not even sure !
Changing barrel is considered like buying a new gun > 4 months delay and tons of paperwork !
I don't even talk of having 3 handguns for range shooting !

This autorisation to kill hogs 365 days / year and 24 h / day is for 2 years only and we don't know if it will be reconducted !? BUT… it can only be done with 12 gauge so no way to use my Browning 300 Win Mag > security reasons they say !

Shooting with a light is illegal !

So, expecting to install the new sights to improve my skills with slugs > it should work !

Be happy you Americans !
 
Sorry didn't catch that you were overseas.
They are vermin here, an invasive animal, so there's no restrictions in a lot of states. They are not a game animal.
If you've got rules to follow then you have to follow them.

daylight and the right distances buckshot will work. I'd try to pattern different shells to see which one gives the tightest pellet grouping.

This might get better responses in the hunting or shotgun forums
 
What is the choke? I would expect a 20 inch barrel with bead to be a cylinder bore "riot gun." In which case effective buckshot range on game is measured in feet, not yards. Maybe 75 feet/25 yards/23 metres maximum.

Bamaranger will correct me if I am wrong, he has shot about everything in this end of the country with an assortment of firearms.
 
Well if I had no choice but to use buckshot I would use a 00 or 000 plated shot.
That said I think a shotgun slug is vastly superior to buckshot on hogs, don't know from personal experience though, I hunt them with a 6.5x55.
 
Jim,

This Mosberg 500 is indeed a "riot gun" with a smooth bore and no choke.
As I said > will install the new sights and train with slugs… seems the best option !
 
Excellent. Slugs from a smoothbore "riot" gun should still be accurate enough and more than effective out to 50 meters, giving you some buffer. The punch is still there, but unless your gun is exceptional, then the accuracy may not be there much beyond that distance.

Good luck!!
 
christian,
My 20ga smooth bore 500 with rifle sights will put 3 slugs inside 2" at about 50yds.
Just plain Foster type Remingtons.
 
I have a mossberg 20" 500 that I could hit a medium pumpkin with Remington slugs at 50yds.... or a gallon milk jug, I had a cheap red dot on it.
 
Obviously you are limited in yoir choices, so, learn to work with in them. Work on shooting at moving objects, go shoot trap/skeet/clays, surely thats legal in Belgium. As stated spend some time to learn where the gun hits so you know exactly where to point at the animals to best dispatch them. For buck shot on pigs I would be aiming for the neck. Pigs shoulders are large and very tough, making getting to vitals difficult even with big rifles, a neck shot will cure that, either severing the major arteries or the spinal cord. Good luck.
 
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I've used no.4 buck with pretty good results with my Mossberg 500 with a improved cylinder choke. I'd recommend trying different choke tubes to get the best pattern. I've killed coyotes out to 80 yards with them. Killed a few pigs with them out to 60 yards, but thats not the ideal range. Obviously closer is better but you can put enough pellets on pigs to slow them down enough to hit'em multiple times. I'm mostly use 2 3/4 in which has 41 pellets.
 
Just based on your options I would train and get good with a slug. But if you are close enough buckshot will work too. I used to only carry a shotgun with 000 buckshot in very close quarters hog hunting such as extremely thick jungle like woods and thickets down here. The only hogs I have killed with buckshot were with 000 buckshot in a 12 ga. They were all on the run and within 20 yards, only one dropped in its tracks but the others never went over 25 yards before they crashed. I have never hit any over 20 yards with buckshot. But buckshot will kill them if you are close enough.

Hell i've been duck hunting before when a hog crossed behind some of my buddies that were hunting on a pond bank to my right. As soon as those guys saw that hog behind them they just started unloading they're shotguns loaded with no.4 steel waterfowl shot into that hog only 15 yards away. So the hog started running one they stood up and started shooting at him so they just chased behind him dumping rounds into him until he finally collapsed. One of the funniest and most oddball things i've seen on a hunt. That hog meat was already tenderized.
 
Mav you are correct, I forgot which length of shells I was shooting. I had to check my stock to see for myself.
 
You may also want to try different brands of slugs if they are available.

With my Mossberg 22" smoothbore / rifle sight slug barrel Remington slugs won't stay on a paper plate at 50 yards. Winchesters shoot cloverleafs at that range. My cousins Remington loves Federal slugs.

My daughters H&R Pardner 20 gauge (mod choke, bead sight) will do 4" with Winchester slugs at 50 yards.

Don't despair!
 
muddy waters

Just to muddy the waters. There was an outfit that marketed a 3-ball load. Three caliber sized balls, and supposed it shot lights out and was very deadly. If I recall the ammo was called "Tri-ball".

The OP probably can't get an Tri-ball in his neck of the woods, but that may be the ultimate "shot" hog load.
 
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