Wild Boar Hunting?

L

LTC_Para

New member
hello all,

has anyone gone wild boar hunting? i want to try and make it a trip during spring break with some of my army buddies. one of my buddys has a spot in georgia that him and his dad hunts on and he says since no one else really hunts on that property they average 400-500 lbs.

i have a 308 and plan to buy a 762x54R m44 which i know should do the job, i also have a para ltc .45 acp as a sidearm, will the .45 even do anything? i just want a backup in case my primary fails. what kind of ammo would you suggest in the rifles/handgun? i realize their skin is very tough, so big game rounds with delayed expansion?

thanks

*anyone else know good spots, prices, license or other fees?

we are just college students so nothing too pricey.
 
My step sons grandpa was charged by a 400+ pound hog while scouting for spring turkeys. He normally scouts armed only with a camera. This day he decided to take his .357 pistol to target shoot after his scout trip. He is not Matt Dillon and by the time he drew his pistol the hog was within 15 feet. 1 well placed shot folded the hog right in front of him.

The hogs head is now hanging over his basement bar and he has a great story to go along with it.:) (this was a Kansas Hog)
 
As a backup, leave the .45 acp at home. It WILL kill a hog with a good (meaning well-placed shot), but if it is to be used as a backup when things go south, you want something with more horsepower AND penetration.

For THOSE applications, I'd take a .44 mag or a heavy Ruger load in .45 Colt. What you want in those 'sticky' situations is a stomp and stop load.

Good luck. Hogs are fun!
 
Two Hogs in December

Was deer hunting up a tree near a creek bank when a large saul came a rooting. Dropped her with my .308 BAR.... Always wanted a wild hog for the freezer. In twenty minutes big daddy black boar cam looking for sweet thing and I dropped him with one between the eyes. Had to get front end loader to carry them out of the swamp. Net weight over 300 lbs. of pork in the freezer. Current taken care of off spring by feeding the three little pigs with corn. Hope they mate next year before I need meat for the freezer.
 
Wild boar can be dropped with any good deer cartridge using stout bullets and good shot placement into the chest. But they often bounce back to their feet and run. To some this would be considered charging.

You can pack a revolver if you choose. But most hunters can easily fire their rifle two or three times while another is still unholstering his handgun. Something to consider when the job must be done expediantly.

My boar-elk-moose rifle is a Savage .308 with 180 grain soft tip ammo. It gets the job done for me!
Jack
 
yea i cant wait until the trip, hopefully everything works out and we can go there for sure.

all i have a .45 acp, what kinda rounds would be good to use for it? i want something as a backup

thanks for all the help!
 
Here we go again about the 45 cal auto colt pistol

being a good hog gun.

I have to say, it is under certain conditions like stake the Boar and shoot him.

If you want to do yourself a favor and bring home some pork use a rifle.
A good 30-30 or 35 cal will do it if not over 100 yds. If further get a bigger one as in 308 or 30-06.

Been many threads on this one topic. Funny really.

HQ
 
Big bore lever action marlins like my .450 are some of the best hog guns. Either of your rifles would be fine for boar, the 7.62-54mm is the ballistic equivalent to a .30-06 so bout the same as the .308. Either would be fine.

To be perfectly honest I doubt that you would even need a backup gun for a boar, just bring a rifle that you are comfortable with shooting and have iron sight available.

The .45 acp, good stopping power, low penetration, the 9mm actually has better penetration.
 
Any centerfire gun will take hogs. A well placed .22 will do the job also, but it is not what I recommend. I carry a .45 as back up while hog hunting and it will do the job. Some folks have read too many gun rags about how mean wild boars are. They are tough and will run off and much more difficult to track than well shot deer. You need to make a good shot. Head is best, but not from the front unless you have a large caliber rifle or magnum handgun. A side head shot will end the day. A shot in the neck with a centerfire will take the pig well also.

Take a look over at http://www.texasboars.com and read up on the hogs anatomy.

Use the .308 and carry the .45 for back up.
 
First time I went boar hunting I carried my 45acp with ball ammo - my 30-06 did all the hog killing that I needed. Since then I have switched to a Ruger Redhawk in 45 Long Colt with heavy bullets and max loads - hogs can really take some killing, no kidding. Penetration is a key point on any load rifle or pistol on hogs.
 
Solvability is right. I have a good bit of experience killing large Russian boars in the hills of Tennessee, and it can take a good bit to kill them. And if you do not kill them right off, they can be foul critters to deal with....

Heavy bullets/heavy loads/deep penetration is the key. 44 magnum or heavy 45 colt (Ruger loads) are much better than the 45 acp. Better yet would be the 45/70 out of a 7 1/2 Magnum Research (works very, very well).

The first time I went hog hunting, I used (actually, tried to use) a hot .44 special hollow point to put down an injured hog; three shots at point-blank range to the shoulder/neck. Boy, was that a mistake. None of the three bullets penetrated the thick gristle plate that covers the neck and shoulder. The bases of the bullets were all visible at the point of entry.... That is when I came to appreciate the tough hide of the hog and the critical need for penetration.

In another incident, a shooter hit a hog 9 good times with stout .44 magnum loads (but they were lightweight hollow points), and the hog died at the shooter's feet at the end of a charge. The shooter was so shaken that he had troubles reloading his Smith after the experience (and he was a federal law enforcement officer). Hogs can be "impressive." Which is why I prefer hunting them to most anything else around here.

I have no doubt that hogs have been killed with a 22, but I do not recommend using it on a wild loose hog. And if you do, share your experiences with the rest of us...my guess is that it would make for an excellent story.

Although I personally prefer to hunt hogs with a big-bore handgun, most any of the standard deer rifles will work well....just remember that penetration is the key.

Boarhunter
 
I have seen a lot of customers that are purchasing the Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf uppers for hog hunts. The gun has phenominal ballistics and power. There is a lot of information about the platform on my website www.50beowulf.com

It isnt hard to harvest a Hog with a 400gr Jacketed Soft Point going at 1900fps. There is also reloading data for the PowerBelt 530gr Steel Tip Dangerous Game bullets.

On the site, in the hunting section, you can find some photos of a 2000+ lb Bull Moose in Alaska that was harvested with a Beowulf as well as other game.

In my opinion, if you want a semi-automatic rifle that is a great brush gun, reliable, easy to operate, maintain... go with a .50 Beowulf. Alexander Arms also offers 4-round magazines to adhere to all hunting mag capacity laws.
 
Holy love of the Man himself.

We are headed for the last days on earth, that new 50 cal is something:D

It sounds like the Army has a replacement for that puny .223...Can it be true:rolleyes:
All you need is the upper???:cool: Thanks for the information and the sites.:)
I put that website in my favorites. Thanks again
hq
 
That is the best thing about the platform, ALL you need is the upper, it even uses most standard AR15 magazines, the rounds single stack in a magazine giving you a 10-round .50 Beowulf capacity with 30-round .223 magazines.

The manufacturer is actually been talking to me about possibly producing a dedicated Hog- Hunting model.
 
Really neat, no wonder Winchester is in trouble

Lummox said:
The manufacturer is actually been talking to me about possibly producing a dedicated Hog- Hunting model.

I would have to get one of those, are they going to legal in the state of CA.:confused:

HQ
 
From one .308 shooter to another . . . go and get some Federal "vital shok" 180grn nosler partition bullet for those big hogs. Almost any bullet type/configuration will work on deer, but wild hogs seem to be almost armor plated - you need penetration!

I also carry a .45acp as a "back-up" gun when hunting mainly so I can have both hands free in case I have to track a wounded animal into the very thick woods/swamps around here. I hope I never have to use it against a charging animal, but I figure it would do more damage than my fists.
 
Lummox,

I have always thought that Marlin's .45/70 stainless Guide gun was a close to perfection as you could get in a pure hog gun, but that 50 cal of yours may...may...give it a run for its money! Impressive.

Boarhunter
 
The 308 you have will get the job done when it comes to hunting wild hogs, the 45 as a backup ???????????? it is better than having nothing, but would not be my gun of choice as a backup. At minimum a 357 magnum with a heavy penetration load. 44 magnum would be my choice for a backup, and a 45-70 rifle would be my hunting rifle. I am not saying that your 45 will not do, just saying that it would not be my choice for a backup. A backup gun should have more than a enough power to penetrate the thick skin of a wild hog and stop him just my two cents. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top