Forums46
Topics537,970
Posts9,731,204
Members87,051
|
Most Online25,604 Feb 12th, 2024
|
|
|
hog hunting gun set up suggestions
#6912623
10/08/17 02:59 AM
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,601
lubbockdave
OP
Pro Tracker
|
OP
Pro Tracker
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,601 |
Ok, in the next 12 months I'll be buying a hog hunting gun of some sort and i am looking for suggestions. Probably figure a .308 caliber military type set up. Need to hunt day or night so a night scope will be on the list.
what gun/scope combo in the $1000 range would you suggest?
$2000 range?
$3000 range?
Looking forward to reading what more experienced hog hunters run...
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912657
10/08/17 03:49 AM
|
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 4,091
CharlieCTx
Extreme Tracker
|
Extreme Tracker
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 4,091 |
Well, I have a $1,700 M&P 10 I bought new 4-5 years ago, not counting any add-ons and I spent $2,500 on a used Pulsar XD50A thermal scope.
You can usually find a lightly used .308 AR for under $1,000 and a new Pulsar NV scope for $600-700. I think that's about as cheap as you can start.
Stay away from any ATN scopes, no matter the price. I previouly owned (2), the monoculars I have are the exception.
Kel-Tec RFB + Griffin Sportsman Ultra Light 300 + Pulsar Apex XQ-50 M&P-10 + AAC Cyclone Remy 700 + Leupold VX3 3.5x10x50 CDS
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912661
10/08/17 03:51 AM
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,275
Ramsey
Pepe' Le Pew
|
Pepe' Le Pew
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,275 |
No suggestions here, I am at close to $8,000 including suppressor. You can probably buy a used AR 10, and a used scope in the ballpark of $3k. The old technology thermals are dropping but are very functional. What I wouldn't do is buy a thermal that can't easily detect out to 600 yards at least.
Big Beckett!!
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912668
10/08/17 03:55 AM
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,601
lubbockdave
OP
Pro Tracker
|
OP
Pro Tracker
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,601 |
WOW! 8K for night time hog hunting? Not sure I could slip that past the wifey...how often you hunt?
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912701
10/08/17 04:56 AM
|
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 5,561
Slow Drifter
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 5,561 |
Here's my setup. Feeder pen (with a loose bottom wire) with a "Mr. Beams" motion activated flood light, runs on 3 D-cell batteries and lasts a long time. I got tired of dealing with the unreliable solar stuff. .308 bolt action with a Bushnell "Dusk to Dawn" set to the green reticle, zeroed at 100 yards. Wooden box 75 yards away to sit in. The pigs get used to the light coming on and they seldom do so much as look up from the corn. I do let it "rest" a good 3 weeks after a kill. I have buddies who even hang cow bells on the bottom strands of wire to wake them up when something hits it. Apparently the pigs get used to that, too.
Oh, my other favorite setup is a 35 gallon drum on its' side with corn at the back. It helps if you flatten one side of the drum a bit so it lays kind of still. With the pigs head in the drum, you can shoot the shoulder usually.
Oh, my current pig gun is a Ruger Scout Rifle. It's compact and very handy. I have the scope over the receiver, not in the "Scout" configuration.
Last edited by Slow Drifter; 10/08/17 05:05 AM.
"I have no idea what WW-III will be fought with, but WW-IV will be fought with sticks and stones." A. Einstein
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912728
10/08/17 10:50 AM
|
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,012
Old Stony
Pro Tracker
|
Pro Tracker
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,012 |
I've got a Sight Mark night scope that has served me well for years now. I've shot a lot of hogs using it with no problems. Not a thermal, but not the price of a thermal either. You can mount one on anything you can mount a scope on, so your choices are many. I've had it on a bunch of rifles along the way, including a couple bolt actions...but my current is an Aero Precision AR in 6.5 Creedmore and it does a great job. I've gotten two in the 250 lb. range this past week (the only thing that limits me is my need for a little more sleep). You can pick up one of those scopes in the 500.00 +- range .
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912776
10/08/17 01:21 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,072
cabosandinh
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,072 |
any AR-10
PULSAR 960 night vision - good quality, not too expensive $1200 - 1500 ish
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912916
10/08/17 04:36 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 18,951
ChadTRG42
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 18,951 |
AR-15 in 300 Black Out with a FLIR Thermal RS32 works for us. I'm not a fan of 223 for pigs. A 300 blk out has more energy and penetrates better. A 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel would also be good. Ar-10 in 308 would be fine also, just bigger with more recoil and blast. Thermal scopes are the way to go, IMO. Night vision has some major limitations in brush and in the woods. If you are hunting wide open fields, the night vision should be decent. Get in the woods, and the contrast has issues when finding and engaging targets. I've tried and used both, and thermal is MUCH better. This is the same FLIR I hunt with on my AR. http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbth...-5x#Post6897888
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912939
10/08/17 05:20 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,937
bigjoe8565
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,937 |
PSA AR 10 for 600.00 and Sightmark Photon DigitalNV for 500.00. $1,100.00 plus tax.
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6912941
10/08/17 05:21 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,937
bigjoe8565
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,937 |
You can kill any pig within 200 yards.
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6913362
10/09/17 12:41 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,950
daniel1381
Extreme Tracker
|
Extreme Tracker
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,950 |
338 federal ar-10 200 grain federal ammo 16 in setup suppressed Reap ir thermal
My other setup is 11.5 in 6.8 sbr with the reap ir
"From my cold dead hands"
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do."
Benjamin Franklin
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6913521
10/09/17 02:37 AM
|
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17
enigmausly
Light Foot
|
Light Foot
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17 |
Do you already have an AR15? - if so, all you need is 300 Blackout upper...other parts will transfer - team it up with a Armasight Predator, some are selling new now for under 2k.
Alway's seeking forums where Zero is a positive;
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: enigmausly]
#6913646
10/09/17 08:58 AM
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 9,273
blackcoal
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 9,273 |
[quote=enigmausly]Do you already have an AR15? - if so, all you need is 300 Blackout upper...other parts will transfer - team it up with a Armasight Predator, some are selling new now for under 2k. [/quote First post
The Greatest Enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.--Stephen Hawking
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: blackcoal]
#6913721
10/09/17 11:50 AM
|
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17
enigmausly
Light Foot
|
Light Foot
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17 |
Doesn't actually say he doesn't have other weapons ... just trying to create cost savings solutions to a hog platform.
Alway's seeking forums where Zero is a positive;
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6915116
10/10/17 04:23 AM
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,355
TXGH
Pro Tracker
|
Pro Tracker
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,355 |
If you have an AR15 platform already, I would suggest a 6.5 grendel or a 6.8 SPC. I have both but I tend to like the 6.8 SPC upper more.. Ever since I upgraded to the 6.8 my .223 stays in the closet! Just plug and play to your AR15 lower (except a new mag and ammo of course). A Grendel will typically run you less than the SPC - I got my SPC and Grendel from MWD Firearms and was super fast shipping.
I only trust the ammo from Night Ops LLC as well. They custom load all of their rounds and they DO SOME DAMAGE!
Now as far as the optics I am biased towards ATN, but this forum hates ATN scopes. Probably the most hateful forum towards ATN out there. But do your own research and do whats best for you.
If you want a great Day/Night Vision scope for under 700 that records in HD, has a ballistic calculator, holds several profiles for different rifles/rounds, and has an app that you can live stram through on any smart device to share your hunt with someone sitting with you. Then at least check out ATN X-Sight II. They have the 3x14 for closer stalking type situations and the 5x20 for longer (100 yards and over) applications.
Get on YouTube and see for yourself what the optics look like. Hell if you are in the Austin area and want to try out mine let me know I will take you on a hunt and let you use teh X-Sight or Thor HD if you want.. Sometimes seeing something in person is better than listening to a forum.
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6916075
10/11/17 12:56 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,816
Bigfoot
Pro Tracker
|
Pro Tracker
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,816 |
3000 isnt much for optics and gun
A decent Ar10 is about 1000
a strike eagle 1-6 with mount is about $600 (Day Scope) a photon XT is about $600 plus a few accessories that you will need (Night scope)
That is 2500 and that is probably the cheapest you can start for optics and gun.
your 1000 2000 3000 should really be 2500 5000 7500 when adding thermals in the mix
Or just buy a gren/red light and stay with the strike eagle and you are in for under 2000
Last edited by Bigfoot; 10/11/17 12:57 AM.
GO TRUMP!
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: TXGH]
#6916582
10/11/17 02:23 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17
enigmausly
Light Foot
|
Light Foot
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17 |
If you have an AR15 platform already, I would suggest a 6.5 grendel or a 6.8 SPC. I have both but I tend to like the 6.8 SPC upper more.. Ever since I upgraded to the 6.8 my .223 stays in the closet! Just plug and play to your AR15 lower (except a new mag and ammo of course). A Grendel will typically run you less than the SPC - I got my SPC and Grendel from MWD Firearms and was super fast shipping.
Are you stating that 6.5, 6.8 mags fit the 556 lower? Wasn't aware of that ... BCG and charging handle the same as well?
Alway's seeking forums where Zero is a positive;
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: lubbockdave]
#6916619
10/11/17 03:04 PM
|
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,019
Bar-D
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,019 |
The magazines will both fit a standard AR-15 lower. You will have to have a different bolt for both calibers as neither uses a 5.56 bolt. Bolt carrier and charging handle are the same.
Last edited by bar-d; 10/11/17 03:05 PM.
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf
|
|
|
Re: hog hunting gun set up suggestions
[Re: Bar-D]
#6916737
10/11/17 04:41 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17
enigmausly
Light Foot
|
Light Foot
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 17 |
The magazines will both fit a standard AR-15 lower. You will have to have a different bolt for both calibers as neither uses a 5.56 bolt. Bolt carrier and charging handle are the same. Excellent to know and thanks ...
Alway's seeking forums where Zero is a positive;
|
|
|
Moderated by bigbob_ftw, CCBIRDDOGMAN, Chickenman, Derek, DeRico, Duck_Hunter, hetman, jeh7mmmag, JustWingem, kmon11, kry226, kwrhuntinglab, Payne, pertnear, rifleman, sig226fan (Rguns.com), Superduty, txcornhusker
|