Opening the floor for discussion on routinely chasing feral pigs and "exercising" all of your firearms while doing so . . . This IS NOT a "best caliber for hogs" thread !

In my experience the firearms and ammo Industry has changed significantly over the last 4-5 years, simply put while prices for traditional rifles/ammo has swollen greatly so too has the options a sportsman/hunter can have in acquiring different rifles/ammo.

What are you guys using to get the economics to work when there are so many options and "new" calibers coming out and is there any benefit to looking into switch barrel systems?

I have used 223 / 6x45 / 300 blackout / 243 winchster / 270 winchester / 300 win mag / 300 WSM / 6.5 Grendel / 6mm Grendel / 30 Remington AR and the list goes on and on.

Each time I've done this it has usually required purchase of dies and components and a massive amount of time to reload OR pay-the-piper and buy factory ammo.

Hunting situations predominantly call for choosing a caliber / rifle best suited (am I static in blind up close, am I static in blind with mid range shooting options, am I stalking...) for being successful, not just once, over the course of multiple given hunts in a period.

It isn't uncommon for me to roll into camp or show for a hunt with 2-3 rifles and all the magazines and ammo and gear so that if the circumstances change I will be ready to go.

It was about 3 years ago that reloading began to taper off due to lack of components and prices and so I have slowed way down in that and have actually begun buying the cheapest factory ammo I can find and parking myself with 223 Rem as the economic choice across all my rifles.

BUT

I'm just hard wired to want to sling various bullets at pigs if I have the rifles in the arsenal so I have begun seeking a switch barrel rifle platform to do this with in an effort to save some weight in what I haul out and invest once up front for the full rifle and then slightly less money thereafter for the additional barrels/bolts/mags to convert.

I can't say that I have been successful but I see switch barrel rifles come and go and don't really get the sense that it is a viable "market" to keep gun makers committed to the customer.

Literally I recall buying a rifle and emailing the manufacture every month for a year asking when the conversion kits would become available to eventually be told the rifle system is discontinued - very frustrating.

On the other side of that I see Blaser has at least 2 dozen calibers for their system - but I don't have Blaser money.

It is my goal to have 4-5 calibers available for any given hunt with a minimal amount of full complete rifles in the truck or back at camp.

Anybody got any experience or ideas with doing this and doing it well ?

Note: I am using digital optics which typically have Quick Detachable QD mounts and profiles to be able to accommodate 4-5 different zeroing profiles. To me this along with having an overbore suppressor that can be used on all rifles makes the task a little bit more realistic

My goal is to take hogs in the next few months with a system that shoots 204 Ruger / 223 Rem / 300 Blackout / 6mm ARC / 6.5 Grendel / 6.8 SPC.

I realize most of these calibers, from a ballistics standpoint, do the same thing BUT for me they each represent a different feel and experience in hunting and allow me to gain first-hand experience with each to share with others when relating what it is to Hunt Texas Hogs . . .

Interested to hear your feedback !

I'm restricted to shooting off the ATV or sitting in a blind, 100 yd max. 300BO will do the job. Another blind would give 200 yds, ok 308W. Yup got other cals but why bother - go with what works. But if you insist on 'playing' with toys, whatever. No fast switch barrels so what do you take to a 'shoot'?

I really like the concept, despite the fact that it is not a concept I would use to its fullest extent.

One aspect I really do like is that you could have as many different calibers as your electronic scope has rifle settings (usually ~5), switch out the parts and change to the correct setting and be good to go.

I would need a custom bag that would have individual sleeves and pockets for each caliber and associated parts and boxes of ammo.

Having hunted with Pig_Popper for several years, this may be a good fit for the guy. About every few hunts, he has a new rifle, caliber, or optic and when he doesn't have anything new, I think he likes to switch scopes between calibers.

I think the switch system would be an ideal SHTF system, lots of versatility without a lot of bulk.

Ah good point on barrel switching in the field

Certainly a no-no as screws are likely to go flying into the dirt.

Depending on the switch barrel platform some are modular in the sense that you can use a single lower across multiple uppers - certainly this is most like an ar15 however with as many calibers as one wants - not having to build out complete uppers would be a cost and weight savings

I prefer the AR platform for quick followup shots and those times when a big sounder and target rich environment shows up.
I've played with most calibers available in an AR platform for feral pigs and I reload my own ammo and chose the best bullet for the job each time.
I settled on 6.8 using 120gr SSTs and have given hundreds of them up to 380 pounds a dirt nap with that combo.

I pick one gun/caliber, find a good load combination and practice with it - sure, I would love a half a dozen pig guns but mostly hunt at night and can't afford to dedicate 3-4K NV to each one.
I do have two nearly identical 6.8s and take friends and family to introduce them to night hunting.

SHTF will probably happen at home, not in the pig stand so you can have 3 different guns in each corner as 2 legged soft fleshy fellers are a whole different ball game compared to feral pigs.

"Note: I am using digital optics which typically have Quick Detachable QD mounts and profiles to be able to accommodate 4-5 different zeroing profiles. To me this along with having an overbore suppressor that can be used on all rifles makes the task a little bit more realistic"
I use IR scope and have NOT tried to move it between guns. One would need to verify zero and if off, re-zero. Don't mind the checking but re-zero in the field (for IR/NV) would be a no-no for me. An upper with matching barrel/bolt combo would be neat but 'mechanics' good enough to maintain accuracy?

All good feedback Duffas !

There is a lot more to consider in applying the switch barrel systems in the field.

There are some designs that allow for not removing a scope from the upper receiver, one that comes to mind is the Beretta BRX1.

However I can’t afford a dedicated thermal to compliment each caliber so therefore I’d have to rely on the scope that can store many profiles as the solution.

In doing so, I have the exact rail position marked for which the scope was zeroed and ensure that the QD tension is consistent and that the correct profile is selected before taking a shot.

To your point, I’ve verified and practiced the swap of optic and have seen that a shift of no more than .5” occurs - if one buys quality equipment we can rely on it to achieve success repeatedly !

Vern and DNS - thanks for the input !

I would see the switch caliber rifles as a good idea for someone that can only afford, or only wants one rifle. maybe something like 22-250 for varmints, .260 for deer/pigs, .338 for elk. One rifle, but you could switch barrels at home, then head out to hunt your intended quarry. Like you, I sometimes like to "play" with my toys, and pigs offer a great opportunity to do so. I used to have my rem 788 with me, and then I might pick one of my other toys to take with me to play with. Now, I have begun just leaving most of my toys in the safe at the ranch, so I have most my toys down there ahead of time.

Why not just use the AR platform and QD mounts?

Swapping uppers

Pig Popper, thanks. I haven't swapped the IR to different rifles but hearing more responses that say it works OK, not just salesmen talk.

This is exactly where I started my approach back in the day , it worked fine for most calibers and applications

With switch barrels you may be able to save some money in the long run foregoing the price of additional handguards and upper receivers (for each caliber) whilst possibly also standardizing your configurations within the operating envelope of the switch barrel system.

AR platform is the closest thing to what I am attempting to utilize in my pursuit of more with less

Originally back in 2018 I bought a Sabatti Saphire bolt action rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor through the US importer. It was a nicely appointed rifle with integral scope base (one piece to the reciever) and was advertised and marketed as a switch barrel system. Price back then for the rifle was around $ 1100 and the barrel/bolt kits were supposed to be around $600 each.



barrel/bolt kits never came to the importer from Italy and I was told my model had been discontinued. I just looked and Sabatti still shows a Saphire with interchangeability (see above photo) BUT I now see that the US importer no longer imports them so this ship has sailed, sank, and is dead.

Next I find the Beretta BRX-1 straight pull (linear action) bolt action rifles. I handled these at 2024 trade shows, well built (perhaps overbuilt) and only available in heavy calibers. Current recertified "refurbished" 308 rifles can be had from Cabelas for $ 1299 plus tax. The barrel / bolt conversion kits are coming in around $ 750 each. Stock (supply) of the barrel/bolt kits is suspect, they seem to be out of stock more frequently than in stock.




While I was interested in the BRX1 for awhile, the inability to get the barrel conversions and price eventually deterred me from what I feel is a large rifle (size) with extra large conversion accessories (the barrel is attached to a pictanny rail and the length of barrels are 20+ inches). So I've passed for now on this but check every so often to see if someone is selling out of the platform.

What I ended up settling on was the LMT Defense MRP in AR15. MRP stands for Monolithic Rail Platform and the up front cost of the rifle and upper receiver can be steep (retail is $ 2k plus). I happened to find a used LMT defender with a 6.8 SPC MRP upper at cabelas a couple of years ago for $ 999.00

There is a gunsmith up north who offers a service of converting ANY AR15 barrel to the MRP barrel extension so I had a 6.5 Grendel barrel done about a year ago. Cost of the barrel and the service was right around $500

What I do like about the LMT MRP platform is that it is semi-auto, comes in AR15 size, and I can essentially pick the barrel of my choice (quality preference) and have them converted by the smith. Over Thanksgiving I bought 4 Wilson Combat barrels and I now have six calibers for the LMT system. Total cost for the 4 barrels and gunsmith service was around $ 1350 or roughly $ 435 per caliber (not including bcgs which I already had onhand). So a bit less crazy money versus the two options above.



I did splurge and buy an extra MRP handguard last year, it was around $900 just for the handguard but to Duffas point I wasn't going to risk switching the barrels in the field so I just consider it a half step towards full utility of the intention. At the end of the day I could get by with just the original LMT rifle and these converted barrels and use them all with the same handguard.

I will begin my journey with this system tomorrow, perhaps I'll have more pros and cons to add to this thread after some time. . .

Pick one good caliber and stick with it. There is no advantage to changing calibers more often than your underwear.

Beware of the man with just one gun.

I just use the one in my hands. I have used many calibers 17HMR, 223, 308, etc. I have ear holed a couple of pigs with the 17HMR, it will scramble the eggs real good. Just make sure it's on target and practice your shot placement. I sometimes have the " which gun will I take today thoughts". I'm blessed to have this problem, as some of our brothers and sister don't have the available funds for the affliction.