Smallest caliber for Hogs?

What is the smallest caliber to use for Hogs?

Most likely 50-200 yards.

I was going to take my new Ruger 6.5 Creedmoor, but I had to send it back to Ruger.

I do have a 22-250 & a Ar in 5.56.

Let me know what you would use.

TIA. Howard

We really need a can of worms emoji. JP?....

If I had those two choices only, I would make sure to use a tough bullet (bonded or monometal, like an accubond or TTSX) and take the 22-250. Speed kills. If I had larger choices, I would pick a larger caliber.

Oh, and BTW,

I would choose my gun based on the hunting conditions. Sitting in a blind vs stalking in heavy cover will require 2 different types of weapons in my opinion.

When I am in a blind I use a bolt action and when I am on the ground I prefer my AR, But not in 556 but if that is all you have just buy some good bullets like Barnes.

Welcome

I'd use whichever of those 2 you have/can get heavier hunting bullet. 75grain SP in 556 is better than 55 grain FMJ in 22-250. It's not just the rifle that matters.

I’m running 55 gr Nosler ballistic tip in the 22-250.

Running 68 hp in the Ar.

Hopping to get the 6.5 creedmoor back soon enough to take on the hunt.

BTW: Thanks for the welcome!

As has been repeated on this and other forums, bullet placement trumps all else. Pick the rifle that you know will give you be best chance on placing a bullet in the eye, ear, or neck of the hog and use it. A large bullet, poorly placed, will not do the job!

And welcome to the Forum!!

Shot a hog twice earlier this year with a 22 WSM at about 150 yards, Not enough , but it was what I had in my hand, so...

A couple of weeks ago I shot a big boar with 223. It ran off and didn't leave much blood, but I was sure I hit it. Found it the next day about 75 yards from my shot,

Bigger is better, but at the end of the day, it is what you have with you at the time. Best is in the eye of the beholder.

Howard, are you a deer hunter? Any caliber you would feel good about using on a deer at those distances should be fine for a hog at those distances.

Yes I do hunt deer, but not often enough!

I haven’t been in about 8 years, but my friend told me to come down to Catulla (spelling)?

Need to help him clear out his doe over population & rid the property of as many Hogs as I can shoot.

I have probably shot over 100 hogs, and over 50% of them with a ruger, mini 14 in 223. Never lost one with it.
But a 308 is my favorite hog gun.

I think most/a lot of people started hogs hunting with .223. Everyone has a favorite though. Mine is 6.8SPC.

NEVER send your Creedmoor off without having a 308 as a backup

Get to Walmart ASAP and getcha a 308 beater to use in the interim

Sale it when you get the c-moor back

Trade the 22-250 or 555 or both for a backup larger caliber

Soooo many options so little time

Cotulla/Encinal area.....great places to hunt. Good luck.

I have lost track of how many I've killed with this 10/22. Never had one take a step after one shot. CCI SV to the dome. Behind the shoulder shots need hydrostatic shock to work, so I'd never try that with less than a .223 and the correct bullet construction for the size of the animal.

Is this supposed to read 22WMR, or 17WSM? I don't think th 22WSM exists, does it?

I never seem to hunt with anybody that "has never lost a hog." Correction, I have hunted with two, who then lost hogs while we were hunting together.

Yes, sorry, not thinking - WMR

Nope! I’ve got it covered if I want to pull the M1A out or I can grab my Husqvarna 30-06 out,

But I really don’t want to lug the heavy M1A out in the wild & mess it up. I just might take the 30-06 .

I believe the 68 gr is a match bullet. Of those two, I would go with the 22-250 with Nosler ballistic tip....However, I would probably choose the 30-06 over the 22-250...maybe. What are you shooting out of the 30-06?

It a older Husky & it’s a 1 in 12 twist, so it likes the lighter bullets.

I’m shooting a Sierra 125gr sp. it was really accurate, but I haven shot it in a few years.

I’ll have to go site it in & check it out.

Hopefully I’ll have my 6.5 creedmoor back in time, I’m shooting a 140gr interlock through it.

125 gr in a 30-06? or a 22-250? Ricky Bobby?....Just ribbing you. Of the two, I would pick the 30-06 first, and the 22-250 second. If you don't have time to check zero on the 30-06, go with the 22-250. Others might have differing opinions.

Listen Up! It doesn't take much to kill a hog. Me and my friends in the Airgun world kill the snot out of them all the time. What ever rifle he can shoot the most accurate is the one to use. I have killed multiple 200 lb hogs with an 80 grain, sub-sonic .257 AirForce Condor. Shoot them in the heart, they die, shoot them in the ear, they die. Doesn't matter how big they are, make a good shot and they die. That's how it works.

See!! I told you someone else would have a differing opinion!

No disrespect sir, what i wrote is a fact.

FIFY

Which of course, you are entitled to. Yes, you can (I have too) kill pigs with a .22. However, I typically choose something bigger. Pigs have more will to live than any other wild animal I have seen. They don't always die easily. Bigger bullet causing more trauma does a better job of killing them.

There are no levels of deadness.
Dead is dead.
This gun is 56” long for reference
All taken from 110 to 128 yards

Maybe this will help someone new to pig hunting. You can poke them with an ice pick in these three area's and kill a hog.

Those areas shown above are the sweet spots to nail a hog. I've used all kinds of calibers on them and mostly settled on a Grendel.....which does a great job. You don't need large bullets, and I've found the Hornady 123 SST works wonders for me.

Inside 100 yards, I generally aim for the ear to eye area. Beyond that, its the front shoulder area. We are so overrun with the pests, I really hate to miss, when I get the chance. Bought a thermal scope, but in my old age, cannot stay up much past 9.

x2
Placement over displacement.

Good news!

Just got my 6.5 creedmoor back from Ruger!

The changed the bolt & installed a new barrel.

No explanation of why a new barrel was installed, just that 12 test rounds were fired.

Heading to the range to break in the new barrel in the morning.

Hopefully this barrel will like the ammo I have.

+1 on the Grendel / 123 sst

My son, years ago at 9 yrs old. .17 @ 110 yards in the ear. Placement trumps caliber every time.

204 ruger in the ear by my son.

Wrong, a Weatherby kills them deader…

There are many ways to skin a cat.

My daylight choice is a .308 bolt gun spitting a 168 g Sierra. Ive dropped a lot of hogs from well over 250 yards, my longest 325, and at that distance, I'm taking a behind shoulder shot for forgiveness. An ear shot from 250 yards is not high percentages for me.

For night I recently replaced an AR10 6.5 CM with thermal with an AR15 Grendel shooting 123 g Hornadys , 100% just for the weight savings for stalking. There CM performed well, but i have had more runners than with .308. So fare I'm 3 for 3 with the Grendel shooting Hornady 123g Match , one ear shot and 2 shoulder shot. The 123g Match bullets exit blew out a lot of matter and dropped them .

My BIL kills hogs all the time while deer hunting with his 22 250 , 55 g Big ones too.

good luck, have fun

218 bee and no smaller

I'm a little late to the party but I personally would not use the 55g Nosler Ballistic Tip on a pig. I once shot a turkey with that bullet out of a 22-250. Shot in the wing where it attaches to the breast. It just blew his wing off. It blew his wing OFF. That's it. The bird looked ridiculous trying to get enough air under just one wing to take flight. As far as I know he's still running around Nolan County with one wing or maybe he figured it out and just flies in circles. IDK
I've killed plenty of coyotes with it, usually in the head or neck. I'm sure the bullet hit the wing bone and did what it's designed to do. I still feel bad.

Son's raised 1 ton Dodge Dually traveling 70 got 3 of the 7 that crossed highway with one shot.
We were about 100 yards behind and I've never seen pigs do aerobatics like that so up close and personal as we drove thru the split he made in 'em!

The .17 Rem works on them too. 150 yds in the boiler room.

Everybody always acts like it is such a big thing that you can kill a hog with something smaller than a Howitzer. As HornSlayer said, there are airgunners that do it. I have been reposting this guy's vid for years. He killed a huge hog with a .22 subsonic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J7kgpIaGeI&t=30s

As for the notion of placement over displacement, that only works right when the placement is right. If we all made perfect shots all the time, life would be great, but we don't. We get buck fever, the animal moves just at the moment of the shot, the wind kicks up, or we have a little trigger jerk and all of a sudden, the shot is off by 3 or 4" and you no longer have the great placement. That is where displacement becomes a big deal.

Depending on the caliber, a 100 yard shot can take anywhere from 0.1 to 0.3 seconds to arrive. That doesn't sound like a lot, but a hog can move a goodly amount in that time, such as with a quick raise of the head on a head shot, or take a side step. On a running hog, the hog can literally run out from in front of the bullet in that amount of time.

DNS we are both right just different scenarios. Airguns have there place as a secondary weapon for when in a blind and hogs show up. They are the ultimate quiet killer. There are also other reasons like the hunter that only wants the 500 yard shot. With Airguns you get that challenge at 100 yards. Lastly, If I’m trying to stalk a sounder out in a pasture for little shooting gallery action, I’m using my AR.

I don't know what you are talking about. I never said anything against airguns.

.17 Remington

Just this season I bought my first AR in .223 wylde amd love it . I can put 5 rounds in a quarter at 100 yards so I started pig hunting with it , only take ear shots and it has been a game changer for me . I love shooting it and all 4 pigs so far have dropped immediately. Find something you like and shoot well, then practice a lot and make good shots

I typically carry two guns into the blind with me. A Marlin 22 mag for hogs, and 30-30 for the deer.
I recently set up an AR with IR scope, but every time I have it with me, no hogs show up.

I’ve got this big pig coming to my deer feeder. I only have 8.5 acres and this one is coming to the deer feeder on the east side of the property. We bow hunt in our development and I use a shotgun on skunks and armadillos.

I am planning on building a big trap this week. Should I mess with trying to hunt it down and shoot it or wait to trap it then shoot it at close range.

I have neighbors less than 100 yds away.

What should I use on this pig? Try to shoot it with a crossbow? 000 buckshot in my 12 guage?

I would use a 22lr if you got one? Shoot it in the ear and don't miss!

Agree with Hornslayer. 22LR bullet in the ear.

I would use a slug in the 12 gauge. Anywhere in the head area and it will go right down. A shoulder shot will work too, but he might run some.

A shotgun would be my choice with buckshot or slug since you have nearby houses.

This

Definitely use 12 GA 00 buckshot...as Erny said, for the safety of nearby neighbors...being an overwhelming factor.
My effective kill range on 12GA 00 buckshot for hogs has been ~ 60 yards...for 2 3/4 inch .33in balls.
But more importantly with your neighbors...the tested horizontal travel length of 12 GA 00 is less than 600 yards, however when shooting at a hog (non flying of course) and shooting parallel or down angle to the ground...the spread of the shot and the downward direction of the barrel make it a far safer choice
Lastly a 2 3/4' 12GA has 9 - .33in balls and depending on your barrel length and choke...you can get ~ 50" x 50" pattern at ~50 yards.
The more buckshot hitting a large hog - the better - I always say!

Several of our hunters had great success this year hog helli-hunting using 10ga shotguns. Their percentages went way up compared to sporting rifles.

Assuming that you are shooting form an elevated stand at bow distance, pretty much anything that you shoot at him would probably be safe...even a rifle. A .22 standard velocity in the ear is a great choice from the bow stand (use a scoped .22 and don't miss). The crossbow would work as well, but he's likely to run off with your bolt and die somewhere else. Buckshot or just about any centerfire round would work. I don't like .223 for pigs (some people will flame me for this), but at 20-40 yards, I wouldn't hesitate to use the .223 either.

I have yet to try heli hunting for hogs...using a shotgun sounds like a literal blast !

I've killed several with my .17hmr. 20 grain hunting tip. Savage Model 93. I checked out internal to check damage once. Made jello out of heart. about a 100 pound sow. I also love to use an old .257 Roberts, a Savage 7mm-08 and one of several .308s I have including iron sights Springfield Armory M1A.

So pretty much anything you can get your hands on? I can dig it!

22-250 and shoot them between their eyes. The impact will blow their eyeballs completely out of their sockets. Typically - the that shot will kill them DRT, but if not, they can't see and just run around in circles till they die...

I have two guns that a primarily hunt with, One is a bolt action .22-250, the other is a AR10 in .308. Both drop the hogs where they stand. The 250, i can hit a dime at 200 yards, so a shot right in the ear hole does the trick. I can usually get one follow up shot and that is it.

With the AR10, its more like a paper plate at 200 yards so the extra knockdown power makes up for being slightly less accurate. Being able to follow up with more shots is nice. I can normally drop 5-6 instead of just 1 or 2.

This right here. I have killed several hundred with a 30 cal FX Boss pellet rifle. 93 Hogs this year alone with an 17 HMR out to 100 yards in the head and even a few good size ones behind the shoulder. Head shots never moved, behind the shoulder most they ran was about 50 yards and toppled over

I have killed hogs with everything from a burnt match to a spork to a howitzer. Shot placement is what's important.

i use a 22 Hornet