Boar Hunting

[Sport-Trac 01]

Who here's done it?

One of the county cops who we're friends with stopped in and we eventually got talking about hunting, he mentioned that he'd shot a wild boar that was waiting for a deer he wounded to die so the pig could eat it. Anyways, he said that he'd been thinking about going out hunting just for boars, and said we could come if we'd want. He lives in a neighboring county and that the DNR don't care how you kill them, so long as they get killed. Perfectly fine to eat, just a bad nuisance. Few questions though...

What is a good way to hunt them if we were going out in a group? We probably wouldn't have dogs.

What's a good caliber to use? I was most likely going to use my Yugo SKS once I get it working 100%. A friend who would be going is thinking about maybe taking his M-1 Carbine, would that have enough power to take a pig down if shot in the head?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mr. Leary]

Who here's done it?

One of the county cops who we're friends with stopped in and we eventually got talking about hunting, he mentioned that he'd shot a wild boar that was waiting for a deer he wounded to die so the pig could eat it. Anyways, he said that he'd been thinking about going out hunting just for boars, and said we could come if we'd want. He lives in a neighboring county and that the DNR don't care how you kill them, so long as they get killed. Perfectly fine to eat, just a bad nuisance. Few questions though...

What is a good way to hunt them if we were going out in a group? We probably wouldn't have dogs.

What's a good caliber to use? I was most likely going to use my Yugo SKS once I get it working 100%. A friend who would be going is thinking about maybe taking his M-1 Carbine, would that have enough power to take a pig down if shot in the head?

Thanks in advance.

I have had good luck with 7.62 and larger caliber weapons. SKS should do fine. M1 carbine may deflect off the skull, just speculating. Behind the shoulder shouldn't be a problem. Please don't use dogs... I have seen too many get ripped up by those pigs! The best luck we have had is by hunting at night with NVGs or "spot lighting" from a nearby road. We have a huge hog problem down here.... you can go door to door in some areas and people will let you onto their property to shoot the pigs. Game wardens are on board with it as well, and can suggest areas / techniques. They are an invasive species that destroy habitat for other animals. Kill them all!

P.S. Once you hit 'em... put a few extra rounds in them... they are tough critters!

 

[T-hacha-P]

I know here in California, you can hunt pigs with anything, but the M-1 carbine isn't recommended, and 7.62 isn't recommended for any pigs over 90 pounds.
See http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/pig/index.html, "Guide to hunting wild pigs", p. 13. I don't have any personal experience on this, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[sjk99]

That California site has this document with a table for recommended calibers depending on the pig being under or over 90 lbs. M1 Carbine not recommended for either. 7.62x39 Russian not recommended for >90lbs.


http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/pig/docs/pigguide.pdf

Cool map showing density of tags by quadrangle. Wish AZ did this.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/pig/pigmap.html

 

[stolenheron]

down here in south florida there are what seems like millions of them. they root everything up and just tear up the swamps looking for roots/acorns.

I've gone boar hunting several times on my friend's deer/turkey property. he lets me go buckwild, killing as many as possible to ensure a good deer/turkey season for them.

My weapon of choice has been a Remington 597 .22 Magnum. it sounds small, but it is actually plenty of gun for hogs. I've shot them as small as 65lbs and several just shy of 230lbs. Take them either behind the ear or in the heart with a hollow point. most drop with one well placed shot, dead before they hit the ground, but every once in a while you gotta put an extra round or 2 in them if you were off. it is a small caliber weapon after all. gives the hunt a little more of a challenge.

most of the hunts we do walking on foot, walking from oak stand or swamp to swamp on the property. just hop on a game trail and follow it, they will be there with the noses in the ground. the small boars/sows tend to sit in groups of 5-10 (ranging from piglets to 100lbs), large boars (200+) with nice trophy tusks tend to roam alone.

I definitely prefer having semi-auto in these situations, i've picked 3 off from 50yards in one group within 30 seconds. the first shot wounded the first pig, it was immobile but squealing, the rest of the group ran off, but paused about 25 yards away from the first pig, just staring. That's when i popped the other 2 and finally put the kill shot on the first wounded pig. may sound harsh, but its honestly about the best thing you can do for a fragile ecosystem, considering how destructive they are.

we hunt early in the morning (dawn, when we've seen the most), shot some even at high noon, and also in the evening at dusk

here are some pics of the past hunts:

 

[stolenheron]

 

[maximumrob]

I can't speak to the truthfulness of this, but I've read that the greatest number of piggies are taken while hunting for deer. That tells me almost anything will actually do the job. In TX you can shoot a deer with a .223, which means it'll kill a pig, which is why I believe the story above about the .22Mag.

For perspective, don't forget that a .22LR to the skull is how you take a cow if you don't have a stun bolt!

 

[stolenheron]

I can't speak to the truthfulness of this, but I've read that the greatest number of piggies are taken while hunting for deer. That tells me almost anything will actually do the job. In TX you can shoot a deer with a .223, which means it'll kill a pig, which is why I believe the story above about the .22Mag.

For perspective, don't forget that a .22LR to the skull is how you take a cow if you don't have a stun bolt!

my dad hunts them with a Ruger .270 bolt action rifle.

just look up what model gun i posted in the pictures, it is a clearly a .22 magnum remington 597 (longer clip than the .22LR version).

it is also a common deer poaching gun, quiet enough to get away with the shot and strong enough to drop them with good aim, i don't know this from experience i can promise you that. FWC officers have talked to me about the gun when we discussed the legality of hog hunting at an outdoorsman's expo.

honestly, anything that works for deer would be a good gun for hogs, unless you're out there to just completely wipe them out. If you wanna eradicate them, use a semi-auto AR. you'll drop them instantly and be able to take down multiple pigs if you're a decent shot on fast moving targets.

 

[leman]

i usually take my marlin .44 lever action

you know just to make sure the job is done.

 

[ruger1]

Say what you will about small caliber guns, but I grew up on a hog farm and would never again use a .22 of any kind to try and kill one. In other post, people do it and are successful, but I'm sure there are some that run off wounded. When you hunt you owe it to the animal to kill it humanely and not just dump as many bullets you can into it.
Last week my son & I were conducting a deer management hunt in a local orchard. Because of recent brain surgery my son was using a Rem. 700V in .22-250 to avoid the recoil. He made a excellent shot and the deer should have dropped but I had to back him up with my 7mm or the deer my have been lost. Hogs are much tougher than deer.

 

[snipecatcher]

A wise old man who has killed far more than any of us on this forum used an M1 carbine for years. I've killed them with a .44 mag and a .270 when actually hunting. When trapping, a .22 LR to the head will ensure a quick kill, and I have dispatched dozens of them this way. Any of your centerfire rifle rounds will be ok, but I would recommend something bigger than .223 for all around hunting, when you may run into a large (200+ lb) pig at longer distances. If you know you can get within 50 yards, virtually anything will work.
-Dan

 

[calamaridog]

Corbon makes some 150 grain soft points in 7.62x39 if you are hunting larger hogs.

 

[whitetaco02]

We have hogs everywhere!

 

[Payback]

From my experience, the guys that are just getting started tend to lean towards the larger calibers. Whereas the guys that have "Been there, done that" tend to use medium (.243-.270 range) or smaller calibers. The best advice I've ever received was "Watch the successful people, then do what they do."

The one person who posted pictures of dozens of piggies had a .22 Mag. Something to think about.

 

[stolenheron]

From my experience, the guys that are just getting started tend to lean towards the larger calibers. Whereas the guys that have "Been there, done that" tend to use medium (.243-.270 range) or smaller calibers. The best advice I've ever received was "Watch the successful people, then do what they do."

The one person who posted pictures of dozens of piggies had a .22 Mag. Something to think about.

i run a remington 597 .22 mag. i've taken down pigs 175lbs and under with 1 well placed shot....