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Practically Shooting

Best gun for large wild pigs....


Pablo

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What is the best overall gun and caliber for the feral pig menace? Drop 'em in one good shot, not anger them....if you know what I mean.

No matter what caliber you choose, shot placement is going to critical for dropping them with one shot. A good 12 ga slug gun would do the trick. As for rifles, I'd be comfortable taking any of these on a pig hunt:

My Marlin 30-30

My Savage 99 in 308*

My 1895 in 30-06

My No. 1 in 30-06

*The one I would most likely take if someone called me up and said let's go hunt some pigs.

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Wonderful can of worms to open...I enjoy caliber debates like no other!

For sure though Pablo that .44 Magnum gun you are buying will drop a hog reliably at 50 yards or less. You can never guarantee a one shot drop on any beast!

Lots of good caliber choices for pig. I think a .30-30 is perfect for shots out to 150 yards for more than that most any high powered rifle that can put a decent sized bullet out there will work just fine.

For 99% one shot drops you gonna need the biggest caliber you can comfortably shoot accurately.

I was looking at a .416 Ruger Alaskan the other day...

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My brother in law and I are planning a boar hunt on my uncles property as soon as our schedules allow. I am going to be bringing my 454 Casull handgun along with my 300 RUM, both using my handloads. I am confident either will produce one shot kills with a well placed shot.

Here in Ohio wild boar are considered nuisance animals by the DNR. I wont kill more than I can eat though.

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Wonderful can of worms to open...I enjoy caliber debates like no other!

For sure though Pablo that .44 Magnum gun you are buying will drop a hog reliably at 50 yards or less. You can never guarantee a one shot drop on any beast!

I hadn't planned on any local hunts, but it does look like there are some wild pigs around here. I was thinking more about when I move southeast, become an antihippie and live off the land. The .44 mag would be sporting for close up "fun".

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I say a 300 Remington Ultra Mag! I was reading the current Nosler reloading manual and came across the data for the 300 RUM. In the story about this caliber, the writer used a 300 RUM to take out 3 Texas pigs with ONE shot! There was something in that small article about the sadistic giggles his hunting buddies did that are usually associated with varmint hunting after that shot. 4000+ Ft.Lbs. of muzzle energy and a Nosler Accubond bullet will usually do that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, like most things, there are never any real guarantees. Caliber, shot placement, size of the animal all play into it.

Any centerfire rifle .30 cal or greater with 2100+ or more fps would put down a hog, but there are some real beasts out there, so there is no assurance, if you know what I mean. I don't hunt them (not in my area) but I'd love to try it, but I've seen some photos of scary-big boars that I would not want to anger; put them down and put them down HARD, because if you don't, you'd be sorry.

If a handgun is your preference, I'd go as big as you can handle. .44mag, a HOTLY loaded 10mm, .454 Cas, .460 or .500 S&W, etc.

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I would like it very much to meet you and share some time, but I don't see myself getting from IN to WA anytime soon, unfortunately. There will be a day, in the distant future, when I'll likely pass through your area (although in a hurry) on my (four conrners) motorcycle trip. I'd like to meet and shake hands, although I doubt boar hunting will fit into the schedule.

But, by gosh, I can live vicariously through you! Whack one for me. Boar are not in IN yet with any significant numbers. However, it's fairly common to whack a coyote at least once a month at my place. Shot one from my front porch right before Christmas.

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Actually I was thinking we (stands for anyone on this board) would need to meet up in the south somewhere. Somewhere where they are plentiful. Supposedly some counties around here have wild pigs. But not a whole lot. Yet.

Just dreaming really.

Haha maybe we should all get together and meet at one of the Texas hog hunting ranches and knock off a few and roast 'em on a spit and eat 'em while they are hot and juicy!

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