Wondering about hog guns
 

I often hear people getting specific guns for hog hunting, often Mosin Nagants or other milsurps.

Is there any particular reason why someone might go with a gun on those lines rather than just use a standard deer rifle of some sort?

Not criticizing by any means. More guns are great and I own a couple of Mosin Nagant variations myself. One is slated for some whitetail duty this season for the heck of it.

I think milsurps and the like are on the list cuz hog huntin has a tendency to be an in the trenches kinda huntin.

That makes sense. I have to admit I'd love to get a chance to hunt in Siberia with a Mosin. Taking a Russian boar with one would be cool.

Did some hog hunting this weekend and ended up using my bow and Im glad I did. The area was so thick and the hogs were so close Im glad I didnt take the rifle with the scope, would have been hard to make a clear shot.


I personally think an iron sighted 12 gauge with 00 Buck shot would be a perfect hog gun, especially if you are running them with dogs. Hogs dont exactly sit still, especially when you use dogs!

Large hogs have a very thick, very tough 'shield.' Buck shot is fine, however, if shot in the shield, they will often run. Hogs are very tough. I have trailed them by blown out lung tissue. In addition, they often bleed very little...hard to trail. I used a 7 mm mag for years. the 7 mm is extremely powerful and fast. After having many run on me I decided to try something different. I switched to a 45/70. It puts them on the ground.

Most of the hunting you will be doing for hogs generally occurrs in less than ideal conditions (mud, brush, swamp, creeks bottoms, etc.) meaning at times you will be climbing, sliding, or falling in some harsh conditions that you wouldnt normally want to carry your "safe/range queen" through. Because of this most people dont like using their long barrelled $1,500 sendero rifles, and want a cheaper gun that they can tear the heck out of without crying about a scratch that shows up on a stock. Because of this, Marlin lever action 30-30's, or an equivelant, are about the best style hog gun you can use. More than enough lead to get the job done, cheap enough you wont cry about it getting dinged up, short enough to be very maneuverable in tight places, ample ammo selection ANYWHERE in the US, and most importantly they make you feel like John Wayne walking through the woods with a lever action :)

I've done a lot of "pig shootin" (mostly a mix of feral and wild pigs) in Texas. I've used everything from a 30-30 and .270, to a 45-70. The 45-70 was a tad too much though and had a good "kick" :s6: Just wanted to shoot it.

Thought about using this, but it is a bit much. :s6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xohy9gWz7kk

Also used a black powder .50 cal before. Those are fun, as long as you remember to put powder in before the ball...... :busted:

I think my dad's rem 760 30/06 that had barre cut down to 18" with a good Leopold 2-7 scope is a good hog gun. He uses it to hunt breast tunes with dogs. A lot of the other hunters use leaver action 45/70s.

I think buckshot would be pretty dicey. Recently my buddy and I shot the same hog simultaneously at about 25 yards. We were both using muzzleloaders with roundball: his a .54 and 90gr FFg and mine a .58 with 110gr FFg. It was an instant kill, but neither ball exited. Compared to buckshot, that's a lot of combined energy to get absorbed in an average size hog.

With the 12Ga I would use 1oz (437gr) or 7/8 oz (383gr) slugs. Plenty of Energy and momentum at thick woods ranges for adequate penetration and tissue damage. Even the 2-3/4 in reduced recoil loads will work.