Which gun to use
01-12-2014, 04:51 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Lynchburg,VA
Posts: 3
Which gun to use
Well I'm finally going on a hog hunt and originally planned to use the AR15 but a couple of the places suggested a .243 or larger. I have one of those as well as a 30-06 but I like the AR. I don't plan on harvesting a huge boar but would rather keep it under 150 lbs cause I'm going after the meat. If I do use the AR I'm looking for suggestions on bullets to load up as I figure my normal 52 gr. A-Max's may be a little light. I was thinking something around a 65 gr.
What say ye?
What say ye?
Go ahead and use whatever you want. 
01-12-2014, 08:39 PM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
I believe it is prudent and wise to carry something that will work for the biggest thing you are likely to run into. So, for me, I would take the 06. Like the man above noted, what if you run into a really big boar. Do you hold your fire or do you try to take him? If you're like most hunters you'll try to take him. The AR is a great coyote gun but in .22 caliber it isn't a great big game gun.
Back in my native CO I once ran into a guy from out of state that was on a deer and elk hunt. He had tags for both and all he was carrying was a .243 Win. To me that made no sense since there is a lot of difference between a deer and an elk. He was carrying a light deer rifle when he was in an area that held elk which weigh over 600 lbs. In my book that was foolish. But, to each their own.
Back in my native CO I once ran into a guy from out of state that was on a deer and elk hunt. He had tags for both and all he was carrying was a .243 Win. To me that made no sense since there is a lot of difference between a deer and an elk. He was carrying a light deer rifle when he was in an area that held elk which weigh over 600 lbs. In my book that was foolish. But, to each their own.
01-13-2014, 08:42 AM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 170
There are as many opinions about caliber and bullets as there are calibers and bullet types. Actually, I suspect that if there are N options, there are probably at least N+1 opinions.
Lots of folks hunt hogs with small (<.25 caliber) weapons. Usually they add a statement to the effect that "It's all about shot placement" and that's certainly true. My problem is that I'm not the world's best shot, and the hogs don't seem to make much of an effort to make it easy for me. They keep moving and shuffling around when they're feeding, or they're quartering away, or some other such nonsense that prevents me from making a nice head shot right behind the ear every time.
I hate that, but what can I do? My answer is to carry a .30 caliber rifle. I don't use premium bullets, just regular old soft points, but when I hit them with a large bullet it usually leaves a mark! I bought an AR-15 a few years ago. I liked carrying it. It was lightweight and accurate and I shot a hog with it. It wasn't a large hog, maybe 65 Lbs. It was moving around about 95-100 yards away and I had to just shoot for center mass. I hit center mass, and then the hog took off across a pasture. I shot it again and it went down. When I got to it I had to shoot it again to finally kill it. I sold the AR-15 to my brother and bought an AR-10. It's noticeably heavier to carry, but it throws a heavier (3X) weight bullet. It's my primary hog gun now.
Lots of folks hunt hogs with small (<.25 caliber) weapons. Usually they add a statement to the effect that "It's all about shot placement" and that's certainly true. My problem is that I'm not the world's best shot, and the hogs don't seem to make much of an effort to make it easy for me. They keep moving and shuffling around when they're feeding, or they're quartering away, or some other such nonsense that prevents me from making a nice head shot right behind the ear every time.
I hate that, but what can I do? My answer is to carry a .30 caliber rifle. I don't use premium bullets, just regular old soft points, but when I hit them with a large bullet it usually leaves a mark! I bought an AR-15 a few years ago. I liked carrying it. It was lightweight and accurate and I shot a hog with it. It wasn't a large hog, maybe 65 Lbs. It was moving around about 95-100 yards away and I had to just shoot for center mass. I hit center mass, and then the hog took off across a pasture. I shot it again and it went down. When I got to it I had to shoot it again to finally kill it. I sold the AR-15 to my brother and bought an AR-10. It's noticeably heavier to carry, but it throws a heavier (3X) weight bullet. It's my primary hog gun now.
