Texas Hog Caliber Qirstion

[proud American]

I have a new property in NE Texas and there’s hog sign everywhere.

I’m planning on using an existing AR-15 lower and I’ve been researching articles on the different calibers and their effectiveness for hogs and seem to have narrowed the field to a few.

I’m hoping for some advice based on experience.

I’ll be hunting over a feeder from an elevated blind (approx. 15’) at a range under 100 yards. The options I’m considering are:

.300 Blackout.
.338 ARC
6.5 Grendel

Any experienced feedback is appreciated.

The .300 Blackout has plenty of smack and less recoil than the other two so you can stay on target more easily. There's plenty of factory ammo available and if you'd like to do your own reloading the .223 brass is easily reformed for reloading. My 2-1/2 cent opinion

 

[Gary in MD]

No fans of the mighty 220 Swift? LOL
Works on Javelinas too!

 

[Oso]

Gary - if I haven’t said it before that is exceptional piece of wood! Glad it became a stock instead of a bed post.

 

[Gman]

Curse. Ask anyone who has to deal with them. I got pissed off when I first found sign on pigs on my property.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission surely doesn't want pigs in the commonwealth. But I believe they would be hunted by most deer hunters. Just sayin'.

 

[603Country]

During deer season here in Texas, I carry a 260 or a 270. But after deer season, I switch to a 6.5 Grendel AR (100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips), which works for hogs and coyotes. The idea, of course, is to have follow up shots available, and that has been the case a few times. Prior to the Grendel for varmints, I used a 223 AR, but too many times it wasn’t enough to do the job quickly. Once I decided to get a bigger AR caliber, I researched the 300 H’MR, the 6.8 SPC, and the 6.5 Grendel. I chose the Grendel because I had the bullets, powder, and primers, and could get the brass. Otherwise the 6.8 would probably have been fine (same ballistics). The 300 H’MR didn’t shoot flat enough to suit me.

 

[TC260]

The Pennsylvania Game Commission surely doesn't want pigs in the commonwealth. But I believe they would be hunted by most deer hunters. Just sayin'.

Hunted yes, controlled no. Hunting is a waste of time in terms of population control. Deer typically have 1-2 offspring per year. Wild sows have 2 litters averaging 10-12 offspring per year. It's a completely different ballgame.

 

[Gman]

Hunted yes, controlled no. Hunting is a waste of time in terms of population control. Deer typically have 1-2 offspring per year. Wild sows have 2 litters averaging 10-12 offspring per year. It's a completely different ballgame.

Very interesting. I did not know they reproduced like that.

 

[mmcu]

Very interesting. I did not know they reproduced like that.

They do and it is estimated, by people way smarter than me, that you have to kill upwards of 70% of the population every year in order to maintain current densities.

It's almost a full-time job keeping their numbers in check on our place. We shoot them on sight, trap them year round and are now looking into some of the warfarin containing baits (which I am reluctant to use.)

 

[Oso]

That’s the beauty of wild pigs/hogs. Not only do they taste great but they are a sustainable prey for year-round hunting. If I were a farmer my opinion would be vastly different.

I had a liter of 6-8 piglets that showed up in my game camera. The sow was young (about 80#) so most likely her first litter. Over the course of 5 months the piglets went from Guinea Pig size to the same size as their mom was when she birthed them. With that birth rate (2-3 liters per year) and maturity rate, pigs are impossible to over-hunt.

The only way to effectively eliminate pigs is to remove them in mass, such as with the massive traps that capture the entire sounder or professional extermination.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Very interesting. I did not know they reproduced like that.

The high school ag education formula on hog gestation always stuck in my head = 3 Months, 3 Weeks,3 Days.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

Depends on the type of pig you are shooting. If you are shooting small meat pigs and the such, a .223 with the proper bullet will probably work just fine. If you are going after 300+ monsters like the one below, I would step it up to one of the heavy hitters like 458 socom, Beowulf etc. This one took a 30/06 178 eld-x in the vitals and kept coming. Had to finish it off with a head shot. I feel like I would have been grossly undergunned with a .223 in that situation.

View attachment 1690064

Great pic, what state ?

 

[TC260]

They do and it is estimated, by people way smarter than me, that you have to kill upwards of 70% of the population every year in order to maintain current densities.

It's almost a full-time job keeping their numbers in check on our place. We shoot them on sight, trap them year round and are now looking into some of the warfarin containing baits (which I am reluctant to use.)

I just came across this trap so don't know anything about it but it's a clever idea to get around the problem of having to manually trip the gate closure on other pen type traps on the market.

Pig Brig® Trap Systems | Home | The Perfect Wild Hog Net Trap

The Pig Brig® net trap is the perfect multi-catch feral hog trap system. Low cost, one-person setup, easy transport and no cellphone service necessary.

pigbrig.com

 

[GeoW]

I have a new property in NE Texas and there’s hog sign everywhere.

I’m planning on using an existing AR-15 lower and I’ve been researching articles on the different calibers and their effectiveness for hogs and seem to have narrowed the field to a few.

I’m hoping for some advice based on experience.

I’ll be hunting over a feeder from an elevated blind (approx. 15’) at a range under 100 yards. The options I’m considering are:

.300 Blackout.
.338 ARC
6.5 Grendel

Any experienced feedback is appreciated.

7.62x39

 

[MClark]

Determine the twist of your current 223 barrel.
Use heaviest hunting type bullets that will stabilize.

If you are just wanting a new upper disregard this, a 223 will never work. Buy a 6.5 Grendel and a 450 Bushmaster to cover all bases.

 

[Sniperhandle]

Depends on the type of pig you are shooting. If you are shooting small meat pigs and the such, a .223 with the proper bullet will probably work just fine. If you are going after 300+ monsters like the one below, I would step it up to one of the heavy hitters like 458 socom, Beowulf etc. This one took a 30/06 178 eld-x in the vitals and kept coming. Had to finish it off with a head shot. I feel like I would have been grossly undergunned with a .223 in that situation.

View attachment 1690064

Porkin A!

 

[Sniperhandle]

223 in the ear for the win.

I hear ya!

 

[gmr4]

Shooting the hogs on your property will only make you feel better. We only knocked a dent in our population by trapping hundreds per year and shooting maybe 50. We use a t-post and hog panel trap set up… throw corn in them…. I’d go 6ARC with a thermal for shooting them….

 

[Steel Mover]

We in NW FL have some really big hogs that are no joke dangerous. All depend on if they are riled up or not. A 22 will kill an unaware hog, but a wounded or chased hog is one of the few animals that will turn to the attac and at 30 mph. A passing at full speed slash can upen you up, without you even felling it.

I prefer the lighter weight AR-15 in a 358 MGP with 200s but I also carry a 30x39 with 150s in a 308 barrel with a 1-10 twist.. The 358 MGP is a 6.8 SPC shortened .050 and necked up to 358 with a 40 degree shoulder. It is an absolute hammer loaded with 1680 at 2,500 fps.

I grew up in the Everglades moved to NW FL, the first hog I shot here in NW FL weighed 550 pounds. It is not a case of I think, I have been there done that, on the ground with handguns. The black bear hunters here hate the wild hogs here, because the hogs will kill their bear dogs in seconds, and the hogs even kill the hog hunters catch dogs. They are incredibly destructive on fields, looks like a B-52 flew over and dropped 500 pound bombs all over the field. I had a friend have a 30 acre feed corn field destroyed in one night by hogs, had to put a dozer on it to plant it again. You never want wild hogs on your property.

I would not carry my 300 BO to any hog hunt here. They are a quiet cartridge designed for guards not a DG cartridge and never will be. A 223 works only if you are shooting smaller hogs that do not expect you to ge near them. I have shot a few with a 223 in the less than 200 lbs range.

Handgun, a 44 mag or 45 with a heavy bullets and a modest accuracy load for recovery and follow up shots. The 44 with 240 grain hard cast SWCs will go right through a hog side to side and drops them in their tracks. The 44 do a good job in a rifle or handgun. I have a 444 Marlin and a 45-70 Siamese Mauser if I find big and deep tracks. I do hunt them down.


The 358 MGP with 200 RCBS plain base PCed, 300 BO w 230 Hard Cast PCed

 

[5spd]

6.5 grendel of the 3.
Excellent round for pigs. Deer, coyote