The latest PREDATOR XTREME magazine has some great information regarding Feral Hogs in Mississippi and Down-South in general. What these new entries entail, only fortifies my fears of what's coming out of Texas and heading NORTHWARD. Feral Pigs are heading toward Canada, via Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. We, hunters, cannot stop them, but we can put a decided dent in them. Just as Carp own the rivers and lakes of every state in the lower forty-eight, feral pigs will devour our nation within a few years. Having fought, and lost, the bow-and-arrow Carp battle, I expect to fight and lose the Pig battle. I've killed thousands of Carp since 1955, but to no avail. Now in 2010, what chance exists of actually STOP invading FERAL HOGS? Cliffy
Feral Hogs
- Thread starter cliffy
- Start date
When I was younger, I noticed that armadillos were in Texas and moving northward though our state. Now a flood of pigs, and illegals are moving north.
Our local National Guard Camp has a serious wild pig problem and has requested hunters to shoot as many as can be killed - either to take for food or left to rot.
So, at least we can shoot the pigs and armadillos.
Central Arkansas
Our local National Guard Camp has a serious wild pig problem and has requested hunters to shoot as many as can be killed - either to take for food or left to rot.
So, at least we can shoot the pigs and armadillos.
Central Arkansas
Otter said:
I have read that anything that works for deer will generally do. In semi-autos 6.8 SPC is popular, especially with the Barnes TSX bullets. The new 95gr tipped TSX, made just for 6.8 is apparently very effective, it expands as low as 1600 fps. The 110gr TTSX was just a little too long and you had to compress your loads.
I bought a box of the 95gr TTSX to play with and with 29.4gr of RL-10x, SSA brass, Wolf SRM, I am getting 0.7moa 5-shot groups and ~2860fps from my $185 Bison Armory 20" barrel.
I think it's gonna be awhile before you get a chance at'm ;D
Unless someone trucks'm in, ??? :-\ I live in central Minn and there just plain ain't any. There was a report of a few in southern Minn and that's just what they think,,some SOB brought them here and turned'm loose, but they never made it through winter. No sigthtings this year or crop damage to be found.
I understand Wisc has some in the south-east corner, but the rivers stay open down there.
If they make it this far, the local indiginous Pollocks and Germans would have them butcherd in no time. The only part of a pig not eatin is the "squeal" an curly tail,, 8)
The Baculum is a trophy
Unless someone trucks'm in, ??? :-\ I live in central Minn and there just plain ain't any. There was a report of a few in southern Minn and that's just what they think,,some SOB brought them here and turned'm loose, but they never made it through winter. No sigthtings this year or crop damage to be found.
I understand Wisc has some in the south-east corner, but the rivers stay open down there.
If they make it this far, the local indiginous Pollocks and Germans would have them butcherd in no time. The only part of a pig not eatin is the "squeal" an curly tail,, 8)
The Baculum is a trophy
Any semi-auto rifle will work good. Better is an AR-15 or something with Picatinny rails for light, laser and sights. Wet farmlands are where the hogs like to hang. Shooting them is best done at night with night vision sights and thermal imaging sights. Suppressors keep the neighbors happier and let them sleep better. Tactical Hog Control in Texas and Jager Pro in Georgia have pretty good sites to show the gear and also do guided hunts.
http://www.tacticalhogcontrol.com/
http://www.jagerpro.com/tacticalhunting.aspx
http://www.tacticalhogcontrol.com/
http://www.jagerpro.com/tacticalhunting.aspx
I prefer a .243 Winchester with 100 grain Speer Grand Slam bullets ignited via a CCI 250 primer with 46.0 grains of RL-22 powder or 43.5 grains of H4350, I find small difference. However many hunters use .223 Remington through .416 Rigby, as well I know. Use what you have, and if you handload, MORE POWER to you. Cliffy
I hunt them here in Oklahoma and have cleanly killed them at 150 yards with a 223 and have had them run away 500 yards after 2 texas heart shots with a 7 mag and my buddy put 2 25-06 shots in the chest at less than 75 yards away (350 lb boar). I have just bought a marlin lever action guide gun in 45-70 with a red dot sight to hunt them in the more brussy areas were I expect most of my shots will be under 100 yards. I just feel better incase I run up against the big boars or sows.
Gary
Gary
Carrying a hip-mounted pack-up piece makes good sense, as I carry a Ruger Mark III Competition .22 LR semi-auto fitted with a Bushnell Trophy Red Dot with 32 grain CCI Stinger bullets. These bullets more than merely sting. I also carry a magazine filled with ten rounds of CCI 40 grain Velocitors, when I can find these hyper-loads. The rifle is the main fare, while the back-up pistol can be anything from a substantial .22 Long Rifle to a .500 S&W. A .454 Casull tops my list of pistols that my wrist cannot tolerate, recoilwise. I fired one .30/06 Springfield round with a factory-loaded 150 grain bullet, two days ago, and I'm still here to tell you that's more recoil and muzzle blast than I require to put down a really big sow or boar. My 100 grain .243 hyper-loads offer HALF the recoil of a .30/06. Call me a wimp, but I'm quite sure I'm not the lone wimp regarding RECOIL abhorance. Commonsense dictates what one can tolerate and still get the job done in style. Bullet selection and bullet placement supersedes all the muzzle blast energy in the world. Bonded bullets are a major key to performance, not just gut-wrenching muzzle blast. Cliffy
Regarding RECOIL: a .243 Winchester substantial load produces 10 to 12 foot/pounds of FELT recoil, a .30/06 average load produces 19 to 22 ft/lbs of substantial recoil, yet a .223 Remington only emits 4 to 5 ft/lbs of FELT shoulder abuse. A 250 pound, solidly-built, Bubba might laugh at my abhorance of recoil, but recoil really enters into my concentration of a steady aim. Cruising a heavy bullet into a 250 pound animule may give some solace of IMPACT, but a 100 grain WELL-PLACED missile can create the same virtual, swift end. Cliffy
And the -06 is a one shot dropper with no questions asked. A .243 isn't stopping anything the size of a good hog should you get a bad hit. Bad hits can often come from a shot you think is dead on, but wind and other environmental concerns can change that in the blink of an eye.
I have said this before, my worst day EVER hunting was due to the .243's lack of horsepower. Remember, the -06 has triple the frontal area and a butt load more kinetic energy. Result; the ability to kill anything in North America no questions asked. (Grizzly being the exception as it has the ability to eat you should anything happen)
The .243 has it's place, and in my book, it's not shooting anything that can hurt me. Plains game or anything under 160lbs, fine. But not a tough old hog. Dangerous animals are worth the extra HP all day long.
On the bench, recoil sucks. In the heat of the moment, it's never even felt.
I hunt with a Rem 740 30-06, and I can empty 5 rounds before the brass starts hitting the ground should the need arise.
I have said this before, my worst day EVER hunting was due to the .243's lack of horsepower. Remember, the -06 has triple the frontal area and a butt load more kinetic energy. Result; the ability to kill anything in North America no questions asked. (Grizzly being the exception as it has the ability to eat you should anything happen)
The .243 has it's place, and in my book, it's not shooting anything that can hurt me. Plains game or anything under 160lbs, fine. But not a tough old hog. Dangerous animals are worth the extra HP all day long.
On the bench, recoil sucks. In the heat of the moment, it's never even felt.
I hunt with a Rem 740 30-06, and I can empty 5 rounds before the brass starts hitting the ground should the need arise.
I use a .30 BR sporter on a Remington 700 action for deer and pig hunting in Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee. I mostly use 125 and 135 grain Sierra bullets for 1 shot kills if I do my job right.
I agree that if you get on to a big hog something bigger than .243 is required if he's coming at you. A lot of guys around here use .308 semi-automatics or AR's with a .308 upper.
I agree that if you get on to a big hog something bigger than .243 is required if he's coming at you. A lot of guys around here use .308 semi-automatics or AR's with a .308 upper.
[quote author=cliffy
Carrying a hip-mounted pack-up piece makes good sense, as I carry a Ruger Mark III Competition .22 LR semi-auto fitted with a Bushnell Trophy Red Dot with 32 grain CCI Stinger bullets. These bullets more than merely sting. I also carry a magazine filled with ten rounds of CCI 40 grain Velocitors, when I can find these hyper-loads. The rifle is the main fare, while the back-up pistol can be anything from a substantial .22 Long Rifle to a .500 S&W. Cliffy
[/quote]
One would think wild pigs would just be an annoyed by a barage of 22 RF's.....and I understand they can be quite aggressive.
Carrying a hip-mounted pack-up piece makes good sense, as I carry a Ruger Mark III Competition .22 LR semi-auto fitted with a Bushnell Trophy Red Dot with 32 grain CCI Stinger bullets. These bullets more than merely sting. I also carry a magazine filled with ten rounds of CCI 40 grain Velocitors, when I can find these hyper-loads. The rifle is the main fare, while the back-up pistol can be anything from a substantial .22 Long Rifle to a .500 S&W. Cliffy
[/quote]
One would think wild pigs would just be an annoyed by a barage of 22 RF's.....and I understand they can be quite aggressive.
My brother had to kill a 250 lb boar in a trap. When we approached the trap, he did not run to the far corner, but repeatedly charged the trap wall closest to where we were. All we had was a .22 rifle with .22lr cartridges. It took 9 rds to finally kill him. All in the head. I won't describe the carnage, but through the eye and up the nose didn't do it. Finally one angled in behind the ear and dropped him. Thay's not a shot you're likely to get on the ground out in the open. I would never count on a .22lr to stop a hog. Friends of mine were quail hunting in South Texas and surprised a big sow. Three loads of birdshot at less than 30 feet pissed her off, and she was finally stunned by a load in the face at less than 10 feet. While she was down, one guy stabbed her in the heart and killed her.
I've shot them with .308's, 7-08's, and .223's and they never went down instantly unless hit in the head or spine. I carried a 15 shot Glock .40 cal in my hand when I had to track them. Had to do a couple of coup de graces on hogs that were hit so hard they couldn't get up anymore, but were still popping their jaws. My experience is that if I only had a .22lr pistol or rifle, I would throw it at them, and while they were hopefully occupied eating my gun, I could find a tree, or something to climb up on.
If I ever learn how to post pictures, I'll put one up of a 400 lb boar I killed in Gillespie County that made the hair on my neck stand up. He ran 60 yds after a pinwheel heart shot from a 7-08. At the last second I pulled the crosshair down off a lung shot. I was afraid the 120gr Ballistic Tip might not get through the armor plate, and he was trotting, so I didn't try for a head shot.
Stay safe, Tom
I've shot them with .308's, 7-08's, and .223's and they never went down instantly unless hit in the head or spine. I carried a 15 shot Glock .40 cal in my hand when I had to track them. Had to do a couple of coup de graces on hogs that were hit so hard they couldn't get up anymore, but were still popping their jaws. My experience is that if I only had a .22lr pistol or rifle, I would throw it at them, and while they were hopefully occupied eating my gun, I could find a tree, or something to climb up on.
If I ever learn how to post pictures, I'll put one up of a 400 lb boar I killed in Gillespie County that made the hair on my neck stand up. He ran 60 yds after a pinwheel heart shot from a 7-08. At the last second I pulled the crosshair down off a lung shot. I was afraid the 120gr Ballistic Tip might not get through the armor plate, and he was trotting, so I didn't try for a head shot.
Stay safe, Tom
Amen to what Tom said. I have only been on one hog hunt, and that was enough to learn they are nasty and will charge and gore you without a second thought. I have seen dogs scarred up badly from their tusks, so I have no interest in trying it myself. For ANYTHING that is going to fight back, I will always use the biggest, baddest, hardest hitting gun I have. On my hunt I ended up using my 12ga slug gun with copper solids to assure I had enough HP to put it down. I am confident in my 06, but a .58cal solid copper slug made me feel a bit safer and dropped my hog cleanly.
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