.243 Win....enough for hogs?

[just country]

morning, 100gr. TTSX. very tough bullet. lightbulbgun)

 

[J E Custom]

Oh hell yeah it's enough! Sometimes can't believe American hunters. If you asked if a .338 was enough, someone would suggest a 50BMG.

No one said the 243 wouldn't kill a hog. most agree that It will.

The recommendation to go with something bigger was recommended for safety. after killing hundreds of them I for one want more than a 243 has to offer.

Would you hunt bear with a 243 ? It would kill them But how long would it take and how far would he go. If you were to place a 300 lb bear and a 300 lb feral hog in a pen and they fought, I can tell you who would win and it wouldn't be the bear.

Hogs are no joke and should be respected as very dangerous game if wounded, Use enough gun to assure that your trip is not ruined.

The old rule of there is no such thing as over kill should apply while hunting hogs.

Just saying

J E CUSTOM

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

No one said the 243 wouldn't kill a hog. most agree that It will.

The recommendation to go with something bigger was recommended for safety. after killing hundreds of them I for one want more than a 243 has to offer.

Would you hunt bear with a 243 ? It would kill them But how long would it take and how far would he go. If you were to place a 300 lb bear and a 300 lb feral hog in a pen and they fought, I can tell you who would win and it wouldn't be the bear.

Hogs are no joke and should be respected as very dangerous game if wounded, Use enough gun to assure that your trip is not ruined.

The old rule of there is no such thing as over kill should apply while hunting hogs.

Just saying

J E CUSTOM

I can tell you a well placed 243 on a bear they dont go,very far. Seen it done with a 6mm Rem. Not that i personally would do it i dont like any smaller than a 6.5 for bear. Its all about putting the proper bullet where it belongs. Im not arguing with you as I've never hunted hogs and from what i understand they are very tough critters but i just think some people go alittle overboard with big guns on meduim game. Like i said im not arguing with you as you have experience hunting hogs where as I dont I just belive more in shot placement than big cartridges.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

I can tell you a well placed 243 on a bear they dont go,very far. Seen it done with a 6mm Rem. Not that i personally would do it i dont like any smaller than a 6.5 for bear. Its all about putting the proper bullet where it belongs. Im not arguing with you as I've never hunted hogs and from what i understand they are very tough critters but i just think some people go alittle overboard with big guns on meduim game. Like i said im not arguing with you as you have experience hunting hogs where as I dont I just belive more in shot placement than big cartridges.

The issue is that majority of hunters do the tried and true front shoulder blade shot which will work on a hog but it needs the mass to break that front shoulder. Their front shoulder is incredibly thick, and lighter/thinly constructed bullets will fail if you hit it directly in the shoulder. I think everyone agrees that a .243 will do the job just don't show up with a 60 grain Varmint bullet. You're just asking for a hurting.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

The issue is that majority of hunters do the tried and true front shoulder blade shot which will work on a hog but it needs the mass to break that front shoulder. Their front shoulder is incredibly thick, and lighter/thinly constructed bullets will fail if you hit it directly in the shoulder. I think everyone agrees that a .243 will do the job just don't show up with a 60 grain Varmint bullet. You're just asking for a hurting.

Thats why I said a proper bullet in ther proper place...... I probably should have stayed out of this one as i dont have any hog experience.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Thats why I said a proper bullet in ther proper place...... I probably should have stayed out of this one as i dont have any hog experience.

No, you're right just adding to. Not bashing you at all. All positive opinions are welcomed. Your experience with other game and the .243 is still applicable. I didn't mean to come across as a jerk. Sorry.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

No, you're right just adding to. Not bashing you at all. All positive opinions are welcomed. Your experience with other game and the .243 is still applicable. I didn't mean to come across as a jerk. Sorry.

You didn't. I just went out of my own guidelines of posting out of personal experience. Causes less issues that way.

 

[Jkling12]

If I was taking a .243 hog hunting, I would use a Barnes ttsx and head shoot it. Obviously if you put it threw the lungs if will die and die somewhat quick but finding the animal can be difficult. Pigs don't bleed well and especially not with a small hole in it.

 

[snox801]

Man these things must be some truck sized hogs. I have been killing more than 20 hogs a year for many years and most have been with a .223 or .300blk. I have never had a problem. As long as you use a good Bullets you are fine. I do drag out the .458 socom from time to time but not really needed. Just make sure you know you can hit where you aim and don't use a varmit bullet

 

[Sully2]

The 280 would be even better.

As I said earlier, it is bullet mass and the bigger the bullet the more energy it will transfer to the pig.

Wild hogs are very tough and if you want to bring them down where they stand you need ether a head shot or a bullet with lots of energy transfer.

We have lots of hogs In Texas and most hunters have lots of experience shooting them. I have used everything from a 17 HMR (Eye Shot) to a 416 Rem and the 7mms seems to be the smallest calibers that will drop them where they stand shot in the boiler works. I have seen one shot with a 30/30 in the armored shoulder that Didn't penetrate into the body cavity.

Hogs are very tough and hold a grudge if you don't put them down hard. so use a cartridge that will guarantee a one shot kill right there. I have had to go into the brush to finish off poorly hit or when not enough cartridge was used, and it is no fun when one charges you with bad intentions.

My favorite cartridges for hogs is a 7 STW (Bolt gun) and a 450 bushmaster (AR 15) these two cartridges will stop them in there tracks, avoiding and possibility of having to track them and possibly giving them a chance to get even.

I know smaller calibers will kill them, but a larger cartridge will bring them down, safely.

You ask, and that is my recommendation.

J E CUSTOM

Main reason I dont jump in with wanting to use a larger caliber is this. Many years ago ( way the hell back in them days) some friends and I went on a hog hunt. One of them "guided" deals and we had talked to the management of the place plenty of times prior to arriving. We were advice to come heavy gunned..???...cause th hogs were big and touch to kill..??

My weapon of choice was a Rem 760 in 30-06 caliber. And to make sure Id anchor one I took withme 220gr Silvertips! That out to kill a big hog!
To make a long story short...we caught a pack coming out of a cave one morning....and this monster ( he definately was a biggie) was dumb enough to run out and stand broadside to me just a grunting away at me.

I aimed...fired and the whole world was filled with hog squeeling!! The slug caught him behind the shoulder....passed all the way thru...cause another hog running away right above his butt hole and went all the way thru him and came out his chest. By the time I finally quite shooting and the hogs that wanted a piece of me were dead...I had a mess on my hands.

A friend of mine standing next to me stood there with his mouth open.....thinking the devil was coming to get him.

Hence...since that time YEARS ago...Ive leaned toward "just enough gun" to cleanly do the job of dispatching the quarry.

 

[Barrelnut]

That's a great story Sully! AND you did kill em. Sounds like the 30-06 worked pretty well. After that would you have felt better standing there with the .243?

 

[snox801]

The fact is last year I shot 22 hogs in one trip and I don't know how but the one that ran the farthest was one I shot with my.338 lapua at 20 yards. 300gr Berger. Massive exit hole. It was way overkill. All my shots with my little 6x45 never went more than 10 yards. Crazy how some pigs can take massive damage and others can't.

 

[J E Custom]

I can tell you a well placed 243 on a bear they dont go,very far.

"Very Far" is the problem. With hogs, you rarely get the perfect shot because they don't stand still for long and are moving around constantly, And many times you have to make a running shot.

Everyone should believe in shot placement, but in the world of hogs, the odds of that are about 50%
and in addition to that, a wounded hog will lay and wait for you and try to get even.

In Texas, there are guys that hunt and kill hogs with only a knife and dogs. many of them have had bad experiences with some hogs and lost a few dogs also. many have a plan to get to a hospital in a hurry just in case.

Most people that have hunted hogs for a while have learned to respect and fear them because of there speed and willingness to hurt or kill anything/anyone trying the hurt them.

If you hunt hogs long enough with a small caliber rifle, eventually you will find the wisdom of using more than enough rifle.

Just saying ---

J E CUSTOM

 

[Don A Parsons]

I too agree that it can be done with 243 and smaller calibers, each too their own on what works.

We would think there is a ft-lbs energy take down line much like Deer, Elk, Moose, Bear's and other critters.
This ft-lbs energy alots for an miss placed shot that "could" happen in the heat of the moment, Ha.

Perhaps one might choose to add a fraction of over harvest that gives us peace of mind at stopping them in the tracks.

Again, each too their own, as for me, I like too have this over harvest in my hands that allows for the "if" miss place shot is off. Adds a peace of mind when encountering many kinds of critters,,, "just me is all".

More wrong than right pal Don