First time Florida Hog hunter with questions on rifle caliber choice

[LongRangeJunkie]

The wife and I are thinking of trying our hand at Florida hog hunting. Most will be stalk hunting in relatively dense brush with some clearings here and there. Probably have our best chances at them at dawn and dusk.

She already is set up, I think, pretty well - a Tikka T3 Lite in 6.5x55 with a Zeiss 3.5-10x50 with Zplex reticle. Good punch and penetration, light recoil.

I have a Tikka T3 Lite in .223, but don't know if that is a little weak for this application. I reload and have a wide selection of bullets, so if the .223 with a heavier bullet would do the trick on Florida hogs, that would save me some money! I also have a Tikka M695 Whitetail Hunter in .30-06, but it is quite a bit heavier than the T3 Lites.

I do have a number of ARs in .223 and .300-221 (Whisper) - the 8" barreled .300-221 is nice and lightweight as well.

I was considering getting either a T3 Lite in .308 or 7mm-08. The 7mm-08 intrigues me due to the lighter recoil and ballistics of the cartridge, and would assume it would handle hogs quite well.

It will more than likely sport a Weaver Classic Extreme 2.5-10x56 with illuminated reticle - yes, a bit big and heavy, but I think a perfect choice for low-light and brush shooting. I could go with a 1.5-4.5x24 illuminated reticle version of the Weaver as well, and have some other Zeiss scopes, too, but I like the idea of maximum light transmission from the Weaver.

Thoughts, comments, and opinions welcome!

I have shot a lot of hogs with a 223 in orange groves I use to manage and had not problem dropping them in their tracks at 100-200 yds with head shots. In heavy cover as you mentioned would not be conducive to the 223 in the event you hit a twig that was not picked up in your sites. Something heavier would be better in heavy cover.

 

[nwcp]

I like my CZ527 in .223, or my CZ550FS in .308. The .308 anchors them nicely. The .223 works as well, I just have to be more precise with shot placement.