I'll be going to Georgia in November to hunt Hogs and Quail.

What's a good hog caliber. I've got a .308, a .30-06, a .280 and a .223 in my safe. Will one of these work? Or do I need to start looking for a gun?

.308 is ideal, and .30-06 or .280 will work great too.

.223 is possibly marginal, depending on distances and shooter's skill. It's doable, but works best for closer range shots behind the ear.

If you've never hunted hogs before, be sure to read up on hog anatomy. They're laid out a bit differently than the usual game animals like deer.

How far away, and from what perspective?

I've taken hogs now with 7.5x55 Swiss, .30 Carbine, and 5.56x45mm.

If you're inside 40 yards, pistol caliber carbines, and small bore center fire is usually fine. Outside of that, unless you are an experienced hunter, I'd take the 06, or the .308Win you already own.

Talk to your guides, landowners, etc. They will have solid suggestions.

Of the calibers you listed, .308 is probably the pick. .30-06 certainly will do the trick, too. .280 would probably be fine. But, the guys I know who hunt hogs use .308 - they like the extra oompf for knocking down the really big ones. They use AR-10s or other .308/7.62x51 semi-auto rifles with 20 round magazines, and try to bag as many as they can.


So... You should go gun shopping!

Out of what you listed I’d use the 308. Just don’t use FMJ and you’ll be fine.

Which gun can you run faster of the three major calibers? Which gun can you mount accessories to? Are you going to be night hunting or just daytime? Hunting or standing over a feeder? What are your optic choices?

Ballistically, the 308, 30.06, and 280 are all fairly similar at typical hunting ranges and bullet weights. Each would be very effective on even the largest feral hog. Follow up shots and multiple hogs is common, so running the gun quickly is a priority. In general 223/5.56 is used for eradication type work, not clean kills. Effective at short range with good bullet placement and proper bullet design. In an AR platform 6.8 SPC II and 6.5 Grendel are preferred hog calibers. Suppressed 300 BO is also popular at very short ranges.

Federal Fusion is a bonded soft point and is one of the favorite hog rounds. GMX bullets are absolutely devastating on hogs, but expensive. Gold Dots are also well thought of rounds, where available. TSX and TTSX bullets also have a strong following.

Night hunting and baiting is very popular in Texas, as is night time big open field hunting. Two completely different challenges.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: burnetma,

There's no functional difference between the .280, .308 and 30-06; the hog won't be able to tell. The .223 would require somewhat greater precision due to the smaller, lighter bullet, but unless you are hunting monster hogs, it will be fine with decent bullets as well.

Pick the one you shoot best, and bring a back-up in case of a problem.

Now, if you want an excuse to buy a new gun... I'd recommend a Marlin lever gun in either .35 Remington or 45-70...

Hogs and Quail, lets see..... Take your 12 gauge shotty, 1 oz slugs for Hog, Bird-shot for the Quail. Unless you got your mind made up to use .308,30-06 on the Quail, then...….LOL

I agree with Artie on the Marlin 45-70.

Artie- what about a lever action .44mag, with buffalo bore-type hard cast bullets?


I've heard they work well also- obviously not as powerful as the potential of a 45-70, but not as much kick either I would think.

I imagine it would do fine, as it is a well regarded hunting round. But to my way of thinking, other than ammo cost, he 45-70 is more versatile. Due to the popularity of pistol caliber lever guns and the machining necessary for manufacture, a .44 mag Marlin is pretty close in price to a .45-70. The 45-70 with cowboy action loads or modest handloads is a pussycat to shoot, but with steamers, is a dangerous game rifle, and with LeverRevolution, holds pretty good MBPR to 200 yards. Plus, it's freakin' cool! Other downside to the 45-70 is the rifle will be heavier than the .44 mag, and recoil, even in light rounds will likely still exceed the .44 mag, but it's not punishing until you either go for velocity, or super heavy bullets. A 405 grain cowboy load is a big "foomp" with a solid push; a 325 grain LeverRevolution round is a solid smack, and a 400 or more grain hard cast with some steam on it is nasty. I've never shot a .44 mag lever gun, so I can't really compare the two, but I do have two .44 mag revolvers, so I am pretty familiar with the cartridge.

.44 range ammo reloads average around $.50/per at the gunshow. 45-70 is a lot more than that, so ammo cost for practice and range day is a consideration, but .44 mag hunting ammo is close to $1.00/per so it is getting up there too.

ETA: Remember that the cowboy action loads are loaded a bit below the performance of the old 45-70 black powder rounds. Cowboy action 45-70 is 405 grains, runs about 1250 fps and packs around 1400 ft. lbs at the muzzle. Black powder equivalent rounds are start at 405 grains and also include 440 grain and 500 grain bullets at from 1350 to fps muzzle velocity and up to 2000 ft. lbs. muzzle energy. Those rounds were very effective killers of American Bison. Even the lower and slower cowboy round will sure as hell do a hog.

There are generally three classes of round available for the 45-70. Cowboy action, which are the lightest, black powder equivalent which are still safe in all guns, including trapdoor conversion Springfields and old Winchesters, and modern smokeless rounds that are safe only in modern lever guns, modern reproductions or the Ruger No. 1 (which can handle a level of load which approximates a 458 Win Mag., but that's another story). I find anything modern that is hotter than the LeverRevolution a bit unpleasant without a shoulder pad.

I've been on 5 hog hunting trips in central/south Texas. Shot hogs with .223/5.56, .300 blk (supersonic), and 308.

My preference is either:

- .300 blk, supersonic with suppressor, bolt action, scope, Barnes VOR-TX 110gr

- .223 in an AR-15 with red dot + swivel 3x magnifier

308 is (literally) overkill for most blind/feeder <100yd hog hunting situations. The unnecessarily loud report reduces follow up opportunities for you and/or your fellow hunters nearby.

More important is your lighting situation. Invest in one nice (expensive) green light, one or two less expensive green lights (for scanning), and extra rechargeable batteries.

Good hog round = good deer round.

They're not hard to kill.

quote:

Originally posted by Bigboreshooter:

They're not hard to kill.

Yup. 22 magnum everyday. Body shots, head shots, nexk shots. It doesn't seem to matter.

The rifles you currently own would be more than enough to put a big hog down quickly.
I look at this as an opportunity to buy a new rifle!
I've used this old '64 Marlin in .35Rem and always got the job done.

I have shot hogs with a 308 with great results. Ammo of choice is Federal Premium Vital Shok 165 gr SGK. I use it as my 308 is zeroed with FGMM and the 165 SGK prints almost exactly the same as the 168 FGMM at hunting ranges.

I use a AR-10 .308, or a marlin lever with a peep in .45-70. 45-70 is like bowling for piggies.

I used a 308 about a month ago on a hunt and had a nice 50 yard shot that dropped a 275# male in his tracks.

The couple wild hogs I got in NC were with a 30-06.

When California banned lead in Condor country the only compliant ammo i could find was Barns 55 grain 223. No problem at all, it killed like Thors hammer.