.243 for hogs!

josebd

josebd

New member
a friend of mine nags at me for using a .243 for hogs,he has a 300 winchester magnum. i have killed 2 in the past week with my .243 using 65 grain hornady v-max,at over 150 yards.i think just about any caliber will do considering the yardage.
 
Al my friends shoot 30-06 , 270, 300 mag, and little ole me shoot a .243. I am using the new Federal Fusion 95 grain and it is bad to the bone. I took 5 deer with it last year and not one took another step from where they stood. They hit the deck hard. I love this round. You outta try it sometime.
 
Hogs aren't that hard to kill and the 243 is all you need in a rifle. I have taken 5 TN wild boars , four with a bow and one with a handgun. The one with the Handgun was with the 1911 45 ACP using Hornady 230 gr +P XTP HP. One shot at about 35 yards behind the shoulder and he dropped in his tracks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
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I prefer & advise 243 & up for hog hunting. big emphasis on the up part. have seen large hogs go quite a ways on good solid shots. Have also witnessed 50 yd. shots on avg. size pigs do bang flops. one pig was hit through the heart and went over 100 yds. 7mm mag they are very tough critters.
 
I use a .243 as well most of the time. it all boils down to shot placement and personal preference .if you can kill them with it consistantly how can you be wrong?
 
Are you crazy! Don't you know you need a 50bmg and a S.E.A.L. team escort to safely hunt those "razorbacks"?
I wish I had a buck for everytime I read an article from an "expert" that tells you you need a 300 mag to put down a big hog. If I knew I were up against that "hogzilla" thing they shot a few years back...yes. I'd definitely be toting my trusty 444 marlin. But as for average (150-300lb) hogs....ANY high powered rifle will fit the bill. I was reading and posted about the latest issue of predator xtreme where the author said the "armored shoulder plate" on a big hog can stop a bullet from a high powered rifle...what a crock of poo! Maybe...maybe if you had a 60gr v-max coming out of a 243, it wouldn't make it to the vitals but I still wouldn't put my money on it. Even a big (200lbs +) hog is no match for a 125gr. round from a 30/30 and with a properly constructed bullet out of the 243, you will double the effective range.
 
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It doesn't matter the caliber, if the bullet goes through the boiler room, the critter is down. Although I would advise against it, you can have a .243 bullet take down a grizzly iiifff it goes through the boiler room, and expands reasonably well.
 
I shoot the .243 and kill everything I hit with it here in Texas. The guy I buy my guns from is a law enforcement officer who is also a certified sniper. He killed a 400 pound hog at a ranch in south texas with a .204 savage rifle at 150 to 200 yards. It was 1 shot right below the ear and the hog went bang flop pretty much. It may have moved 5 feet so I think whatever you shoot shot placement is the key. Just my 2 cents.(personally I would not go hog hunting with a .204 my buddy did not either he just shot to see what it would do)
Good job Guess! Do you eat those or let them lay? I know down here where I live the ranchers want them extint if possible. They can do a lot of damage to property but when I kill some smaller ones they sure are good on the pit /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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Not all hogs are the same. Some have super thick armor plate under their hide. There is no way in hell you can jam a bayonet through it with a full swing. Then there are others that have fairly thin skin.

I have shot many hogs with rifles from 222Rem to 340 Weatherby mag, and with handguns from .357, 45ACP, through 454 Casull.

There is no way in hell you will ever get adaquate shoulder penetration shooting a 65gr varmint bullet or a .45 ACP when you go up against one of the armored beasts. The "normal" hogs are not a problem though. I have taken at least 10ea with a .243 and 2ea with a .45 ACP.

I also nearly failed to drop two of the S. Texas Armored beasts that were hit solid with a 44 Auto Mag and a 45 Win Mag Wildey. The bullets turned into flat nickels and just barely broke through the hide on the entrance side. Penetration was very shallow.

You need to know your hog.............
 
I kill them at our place in Texas with my AR or my Rem. 700 LTR.. Thats a .223 guys. 300lbs, no problem. In one ear and out the other. I carry my .45 too but haven't been close enough to give it a try.
 
I watched a guy pop one at 50 yds with a .50 hawken rifle 3 times behind the shoulder before he was charged. He went back with a .308 with noslers and shot him between the eyes. The hog walked away calmly to about 40 yds. then flipped upside down and went nuts before dying. The guide also told me his favorite hog rifle was a .22 mag between the eyes. Go fiqure, guess it goes back to every hog is different. 243 with tough jackets should work everytime on the head. Look into partitions or failsafes.
 
The first couple of times I went and used knives I thought these guy's were crazy. I kept the ol 45 real close! But they know what they are doing and safety is first. Last november we took one that was 257lbs.This is one of the biggest highs I have ever enjoyed.
 
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