I've seen guys on TV use a .177 pellet gun and down a 120 lb pig.   I like my 223 at night place it right behind the ear and its all over.  I suppose if your stalking or still hunting on the ground bigger is better.  Enjoy the hunt.

Lamentations 3:12 - "He hath bent his bow and set me as a mark for the arrow."

Have killed pigs w a variety of calibers. Do head shots w/ some of these calibers on larger pigs, but they all did the job.

Rifles...30-30, 7x57, 25-06, 243, 222, 223, 22-250, 7mag.

Biggwer the caliber the better. I tell my clients use the gun you are most accurate with.  Shoot right behind the ear no tracking involved. SD www.redriverboars.com 

One of the keys is bullet construction.  Bullets that expand and hold together to penetrate like X-bullets and partitions, seem to do the best.  I've talken them with a .25-06 up to .308 with no problems as long as the bullet and the shot allow you to get to the vitals (brain or spine shots included).

A lot of people take pigs with .223s, and some have posted here.  We have a tendency to shy away from the smaller calibers as insurance against 'Murphys Law' shots: Essentially, don't take unnecessary chances unless you're forced to. 

I throw rocks if that is all I have. I will use whatever is at my disposal to get rid of those vile creatures. If they run off and die somewhere else, good riddence.

Hmm.. This is making me think I would be well served by Deer Rifle like my Marlin 336 30-30.

Winchester 30-06 180gr. silver tip  behind the ear

Hee hee....Knew that would bring out some good pics. I must agree that on some specimens you need  some mass. The one in my pic was taken w/ a 7mm mauser 175grn rn fmj from 50-60yds...no exit wound!! This things shoulder pads were increadibly tough. No lite caliber was going to work on that thing.

i like to use my mossberg100atr in .270 with a rem 130 or 150 corelok last sat i got a 200+red sow witha 150gr and a 150+ with 130gr and both just droped

and the 150+ was a bore

about 2 or 3 yrs ago i got a 255 lb with my dads 22-250 i dont think it madders what gun u use as long as u hitem right

None of your guns are good enough.  You have to buy a new one this year!!!! Just kiddin. Just pick yer shot. In a tree, I'd use just about any caliber. On the ground, a 30 cal. or bigger. I've shot holes clean through pigs with a 223 rem. with 70gr. bullets. dropped 'em with 22's, and had them run from a 30-06.(but not many).Just shoot straight,the're not hard to kill.

AR15 in 6.8x43 with Barnes 85, 95 or 110gr TSX bullets.

The bullets retain most of their weight, We tested penetration on a pig that was about 250lbs shot the night before. Shot it in the right front shoulder at an angle the 85gr Barnes TSX exited the left rear ham.

Some manufactures have better performance barrels that allow us to handload these 85gr bullet up to 3150fps from a 16" barrel and the AR15 allows for quick shots on the next hog when there are 8 of them in a pack.

just a few weeks ago i hit a hog with 5 rounds of my 10/22 ruger 22 cal. rifle perfect head shot ,,she drops soon after she was hit ,, man that was fun to unload 25 rounds into heard of hogs lol

Hello Terrence!

I am not an experienced hunter at all - I'm 53, and had never hunted anything except a few ducks & geese until last year, when I decided to go after some hogs.  I'm a kind of analytical type, so I did a bit of research before deciding on a gun for the hogs.

You're spot on with your Marlin 336!  That's the gun & caliber I chose after weighing the pros & cons of different calibers.  I bought the 336 and fitted it with a 3-9x50 Nikon scope.

I've been on three hunts, fired four shots, and took home four hogs.  None of 'em took more than a couple of steps after I hit them.  I use 160 gr. Hornady LeveRevolution ammo exclusively, and I'm 100% sold on it.

My longest shot was about 70 yards, at about 10:30 p.m. by the light of a 3/4 moon.  A clean head shot.  I'm pretty sure I could've dropped him at twice that distance in daylight.

My biggest boar was a 394-pounder.  It was at very close range (~20 yards), and I hit him from behind at a steep angle, just behind the right shoulder.  The bullet passed through his right lung & ended up in the base of his brain.

Your 336 is a great choice!

Regards,

Jim

Thanks Jim that is very helpful.  Can't wait to aim my 336 onto a Hog.

I have to agree with shot placement as priority. Any caliber to the brain of neck of a hog will definitely bring them down. Be comfortable with your shot, good luck

Ruger .454 Casull Super RedHawk revolver. I use the 260gr. Partition golds they travel at 1800fps with great expansion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5hdv8KP1f4

Late post, but it's a favorite subject of mine, so I'm going to post anyway.

I once read that no matter what rifle you use, you have to have a large-caliber pistol as backup for when they charge.  Now while I've heard of injured pigs charging, I've never seen it happen.  Shoot a pig, it falls over.  I've had more problems with deer running off than with pigs.  Guess it wouldn't hurt to have a pistol in case the pig was still kicking when you walked up.  A .22LR is a lot cheaper than a rifle bullet, and any excuse to buy a pistol is a good one.

I've been told the .223 is the best pig gun in the world, but he was killing them with head shots over a feeder. Another loved his .22-250, but he wasn't interested in pigs for meat.  If it ran off and died the next day, it was okay with him.  A friend keeps a .30 carbine around as a truck gun. In my opinion, it's not enough gun for a pig.  But for his young grandson, it's the perfect gun to shoot pigs and deer, and who am I to argue with success?  A .243 is a great gun, and has killed many pigs.  Some say it is too light, but the bullet can go all the way through.  If the lighter recoil helps you shoot better, then use it.  A .30-30 is great, especially when hunting in brush.  I've been told by some that anything smaller than .44 is inviting the pig to attack you after you make it mad by wounding it.  Never knew if they just liked big guns, or truely thought wild pigs were that tough and mean.

For me, I use a .30-06 when in a blind or stalking, and a shotgun with #00 buckshot when hunting heavy brush.  If I ever find a 7x57 Roberts that I can afford, the .30-06 will be retired.  If it can kill a deer, it will handle a pig with no problem.  If you find one of those 600 pound monster hogs, just shoot it in the head or neck, and it'll fall over.  Shot placement is the key - if you place it wrong, it doesn't matter what the gun is.  After all, if you can kill large pigs with an arrow, you don't really need an elk gun to put one on the ground.

I shoot a AR15 in a 458 Socom. It shoots 405 gr jsp at 1650 fps. Its a hog sledge hammer.