# Pig Poker - Which gun?



## Go2ndAmend (Apr 5, 2013)

I have the chance to go pig hunting this weekend. I haven't been pig hunting in more than a decade. I could bring my 300 Win. Mag which is dead accurate out to very, very long ranges. In the alternative and to make it more challenging I could go with my .357 mag lever gun with a .357 wheel gun also. The country is rolling hills with oaks and the shots could be anywhere from 50 yards to way across the canyon. I don't really need the meat as I have a freezer full of elk, duck and salmon. There is no right answer, but which would you choose and why?


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

I would take my .308 - because it is the only thing I would trust to drop these darned pigs.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

357 is mightly light for wild hog. I suggest something fast shooting & hard hitting like a M1 Garand or M1A.


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## Go2ndAmend (Apr 5, 2013)

Sorry Denton, I don't own a 308. Options include 300 Win Mag, 30-06, .357, or various .22 caliber rifles which I'm not considering.


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## Just Sayin' (Dec 5, 2013)

If those are your only choices, I'd take the .300 win mag and shoot from as much distance as I could. Pigs ain't much fun up close and personal.

We do it at night here, with NVG's and suppressors.


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## bigdogbuc (Mar 23, 2012)

.300 Win Mag for the horse power. If you're confident with it, the .357 Lever Gun, but only if you KNOW you can put that round about 3 inches from the ear at 4 or 7 o'clock (depending on which way they're facing). That is where their cervical spine is and a shot in that general area will drop them like a bad habit.


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

I haven't been in a while, but I have gone with the lever and revolver in 357 in the past, and I also took one with an AR just so they could say AR's are hunting weapons.



Go2ndAmend said:


> I have the chance to go pig hunting this weekend. I haven't been pig hunting in more than a decade. I could bring my 300 Win. Mag which is dead accurate out to very, very long ranges. In the alternative and to make it more challenging I could go with my .357 mag lever gun with a .357 wheel gun also. The country is rolling hills with oaks and the shots could be anywhere from 50 yards to way across the canyon. I don't really need the meat as I have a freezer full of elk, duck and salmon. There is no right answer, but which would you choose and why?


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

If your able to put a bullet where it counts...a 357 with a heavy construction bullet of about 158 grains or better should do the trick just fine. Hogs aint bullet proof. I take them on a regular basis with a compound Bow! A 300 Win Mag is gross over kill unless your just out to add a once in a life time trophy for the den wall.


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

I have gone a couple of times. I usually go with a 30-06 but last month I took a 350 boar with a Sharps in 45-70. That was more to keep my wife happy, who had given me the rifle as a retirement gift. The caliber was fine but the Sharps is a bit on the heavy side. If I were you I would go with the 300 Winchester Mag. As you said, some of the shots are across a canyon, which just screams out using the round. Another determining factor IMO is the size of the hogs in that area. If I came across a 600lb hog a .223 would not be my first choice in rounds. A group of us are looking into going to Texas in a couple of months where in that particular area I am told that a 200lb hog is considered big, and the average shot is under 100yds. I would use an AR in that case, although I will have a 30-06 in the car in case I change my mind once I see the area.

By the way, I cure and smoke the hams myself and we will be having one tomorrow.


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

Hogs are not hard to kill. My last was with a 243.
A 300 mag is certainly not necessary, but use what you like.


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

300 win mag for long range and the 357 pistol on your hip for those up close in the brush shots. 357 should be just fine with good shot placement.


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## Meangreen (Dec 6, 2012)

I watched a TV show that was about hog hunting in California and it sounds just like what you described, Oak trees, rolling hills covered in grass. I also read an article on the same subject and the author attempted to hunt the hogs with a .44 mag pistol and got skunked because he claimed he couldn't get into range. It was the same on the TV show with most hogs spotted at long distances from the top of hills. I would think your .300 win mag would be great.


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

I'd go 357 - ALL THE WAY.
Get up close.
Rapid follow ups.
Better line of sight.
Take them with the pistol and the rifle.

You can especially load a HOT load like a Buffalo Bore in the rifle.
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=100

If you use the 300, you will likely take a 500 yard shot that you wouldn't have taken with the 357 - then you have to walk 500 yards before you can start tracking the animal. A 357 puts you IN the action.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

We used 357


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

My son used a .357 Mag made by Henry, using some hot rounds made by Buffalo Bore, and carried a S&W Mod 66 in .357 mag.(Both were Christmas presents that I gave him over the years). It did the job, but we both took our hogs under 75 yards. It all depends on the terrain and how far you can see them. As specified in the original post, some of the shots will be across the valley.


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

.300 win mag at a distance is a good choice if thats all you have but, dont dance with the pigs in the brush with the rifle,take the .357 with the heaviest bullet you can find if you have to go in after them.a short 12ga would be nicer in the dense stuff.as the pigs will go for deep cover if they even smell you.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I don't care if you use a flame thrower, just kill the damned things......All of them.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

csi-tech said:


> I don't care if you use a flame thrower, just kill the damned things......All of them.


 You bring up a good point they do a lot of damage


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## alterego (Jan 27, 2013)

We have no pig to shoot at around here, that has always been a bummer to me. I think I would like to have them around just to I could have another thing to hunt. I have used up most of the ground hogs, fox, coyote, Feral cats, and so on around here. 

I think any medium sized rifle would be a good choice, they can not be any more difficult to kill than a deer.

Shot gun for 100 yards and less, 30-30 35 Remington .270 .308 30-06 would all be great choices.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

alterego said:


> We have no pig to shoot at around here, that has always been a bummer to me. I think I would like to have them around just to I could have another thing to hunt. I have used up most of the ground hogs, fox, coyote, Feral cats, and so on around here.
> 
> I think any medium sized rifle would be a good choice, they can not be any more difficult to kill than a deer.
> 
> Shot gun for 100 yards and less, 30-30 35 Remington .270 .308 30-06 would all be great choices.


You would not want them once you had to deal with the damage they cause .


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## tango (Apr 12, 2013)

They say, states who have pig problems, that 70% of the herd can be shot each year and not really effect the population.


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Go2ndAmend said:


> I have the chance to go pig hunting this weekend. I haven't been pig hunting in more than a decade. I could bring my 300 Win. Mag which is dead accurate out to very, very long ranges. In the alternative and to make it more challenging I could go with my .357 mag lever gun with a .357 wheel gun also. The country is rolling hills with oaks and the shots could be anywhere from 50 yards to way across the canyon. I don't really need the meat as I have a freezer full of elk, duck and salmon. There is no right answer, but which would you choose and why?


The key phrase I heard was "a" freezer full of meat, heck who only has 1 freezer full of meat?

Answer: Those that are not prepared, hehe

I have 2x chest freezers total of 48 cubic feet, until you get to that point I say take the .308 and make it a meat hunt.


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## roy (May 25, 2013)

.223/5.56 works good.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

MI.oldguy said:


> .300 win mag at a distance is a good choice if thats all you have but, dont dance with the pigs in the brush with the rifle,take the .357 with the heaviest bullet you can find if you have to go in after them.a short 12ga would be nicer in the dense stuff.as the pigs will go for deep cover if they even smell you.


When I use a gun which aint often these days since I mainly bow hunt, I always opt for my NEF Ultra-Slug 12 guage and sabot loads and its Thor's Hammer to be sure when you pout a round in the boiler maker. Bets part about it...no tracking needed. Further more its a charge stopper even on a trophy sized hog! If you think the 357 is too lacking in range and power, Id take the 30-06 and use a good solid 180 bullet of a controlled expansion design. It will give you range and power to spare!


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

Take the .300 and the .357 revolver, the .357 lever would be good if not for the possibility of over the canyon shots. .300 win mag is a bit of overkill, but what the hell better too much than not enough.


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