doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com what size buckshot for pigs?

And they will EAT you!

Who ever decided the rules of engagement, for the hog hunt, wanted to make sure the hogs had more than a fair chance. I hope the hunters do not regret the rules.

The only wild hogs I have killed have been shot with a big bore handgun. Sometimes you feel like the pig has you by the toe. Oncoming boars can absorb a lot of bullet, in a vital area, and seem not be be bothered. Scary when you are on a level field with one. Head shots work well but a boars head is no easy thing to hit if they are coming at you.

My hunting partner had one charge years ago while he was shooting a .44. He had just dispatched one when a second one came at him from directly behind him. He got three shots off in less than 30 yards. First shot was a perfect hit on the chest, straight on, made the boar mad. Second shot broke his right shoulder, made the boar madder. Third bullet was into the brain, killed the boar, but the boars was so close his momentum ran him into the right knee of my friend. Long surgery later he was walking again. Back the next year for more boar hunting.

Let me put it this way, if deer could do what boars can do there would only be sober hunters and not that many of them on opening day. Fools, children and drunks would soon be weeded out by the hogs. And those forced to use buckshot would I am afraid go first. So if you have to use the stuff, use the largest pellet you can and limit your shots.

thanks for all the reponses yes it would be great to use a rifle but this is a built up area and I can see there reasoning for shotguns we will be using dogs ( so I believe) it is hard to explain but basically where we are going is a bird sanctury that has a lot of bordering houses around a lake/swamp sort of habitat I guess you could say it is a little upmarket property
also the wildlife departmant has a few funny ideas about shooting it seems they can't hit things with a rifle so therefore nobody else can (I have been shooting rabbits in another park that was also shotguns only because the rangers couldn't hit them with a .22 rimfire it was shotguns only)
it would be good to use a handgun as backup but in Oz that would be VERY ILLEGAL handguns can only be used for target shooting (not live ones)
we will be in groups of 3 so hopefully nobody gets eaten!!!

Just silly to hunt pigs with buckshot - the skin and fat under it is shot resistant and the big boars may as well be armor plated. I only know of a couple hit with buckshot and neither pig was recovered - and both were pretty small.
But if you must, use 000, as heavy a charge as possible and as close as possible, from the side, not front.

Would be more worried that someone or some dog gets shot. If you are using dogs, then you are going into a very tough shooting environment for a shotgun. Unlike driven deer (for which buckshot is a terrible, however traditional, choice in the thicker parts of the South) you will likely be looking at an active, angry animal at bay with dogs bouncing around him. It is very difficult to slip either a hand gun or rifle bullet through such a melee. A slug would be fine. Shot will put a lot more than the hog at risk.

Unless your hogs are significantly different than the ones we have in our Florida swamps, I'd say from much experence that the safety issues are generally overblown. We hunt them on foot, no dogs. Been doing it this way for 25 years or more. Best time is in the late fall/winter when the wind is blowing good.

You can work through the palmettos as quietly, if not significantly more so, than a group of hogs will. We slip into the wind and can often times get right up on them. I've taken them with everything from a bow to a single shot .44 Contender, my old .35 Rem and a shotgun. My wife uses a single shot .243.

I can think of three different hogs that were so close that the muzzle blast should have singed hair. Been there for 75 or more kills and never seen one charge.

What is said about the shoulder shield is correct, it is tough. Rifle bullets are unfased by it though. One the other hand buckshot, if the distence is to great or the angle wrong, or if you use to small a shot, well then you will have problems.

We use 3 inch 00 from a full choke but if your hogs are really big, or if you are taking long shots use 000.

And it's a VERY good idea to pattern your gun with the buckshot first. Know where it will through it. You might also consider something like Hevi-Shot that has a density and hardness above that of lead.

As for slugs, they will hammer a hog, but will mess up some meat if you hit bones!

I have used OO/SG in a double barrelled shotgun on pigs in Western NSW. It's effective, but wouldn't be my first choice for a pig gun most of the time. Without knowing the terrain and the size you'll encounter stick with OO/SG with the hardest pellets you can get and carefully pick your shots, but quietly slip a couple of solids in a pocket just in case.
RG

Slugs only. No buck shots! Buck shot is illegal for pigs shooting over here and the reason is - you can wound the rest of pigs close by.

"We ain't seen Jr. since he wandered off down by the hog pen."

First, I have never shot a hog with a shotgun; have killed several with rifles, one with a pistol. If I had to use buckshot, I'd try to get fairly close & would shoot for the head, period. If the first round does not kill it, at least it should be blind and stunned while you put the second one in and you are not going to damage a lot of, if any, meat. If its an old boar, let one of the other two guys shoot it and play back up, you can't clean or cook 'that' smell out of a boar.

Kid, this to give you an idea of the armor. Over two inches thick and the consistency
of hard teflon.



This boar was downed with a 12ga. Remington Copper Solid to the neck
from around 40 yds. through an 870 with fully rifled barrel & open sights.
I wouldn't trust buckshot unless you are almost hugging the critter.

Properly marinated in wine for three days and it was a treat.

JC(AL