If you were setting up a dedicated wild boar rifle, what would it be?

[NYH1]

If you were setting up a dedicated wild boar rifle, what would it be?  How would you set it up?  I have three rifles for deer hunting.  I could use them, but two of them I'd have to go with heavier bullets and re sight in every time I went back and forth.  I want to get away from that.  The one rifle I could use for deer and wild boar is my Marlin 336 35 Rem.  I'm going to put a Nikon 2-7x32mm Prostaff Shotgun Scope on it.  I shoot Remington's 200 Core Lokt in it.  It works great on deer!  With that said, I'd like to set up a rifle specifically for wild boar hunting and maybe even use it for black bear hunting once in a while too.

We're getting quite a few established wild boar herds in Southern Central New York.  They escaped from wildlife preserves in the area.  Their starting to get out of control.  The DEC and local farmers are on a big push to have people hunt as many of them as possible.  There is no season or bag limits on them.  We'll hunt them in the warmer months. 

I want a quick handling rifle or carbine.   I like the 35 Whelen.  Remington doesn't chamber their 7600's in 35 Whelen anymore.  I'd have to find a used one, or hope that Grice has Remington do another limited run on them soon.   I like the look and feel of Remington's new 750 auto, however I don't know if I'm sold on the reliability of them.  I've heard some good and a lot of bad about the 7400's.  I like the Browning BAR's but they don't make them in 35 Whelen.  A BAR in 358 Win. would be nice, that's not available either.

If I could I'd like to set up a Remington 7600 35 Whelen.  I'd go with a 2-7x32mm or even a 3-9x32mm Nikon or Leupold scope.  I might have to go with a 30-06 instead.  I think a 30-06 would work very well too.                                     

[kyelkhunter3006]

I'll say up front that I haven't been boar hunting.  YET.  But, if I was going to make up the ultimate boar rifle, from what I've read and seen and heard, I think that I'd go with a .35 caliber too.  I think that a Marlin 336 is one of the best handling rifles around, perfect for nosing around or hunting from a stand.  The .35 Remington loads from Buffalo Bore ammo use a 220 gr JSP at 2200fps, a much stronger load than the other factory loads.  I think that it'd swat a boar (or black bear for that matter) with ease, probably out to 200 yds, and most of what everyone says is that boar hunting is usually a short range proposition. 

The .358 Winchester, .35 Whelen, and .350 Remington Magnum should all be superb.  Of course, unless you got a 7600, Savage 99, or a Browning BLR, those are all bolt action or single shot rounds.  Then there is also the .444 Marlin, and the loads from Hornady, Buffalo Bore, Cor-bon and other premium (and semi custom) make it a hammer of a round. 

I thnk that I'd get a Marlin Lever action in either .35 Remington (the lower recoil offering) or .444 Marlin if being slammed a bit doesn't bother you.  I can shoot faster with more accuracy with a lever than a bolt action, if things get dicey.  Throw a fixed power 2.5x or a low range variable on it, 1-3x, 1.5-6x, something like than, and get some pork.

[six_gunz]

I agree with kyelkhunter, the Marlin 336 in 35 Rem or something chambered in the 35 Whelen. Remington does chamber the 35 Whelen in the 700 CDL

[S_J_KENNELS]

Personally speaking if I had one choice for a boar rifle I would go with a Savage for my first choice and if I can not get that a Remington model 700 in a .308 or .270 caliber. I have shot many hogs with these two rounds over the years and IMHO can not be beat for their money. Both are fun to shoot and relatively flat shooting with the right loads. I have shot up to 300 pound hogs up to 250 yards away with both and dusted them every time. But again shot placement being the key. The 270 with 130 or 150grain corelockts  has laid out many a hog for me as well as the 308 with 150 grain corelockts. On top of them I would use a good 2.5 or 3 x 9 x 50mm wide angle/view scope.

If your shots are not going to be long distance and you are going to be shooting in thick cover then go with the 35 cals or even the trusty ol' 30-30. Many a hog has fallen to one and it is proven to be a good round over the years on hogs. In thick close cover however open sights are best.

Also remember most of your shots will more then likely be taken in low light situations so the lower magnifications such as the 2.5 or 3 power will be used the most. As these allow more light in your scope. If you really want to invest in a good night vision scope or one that can go both ways.

If you really want an adrenalin rush go with dogs and a knife

Good luck.

PS: the 30-06 is also a good round just not one I like. AN remember it is not the caliber or size of the gun you shoot that kills hogs. SHOT PLACEMENT IS KEY.

[Swampman]

Marlin 1895GS with Leupold 2-7X33.

[mrgd]

I would have to go with 30-06 all the way.  I have killed hogs well over 200 yds with an 06 and I have killed them at 5-10 yards.  Same result every time.... a dead pile of meat headed for the smoker.  I use 165 gr rounds for deer and hogs.  Scope stays the same. 

tt

[six_gunz]

Marlin 1895GS with Leupold 2-7X33.

Yeah, I like your way of thinking!!!

[six_gunz]

Personally speaking if I had one choice for a boar rifle I would go with a Savage for my first choice and if I can not get that a Remington model 700 in a .308 or .270 caliber. I have shot many hogs with these two rounds over the years and IMHO can not be beat for their money. Both are fun to shoot and relatively flat shooting with the right loads. I have shot up to 300 pound hogs up to 250 yards away with both and dusted them every time. But again shot placement being the key. The 270 with 130 or 150grain corelockts  has laid out many a hog for me as well as the 308 with 150 grain corelockts. On top of them I would use a good 2.5 or 3 x 9 x 50mm wide angle/view scope.

If your shots are not going to be long distance and you are going to be shooting in thick cover then go with the 35 cals or even the trusty ol' 30-30. Many a hog has fallen to one and it is proven to be a good round over the years on hogs. In thick close cover however open sights are best.

Also remember most of your shots will more then likely be taken in low light situations so the lower magnifications such as the 2.5 or 3 power will be used the most. As these allow more light in your scope. If you really want to invest in a good night vision scope or one that can go both ways.

If you really want an adrenalin rush go with dogs and a knife

Good luck.

PS: the 30-06 is also a good round just not one I like. AN remember it is not the caliber or size of the gun you shoot that kills hogs. SHOT PLACEMENT IS KEY.

Hunting hogs with dogs and a knife, what a rush that would be!!! Check out this video.... lots of good home footage on all kinds of hunts here on this site. Check out the one dog, he's more worried about what the other dogs but smells like instead of the hog. 
http://www.huntingfootage.com/showphoto.php/photo/2922/cat/513

[alsaqr]

This same post is on another forum that i visit.  i will give the same advise i gave there.   Put a good low light scope on that Marlin and go to it.  Hogs are not hard to kill if they are hit right.  i've hunted in a restricted area for many years where only a shotgun with bird shot or a rim fire rifle is allowed much of the year:  Killed a bunch of close in hogs with head shots from my Ruger 10/.22.   Hit a hog in the wrong place and a .300 Weatherby will not do the job.   Get them hogs!!!! 

[S_J_KENNELS]

Six gunz I have seen that site before and I have enjoyed some of the footage. Some of it well what can ya say LOL. Dog an knife hunting is a blast. If your ever down Texas way look us up. We are always willing to take some newbie out on their first hunt. Only thing it will cost you is gas money to get here LOL.

[mcwoodduck]

If I were to build up a Hog gun for your neck of the woods it would be a Ruger stainless Hawkeye in 338 Federal with a weaver 4X scope.  Or possibly a Trijicon 1.25 -4X24 scope.  A woods rifle for me is almost always a bolt action with a heavy for caliber bullet and round nose if possible.  I do own a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 that has gone hog hunting but the long distance shots were not going to happen with the open sights.
I would use the Ruger as my boar gun be it black bear or hog and use either the 210 Nos Part or the 200 grain fusion rounds and sight it in at 200 yards.  That way if a longer 250 shot presents it's self on a hog you will still be on the animal with the cross hairs.  If you sight it in at 100 you will have to hold above the animal and that has  never works for me.  The .338 federal with a 3-9X40 scope could also double (or would it be triple) as an elk rifle out to 300+ yards.
I have hunted deer in your neck of the woods when I was growing up on my father's friends farm and out of a couple of the tree stands you could have a 250 -300 yard shot when the fields were end to end.  It has also been 25 years since I was there hunting and the fields may no longer be the little stone fenced 100X75 yard fields I remember in the area.
I have only hunted Hogs here in CA and use my .338 Win Mag with a 4.5-14X 40 scope that doubles as my elk rifle.  The land out here is wide open and long shots are common.
Remington may be the answer to your quest.  They offer a model 750 auto carbine in .35 Whelen
www.REMINGTON.com
Ruger also offers a scout rifle in .358 Win.
www.ruger.com
 

[SwampThing762]

My dedicated boar gun would be a NEF Handi-Rifle in 500 S&W  with peep sights or a low power scope.

ST762

[Mikey]

New York Hunter - where are those hoggie herds causing trouble?  Send me a pm if you really need help reducing the problem. 

I've got my piggy-wiggy set up(s) all ready and rarin' to go.  They be Winchester AEs, Big Bores in 444, and they like hog huntin'.  Each has it's own preference for loads but all like the heavy weight cast slugs from Beartooth Bullets.  Scopes - Bushnell Banner Dawn to Dusk 1.5x4.5x32.  Set-ups are light, quick handling, very accurate and extremely hard hitting. 

Failing the availability of a large bore Winchester lever, the Marlins in 444 or 45-70 are excellent choices.  JMTCW.  Mikey. 

[elmer]

I like the same rifle for hog hunting that I use for deer. It's a Savage stainless with synthetic stock in 30-06. I use Core-lockt 165gr. Works great.

[RaySendero]

My favorite hog rifle is a sporterized 9,3x62 Mauser with a 4X scope. See:



My reload for it is a 286 NPT at 2,400 fps.



However, I was reading some last night about an AR type rifle chambered for the new 458 SOCOM and thought that may really be THE Ultimate Hog Rifle!!!

[Ditchdigger]

I've used everything from a 300 Wby. to a 22 mag. on hogs here in Okla. I've blown 5" exit hole's through them with the mags,and they just keep on going like there's nothing wrong.Same story with the 444 and 4570,but they always die within 100 yds.or more.I've dropped them in there tracks with neck shots with a 22 mag. at 140 yds.( they were not dead though,but couldn't get up)My latest is a Saiga in 308 with 125 BT's at 3050 fps.and all 4 of them have dropped on the spot.The bullet dont exit but they can't get up and it seems no matter where you hit them they go down,and squeel there heads off untill you finish them off. I try to catch them in the open area's,but with the other bullets they alway's manage to make it to the thickets.Shot placement is everything,but sometime's in the thickets you don't have time for this,and you shoot whatever you can. That what the AK 47 based Saiga does best is deliver lots of firepower if and when you need it.(with the BT's I haven't needed it)    Digger

[woodchukhntr]

New York Hunter,

I'm from the Utica area and would love to hunt hogs.  Where are they?  I would probably use my .30-30 Savage 340 or my "Scout" Handi in .45-70.

[NYH1]

New York Hunter,

I'm from the Utica area and would love to hunt hogs.  Where are they?  I would probably use my .30-30 Savage 340 or my "Scout" Handi in .45-70.

In the northwest Cortland County and southwest Onondaga County area.

[Cecil]

I shot a boar with a 444 marlin it went stiff as a 2x4 rear end down and fell over side ways DRT

[Dee]

I shot one hog (about 375lbs) with a 4570, and it went down, but also demonstrated it was far more rifle than necessary. Hogs (feral) have been in North Central Texas, for probably more than a hundred years, and have in the last 20 become a real problem. I have found thru the years that a hogs resilience to lead is a myth. A neck shot from just about anything will instantly put them down, and have made one shot kills with a 52 grain match hollow point out of a 223 that although not neck shots were instant.
I now hunt with either my Winchester 94 3030, or my Model 92 in 357 mag, with either being plenty for even the biggest hogs. The one in my avatar goes about 300+ ( I am a big guy and make him look smaller than he is) and he got nailed with the 52 grain match. He never got up.
A deer load in 3030 is more than enough. MO

[rickt300]

I have several dedicated hog guns, a 358 winchester BLR, a 35 Whelen, a 444 Marlin but the rifle that has killed the most hogs for me is my M98 mauser in 7x57. I like neck shots as I hunt at night but high shoulder hits work too. Favorite bullets are heavy Speers and Nosler partitions.

[Swampman]

I would lay money on the fact that here in FL 10 hogs are lost for everyone that is recovered after the shot.  I guess ours are a lot tougher.  No blood trail is very common, and they don't have to go very far in the stuff we hunt in to be lost.  I don't believe in "too much gun" myself.

[Dee]

I would lay money on the fact that here in FL 10 hogs are lost for everyone that is recovered after the shot.  I guess ours are a lot tougher.  No blood trail is very common, and they don't have to go very far in the stuff we hunt in to be lost.  I don't believe in "too much gun" myself.

10 lost for every 1 found? Wow! I don't believe a howitzer would improve those lost to recovery ratios. I do think a marksmanship course might though. I can assure you, the river and creek bottoms in my area are every bit as dense and in places impenetrable, as anything you have in FL., but the lost ration is probably less than one in 10, for myself and folks I hunt with. I personally have never lost a hog I shot. A bad shot with a 458 Win mag, will usually produce the same results as a bad shot with a 3030.
No blood trail is a fairly normal occurrence given the layer of fat a hog in good shape usually has, and that layer of fat tends to partially seal up the entrance and exit wounds, and at times completely seals it up.
If someone wants to hunt with a huge caliber rifle I say, get after it, but it isn't going to make up for a bad shot, and when hunting with dogs, it makes it dangerous for the dogs, due to over penetration. I personally don't usually hunt with dogs other than my Jack Russell, and although he is convinced he can whip a hog, I mainly count on him to do the dirty work of getting them out of the marshes, and moving hopefully toward me. He can worry the hell out of one, if it tries to turn it's back on him, he will make them pay for it. The rest of the time I hunt into the wind alone, depending on the terrain.

[Hooker]

1895ss 1.75x 5 Redfeild LowPro this is what I bring home the bacon with


 

Pat

[jgalar]

A M44 Mosin Nagant would make a good inexpensive addition. Don't need a finishing shot - just use the bayonet.

[Dee]

A M44 Mosin Nagant would make a good inexpensive addition. Don't need a finishing shot - just use the bayonet.

Now that's funny. And perhaps practical?

[SHOOTALL]

maybe a 356 win in a Winchester big bore
or 30/30

[SwampThing762]

M44 Mosin Nagant is a good beginning hog rifle....make sure you use good ammo for it.  Russian ammo for 7.62x54R is not always consistent enough for big boars.   As for the "10 hogs lost for every 1 I found" thought, that seems to be poor marksmanship to me.    I have never lost a hog that I shot.   THe only one I ever came close to losing was one I shot with a  Mosin Nagant carbine using Russian ammo.   Since then, I use ammo made by Magtech,S&B, or the Big Three.  I  use Magtech ammo in  my Handi-Rifle as it is very accurate. I have yet to take a hog with it, but I have no doubts it will perform with satisfactory results.

ST762

[mcwoodduck]

Ive owned a few nagants from cheap Chinese things to the polish one.  I think they make poor hunting rifles.  Great fun at the range and perfect for plinking.  But the bolt comes open easy if you do not set the safety moving through normal brush.  The safety is hard to engage and harder to get off.  Especially if your wearing some kind of gloves.
If you want a cheap ex army rifle look at the Enfields in .303 Brit or the Indian copy in .308.
Or any of the mausers.  I was going to say the Swede 96's but they have climbed above the $200 mark.  Still a good choice for an all around hunting rifle but pricey.

[mcwoodduck]

Besides this is a wish list of the ideal gun, not what you use.  I some how do not think, if I said lets get you a hog rifle for Christmas, what do you want?  A nagant would make it to the top 5 of possible wishes.  NY asked what would you want as a hog/bear rifle? I can see the answer of the perfect rifle for my area is what I'm using the .....
in .....
I also don't see any of you wanting a .22 Long Rifle, short, or Mag as a dedicated hog rifle either.