Huntin' hogs with big guns?

[BottomBouncer]

Have any of you hunted ground hogs with large caliber rifles? How do you compare it to shooting with regular varmint type rounds like the .22 calibers and such? More fun, harder, easier?

[Flatheadmaniac]

I used a .22 mag. for years on ground hogs.
A bigger cal. will give you more range, more accuracy at longer range..ect.
With smaller cals. your range is limited in wide open spaces, meaning you have to "STALK" them a lot more for sure.
Now for Coyotes i wouldnt really recommend using a small cal. gun as they are very "spooky" most of the time..and stalking them is much harder..plus i sure wouyldnt feel very good hitting a Coyote or anything else for that matter with a lighter rough and having that animal get away and die days or weeks later because i didnt have a strong enough cal. to get the job done,not very humane!
One of my buddys hunts with a Ruger 270..the other a Win. 243..i think they are way over kill for just shootin hogs(my opinion) and i dont think they do the job my Rem 22-250 does.

Hey when we just wanted to have fun and stalk hogs..we always broke out our slug guns(great summertime practice for winter deer huntin). I have an H & R 12 ga. w/scope that is made from a 10ga. frame bored out to 12ga.(they also made a 20ga. that was made out of a 12ga. frame)..this thing has a riffled barrel and shoots those sabots very accurate out to 125yrds..The extra weight of the heavy barrle helps recoil heavy loads.

Man we looked like army men..crawling down the fence lines(in full camo) trying to get in range to get a closer shot on those hogs..was a lot of fun back then..and like i said great practice to get to know our guns and thier limits for deer season.

[MadCatter]

The most powerful I have killed them with is a 7mm rem mag. I commonly use a 308 win. loaded down to lower velocities with a 100 to 110 gr. bullet .. it does a good job. I hunt with these rifles because they are my favorite rifles to hunt with .. I don't really care about the ballistics or overkill ... dead is dead:D :D :D I am going to get a coyote here soon with my 308, we are getting over run with them here were I live. The 243 has some nice varmint bullets available for it. I would say that for a varmint rifle that is as big as you want to go, plus it is a good all round caliber, very accurate and good for deer if you ever want to go out of state to use it. I think for all around varmint war, the 17 is great. although I don't currently own one I have shot them. I have also experimented with shooting 22cal bullets through my 308. I don't see any difference in hunting with bigger guns, all are accurate and do the job, you just have to be very careful when using large calibers as the bullets are a lot tougher and can ricochet or just simply keep on going after the kill

[SenecaBow]

yep, 45-75 T/C Contender.:) ---- Fun gun:D

http://64.207.13.28/mysmilies/contrib/geno/para.gif

[BottomBouncer]

45-70? those things knock deer down like a truck, I can't imagine a ground hog.

Reason I was asking is because I am considering using my .300win. mag. I have a .223......figured the .300 would be.....more fun:p

[Catfish]

B.B.,
Years ago I used to load alot of .30-06 ammo for groundhogs. The litest bullet that I found that would hold good accuracy past 100 yards was the Speer 130 grn. HP. With your .300 mag. I would guess that it will be the best long range bullet you will find. .30 cal. hunting rifles just over stablize bullets that are shorter than tha Speer 130 HP`s. There won`t be much left when you hit a groundhog though.

[BottomBouncer]

Easier for the birds...instant field dress!

[Smallie34]

I have shot groundhogs with a 7MM-08, 257 Roberts, 308Win, 250-3000, 6MM Rem, 6.5x55, they are all very fun calibers to use, I love rifles, and since groundhogs, crows, coyotes etc offer me my only chance to use my various rifles on game here in Ohio, the 257, 250-3000, and 6MM are pretty much on par with the 243 ballisticly, I say whatever floats your boat as long as its safe and legal, I mean I dont think the groundhogs will be able to tell the difference in being shot with a 22LR or a 300Win:D they will be in that big bean field in the sky:D

[BottomBouncer]

Being shot with the .300 or that 45-70........they'll be part of the bean field:D

When's groundhog day!!!!!!!!

[Ðe§perado™]

I have used my .22 mag. and hit them with my 30-06 with 150 grain bullets. They just explode!! ;)

[BottomBouncer]

Hey......if you're gonna shoot......better make sure you do it right the first time. Although.....a head shot with a .220swift would do some damage........can you say "Got Head?" That would make a great add for varmint ammo. A hog standing in the field with his head laying next to him and a bubble that says "Got Head" I'll have to email that to Federal or Winchester!!!!!!

[Ðe§perado™]

I have had head shots and they are very messy. But very cool to see. Like a tomato hitting a wall. LOL:D ;)

[Catfish]

For the last few years I been useing .17 cal. guns, eather a .17 Rem. or a .17 K-Hornet. For several years I use a .257 imp. An 87 grn. Serria varmint bullet at 3,500 fps. It made some minty big holes in groundhog and nearly cut some in half, definately made a mess. Recently though I`ve come to love the .17`s. Have you ever had a groundhog standing looking at you and shoot him in the chest??????? Well with the .17`s they fall towards you. If you look them over real close you might find a drop of blood and maybe not. I like it that way, I don`t ruin so much of the food I leave for those big black birds that I like to feed so much. :D

[BottomBouncer]

You're a very sick person, you know that:confused: :p :p

[Smallie34]

I had some very gruesome shots with my 220 Swift when I was loading it with the Sierra 60gr HP and RL-15, only cruised along at about 3500fps but boy it was deadly, 2 other calibers that are pretty awsome if you keep them within there range are the 22 hornet and the 222 Remington.

[BottomBouncer]

I've heard a lot about the .22 hornet.....looks like a pretty potent pill. What kind of numbers does it put up?

[SenecaBow]

Bouncer-- The Hornet with a 40 Gr. bullet will get up and go at about 2750 feet/sec. This would be a reload at max pressure of 43,000 cup. A factory load with a 45gr. bullet will be at 2650 feet/sec. --- 24 inch barrel
This is a nice round for hunting small game and them pesky ol' woodchucks. It would be an excellent round to shoot where a person would want to keep the noise to an minimum and still shoot a center fire cartridge. All in all not a bad little cartridge, it was very popular when I was a kid as was the 218 Bee.

[Smallie34]

Even though I dont know firsthand I have heard people say they top 3000fps with Hodgen Lilgun powder in the hornet? also they say they can push 3000 with the 35gr V-Max? myself I get around 2700 with a 40gr Ballistic tip, kills groundhogs dead within maybe 150 yards, recoil is nonexistant, very economical round to load as well, I only use 11.5grs of IMR-4227.

[BottomBouncer]

Who makes a good balistic tip for a .223? Speer? Hornady? Probably both, but I have never seen them on a shelf.

[Smallie34]

Ballistic tips are made by Nosler, but Hornady has there version called the V-Max and Sierra calls theres the Blitzking, you can usually find at least one brand of these in gunshops that sell reloading supplies or shooting catalogues that carry reloading supplies, also there are some factory loadings that use these bullets but some are a bit pricey.

[OHyotekiller]

I'm getting a custom .264 Win. Mag. from Pac-Nor on a Savage action (single shot). I'm going to take it on a groundhog trip or two just to see what happens when a 140 grain AMAX traveling 3200 fps meets a groundhog head on. Should be interesting!!!!!

For most of my groundhog hunting, however, I use a 17 Mach IV or a .22-250.

http://photos.imageevent.com/leeshuntpics/leeshuntingandshootingpictures//pic10.jpeg

[Smallie34]

The last couple of years I have became real fond of the 223, but I think I might get a 243 sometime in the next few weeks...either a 700VLS or a 77VT.

[ohiolm]

I shoot groundhogs on the farm with both my .243 and my 7mm Mag. not just to see what they will do to the little critter but to become more comfortable with these rifles. I shoot the same bullets I use for deer or antelope, 100Gr. in the .243 and 150Gr. in the 7mm Mag. This is great off season practice!

[Caribou Dreamer2]

44 mag. or Deer slug not much is left to examine

[Smallie34]

Its fun to walk a creek bank or woodlines that are loaded with holes and shoot them with handguns, it wont be long before Spring is here:)

[Q2XL]

me ill stick wih the 30/06 devastating on them

[Caribou Dreamer2]

I heard that cant beat those handguns spring time is just around the corner carp fishing and hog hunting and 3-d season come on spring.

[OHyotekiller]

I haven't tried it out yet, but if we ever thaw out, I will.

http://photos.imageevent.com/leeshuntpics/264winchestermagnum/websize/assembled%20rifle.jpg

[Smallie34]

Congratulations thats a sweet looking rig.

[OHyotekiller]

Thanks Smallie. Lost the site here, but I've got it back. Here's the rifle as finished. Sold the lightweight green stock and got the black Long Range stock from Fred Moreo at Sharp Shooter Supply in Delphos, OH. The rig weighs just over 28 pounds.
I've not done any serious load development yet, but I managed to shot a group just under 3" at 300 yards with book minimum rounds while breaking in the barrel.
http://photos.imageevent.com/leeshuntpics/264winchestermagnum/websize/000_0098.JPG

[Smallie34]

Again thats a great looking rig...looks like your getting the groups you need, I was able to make it out hog hunting today and was able to bag 2 with my 700VS in 223, looks like its going to be a good spring we sure deserve it.

[Thunderflight]

I'll be using my Mossberg 12 ga on Wednesday for hogs. Of course I'm talking about ferel hogs vise ground hogs.

Actually I don't think we even have any ground hogs where I live. We do have a bunch of armadillos though....:)

TF

[OHyotekiller]

Glad to see you're getting out and hitting the hogs Smallie. I went last Friday and my Dad and I each got one. Felt great to get out and walk the fields a little.

[Thunderflight]

I ate hog ribs for dinner last night and lunch today....:)

They where from the sow I shot back in October at the "refuge".

Thunderflight

[Smallie34]

I have only made it out that one time this year, either work or the weather has slowed me down a little, I hope to make it back out again soon.

[george tinkham]

thunderflight don,t you have bear season or is that in n.carolina

[vvarmitr]

Bottombouncer: My opinion is " if it has a trigger use it.":D
The only thing I would be concerned about is bigger the bore the bigger the boom & the more people complain. You need to be more selective about the area you use it in more than anything, I feel. It doesn't hurt to let your farmer know what you're using too.;) In most cases they're just happy you're out there bustin' 'hogs.