.243 for pigs

Game hunting and large prey. Deer stalking, hunting with hounds. Boar, pigs etc., large prey, culling, hunting large feral animals.

Re: .243 for pigs

Post by deye243 » 28 Nov 2021, 10:51 pm

After shooting a lot pigs back in the 1980s and the 1990's I have to say the two best rifles I ever had for the job were a Remington woodsmaster 3006 semi-auto or the good old reliable 30-30 lever action those two rifles were a hell of a lot more reliable than a 243 with 100 grain pills and yep had one of them to a Brno ZKK601 1967 manufacturer beautiful rifle
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bluehorse » 05 Jan 2023, 11:43 am

I disagree with 243 as a pigshooting rifle across the board , It will knock suckers and porkers within a range but larger pigs give me a break .
I like my 243 and have multiple ones .I load lighter rounds in preference to use for roos and feral dogs . maybe a sucker or a goat to get fresh meat when I am out in the bush .
So now I get to my punch line . Why load 100gns in a good flat shooting accurate rifle that is set up for 55gns to 75 gn that just dont do the job on bigger pigs . If I want to shoot 100 gners then I will use a larger calibre such as 270 or 308 than can shoot a decent sized pill over distance . .
I shot alone for years and my biggest fear out west in isolated places is to have an angry pig as big as a heifer lining me up .per
chance .
Pigs are known to have done horrific things to station workers who fell from horses or had tractor accidents . I will not elaborate here .
Why risk your self using a lighter rifle if u are wandering thru the scrub . . Even at closer range they will not be as effective as say old 303 or a 270,308 or the likes .
Old razorbacks dont get big and rank because they are stupid !! There are countless tales of encounters in the bush and dogs being torn up too by rank older pigs .
Today feral pigs are numerous and increasing . They will not all be in porker sizes . 50kg is called a super porker at the saleyards . People who grow pigs out at home know how long it takes to grow some pigs to 180 or 200kg .
200kg of nasty sow charging you because u came across her litter in the scrub is not really desireable .
Some of my mates carried shotguns with big charges to save their dogs .from angry pigs . Some chose 303 with tips cut off military ammo . Some had 30.30 with heavy projectiles . All for close encounters .
Having a sporting rifle with a big variable scope is all very well at a distance but not so useful if you are unfortunate to get up close and personal at close range with angry pig of size
There are many more things to consider than whether to load up a rifle with medium sized projectiles or largest for that calibre .
I shot large pigs with 243 loaded with spitzer or hp at close range at night . BUT I didnt go looking in bushes to see if I had killed it . LOL . with a big jim torch in 1 hand it would have been a very uneven match ,me against and angry wounded pig of a large size .and my dogs were short chained in the back of ute .. instead I would look next day if I was in the area . And yes sometimes I brought them down and they only moved a few steps but they were huge pigs shot at only a few metres like 10 or 15 .
All the stories of close to lethal encounters with wild pigs are not just stories . There are some photos too of the hugest pigs also .
THE REASON I write this is to URGE CAUTION when wandering in the bush or scrub for pigs . IT is acedemic whether u use 80 or 90 or 100 gn if a pig comes thundering through the scrub metres away from you and if u are with several mates then the risks of shooting each other are also present .if panic sets in
I had a pro shooter mate in the 70s who showed me his pig gun he used out west where trees grow smaller , LOL 308 Norma Magnum . and he said he used this at a few hundred metres .. This isnt fairy story it is fact . He was a lone shooter like myself and was terrified of coming to grief with a wild pig .
Personally my choice for wild pig is a 270 with a pecar fixed power scope .. 4x for speed of use !! I have brought down wild pigs with many rifles even a 22 hornet with a between the eyes shot at130 metres or so . BUT that does not mean 22 hornet is a pig hunting gun !! It was an on the spot lucky shot . A.
Now I have despatched many wild pigs bigger than porkers using 243 BUT at 100 metres and angled shot will run along the hide sometimes . Also a broadside shot can bounce off if the pig is muddy . caked mud on the shoulder area is like armour !! I have also brought them down with well placed shots behind the shoulder too going to the heart , BUT my 243 is my roo shooting rifle preference and any pigs are just opportunity shots to destroy them as courtesy to .land owner /.
Also worthy of note sucker pigs will charge u too if u have them cornered or tired out and they have a nasty bite . LOL you have been warned !!
Anyway the Choice of calibre is yours . My words here are to help understand that there is lots more in the choice of weapons than simply reading biased reports from Experienced ?
I am too old to run fast now so my choice is minimum 270 and 308 . And now testing across board up to 200 gn projectiles . . 90 grainer spitzers I had long ago just aggravated some pigs .. As a footnote pigs are highly intelligent and adapt well to all conditions . An old mate since long departed carried
a 303-.25 under a pecar scope with post reticule in his vehicle on his property with a box of riverbrand 87 gn reloads . He said shooting the pigs or at them kept them moving . Also he said pigs would worry his sheep making them abort lambs early then stand there to catch the lambs as they were born. He painted a word picture that gave me purpose to want to shoot well .
Yes this factual .
Back in the 70.s some cockies were using SLR and other self loaders to try to stop pigs damaging their crops and livestock . The effectiveness debateable as when the pigs heard those vehicles they would be running away before they were seen, My mate with 308norma magnum sometimes hired himself to cockies and set up near known pig camping areas at 3 and 4 hundred metres trying to snipe larger pigs . . He got many kills but costs of the exercise were not cheap .
Remember yourSAFETY FIRST . pig hunting can be full of unforseen problems too .. Hindsight is a wonderful thing they say . Every choice of rifle has a reason behind it . Even the battered old 303 with iron sights has its uses particularly on foot in scrub
I hope I have provided food for thought too . There is a huge difference .to a sportswriter going pigshooting with accompanying entourage or just a cameraman to Joe Blow average taking his favourite rifle out to have a few days in the bush or just an afternoon , There are lots of good yarns about pig hunts and some about dogs ripped by pigs some are true some are not . It is up to the reader to decide.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 05 Jan 2023, 4:10 pm

They are just pigs and potentially dangerous U make them sound like man eating monsters
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by on_one_wheel » 05 Jan 2023, 4:44 pm

"Pigs as big as heifers" :lol:
That's nothing...
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigpete » 05 Jan 2023, 5:36 pm

Blr243 wrote:They are just pigs and potentially dangerous U make them sound like man eating monsters


Haven't you seen razorback ? Lol
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 05 Jan 2023, 6:06 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:"Pigs as big as heifers" :lol:
That's nothing...


:lol: :lol: not the first time people have played with camera angles and such . remember that photo of a "monster" pig from turkey about five years ago ;)

i don't take risks with them but . on my NT buff trip , one of the guides showed me some phone pics of a hunter who had the calf of his leg opened up badly by a boar that swiped at him as it ran past . he had to be airlifted to hospital . eight inch gash, down to the bone in part . gave me new respect for boar after that .

pig "attacks" aren't common , but if your in their way ......... :shock:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Jan 2023, 6:19 pm

You blokes are as weak as piss. I just use a pointy stick. :allegedly:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 05 Jan 2023, 6:47 pm

I did see razor ack but it was 15 yrs before i started hunting them. Hunting with dogs or bows i had some interesting moments but if i had a riifle I never had a problem stopping the ones that were trying to get me
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by GQshayne » 05 Jan 2023, 7:37 pm

bluehorse wrote:I disagree with 243 as a pigshooting rifle across the board , It will knock suckers and porkers within a range but larger pigs give me a break .
I like my 243 and have multiple ones .I load lighter rounds in preference to use for roos and feral dogs . maybe a sucker or a goat to get fresh meat when I am out in the bush .
So now I get to my punch line . Why load 100gns in a good flat shooting accurate rifle that is set up for 55gns to 75 gn that just dont do the job on bigger pigs . If I want to shoot 100 gners then I will use a larger calibre such as 270 or 308 than can shoot a decent sized pill over distance . .
I shot alone for years and my biggest fear out west in isolated places is to have an angry pig as big as a heifer lining me up .per
chance .
Pigs are known to have done horrific things to station workers who fell from horses or had tractor accidents . I will not elaborate here .
Why risk your self using a lighter rifle if u are wandering thru the scrub . . Even at closer range they will not be as effective as say old 303 or a 270,308 or the likes .
Old razorbacks dont get big and rank because they are stupid !! There are countless tales of encounters in the bush and dogs being torn up too by rank older pigs .
Today feral pigs are numerous and increasing . They will not all be in porker sizes . 50kg is called a super porker at the saleyards . People who grow pigs out at home know how long it takes to grow some pigs to 180 or 200kg .
200kg of nasty sow charging you because u came across her litter in the scrub is not really desireable .
Some of my mates carried shotguns with big charges to save their dogs .from angry pigs . Some chose 303 with tips cut off military ammo . Some had 30.30 with heavy projectiles . All for close encounters .
Having a sporting rifle with a big variable scope is all very well at a distance but not so useful if you are unfortunate to get up close and personal at close range with angry pig of size
There are many more things to consider than whether to load up a rifle with medium sized projectiles or largest for that calibre .
I shot large pigs with 243 loaded with spitzer or hp at close range at night . BUT I didnt go looking in bushes to see if I had killed it . LOL . with a big jim torch in 1 hand it would have been a very uneven match ,me against and angry wounded pig of a large size .and my dogs were short chained in the back of ute .. instead I would look next day if I was in the area . And yes sometimes I brought them down and they only moved a few steps but they were huge pigs shot at only a few metres like 10 or 15 .
All the stories of close to lethal encounters with wild pigs are not just stories . There are some photos too of the hugest pigs also .
THE REASON I write this is to URGE CAUTION when wandering in the bush or scrub for pigs . IT is acedemic whether u use 80 or 90 or 100 gn if a pig comes thundering through the scrub metres away from you and if u are with several mates then the risks of shooting each other are also present .if panic sets in
I had a pro shooter mate in the 70s who showed me his pig gun he used out west where trees grow smaller , LOL 308 Norma Magnum . and he said he used this at a few hundred metres .. This isnt fairy story it is fact . He was a lone shooter like myself and was terrified of coming to grief with a wild pig .
Personally my choice for wild pig is a 270 with a pecar fixed power scope .. 4x for speed of use !! I have brought down wild pigs with many rifles even a 22 hornet with a between the eyes shot at130 metres or so . BUT that does not mean 22 hornet is a pig hunting gun !! It was an on the spot lucky shot . A.
Now I have despatched many wild pigs bigger than porkers using 243 BUT at 100 metres and angled shot will run along the hide sometimes . Also a broadside shot can bounce off if the pig is muddy . caked mud on the shoulder area is like armour !! I have also brought them down with well placed shots behind the shoulder too going to the heart , BUT my 243 is my roo shooting rifle preference and any pigs are just opportunity shots to destroy them as courtesy to .land owner /.
Also worthy of note sucker pigs will charge u too if u have them cornered or tired out and they have a nasty bite . LOL you have been warned !!
Anyway the Choice of calibre is yours . My words here are to help understand that there is lots more in the choice of weapons than simply reading biased reports from Experienced ?
I am too old to run fast now so my choice is minimum 270 and 308 . And now testing across board up to 200 gn projectiles . . 90 grainer spitzers I had long ago just aggravated some pigs .. As a footnote pigs are highly intelligent and adapt well to all conditions . An old mate since long departed carried
a 303-.25 under a pecar scope with post reticule in his vehicle on his property with a box of riverbrand 87 gn reloads . He said shooting the pigs or at them kept them moving . Also he said pigs would worry his sheep making them abort lambs early then stand there to catch the lambs as they were born. He painted a word picture that gave me purpose to want to shoot well .
Yes this factual .
Back in the 70.s some cockies were using SLR and other self loaders to try to stop pigs damaging their crops and livestock . The effectiveness debateable as when the pigs heard those vehicles they would be running away before they were seen, My mate with 308norma magnum sometimes hired himself to cockies and set up near known pig camping areas at 3 and 4 hundred metres trying to snipe larger pigs . . He got many kills but costs of the exercise were not cheap .
Remember yourSAFETY FIRST . pig hunting can be full of unforseen problems too .. Hindsight is a wonderful thing they say . Every choice of rifle has a reason behind it . Even the battered old 303 with iron sights has its uses particularly on foot in scrub
I hope I have provided food for thought too . There is a huge difference .to a sportswriter going pigshooting with accompanying entourage or just a cameraman to Joe Blow average taking his favourite rifle out to have a few days in the bush or just an afternoon , There are lots of good yarns about pig hunts and some about dogs ripped by pigs some are true some are not . It is up to the reader to decide.


The .243Win works just fine on big pigs. I could not say how many I have shot with it since the 80's. I have shot them at 200m on some occasions, and I have kicked them out of the thick stuff under my feet. Works well either way.

If you are worried about getting attacked then make sure you don't miss. Makes no difference what you use if you can't hit anything.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by animalpest » 05 Jan 2023, 8:03 pm

A .243 is fine on pigs, if the right bullet has been chosen. There are plenty of excellent choices available today compared to 30-40 years ago.

One of my scariest moments was when I was using a 30/06 with 200gr bullets. Hit and dropped the first at about 10m but the bullet passed through and hit a big NT boar immediately behind it in the hip. He turned on me, screaming and nashing, dragging his rear legs. Shot him dead at near touching distance.

I have been grabbed on the leg by a sow when I got between her and her litter. Had my rifle shouldered with a bag of grain on the other.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigpete » 05 Jan 2023, 8:51 pm

Oldbloke wrote:You blokes are as weak as piss. I just use a pointy stick. :allegedly:


Actually........ ;)
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Oldbloke » 06 Jan 2023, 3:03 am

bigpete wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:You blokes are as weak as piss. I just use a pointy stick. :allegedly:


Actually........ ;)


:lol: :lol: :lol:

Hey, they banned bows in SA. What about spears?
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigpete » 06 Jan 2023, 5:25 am

Oldbloke wrote:
bigpete wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:You blokes are as weak as piss. I just use a pointy stick. :allegedly:


Actually........ ;)


:lol: :lol: :lol:

Hey, they banned bows in SA. What about spears?


They haven't yet !
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Oldbloke » 06 Jan 2023, 7:00 am

bigpete wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:
bigpete wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:You blokes are as weak as piss. I just use a pointy stick. :allegedly:


Actually........ ;)


:lol: :lol: :lol:

Hey, they banned bows in SA. What about spears?


They haven't yet !


:thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 06 Jan 2023, 10:52 am

Are you as bored as i am. Wanna hear my spear story ? I sure i tiold it before but if u are ancient like me your memory is rubbish and it might appear like an exciting new story. Bsck in a moment
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 06 Jan 2023, 10:57 am

Blr243 wrote:Are you as bored as i am. Wanna hear my spear story ? I sure i tiold it before but if u are ancient like me your memory is rubbish and it might appear like an exciting new story. Bsck in a moment


spears are being banned now ? :P
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by deye243 » 06 Jan 2023, 1:54 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:"Pigs as big as heifers" :lol:
That's nothing...

Haha I noticed that one 2
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 06 Jan 2023, 2:45 pm

mm, yeah . 243 is alright for pigs with good shot placement . but a 6.5 is better ..... :P

unless your in the NT or FNQ . pigs DO get bigger up there ;)
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Oldbloke » 06 Jan 2023, 3:26 pm

bigrich wrote:
Blr243 wrote:Are you as bored as i am. Wanna hear my spear story ? I sure i tiold it before but if u are ancient like me your memory is rubbish and it might appear like an exciting new story. Bsck in a moment


spears are being banned now ? :P


Boomerangs too. :allegedly: :violin:

But I'll be ok. I did my family tree and my great, great great grand fathers second wifes brother was 5% first nation. :drinks:

And to prove it I made a boomerang for the grand sons. Passing on the culture and hunting tradition. :clap:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 06 Jan 2023, 4:33 pm

I got distracted. Now that i have remembered its possibly not appropriate for th internet so will refrain But i must say it was exciting and if it went wrong i could have been busted up real bad
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bluehorse » 01 Mar 2023, 1:24 pm

dont use 75 grain hollow point unless u can get a pinpoint accurate shot away. . 100metre to 150ihave shot big wild pork in hams on the run and it made a 3cornered tear about 1 and a quarter deep , i shoot roos with 75gns and not going to alter 243 for wild pork . I bought 308 for that . My own opinion is big pigs at medium range need bigger . Horses for courses .varios conditions are all different . in close scrub a 243 will kill is quite different to open country at longer ranges
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bluehorse » 01 Mar 2023, 1:42 pm

So much discussion about 243. I read that experts say a waste to use less than 70gn projectile. Maybe they have never puta 243 thru its paces with a few thousand rounds plus .
I was given a box of 55gn sierra Hp by my supplier when i bought mysuppliesof70s 75s 85s and 90s . . I had nothing left to load except this box of 55 gners . I came in with 57 carcasses on the rack thanks to a few dove shots . I have seen 22 250 drop roos but 55 out of 243 at medium to fast loads is something else again .
I didnt have and bullets blowing up in blades of grass and they didnt seem to disentegrate , Straight flat and fast is my assessment . If I could access 55s at a price like 70 grainers then I would be using . . Of course they are no good for pigs .
Is all about horses for courses but I go get annoyed reading such reports . Obviously they were not wearing my shoes If they tested 55's .
LOL and I wonder how many more experts have really seriously tried 243 across the full range of projectiles available .. Am I a 243 lover ?? I only have 3 in my safe .
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by animalpest » 01 Mar 2023, 3:26 pm

The often issue I come across is that some people use 87 gr varmint bullets instead of hunting bullets. The varmint bullets will drop small to medium pigs but will seriously struggle on the bigger ones. Stick with those bullets that say "hunting" on the pack
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by JohnV » 01 Mar 2023, 4:21 pm

The .243 is fine on side on shots excluding the shoulder plate on big boars which I have seen stop a 303 and head shots on even large boars . An 87 grain game bullet is better than a rounder nosed 100 grain unless your pushing through scrub . It's the rear end shot where the 243 can fail on big pigs . It will kill them eventually but they may run off a long way and you could loose it . I started with a .243 as a general pig gun but eventually moved to .308 and heavier projectiles . A skilled shooter with a .243 can take a lot of varied game with well placed shots and the right projectiles but it still has some marginal areas in my book . I used .243 for long range shots on goats and dogs and it was good but for walking around in the lignum and scrub I would go .308 W , 30-06 , 270W , 6.5 x 55 or something similar with a heavier bullet .
Last edited by JohnV on 04 Mar 2023, 7:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 01 Mar 2023, 5:26 pm

Most of my pigs are shot while feedi g. Very relaxed. At night with themsl i wait till they are broadside and stationary. Im usually prone of a bipod and i shoot plenty of big boars with 87 v max. Tjey drop without taking a single step . Even though they are a designated varmit proj they punch abouve their weight. I love the fact that they rarely exit , delivering sll the energy to the animal . Instead of passing thru and becoming havardous for anything behind
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 01 Mar 2023, 5:27 pm

And im never more than 50 m from them
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by JohnV » 04 Mar 2023, 7:03 pm

Blr243 wrote:Most of my pigs are shot while feedi g. Very relaxed. At night with themsl i wait till they are broadside and stationary. Im usually prone of a bipod and i shoot plenty of big boars with 87 v max. Tjey drop without taking a single step . Even though they are a designated varmit proj they punch abouve their weight. I love the fact that they rarely exit , delivering sll the energy to the animal . Instead of passing thru and becoming havardous for anything behind


87 grain Vmax having a ballistic tip tends to penetrate some before it starts to expand compared to an open point so in that context it's not as explosive as some others . I have experimented with a few but settled on the Hornady 87 grain HPBT as they suited my barrel better . The Vmax is a good bullet .
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