.243 for pigs

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.243 for pigs

Post by batter » 26 Mar 2014, 7:48 am

G'day,

One for the pig hunters :D

As a general rule, do you think .243 is big enough for your everyday pig gun?

I know the arguments of thick hide, thick bone and all that. Only from reading though, not from experience.

Would a 100gr .243 load be enough for your average pigs or is that still leaving a little to be desired?
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Baronvonrort » 26 Mar 2014, 11:06 am

A 223 is ok for smaller pigs, i think you need something bigger for larger pigs.

No worries bringing down big pigs with a 243.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Member-Deleted » 26 Mar 2014, 11:21 am

If your after a pig for the spit something between 40-60 kilo is the go, a 223 is plenty. Actually to be honest a 223 will do 98% of pigs your likely to see unless you do a lot of shooting up the top.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by AusC » 26 Mar 2014, 5:17 pm

Short of the odd monster pig like you guys get up there, sure.

People under estimate the .243 a bit I think, calling it a varmint cartridge only.

A 100gr pill moving at 3000fps aint no feather duster though.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by SendIt » 26 Mar 2014, 5:19 pm

Just not this fella...

giant-boar.jpg
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by buster » 26 Mar 2014, 5:20 pm

Whole. E. Crap!
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Chronos » 26 Mar 2014, 5:56 pm

Lol. I don't know how that guy drives that truck, he's tiny.

Or maybe the 4x4 has been photo shopped in ;)

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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by yoshie » 26 Mar 2014, 6:15 pm

As long as you don't use light hollow points, 87 to 100 grainers will work great.
Last edited by yoshie on 27 Mar 2014, 5:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by ebr love » 27 Mar 2014, 10:59 am

AusC wrote:A 100gr pill moving at 3000fps aint no feather duster though.


That's how I do my shelves at home. Blast 'em with the .243 ;)

yoshie wrote:As long as you don't use light hollow points 87 to 100 grainers will work great.


Yep, hollow points = bad on chunky bone.

Ballistic tip etc. all good.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by batter » 27 Mar 2014, 12:04 pm

As much as I'd love to get a few of those Godzilla size pigs :D

Probably not likely...
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Westy » 27 Mar 2014, 4:31 pm

batter wrote:As much as I'd love to get a few of those Godzilla size pigs :D

Probably not likely...


Probably not like Never L0L :lol: :D :lol:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Weepy » 27 Mar 2014, 7:29 pm

Unfortunately for us that Giant was shot in Turkey.

No chance in Aus of something that big AFAIK?
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by trantor41 » 19 Nov 2018, 6:45 pm

I hunted pigs for a number of years with .243--100 grn soft points--never needed a second shot. Out to 100 yds they fall over ---zot -their dead.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Daddybang » 19 Nov 2018, 6:50 pm

It's plenty. For several years I only had a .243 and used it on anything from cats to brumbies and scrubbers up here on the Cape. :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by TassieTiger » 19 Nov 2018, 8:32 pm

The larger 223 rounds have plenty of knock down power as long as longer distance is not a factor(150m)...I think with the 243 you could extend the range for a similar result.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by AZZA'S HJ47 » 19 Nov 2018, 9:51 pm

Love my 243 such a great all round calibre. With a well placed shot you can take down some monster pigs although i havent found my "monster pig" when the day comes ill have my 243 or 45-70 on the ready.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by straightshooter » 20 Nov 2018, 5:41 am

SendIt wrote:Just not this fella...

giant-boar.jpg


Classic use of perspective to enbiggen an otherwise 'run of the mill' game animal.
If you want to see a little more detail of the picture go to this link.
https://www.thoughtco.com/giant-wild-bo ... as-3298888
It is allegedly a 1800 pound (800+ kilos) pig.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Blr243 » 23 Nov 2018, 12:48 pm

243 is what I use at the moment but I shot dozens and dozens with a 223 before that. Never ever was it lacking. Imagine a 223 pill loosing its energy inside the chest of a pig. Imagine the hydraulic shock. Don’t just look at the dead pig lying on the ground. Get out your knife and open it up if a 223 can turn the internal organs into mash then how could a 243 not suffice Nb I won’t use v max on bigger boars
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Rod_outbak » 23 Nov 2018, 5:24 pm

Vast majority of pigs we shoot here, are nailed with the .223, with 55gn projectiles.

Largest pig I've ever seen/shot here, was with a single heart-shot from the .223, at roughly 50 metres. Best guess is he was around 100kgs.
[~80kgs would be about the largest I'd ever seen before this gent, or since].

The .243 has bit longer legs, and a bit more authority, and we've even used them to head-shoot dozens of feral cattle, in years past.
We nailed a LOT of pigs with .243 when is was younger, and the 87Gn BTHP was the pick of hard-hitting performance on pigs.
The 87Gn Vmax seems to be an even better evolution of that projectile for pigs; in my mind.

Hard to see how a 100gn projectile in a .243 wouldnt be good enough for just about any hot pork you are likely to meet in Australia, but we havent met any pigs that didnt go down from the 87gn pills.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 24 Nov 2018, 5:55 am

Sounds like you’re a real fan of the 243 rod. I haven’t owned or field tested a 243 rod, by the sounds of it your shot placement is really good. I’ve heard conflicting things and views about the 243, that it’s too explosive on some boar and doesn’t penetrate in some instances. Have you ever encountered this ?
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Daddybang » 24 Nov 2018, 7:24 am

Ive never had a pig walk away from a 90gr round to the neck from mine... maybe the 50's but I reckon its more of a case of people hitting shoulders or missing the heart/lung (poi to high and to far behind the shoulder) which I've found to be common with people who hunt a lot of deer and then go after pigs.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Rod_outbak » 24 Nov 2018, 7:38 am

bigrich,

[Caveat: These are my experiences; we dont have grain or farming in our district, so somewhat different to people down in farming country]

For many years, most properties around here had an old .303 hand-me-down of questionable accuracy, and usually a .243 for day to day use. I recall Dad and the overseer of the day; shooting feral cattle when there was a Brucelosis outbreak(~1976?), and there were dozens of feral bulls/mickeys put down by 100gn pills from either of the .243 rifles here.
They were pretty much the darling performance cartridge for an all-rounder, when I was first interested in shooting(late 1970's).

When I was growing up, most of my shooting mates would buy a .30-30 first(shooting pigs along creeks/scrub), a .243 next (distance shooting of pretty much anything else), and if you were lucky enough, a .357 revolver (when hot pork got nasty).
At that time, the .22 caliber cartridges were seen as too light for pigs, and really only for roos. And a lot more sensitive to wind.
I wish I'd realised just how effective the .22 cal cartridges really were.
But at that point, we did very little roo-shooting, and most of our focus was on pigs, as we had a lot more of them(boredrains).
Very few rabbits, but cats and foxes as well, which the .243 handled well.

Roo-shooters tended to have .222s, or 22-250's, or those new-fangled .223's, but properties usually had a .243 as their go-to rifles.

I'm not sure if I'd consider myself a devoted fan of .243; if I was buying a new rifle around this caliber, I'd probably lean towards 6.5mm, though thats more due to slightly heavier projectile options, rather than better ballistics.
And you could probably do much the same job if you went a tighter twist on the .243 barrel. When I was having my Krico M603S re-barrelled in 2013, I would have preferred a tighter twist than the original 1:10, as this would have given me a bit more range in the heavier projectile weights. It ended up where it was much quicker and simpler to re-barrel with the same twist, and I havent regretted it.
The superb accuracy from the new barrel has more than made up for it..

A large boar pig covered in mud can often take a .243 round in the shoulder and keep going, but I've seen the same result with a .303Brit running a 180gn Taipan BTHP at ~45 metres.
Shoot the same pig in the head with a .223, and he goes down like a sack of spuds.
In that circumstance, about the only calibre that I've used that will ignore the mud, has been a .30-30 150gn RN, though I'm sure a .45-70 would do the job as well.
But the .243 will be my preference if we meet the pig at 150 metres, rather than 50...
For every large boar we see, we would see 15-20 small to medium sized pigs. So, for 99.5% of the shots I've taken on pigs over the past 35+ years, the .243 with 87gn BTHP or Vmax pills, have been devastating.

I dont think I'd be choosing a rifle based upon the game that isnt going to be a regular customer.
Myself; I'd be choosing something accurate, that is plenty heavy for the majority of the animals encountered, but with enough grunt to still nail larger game (with careful shot placement).

They fly pretty flat, they are very accurate, they hit pretty hard (if you choose suitable projectiles), and they arent overly flighty in wind. Hard not to like the .243.
A .243 with a 1:8" or 1:9" twist running something like a 103gn ELD-X, would have to be hard to beat...

My 2 cents.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 24 Nov 2018, 12:15 pm

thanks for your response, first hand experience and knowledge rod, much appreciated. shot placement sounds like the key to your good success in some circumstances, i've bin told by a few people that 243 is a bit light on for pigs at times, especially with a offhand chest shot. besides gaining some knowledge on the 243, i've discovered that 120 gr nosler ballistic tips shoot eceptionally accurate out of my 6.5x55 model 70. i fluked a really silly accurate load just this morning, and i'm questioning whether or not i actually need to run 140's at less velocity with less accuracy. besides pigs, there is always the chance of getting onto a deer, but from what i've bin told, a lot of the smaller east coast species are no more solid than goat. don't mean to hijack the post, but i find this relevant as the two cartridges aren't far apart :thumbsup:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Pythonkeeper » 24 Nov 2018, 12:29 pm

243 is probably my favourite caliber across the board, very versatile and will take down most critters that walk our land.

On a recent trip (last weekend) I encountered a large angry sow that took 4 shots all under 50 metres from a 45/70 (405 grain) to get her to drop and even after that we put another 2 into her with the mates 223 before she finally gave in and died.
Toughest animal I’ve ever come across, first shot went in the back of her head behind the ear and out the other side as she was quartering away on the trot, this should have dropped her but all it did was piss her off. She turned on the spot broadside and I put one through her shoulder which also passed through out the other side around the armpit, this should have dropped her also but she charged with bad intentions and I put one in her chest which went through her whole body and came out near her asshole, her back legs went out from under her but she still kept coming one her front legs with ass end dragging behind, put another through her shoulder and she was down but not out, still had some fight in her so another couple of point blank head shots with the 223 finally had lights out.....crazy stuff, she had a belly full up bubs and just didn’t want to give up..
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 24 Nov 2018, 12:36 pm

Pythonkeeper wrote:243 is probably my favourite caliber across the board, very versatile and will take down most critters that walk our land.

On a recent trip (last weekend) I encountered a large angry sow that took 4 shots all under 50 metres from a 45/70 (405 grain) to get her to drop and even after that we put another 2 into her with the mates 223 before she finally gave in and died.
Toughest animal I’ve ever come across, first shot went in the back of her head behind the ear and out the other side as she was quartering away on the trot, this should have dropped her but all it did was piss her off. She turned on the spot broadside and I put one through her shoulder which also passed through out the other side around the armpit, this should have dropped her also but she charged with bad intentions and I put one in her chest which went through her whole body and came out near her asshole, her back legs went out from under her but she still kept coming one her front legs with ass end dragging behind, put another through her shoulder and she was down but not out, still had some fight in her so another couple of point blank head shots with the 223 finally had lights out.....crazy stuff, she had a belly full up bubs and just didn’t want to give up..


never mind the terminator, you came across the "pigorator" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: i bin told this is some folks swear by larger calibers for pigs, suprised the 45-70 didn't flatten it. maybe try the 300 gr federal hollow point soft nose ? :thumbsup:
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Pythonkeeper » 24 Nov 2018, 1:55 pm

Funny you say that, we actually named her Terminator....

First time I’ve used the 45/70 hunting, before now I’ve only ever had to put a maximum of 2 rounds into a pig, I think she was just a big, very tough animal and very pissed off to, none of the others I got that day put up any arguments with the 45/70 even with porter placed shots...

Back to the 243, I’ve personally dropped red stags out past 200 metres (100 gr soft points) and they’ve dropped like a chunk of wood on the spot dead before they hit the ground, full pass through both shoulder blades, you can expect the same results on most pigs...great caliber..
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Madang185 » 13 Oct 2021, 8:06 am

Based on some 40 years of shooting Pigs within our group. It depends on the circumstances. A set shot at a dam with plently of time to sight is one situation. Fleeing pigs with a bloodstream full of addrenalin is a totally different scenario.

In addition, in our experience, most running pork is hit in the rear 2/3 of the body and that is where the 223, 22/250 etc fail the test.

Further, a wounded animal near thick cover is invariably lost, you have to have enough energy to drop them on the spot. Personally we continue to experiment with more modern projectiles in older calibres, seems to work
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by Die Judicii » 28 Nov 2021, 10:59 am

There is that old saying that,,,,,,, The best gun to shoot a pig is the one you have in your hand at the time.

A totally different perspective on your question could be had by simply looking through the many pics that are published in the "Off Hand Shots"
section of the "Sporting Shooter" magazine. (If they still run it,,, I haven't looked at one for 5 years)

But I do recall an amazing amount of pics of pigs, and other game,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, All shot with .243 which should tell you that it's adequate.
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by duncan61 » 28 Nov 2021, 12:04 pm

I have neck shot pigs with my .222 as it was what I was using at the time.They were standing still broadside so not too hard.I would think SG out a shotgun would be good on running pigs.It worked wonders on goats in the Gascoyne
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Re: .243 for pigs

Post by bigrich » 28 Nov 2021, 7:16 pm

this is a old resurected topic . still interesting though . most pigs i've come across since,(not often enough unfortunately ) would easily be handled by a 243 . but a larger caliber would be good insurance
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