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.