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22 Mag for Hogs

6K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  Shamal 
#1 ·
I have plenty of rifles that can dispatch hogs without an issue, but noise can be a problem where I live. I am not worried about my neighbors, but my In-Laws have objected to some of my centerfire adventures in the last few months. 17 HMR, 22 LR and 22 Mag. have not seemed to bother them though.

I went out this morning to a pleasant morning to enjoy a cool morning to have my coffee and immediately saw a half dozen or so deer. I got out my camera and captured this little buck...as the light started to get better.....low and behold, there were three hogs about 150 lbs that appeared behind my chicken coop. I think they came in rooting around for some loose chicken feed.

Dammit.

They were about 50 yards away and I kinda panicked and shot one with my pellet gun, which I knew would at least scare them away. I have about 50 pecan trees and keep the pellet gun handy to scare away squirrels that I can. I am also guessing that as the pecans begin to fall in a month or so, it will just attract them more.

Can a 22 Mag. dispatch a hog within 50-60 yards with a well placed shot?? I have it sighted in for 100 yds, and figure I can do a well placed 50 yd. shot if needed.

I hate to wound one and unless I know the round can take care of it, I will have to figure out something else.

Suggestions.


Wildlife Deer Mammal White-tailed deer Roe deer


This little buck is one of my 2nd years. He has a brother that fights with him from time to time. They come around this time of year...but are pretty skiddish.
 
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#3 ·
I've set my 22 Mag. up on my cleaning bench in the garage this evening for a just in case for in the morning. I am thinking just behind the eye....these guys were pretty big. Probably 150 pounds. My ammo is 40 gr. Maxi Mag at 1875 fps. I also have some 45 gr. Hornady Critical Defense at 1700 fps, but have not shot them and don't know how they print....so bad idea until I shoot some.

Brain is best if I can get a good shot. I;ll let y'all know in the morning. Who knows, my pellet gun may have scared them off.

Joel
 
#5 ·
The 22 mag will do. I have killed loads of pigs with a .22 lr. That’s all I ever use when I trap pigs unless it’s a really big boar. A friend of mine rigged his magnum up with a green light and would slip up close to a feeder and shoot pigs. He got several with it. Another friend always carried a lever action magnum when we went hog hunting. He also has stacked them up with it. Anything less than probably 250 lbs should be down with a good shot. Ears or forehead.
 
#8 ·
We've used the .22 Magnum (with FMJ) MaxiMags or Winchester, back of the head, earhole, piled them up! Keep the range under 50yds "for best results". The sloping skull is the biggest issue, not how big they are. Don't shoot forehead unless you are up higher than them, I've had a 22-250 bullet glance off one's forehead when I was on the ground with them. Surprised us both! lol
 
#10 · (Edited)
My grandfather took feral hogs , eating size not hogzilla sized , every year with a single shot 22 LR . His secrete was careful shot placement . He would ambush them from cover and place the bullet through the ear hole so it ranged into the brain . A hog's skull is usually too thick for a 22 LR to reliably penetrate from the front , the opening for the ear canal offers a easier way into the brain . He told me " Boy , it's not what you shoot them with that matters ...it's where you put that first shot that matters most ."
Every time I went with him he brought home meat ...one shot and the pig would drop dead .
22 Magnum rifle ...Should be no problem . Your target will be about the size of a quarter (ear canal opening) and you need to wait untill he turns so the bullet ranges into the brain ... learn where a pigs brain lies before you take a shot .
Around here if they are eating dropped chicken feed ...it's not considered " Baiting" .
Good Luck ...Hope You F Y F .....Fill Your Freezer

PS , Maybe if you share some of the wonderful tasting meat with the inlaws they wont be so objectionable about your shooting ...they might even encourage it !
Gary
 
#12 ·
I am a big fan of the 22 MAG. But its been my experience that a hog's head bounces up and down while feeding. This makes difficult shooting for a head shot. May I suggest a crossbow? PSE Fang is budget priced but has many features of much higher priced models.

TR
 
#14 ·
Well...of course, Hogs will be hogs. The last two mornings have been zero hogs or hogs at 100+ yds. lol

I'll stay vigilant. The same three seem to be showing up, so hopefully if I get one of them, the others will stay away. I thought they would come close to the chicken coop like they had before, but I may have to figure out how to get closer before sunrise.

I used to watch the butcher kill calves brought in with a single shot .22 lr.,and have dispatched many a trapped fox or coyote at close range. But do not have the same luxury here..
 
#15 ·
I'll stay vigilant. The same three seem to be showing up, so hopefully if I get one of them, the others will stay away.
:)
Good luck with that. I'm not a hog psychologist, but odds are if there's something back there they like to eat, it's more likely the relatives will show up for the funeral.
 
#16 ·
I thought the 17 HMR was a joke. I bought one during the last ammo crisis because there seemed to be all kinds of 17 ammo around. I had also had set up a steel rimfire spinner. My son picked up the 17 and had that target whirling. After he brought the target up to look at it was a network of holes. That spinner is much thicker than a hog's skull and it is STEEL. I would expect a 17 HMR too shoot through a hog. Chest shots may not drop the hog but I would expect him to croak. Two different poachers have told me that you can kill any thing with a 22 WMR. One told me that he used to hunt on the local aircraft test range during the flight test when the aircraft noise would drown out the noise of the shots. According to him he would shoot the deer through the lungs and the critter would just ignore it until it fell over dead. The other poacher had huge elk mounted over his fire place. I counted the points and it was a 9 by 8 rack. He claimed to have shot it running at 100 yards with a 22WMR during archery season. Watch the series "Swamp people" where they often kill huge alligators with rimfire cartridges. I never witnessed these shinnakins but I have respect for rimfire cartridges. My answer when the adequacy of rimfire calibers for self defence is questioned is that everything I ever shot with a 22 either died or ran off. Is that not the definition of effective self defence. On more than one occasion My S&W 34 22 kitgun has backed up my arguments. I still have various center fires close at hand. But a critter will not be as healthy after being shot as before.
 
#17 ·
I have a 17 HMR that I could use that is "slightly" more accurate than my 22 Mag. Maybe because it has a better scope.

The only time I have seen the hogs in the last few days has been near the goat pens at the back of the property which is way further than I am comfortable shooting with either. I also had no luck in sneaking up on them...they have been shot at before.

I have more than a dozen other calibers that would not be a problem...except for the fact they rattle the house, especially first thing in the morning...lol. I could throw some more corn out behind the chicken coop to bait them closer, but really don't want to encourage that either. Plus, dove season just opened and I have been popping a few with my .410 and don't want to get accused of baiting. I'll keep the .22 Mag in the garage just in case any wander too close while I have my morning coffee, but am done looking for them from the back porch.

Thanks for all of the input and suggestions. This site has a huge amount of experience and is such a great resource.

I'm so tired of quarantine...I am heading out to one of my dove fields for a little psychotherapy tomorrow.

Joel
 
#18 ·
If I need to be real quiet I use my .300AAC/BLK with sub sonic rounds and a suppressor--close work only tho. Otherwise I use any of my centerfire rifles with threaded barrels and fitted with a TB suppressor adapter (also act as muzzle brakes), and I just swap my 338 TB suppressor to fit whichever rifle I'm shooting that day. That said, a 22 WMR is way more deadly that the 22LR and is probably OK on hogs to about 50 yds with ear shot.
 
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