Chris

Dust off and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Compact and crossbow are two words that usually don't go together. I've never had good luck with the more complex crossbows. However, I've had fantastic success with Excalibur bows. Rugged, reliable and accurate. If a string breaks, I can replace it in the field in a matter of seconds. Can't recommend them enough... however, there is nothing compact about them. http://excaliburcrossbow.org

I had one dug about three years ago and it was in the 5k neighborhood. 10 sounds a little steep unless they have to go really deep.

I've got one and it's a great little rifle. Like most Ruger rifles you need to work the bolt a bunch of times to smooth out the action, but it's a little tack driver. I haven't shot it out to 100 yds, but I regularly use it to plink spent 9mm casings from 25 yds... it's as accurate as I'm capable of being at that distance.

Sounds like a good merger. Good luck to them all.

Great stuff! Thanks!

Go big or go home. .45-70 lever action.

Welcome to the dark side. Glocks are downright fugly, but you can't beat the reliability. I've been carrying a G26 for quite some time now... love love love that ugly hunk of plastic and steel.

  YYZ!!! Neil Peart stands alone! Best. Drummer. EVAH!

Hippie tears are oh so sweet. They taste like candy.

To be clear, we provide better healthcare than Obamacare. However, Obamacare is driving our costs through the roof. 

Yep. Dealing with renewal right now at the office. Rate hikes are on the low end of that range. Pretty brutal.

beautiful

  Love this idea. Pick me!

I love it, but the place I use my ear buds on on airplanes... don't think the TSA would approve.

Heh. That's funny.

Funny you would mention this. I started work on one last night. I'm working off one of the blanks Tricky mentioned. I got mine off amazon... not this one, but very similar... stem and bowl are already drilled, lets me focus on making it pretty. http://www.amazon.com/Tobacco-Pipe-Briar-Wood-Block/dp/B009SYZN7E

Glad you are still with us. Sending prayers your way.

It's all about shot placement. If you are accurate enough a 22lr will get the job done.

I expect that'd do the job just fine.  340g? Seriously?

Just had this exact conversation with an experienced guide in Texas. Fwiw, his opinion was that .223 is fine for head shots but he prefers heavier caliber for body shots... now, given advances in modern ballistics this may not be as relevant.   Of course, in any discussion of small calibers on dangerous game, I feel that I have to mention that Frederick Courteny Selous regularly took elephant with a .256 Mannlicher... so if you are a good enough shot it isn't an issue. A .45 inch hole may put them on the ground faster but that little .223 inch hole will certainly do the trick, so long as it's in the right place.   One thing I will point out is that unless you are shooting suppressed or in wide open country, the chance for follow up shots on multiple animals is pretty slim. Ten seconds after your first shot the only thing you'll see is dust and hopefully a slowly settling red mist.   In the end, pick the rifle you are most confident with... well placed shots will win the day every time.

Personally I think .223 is a little light for hogs... many on this forum will disagree. I'm a big fan of .45-70 for pig, it tends to be more forgiving of less than perfect shots. However, sounds like you may have some fast, up close action and for that it's hard to beat open sights. Stick with a well structured bullet and you should be fine with any of your choices above.

Lovely little smoke pole.

Jerry Clower had a great routine about this very topic.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1sVS7nwits

My brother and I had a textbook hunt on opening day. We roosted a hot tom the night before and snuck in well before dawn and set up close. The tom was gobbling on the roost and it only took a handful of calls to talk him down and pick a fight. He came up behind us and at one point passed within six feet. He was so focused on kicking the decoys butt he never noticed we were there. My brother was the trigger man and that's him in the pic below. The entire hunt, from leaving the cabin to bird on the ground was under an hour.