Hog Gun

[bowtieguy]

I'm planning a trip down to South Texas for a whitetail/ feral hog hunt this coming fall and am trying to get gear together now. I'm thinking something in .308, but am torn between a bolt gun or a semi auto. Anyone have any experience with hogs? I don't know if a quick second shot should be at the top of my priority list if I'm using the same gun during the day for whitetail. I've got an ar pistol for any that we trap, but the night hunts are what is getting me excited. Give some ideas as to what you've used or seen work well in the environment. And by the way I'm not wealthy so suppressors and NV setups are almost certainly out of the question.

[fstbk65]

I used to live in TX. Hogs travel in packs. If you are stand hunting a bolt action will do fine if you want to avoid carrying a second rifle. However, if you want to try to shoot more than one, get a semi auto. Or if you will be on the ground chasing them on foot. Sometimes the ones that aren't shot get pissed when their friend just got killed. If you are hunting for meat, a 223 will do fine on the smaller ones. If you are going for the biggest one you can find, get something that has tougher bullets available like a 7.62 (308, 300blk or 7.62x39) or 6.5 like a Grendel.

 

A 308 or 6.5 Grendel would both work good for deer too.

[Luke E.]

Take your pick but I'm not going after hogs without an AR or some other semi auto made for a quick 2nd and 3rd shot. Like fstbk65 mentioned above, they do travel in groups, I personally want to be able to take as many out as possible which all but eliminates a bolt gun. If planning to stalk or hunt from the ground it starts to have a bit of safety factor as well. You mentioned hunting at night being on the agenda so my biggest tip would be to not overlook or overestimate your light. About any light will make their eyes glow from a long ways away but most of the hogs I've been around are black so you need a light with some ass to see them at distance. If you're lookig for something quite economical but effective, What I have might work for you as well. I picked up a couple SureFire 951 (I think that's right) lights from a mil-surp shop. They were pretty poor in the lumen department but very rugged and had built in rail mounts. I knew right away that the light output wouldn't cut it so I got on Amazon and for $8ea I ordered LED 450 lumen upgrade lamps. I can't say for sure if they are a true 450lumens but I can vouch for the fact that I can light up a neighbors dog at 300+ yards at night. The SureFire 951's can be found on eBay with pressure switch and IR flip lens for under $100 + $8 led lamp upgrade.... Cannot beat it for the money IMO I'm almost certain that I saw some on eBay new for $75-$80.

 A "hog shot placement tip" I picked up from another member here, DaveS, is to make neck shots. Evidently it drops them in their tracks and you dont run the risk of hitting the armor plate hogs carry behind the shoulder.

 If you want me to post a pic of my light set up i'd be happy to,just let me know.

[Luke E.]

 BTW I put together a 300blk last year and this past season it is the only rifle that I went after hogs or deer with and it killed both nicely so if you're still in the air as far as calibers go I don't think you could go wrong with it as long as you're not reaching way way out there.

[bowtieguy]

I'd like to see a pic of that light setup. I was never a fan of hanging stuff off of a rifle but this is actually a good reason to.

[Guest summertime27]

458 SOCOM (AR15) is a devastating round on Hogs & anything else for that matter...... 458 SOCOM uppers & Rifles have been historically hard to get..... But I'm about to change that.

[mikegideon]

458 SOCOM (AR15) is a devastating round on Hogs & anything else for that matter...... 458 SOCOM uppers & Rifles have been historically hard to get..... But I'm about to change that.

 

Good for you! My .458 upper came from RRA. GREAT upper, but took forever to get.

[Luke E.]

 I'll post a pic of it tomorrow. I've been covered up with work and didn't realize you had responded.

[fstbk65]

I also have some M951 mil surplus lights. I haven't done any lamp upgrade though. They aren't my brightest light for sure, but they are Surefire military rugged. The price was hard to beat for the ability to have IR. I also picked up a M961 which is larger and is a 3 cell.

 

A 458 is the next caliber I would like to have!

[Luke E.]

 The light is usually on the right side with the pressure switch attached to a Magpul angled grip.

 

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 If you were to go with a 951 the lamp upgrade you want to find is a P60 450 lumens and if you search it on Amazon there will be dozens of them come up. There seems to be slight variances in the size of them and may sometimes require a little filing on the lamp housing but once its in there there is no comparison.

 The 951's also come with the rail attachment.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Luke E.

[bowtieguy]

That's a good looking setup. Did it come with the end caps? I've been doing a little bit of reading up on lights and hogs, seems a lot of people have good luck with different color (green or red).

As far as a gun in 458, I think it'd be awesome to have one. But I don't reload at the moment so I assume ammo would be pretty pricey. And most importantly I dont know how well it would perform on longer shots during our day hunts. I can only really justify buying one "do it all" rifle for this trip. But hey if you can convince me that 458 is the way to go, I'm all ears.

[Luke E.]

That's a good looking setup. Did it come with the end caps? I've been doing a little bit of reading up on lights and hogs, seems a lot of people have good luck with different color (green or red).

As far as a gun in 458, I think it'd be awesome to have one. But I don't reload at the moment so I assume ammo would be pretty pricey. And most importantly I dont know how well it would perform on longer shots during our day hunts. I can only really justify buying one "do it all" rifle for this trip. But hey if you can convince me that 458 is the way to go, I'm all ears.

 

 Yep, it came with everything pictured except the rifle. I have seen red, blue and green lenses from SureFire that you can put in them but I prefer the clear. However, I would suggest using a red lens in a dim light that you use while walking and stalking as it doesn't disrupt your vision like white light. Another light option that's not out yet is going to be a Gerber. I was talking vet that owns a surplus/tactical shop and he either had one or had used one a rep had brought by and he said they were great lights and were going to be between $100-$150 if I remember correctly. Value wise I really am satisfied with the 2 951's that i've got and would have no trouble recommending them as long as the upgrade is made.

 As for the caliber, have you thought about a 6.8? I do not have one and have only shot one a time or two but I have looked at a lot of info on them as it is compared a lot to the 6.5 Grendel which I am building. Out of an AR15 platform i'm having a hard time thinking off another caliber that would better suit you needs for the trip assuming you're going to have longer shot opportunities (you mentioned being worried about the range of the 458). The 6.8 seems to run around $1 per round so it may not be something that you will go out and blast 500-1,000 rounds every weekend but if you're building a rifle to hunt with that you can count on being effective out to 300+ yds then i'd give it a serious look.  I built a Blackout to hunt with because I reload and have plenty of .223 brass to convert and everything on the rifle but the barrel and muzzle brake are identical to my .223s. I wanted something with more bullet than .223 and wanted it to be effective out to 200yds maybe a bit more so it fit my needs well and I've been happy with it. 

 What part of Texas are you headed to?

[mikegideon]

That's a good looking setup. Did it come with the end caps? I've been doing a little bit of reading up on lights and hogs, seems a lot of people have good luck with different color (green or red).

As far as a gun in 458, I think it'd be awesome to have one. But I don't reload at the moment so I assume ammo would be pretty pricey. And most importantly I dont know how well it would perform on longer shots during our day hunts. I can only really justify buying one "do it all" rifle for this trip. But hey if you can convince me that 458 is the way to go, I'm all ears.

 

.458 SOCOM is the reason I started reloading. Factory ammo was 3 bucks per round when I got the gun, before Oblahblah started his war on guns

[bowtieguy]

I've looked briefly at 6.8 but came to an unofficial conclusion that .308 would do the longish shot thing better. You know I've tossed it around and around and am leaning towards an ar10 style rifle. I guess 6.8 would keep the overall size of the gun smaller though. I need a money tree so I can just have one of each caliber.

We are headed outside of San Antonio near Bracketville.

[Luke E.]

I've looked briefly at 6.8 but came to an unofficial conclusion that .308 would do the longish shot thing better. You know I've tossed it around and around and am leaning towards an ar10 style rifle. I guess 6.8 would keep the overall size of the gun smaller though. I need a money tree so I can just have one of each caliber.

We are headed outside of San Antonio near Bracketville.

 

 That should be nice hunting ground. Naturally the .308 would out perform but I wasn't aware that an AR10 was an option! ;) Of course when you go there you also start gaining weight. If the AR10 is an option I think you'd be hard pressed to beat the effectiveness and availability of ammo for it. Do you have an AR of any kind already? 

[bowtieguy]

I do, i have an ar pistol, and I have a cmt tgo upper and lower set that is waiting to be built into something. I was kindve wanting to build a 10.5 inch .300 with that set, but I dont think I'll be hunting with a barrel that short. It would probably be the least expensive route though, as all I need is a barrel, handguard, trigger, and optic. Edited May 30, 2014 by bowtieguy

[fstbk65]

The 6.5 Grendel has the ballistics of a 308 trajectory wise or better and fits on an AR15 platform. I have hit steel at 900 yards with it and it is an effective hunting round. Wolf and Hornady make ammo for it and if you keep searching you can find the Hornady for $1 per round.

[nightrunner]

Semi auto .308 ar is what you need

[mikegideon]

The 6.5 Grendel has the ballistics of a 308 trajectory wise or better and fits on an AR15 platform. I have hit steel at 900 yards with it and it is an effective hunting round. Wolf and Hornady make ammo for it and if you keep searching you can find the Hornady for $1 per round.

 

The Grendel is about the best you can squeeze out of the AR-15. I think the bolt shortage is over by now too. My Grendels are too heavy to carry around the woods very long. A light barrel kinda sacrifices the area where the Grendel really shines.

[Luke E.]

I do, i have an ar pistol, and I have a cmt tgo upper and lower set that is waiting to be built into something. I was kindve wanting to build a 10.5 inch .300 with that set, but I dont think I'll be hunting with a barrel that short. It would probably be the least expensive route though, as all I need is a barrel, handguard, trigger, and optic.

If you wanted to go cheap you could buy a stock, barrel, handguard and gas tube and convert you pistol to a 300blk rifle for the hunt. I tend to like the idea of just buying a new rifle since I'm spending your money after all :)

[Luke E.]

The Grendel is about the best you can squeeze out of the AR-15. I think the bolt shortage is over by now too. My Grendels are too heavy to carry around the woods very long. A light barrel kinda sacrifices the area where the Grendel really shines.

Have you put many rounds through them yet Mike?

[mikegideon]

Have you put many rounds through them yet Mike?

 

None. I suck. I have two spare bolts from AA too.

[fstbk65]

The Grendel is about the best you can squeeze out of the AR-15. I think the bolt shortage is over by now too. My Grendels are too heavy to carry around the woods very long. A light barrel kinda sacrifices the area where the Grendel really shines.

I intended on building a lighter weight 18"-ish barrel for a hunting Grendel upper. At the time, anything Grendel related was impossible to find and I grabbed a 24" heavy barrel whenit became available. I later did get an 18" medium weight upper but that 24" BHW barrel shoots so good I can't bring myself to get rid of it. The 18" I have doesn't like the heavier bullets as well so I end up losing some of my BC to get better groups.

[Clod Stomper]

Which 18" barrel do you have?

[samson7x]

458 socom is a hammer for sure.  I just got a Wilson Combat upper not too long ago and have started playing around with reloads for it.  I'll be deer hunting with it this season and can't wait to stop a deer in it's tracks with it....the thing is a beast.