Need advice for wild hog hunting

In My Humble Opinion
1

I did a search on here, and only one thread for hog hunting, and it helped a little, but I’d like some more input.

My wife and I have a 40 acre patch of woods in East Texas. There’s at least one wild hog that wanders around out there (I’ve gotten pictures of it), and I figure if there’s one, there’s going to be a lot more.

So once I get a suitable blind put up, I’m going to see if I can bust one. The land we have has some clearings, but it’s mostly very thick woods. Currently, about the furthest clear shot I’d have is about 50 yards. My first question is, at that range, what would be best out of the following: AR-15, AK-47, or 30-30?

A guy I work with uses an AR-15 when he hunts them, and just shoots them through the ears. That’s fine and all, but if you don’t have a broadside shot, you can’t do that. Plus, I’d prefer to have a larger round to help maximize the chance of a kill shot. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting something in a .308 just for this purpose, but that’s an expense I’d like to do without if I don’t need to spend it. What do y’all think?

Also, since the only pictures I’ve gotten of any hogs are at night, I might have to invest in a night vision scope. Before I do that, I’m going to try a few tricks to see if I can get some hog activity in daylight.

However, I know nothing about night vision scopes. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t bother with anything less than Gen 2+, but those are kind of cost prohibitive. So, would a Gen 1 be suitable for the range I’d be hunting at? The person who told me that I should only look at Gen 2+ or better mentioned something about noise on the lower models. Anybody know what he meant? Actual noise, or “noise” in the image?

Any help or information that y’all can provide will be appreciated!

cf’75

2

It might be cheaper to buy a light-triggered feeder, so your hog(s) will be trained to arrive after good shooting light.

We use deer cane (the liquid kind) mixed with corn and molasses to initially attract them. Just pour it on a flat board near your feeder. If you want to be creative, suspend the cane jug above and cut a small slit in the bottom so it drips for a few days. After they find the place, let them get used to your feeder broadcasting every morning after sunup. On day 5 or 6, blast him from the blind.

Rice bran seems to attract a lot of hogs on my lease as well. We had to make tall, narrow troughs to keep the hogs from eating it (only wide enough for a deer’s nose).

As to the gun, just use the biggest round you have.

The light-activated feeders can be found* in Wal Mart for $49.00. All you need is a 6-volt flashlight battery. They’re made from a 5-gallon metal bucket, and you suspend them from a tree branch.

*I’ve only looked for them in late summer/fall. Don’t know if they’re available this time of year.

3

Sounds exciting!

I’d go with the gun you shoot the best, they’d all do fine inside 50yds. What kind of ammo do you have for each gun? I use 55gr FMJ’s in my AR and I’d want a heavier round and a hunting bullet for hogs.

I’ve never been a fan of the .30-30 but it’s the gun you’re more likely to have hunting ammo for, that might make it the best choice in this situation.

I see folks on T.V. hogging with AR’s all the time but the hogs vary in size a lot and I’ve always assumed that for the 200lb+ pigs they were using .308 or .450 Bushmaster.

I saw someone on a hog show use a bag of corn and powdered drink mix as bait, seemed to work like a charm.

Good luck man, keep us posted!

4

Winchester has a new ammo out specifically designed for hog hunting. Razorback XT, comes in .223Remington and .308 Winchester. Heard about it on Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk.

http://www.winchester.com/library/news/Pages/news-first-hog-cartridge.aspx

5

Either the AR-15 or a Marlin .30-30 would be more suitable than an AK. Premium .30-30 and .223 ammunition is easily available. Without visiting a gun or sporting goods store, all you are going to find for the 7.62x39 is full metal jacket stuff. Even at the gun shops, anything but crap hollow points (made in Russia) that will almost certainly fail to expand is not common. AK’s, by and large, tend to take hind tit to both the AR and the Marlin wrt accuracy. You not only want a good bullet, you want to be able to place that bullet precisely where you want it.
If I were doing this, I’d go with a Marlin lever action in either .30-30 or .45-70 and mount a low power optic. AR’s are fun, and I own a couple, but they bring nothing in particular to the table that makes them top choice for pig hunting. High magazine capacity and potentially high rate of fire aren’t going to matter.

6

Thanks for the replies. I’d seen an ad for that new Winchester ammo, and that’s what made me consider using my AR.

I’d most like to use my 30-30. It’s what I deer hunt with, so I’m used to it more than the AR or AK. I was concerned with using it though because of the rounds I use for deer hunting are soft (basic Winchester 170 grain), and don’t think they would penetrate a hog very well.

I’m making my way to both Bass Pro and Cabela’s this weekend, so I’ll see what they have in premium 30-30 rounds.

Thanks again!