Thread: What do Pig hunters want ?

Originally Posted by Flyblown

The pig hunters I knock about with change their minds on rifle / cartridges every time they screw up the shot and the pig rips up their dog(s).

I would be surprised if there was a specific rifle / cartridge option that would be worth making in any kind of numbers. My gang use everything from. 223 Rem to .44 Rem Mag. The most common concerns are (a) muzzle blast and turning young dogs gun shy, (b) rifle length, (c) ammunition availability. Stopping power is a weird one - a pig hunter will go hunt with a mate who uses a .223 and is a cool and calm shot in the bail, and now he wants a .223 as well. Until he messes it up and then he definitely needs a .44.

Last decent hunt I went on, the pig (very dangerous boar) was shot with a full power .44 Rem Mag (factory 240gr PPU) front on. Bullet hit the skull on the top far left side, took out the ear, knocked pig unconscious. Pig came round about 60 seconds later. Not good.

That's what pig hunting is all about, the excitement and fukups.

This'll cover most of the maintence issues others have mentioned

The answer is obviously .45-70. Fits in both lever action and break barrel. Has enough authority for any situation, and variety of projectiles.

If you port just-ahead of the chamber (rather than toward muzzle end of the barrel) you can easily bleed enough gas to make factory ammo subsonic.

A better option IMO would be to procure/make/sell loaded ammo.