Acceptable Accuracy For Hog Hunting

[Namuh]

I don't know how much of this was in jest, but I had something like this happen at my place with a guy that I allowed to deer hunt my land. Long story short, he didn't get a deer and when I was next on property, I found one of my LARGE oaks next to my gun range had a target on it and 20-30 rounds shot into the target and tree. I call up my buddy and asked if he did any shooting while "deer hunting" and he explained that he needed to sight in his rifle so he put a target on one of my trees. When I asked why he didn't use my targets on my gun range (400 yard rifle range with tables at 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards), he said because he hadn't asked permission to use my range. Well, he didn't ask permission about shooting up a tree that is probably over 100 years old AND he did use my rifle range, one of the shooting tables from which he shot the tree. He didn't even bother taking his target from my tree. Needless to say, he won't ever be on my property again.

There are people out there, pretty much like you explained and I experienced.

The point is that your little story isn't far from what I have experienced.

The difference is I shot my own tree…

 

[Koda_]

Would you head to the field with this?

If thats from a bench no.
6in would probably tag a hog but the problem is most 100yd shots in the field are offhand where the group opens up like 2 to 4x or something way greater depending on skill. 6moa from a gun club bench is not acceptable.

 

[Turpentine21]

No way in the world I would hunt with that. I wouldn't hunt elephants with that. I have way too much respect for what I'm shooting.. Pitiful. If I couldn't shoot better than that I'd quit hunting. I know plenty of people that do hunt with even worse however.

 

[Mcranch]

Our standards have really narrowed down in the last couple of decades!! Win Mod 70 with a 4 power Weaver scope and factory 30-06 ammo that would have worked just fine in 1970! I am sure it will work just fine now but we have better! When people could not see open sights anymore and went to a 4 power it was pure heaven. Factory ammo was just not that great either. You kind of had to will the shot in there but they killed lots of stuff. I was told a year or so ago about a sub moa rifle, "that's a target rifle, you just don't need that to hunt" and he was probably right!

In the early seventies if you were shooting a 5 inch group it was considered a normal group, good to go. In my opinion these are the good ole days as far as rifle builds go. .5 inch is almost a norm with many doing quarter inch and these are with mags.

 

[Sikadog]

Why do people not learn to shoot accurately, it only takes practice. Within reason if you can shoot one rifle you can shoot another.
I shoot 100 rnds of rimfire every week on an indoor range, it teaches you hold, trigger and sight consistency. From shooting 1moa at 25yds I now shoot 1/4" moa at 25yds. Practice, practice, Practice.
The rifle is a 1966 Anschutz which i was given and the Scope cost £50 used.

 

[Buffalobwana]

If he's shooting 75 yards to a feeder sitting in a blind with a rest. Perfectly acceptable. Most people can't shoot that well anyway.

Even if he is shooting 6 MOA. Thats only 3" off your target at very worst.

Field accuracy. It's not acceptable to almost everyone here, yet, it's still effective.

 

[Buffalobwana]

I have rented or borrowed guns in a lot of countries. Very hit and miss on accuracy and quality. Yet, somehow I killed everything I shot at.

Some guns I rented in Europe and Africa were great. Beautiful glass, accurate as anything in my safe.

But, I have also been handed beat up guns and a hand full of rounds that were all different.

On one hunt they insisted that we verify zero at 25 yards. The 2" grouping at 25 yards gave the illusion of acceptable accuracy. They didn't shoot at 100 yards because clients loose confidence that the gun will be acceptable. But it worked.

One rifle in Zimbabwe was missing the objective lens on the scope. I really thought that part was necessary??? I guess it isn't. Somehow, I managed to kill everything I pointed at though.

 

[VTbluegrass]

The obvious answer to how accurate do you need for pig hunting is Minute of Pig.

 

[Allen Lone wolf]

I believe that we owe it to the game we pursue whether it be a hog or a trophy bull elk to make a quick clean kill. That being said I would like to see that same person shoot a .243 with known accuracy to find out if recoil is the problem. If so he should opt for something like it. Not judging someone whom I never met but some have the little man syndrome and need to impress others with a large caliber rifle. It's also possible he might have equipment problems or just lacks range time. Maybe he just needs a little coaching from a good friend. But with all this said it would not be acceptable accuracy for me.My dad use to say when I would shoot a group on a target, "that's pretty good son, but targets don't have hair on them".

 

[Bang4theBuck]

True Story:

A few weeks/months ago my brother and I were shooting rifles at our local range when a member and his guest showed up. The guest was there to sight in his 300 Win Mag for an out of state hog hunt. He fired a few shots at 50yds then moved his target to 100yds and fired a few more. He cased his rifle, thanked us for our patience and left. I didn't think much about it, as it seemed a normal zero check to me. As I was putting my target stand back in the house I could not help but notice the grouping on his big black circle target. I have never hog hunted, so Ill ask those of you who do. Would you head to the field with this?

Well if this is a good enough sight in, I could make a pule of $20 bills 'sighting-in'rifles at the range, and I'd never have to fire a shot. I would market it as a service that preserves your barrel life, your expensive ammo, and your hearing and includes free bore sighting! Lol

Seriously, us shooting geeks tend to never settle on anything that isn't as good as it can be, but there is a whole other word out there of shooters that either don't know or don't care enough to get into the details, and in many hunting situations, it really doesn't change any outcomes. Many of the spots I hunt are combo spots (bow/gun) as an example. So, it isn't uncommon to have deer walk right underneath your stand. I spent lots of time this year verifying that my muzzleloader was spot on and then took my best buck in 2 decades at 18 yards, freehand. A 10 moa rifle would have been just fine. My son practiced with me a few times with an old savage Model 99 in 300 savage. I loaded it woth some 'go-fast' Hammer bullets, and tuned the load to MOA (love those Hammers) and then he shot his deer at 12 yards.

Having lived gone on a couple high fence pig hunts I can tell you that even the hosts of these hunts would tell people that if you can hit a dinner plate consistently at 100 yds, you're good to go.

I'm not surprised by your observations at all. What I like about our approach (making accurate ethical shots) is that the drama typically ends when the rifle barks, for many, the drama starts then.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

Maybe they're hoping to shoot, but not recover, the pig lol.

If you've lived in or hunted in states that have a feral pig problem, this is exactly what it means. It has given new meaning to the term truck gun. Any rifle or rifle scope combo that is durable, but not necessarily accurate becomes a truck gun. Best case scenario for some of these folks is to shoot a pig in the middle of a field and have it run off and expire in the woods for the coyotes a d buzzards to consume. There is no respect or mercy for the animal, nor should there be in many of these situations where the hogs are invasive and are taking over crop fields and such.

 

[RYEWSKY25284]

True Story:

A few weeks/months ago my brother and I were shooting rifles at our local range when a member and his guest showed up. The guest was there to sight in his 300 Win Mag for an out of state hog hunt. He fired a few shots at 50yds then moved his target to 100yds and fired a few more. He cased his rifle, thanked us for our patience and left. I didn't think much about it, as it seemed a normal zero check to me. As I was putting my target stand back in the house I could not help but notice the grouping on his big black circle target. I have never hog hunted, so Ill ask those of you who do. Would you head to the field with this?

nope. Not near good enough

 

[Orange Dust]

I'm going to tell you a story about my departed father in law. He was the best hunter I ever met. He had two Rem 700's. A .270 and a 7mag. Both were set up the same with 4x12 VX3's in see thru mounts. He said the scoces were just for making sure an animal was legal and too slow to hunt with. He killed deer with the 270 and moose and elk with the 7mm. I never heard of him missing or shooting twice at any animal. He just got close. One day i was in his backyard chronoing my 7-08. It was doing 3025 with 140's. I was shooting at a target at 200 yds. Never forget that day. He went in the house and brought out his 7 and some 140gr ammo in green and yellow boxes. You know the brand. He said the target was a little far, but shot 5 times. Most hit the paper. Chronoed 2900 and change. He asked me if I could fix his rifle. I said I will if you trust me. I took it home. First I cleaned the barrel to the bare metal. Bore had never been cleaned. Then I ordered an inletted blank from Fajen. He was a big guy and needed a completely different stock. Carved it to fit him, pillar bedded it, 20 coats of oil and checkered. Deaxcellerator pad All summer project. Mounted the scope where it belongs and took off the iron sights. Set trigger to 2lbs with no creep. Worked up a stiff load with 7828 and 150gr Ballistic tips. Really good Bullet in a rem 7. Rifle would now shoot baseball sized groups at 400 yds. He was amazed. Said it kicked less than his 270. That was because it fit him. I sighted it in +3" at 100 and he learned where to hold all the way to 500. He killed everything that got in his way to about that far, and never shot the other rifle again until he died. He bragged on that old rifle to everyone that would listen. Did he kill any more animals than he would have otherwise? Debatable, but he sure spent less time crawling around on his belly. That's a plus as you age.

 

[ChrisInKY]

Is it good enough for hogs...yes.....ideal..not in my world.

Here they are a nuisance, many shoot and leave them laying.

I like that answer. I'm a shade closer to the "Nope. Not if you ask me." side.