Hogs on rimfire only WMA

[Mr.Moa]

I hunt a WMA close to my house that has loads of hogs on it but its rimfire only. I have a 17 hmr and 22 lr but im about to buy a 22 mag to hunt these hogs. Looking for the best possible bullet in 22 mag to hunt them with and have found 50 grain bullets but if i recall they were hollow points. Would these work or would i be better of with maxi mags in like 40 grain soft points or tmj

 

[snox801]

I would think the hollow point would work. Only because you will have to shoot them in the ear or eye no matter what bullet you choose. I would do some searching online for the hardest bullet you can find. Good luck hunting.

 

[snox801]

Just a quick look led me to Winchester 40 gr fmj. I would go with these. You want as little expansion as possible. That round is way to small for pigs, but if thats all you can use then so be it. Just try and find the bullet that will provide the most penetration.

 

[PrunedaleMike]

Just a quick look led me to Winchester 40 gr fmj. I would go with these. You want as little expansion as possible. That round is way to small for pigs, but if thats all you can use then so be it. Just try and find the bullet that will provide the most penetration.

Best shoot the small 50lbs head shot only. I've kill pigs with a .22 before, in a pen, not wild hogs.

Good luck
PM

 

[Reel Assassin]

Hi, I grew up in south Arkansas and have killed quite a few big boar hogs with nothing more that .22 shorts solids when that is all I had. Yes there are only a few spots like the spine to do this with but back then I was shooting a couple hundred rounds a day in practice. I usually used .22 LRs but one day I only had .22 shorts and a boar about 250 lbs attacked one of my grandfather's cows so I killed him. First I broke his back legs down and then his neck by shooting for the soft disc areas in his spine since that was the only way with the .22 shorts. Using iron sights, growing up in the country, I learned how to shoot and the physiology of the wild hogs and Razorbacks where I grew up around, if for no other reason than survival. I found myself surrounded packs of wild hogs more than once while out squirrel hunting including once with my father. I had to shoot myself out of danger more than once.

I once killed an adult wild hog with a large bowie knife as that was all I had at the time at age 15. Oh, I was 6' 2" and 190 at the time by age 16 I was 6' 5" and 205.

In my experience you need the penetration of the solid.

Anatomy of the Wild Hog
There are many wild hogs lost each year because they were gut shot! This was not because of careless shooting, but rather due to the hunter not understanding the anatomy of the wild hog. There is quite a difference in the location of the wild hog's vitals, as compared to the deer. If the deer hunter uses the classic lung shot, used on deer, he will likely gut shoot the wild hog! By looking at the above diagram it will be obvious the vitals of the wild hog are well forward in the body cavity. You should also notice the location of the shoulder blade in reference to the head and neck. The ideal shot location is in the lower part of the shoulder blade area.


There are many shooters that profess their choice of the head/ear location for their shot. While it is true any hog can be killed quickly with something as small as a .22 Rim fire Short in the ear if the muzzle is close, there are hogs lost each year that the hunter tried a head/ear shot. Yes, the hog died later from bleeding, but ran quite a distance. This happens more with high velocity rounds that fragmented on the head meat/fat, especially with rounds like the .22 Rim fire Magnum and such.


It should be noted that there is a great deal of difference in hunting from a tree stand and being on the ground. The tree stand hunter, being elevated, can place his shot more precise. In this situation, the head/ear shot may be justified. However, if the hunter is on the ground, the shoulder shot is best,

as it will also break up the hog's movement. That can be very important if the hunter is dealing with a dangerous boar hog!

Here is a skull of a large, and dangerous, Tusker Boar Hog! The brain is located above a line between the eyes and the back of the skull. Note how small this area is compared to the overall size of the skull! This brain area size is relative to the size of the hog. The area ahead of the eyes to the snout consists of nothing but pulpy sinus bone and has no major blood vessels. A large boar hogs shot in this area will do one or two things, escape or cut the hunter very bad! The hog, shot in this area, will show no nerve shock from the hit!

The mature wild boar hog has a hard gristle like shield over his shoulder area. This combined with fat, causes less blood trails. I have seen the soft 12 gauge "Foster" type rifled slug flatten out on a 400 pound boar hog's shoulder!

Never Underestimate Wild Boar

 

[Daryl licht]

I had an old friend from ruidoso make set of seating dies for the .22mag. We'd pull the crap lead bullets and reseat with his die a Sierra matchking .223. Using a 16" Thompson contender it'd chrono 1750 and group 3" at 150. It has killed many of everything over the years. It is such a delight to carry at just under 5lbs. scoped. It especially loves hitting a hog behind the ear.

 

[texas]

I had an old friend from ruidoso make set of seating dies for the .22mag. We'd pull the crap lead bullets and reseat with his die a Sierra matchking .223. Using a 16" Thompson contender it'd chrono 1750 and group 3" at 150. It has killed many of everything over the years. It is such a delight to carry at just under 5lbs. scoped. It especially loves hitting a hog behind the ear.

That sounds like it would be a great idea and glad it worked. Being a rimfire trying to reload it would be dangerous thought, still I would like to do it.

 

[Beelzebub]

Just a quick look led me to Winchester 40 gr fmj. I would go with these. You want as little expansion as possible. That round is way to small for pigs, but if thats all you can use then so be it. Just try and find the bullet that will provide the most penetration.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I've hunted hogs for 60 years within 5 miles of my home. good open sighted 22WMR will do great if yo are a good shot. A solid is imparative, If yo hit that thick shin and then2 or 3 inches of fat, a hollow point as lost most of it's punch. I've kiled many of them with my 9422.

Lee

 

[Tikker]

I don't see any problem with a 22lr. My first pig I took was with my Winchester 290 semi-auto. I had a frontal shot and put 6 rounds of Remington target round nose into its head at 35yds & one into its chest when it turned away from me after charging at about 10yds.

I heard it crash in the brush not far away. Since your in an area where only rimfire is allowed I'd just make sure your shots count or have the ability to throw a lot of bullets into its head. Now that I think about it, I should have only shot the piglets....would'a been easier to drag out & clean. At the WMA shack it had she weighed in at 130lbs. Not that large compared to the ones I've seen online....but still heavy enough to drag & load myself in the pickup bed.

After that hunt, I made a trade for a Savage 24 in 223/20ga for my small game season hunting. Pig season overlaps all other seasons here in GA., but you can only use the weapons allowed for the season thats open on WMA land.

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[PrunedaleMike]

I don't see any problem with a 22lr. My first pig I took was with my Winchester 290 semi-auto. I had a frontal shot and put 6 rounds of Remington target round nose into its head at 35yds & one into its chest when it turned away from me after charging at about 10yds.

I heard it crash in the brush not far away. Since your in an area where only rimfire is allowed I'd just make sure your shots count or have the ability to throw a lot of bullets into its head. Now that I think about it, I should have only shot the piglets....would'a been easier to drag out & clean. At the WMA shack it had she weighed in at 130lbs. Not that large compared to the ones I've seen online....but still heavy enough to drag & load myself in the pickup bed.

After that hunt, I made a trade for a Savage 24 in 223/20ga for my small game season hunting. Pig season overlaps all other seasons here in GA., but you can only use the weapons allowed for the season thats open on WMA land.

Good luck on your hunt!

Good thing it wasn't a big boar. One shot one kill. Use a larger caliber than a .22 caliber. I had 3, 150 gr. 30-30 rounds embed in the armor plating on a big calico boar one day, switched to a 30-06 165 gr that day.
gun)

 

[J E Custom]

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I've hunted hogs for 60 years within 5 miles of my home. good open sighted 22WMR will do great if yo are a good shot. A solid is imparative, If yo hit that thick shin and then2 or 3 inches of fat, a hollow point as lost most of it's punch. I've kiled many of them with my 9422.

Lee

+1

Use the heaviest lead or Full Metal Jacket bullet you can find. Head shoot if you can and gut shoot
the rest (I hate hogs and kill everyone I see one way or the other).

The only good hog is a dead hog. (We are overrun with hogs in Texas and they are hurting every
other type of hunting we have.

I have used every rifle I have from a 17 HMR to a 416 and even a 3 1/2' turkey load on several
occasions and prefer the big bores but if you can only use rim fires the 22 WRM is good with the
right bullets. The little 17 HMR also works good with the 20 grain FMJ if you head shoot them.

Good luck (Kill them all)

J E CUSTOM

 

[sdkidaho]

Great info on shot placement. Thanks.

 

[djones]

these were ear shot with a 22, so it can be done

 

[Garry J]

Don't forget the shot gun if you can use them. Winchester makes a round called Dynapoint. A 45gr solid with a dimple in the nose and CCI makes a solid point but it does not give the weight on it. I must have had this box for some time, the price on the box is $3.17. I shoot a H&K 22mag that I have had for over 31 yrs. I have killed a lot of fox and coyote with this gun at 150yd or less. Less is much better.