What caliber for bitey feral hogs?

[230RN]

You're completely right,  but that's for game animals.  I can shoot varmints with a belt fed, if I had one.  No holds barred on those.

"Belt fed"  You're right.  Good one.

Note the "...and other critters..."

The joke was that they (all wild critters) were doing the same thing we are blamed for.... moving into another creature's territory.

Terry, 230RN

[dogmush]

Re OP:

The more I read about feral hogs the less sportsmanlike I feel.  I was outraged when I saw a video of shooting them from a helicopter.  But after reading more I think there ought to be a bounty on them and have one of those January 1 to December 31 hunting seasons for them.

Terry

Have you seen the videos where they put 30 or 40 lbs of Tannerite under a hog feeder?  Not sportsmanlike, but effective.

[Viking]

That map is 15 years old.  I bet they're more extensive now.

Considering how quick they breed and mature, yes. Need to kill +70% annually just to keep them in check iirc.

[Viking]

Also, hogs are *expletive deleted*ing vicious and nasty. Google pics of boar spears and why they have those lugs/"wings". If not, the stuck hog will work its way up the spear just to get a bite out of you before it expires. They are that petty and do not feel pain. Likewise with domesticated pigs. Their pain threshold is astounding.

The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.

Relevant quote and not far from the truth.

[Viking]

Also to reply to the title question: anything beltfed in a battle rifle caliber or .50 BMG. Artillery. IEDs. To hell with them.

[sumpnz]

Also to reply to the title question: anything beltfed in a battle rifle caliber or .50 BMG. Artillery. IEDs. To hell with them.

The smaller ones are supposed to be great for eating.  Be good to trap them, remove the eating size ones, then go to town as above.

[Ron]

A standard 20" AR with m855 enough gun or do I need something with more umph and/or starting with a 3?

[sumpnz]

Depends if you just want to kill them, or also recover and eat them.  AR-15 is commonly used for the helicopter hunting.  But they don't care much if the pig dies quickly.  For that (killing quickly and then eating them) I would want something 6.5x55mm or above

[Viking]

A standard 20" AR with m855 enough gun or do I need something with more umph and/or starting with a 3?

Depends. Local laws here in Sweden says no. But they might be overly cautious. I have seen Muricans wrecking havoc upon them with standard AR15s tho. But I am unsure about the size of the standard US wild pig. If they are the size of a regular domesticated pig... cautious maaaaybe. They aren't supersized. But pretty hardy. If the size of a sow or above...I would like something in the +.308 range. Cutting in them a big difference compared to regular size pigs. Only experience from slaughtering, not hunting. Have a half finished hunter's exam here. Pigs reportedly require The Big Stick. Have heard hunters here saying 6.55 Swede is Absolute Minimum. So bring enough gun or backup. Pigs vastly vary in size.

[Ron]

I think if I persued doing this I'd opt for a 30 cal something.

If I ever get out of Illinois I'll get a new rifle.

Right now I don't shoot what I have due to the inconvenience.

[bedlamite]

A standard 20" AR with m855 enough gun or do I need something with more umph and/or starting with a 3?

Take a look at the 6.8 spc.

[Ben]

I used my little Remington 788 .308 in CA. Handloaded 165gr made a quick kill with little meat damage if I did my job.

I've said it before in these threads. People can do what they want, but personally I won't make any living thing needlessly suffer a lingering death for shits and giggles. If it needs killing,  I want to do it quick.

[p12]

45-70

Screw em.

[Big Hairy Bee]

Nuke 'em from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure.

[zxcvbob]

I would want at least a .30-30 with heavy bullets.  Domestic hogs you can kill with a .22 and a knife.  I don't want to get that close to a wild/feral one in case the shot wasn't perfect.  And especially not a herd of them.

.223 is probably fine at a safe distance if you just wanna kill them and don't care about the meat.

[HeroHog]

As a young boy I learned a 16ga Ithaca, with the plug out, loaded with alternating squirrel shot and 00 buck would do the job, at close range, using all 5 rounds in rapid succession.

[gunsmith]

for self defense, I would hope a .40 would do the trick or a .45.
However, if you know they're in your area - i would opt for a ten mm. and keep a 45-70 in the vehicle.

An ex GF says the only way one can eat them is when they're really young - some kind of Mexican recipe i forgot the name of

[230RN]

...

An ex GF says the only way one can eat them is when they're really young - some kind of Mexican recipe i forgot the name of

Tortilla porcilla?

(I just made that up.)

As a young boy I learned a 16ga Ithaca, with the plug out, loaded with alternating squirrel shot and 00 buck would do the job, at close range, using all 5 4 rounds in rapid succession.

Judging from what I'm reading about their durability, you might want to "save one for yourself."

[Fly320s]

A standard 20" AR with m855 enough gun or do I need something with more umph and/or starting with a 3?

That starts with a 5.     

5.56mm, to be obvious.

[Ron]

That starts with a 5.     

5.56mm, to be obvious.

Hey! Listen to what I mean, not what I say 

[Tim L]

Considering how quick they breed and mature, yes. Need to kill +70% annually just to keep them in check iirc.

A friend of a friend of mine had the contract for controlling the feral hog population in Myakka River state park.  Said that he had to remove 30 per month just to keep the population in check.

[p12]

A friend of a friend of mine had the contract for controlling the feral hog population in Myakka River state park.  Said that he had to remove 30 per month just to keep the population in check.

How do I get a job like that?

[230RN]

I'm curious about what they do with the carcasses.  Just let them lie there?  Call in a backhoe ? (Yeah, sure.)  Pick them up for disposal elsewhere?

I mean it's not like leaving a 1-2 pound prairie dog for the crows and magpies to pick at and the coyotes to carry off.  (Many times I've returned the next day to the exact spot I hit a prairie rat and found nothing left.)

Do the other hogs come back and feed off the carcass?

Hm?

Terry

[Doggy Daddy]

I'm curious about what they do with the carcasses.  Just let them lie there?  Call in a backhoe ? (Yeah, sure.)  Pick them up for disposal elsewhere?

Porcine resurrection.  I mean, you've heard of "Hog Heaven" haven't you?

[sumpnz]

Depends.  I've seen where the choppers have a truck following them picking up the dead pigs.  The ones killed with tannerite I imagine are left for scavengers/fertilizer.