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I am trying to find out what is the minimum caliber and firearm type (pistol/rifle/barrel length) and ammunition type that is effective for dispatching feral hogs?

I know the usual suspects with the usual caveats are probably:

.22 LR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.22 WMR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.223/5.56/16" Rifle-potential overpenetration

My situation is that I am trying to shoot them at a range of 25 yds or less, 50 would be maximum but not likely. I am worried about overpenetration due to neighbors on adjacent property. They aren't in immediate line of fire but I just want to keep things on my side of the fence line. I am not concerned with immediate kills as long as they die eventually would prefer if they run off and die elsewhere.

Are .22 LR or .22 WMR out of a 6" Pistol effective at 25yds?

I underlined what I have, just wondering if there is something else I need to get to fit this sweet spot of 25yds effectiveness with no overpenetration.

Any suggestions?

LSUTiger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:49 am I am trying to find out what is the minimum caliber and firearm type (pistol/rifle/barrel length) and ammunition type that is effective for dispatching feral hogs?

I know the usual suspects with the usual caveats are probably:

.22 LR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.22 WMR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.223/5.56/16" Rifle-potential overpenetration

My situation is that I am trying to shoot them at a range of 25 yds or less, 50 would be maximum but not likely. I am worried about overpenetration due to neighbors on adjacent property. They aren't in immediate line of fire but I just want to keep things on my side of the fence line. I am not concerned with immediate kills as long as they die eventually would prefer if they run off and die elsewhere.

Are .22 LR or .22 WMR out of a 6" Pistol effective at 25yds?

I underlined what I have, just wondering if there is something else I need to get to fit this sweet spot of 25yds effectiveness with no overpenetration.

Any suggestions?

M193 5.56mm out of a 14.5in barrel worked well for me. Went straight down after a hit in the heart.

LSUTiger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:49 am I am trying to find out what is the minimum caliber and firearm type (pistol/rifle/barrel length) and ammunition type that is effective for dispatching feral hogs?

I know the usual suspects with the usual caveats are probably:

.22 LR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.22 WMR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.223/5.56/16" Rifle-potential overpenetration

My situation is that I am trying to shoot them at a range of 25 yds or less, 50 would be maximum but not likely. I am worried about overpenetration due to neighbors on adjacent property. They aren't in immediate line of fire but I just want to keep things on my side of the fence line. I am not concerned with immediate kills as long as they die eventually would prefer if they run off and die elsewhere.

Are .22 LR or .22 WMR out of a 6" Pistol effective at 25yds?

I underlined what I have, just wondering if there is something else I need to get to fit this sweet spot of 25yds effectiveness with no overpenetration.

Any suggestions?

The issue I can see with this choice is that only a head shot is going to possibly do the trick. If you miss, the 22 LR or WMR is going to travel a very long distance. As much as a mile or more. The other issue is that I am not sure it is legal to hunt any animal with a 22 caliber round. Maybe I am wrong since hogs aren't really considered a game animal? I dunno but I would recommend something with more "oompfa" out of a hand gun. A .38 or even a .40 caliber might work better out of handguns. Aim for that 10-12 inch kill area just behind the shoulder. Now in a rifle caliber, a 223 with a hollow or soft point is not likely to "over penetrate" and travel any appreciable distance. A full metal jacket might but not a soft point or hollow point. If you have a serious hog problem, there are folks that have trapping operations and can catch most of the heard in one sitting. Then they can "knock them in the head" with a 22 while they are in trap.

There are no caliber restrictions for hunting feral hogs. They are not considered game animals in Texas and only a hunting license is required to hunt them. Unless you make a perfect head shot with a .22/.22WMR you probably won't find the animal. I have only shot one hog and that was with a .270. I use Federal 130 gr Sierra Boat-tail Game King ammunition. I shot the large boar, approx 175#, at 120 yards with a well placed lung shot. It ran off and disappeared into a line of trees on a ledge about 75 yards away. When I inspected the area where I shot it there was not one speck of blood or hair nor did I find any when I walked the trail he took across an open field; just one or two places I could see the ground scuffed. I found him about 200 yards from where I shot and there was a only small amount of blood from his snout and mouth and very little on the ground under him from the wound. My brother has killed 5 hogs with the same caliber and ammo I use and the only ones that dropped were two 30# shoats that he lined up and got with one bullet. Lucky shot to say the least. All the others ran and had to be tracked to locate. I hope what ever gun you decide to use you have a good hunt.

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 8:41 am

LSUTiger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:49 am I am trying to find out what is the minimum caliber and firearm type (pistol/rifle/barrel length) and ammunition type that is effective for dispatching feral hogs?

I know the usual suspects with the usual caveats are probably:

.22 LR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.22 WMR/16" Rifle-shot placement
.223/5.56/16" Rifle-potential overpenetration

My situation is that I am trying to shoot them at a range of 25 yds or less, 50 would be maximum but not likely. I am worried about overpenetration due to neighbors on adjacent property. They aren't in immediate line of fire but I just want to keep things on my side of the fence line. I am not concerned with immediate kills as long as they die eventually would prefer if they run off and die elsewhere.

Are .22 LR or .22 WMR out of a 6" Pistol effective at 25yds?

I underlined what I have, just wondering if there is something else I need to get to fit this sweet spot of 25yds effectiveness with no overpenetration.

Any suggestions?

The issue I can see with this choice is that only a head shot is going to possibly do the trick. If you miss, the 22 LR or WMR is going to travel a very long distance. As much as a mile or more. The other issue is that I am not sure it is legal to hunt any animal with a 22 caliber round. Maybe I am wrong since hogs aren't really considered a game animal? I dunno but I would recommend something with more "oompfa" out of a hand gun. A .38 or even a .40 caliber might work better out of handguns. Aim for that 10-12 inch kill area just behind the shoulder. Now in a rifle caliber, a 223 with a hollow or soft point is not likely to "over penetrate" and travel any appreciable distance. A full metal jacket might but not a soft point or hollow point. If you have a serious hog problem, there are folks that have trapping operations and can catch most of the heard in one sitting. Then they can "knock them in the head" with a 22 while they are in trap.

I agree with all you said. Perhaps a .40 with 180 gr hollow point, but if it me I would suggest a slug in most any size would produce a kill even if not "clean" and very low chance of over penetration and at 25 yds. over travel incase of a miss shouldn't be much if any of a problem. Shot guns are relatively cheap if you don't get fancy. Get a big one, dig a pit and have a cook out for all the neighbors.

I have a similar situation, although in my case I do want to recover some meat. I use a 300 Blackout with a suppressor but I'm NOT using subsonic ammo. It keeps the noise down sufficiently that the neighbor says he never hears it even when I'm shooting at 3:00AM. He's about a quarter mile away.

If you're really not shooting over 50 yards you could probably use subsonics, but I'm not sure noise is your main consideration. If noise isn't a big concern you might consider a shotgun with buckshot.

I admit that I haven't been hunting in some years, but specifically speaking about hog hunting, when I was a teen down in South Texas, one of the favorites (at closer distances) was a lever-action chambered in .44 Magnum. I believe they were using hard-cast lead bullets, and they had great success with the hogs not making it far at all, which was important in the Brush Country.

I've killed over 1,000 wild hogs in the last 15 years. Most were shot out in the open, but a few hundred were shot inside a trap. I've killed several at close range in the trap with a .22lr or .22WMR, but only in the soft spot above the eyes. Anywhere else just makes them mad. I've never worried about overpenetration, but I have skinned quite a few and took note of entry and exit wounds. With a .556 you wont get very many exit wounds if you use hollow points. If you use M855 they will definitely exit rapidly. Try .556 hollow points and go for the neck shot just behind the skull. They will drop like a rock if you hit them there, and the hollow points don't exit very often if you hit the spine.

I have shot quite a few using various brands of .223 jacketed soft points or hollow points. Usual distance is ~50 yards. As stated earlier, I try for either a head shot or broadside through the lungs and heart. Head shot usually drops them where they are whereas with the heart/lung shot, most are able to run 20-30 yards before dropping. I have used 9mm and .40 JHP for dispatching them in the trap, usually with a head shot. Buddy tried to dispatch with .22LR in the trap and except for a shot right through the eye socket, just ticked them off.

To prevent over penetration, HP or SP is your best bet, but you do have to hit them. Most of these I have recovered the spent round inside the body.