hunting wild boar
 

Is there a minimum size caliber for hunting wild boar? I`m not planning on using a 22lr but maybe a 223. What are your thoughts? Or should I use the 243?

Well, I personally have no experience, but I can tell you that my buddy and his friend out in Saskatoon caught 7 in a pen yesterday and he said that the 22 long rifle was not enough. Shots between the eyes would bounce off so they popped them behind the ear. A 22 mag or something like that would be a little better suited.

All I know is that I need to find a place in AB to get some....very cool!

They aren't classified as a game animal so there is no minimum caliber requirement. I would go with .223 or 30/30. Or a spear.

If I spear it I`ll have to post it too, lol. I just wanted to make sure I would be using enough fire power with a 223. Thanks for the quick replies, I have a chance to go hunt some in a couple of weeks.

Pacaderms have thick skin, use your .223, prevent any unnecessary suffering, IMO!

Probably not a good plan to use anything smaller than .26 cal with a stout bullet for those critters. They have some very thick shoulder armour that could cause some grief with anything less.

Buddy was charged by one coyote hunting, 45gr HP out of .22-250 was not overly effective but it worked....after he put 3 into it total.

LC

I for one would really like to see a pic of the wild boar you shoot, esp. if it is here in AB.
If you are going on a paid hunt in the states, you can u-tube people killing them with anything from a knife, spear, bow or even a .50 cal. machine gun from a helicopter.
When they pen trap them in the states they usually use a .22 LR to kill them from what I've seen.
Good luck and send some pics.

Hey Ninja, just asking no disrespect. Are you doubting people are shooting them here in Ab? I joined a couple friends on a hunt at his family farm. 2 came home. Very hard to pattern their arrival on the property. Darn things were like elk, there one day, not seen on the trail cams for weeks after. Super tasty critters.

Good pig round is the 7.62x39. If a guy could load some up with barns bullets it would be perfect.

I think he just wants to see pics because there are not Many posted
Cat

I'd use a 243 or bigger. Though I haven't hunted them myself, have seen the difference in deer between a 7mm Rem mag/308 and 243 with good shot placement. Based on my limited experience, think there is a good reason that 243 is the smallest legal big game caliber.

I realize big game regulations don't apply, but the principles for adequate caliber are the same. With their thick shoulder plates, I would use a big game caliber for hunting them, they're at least as tough as deer. 22 mag would be fine for shooting them in a pen.

No disrespect intended. Like Cat said, very few pics or stories of Wild boar being shot here in AB. I have seen maybe 4-5 posts of a Boar being harvested in AB on this forum and I think 2 were from long ago. You hear stories about them being sighted here and there but they are not near as prevalent as some people or County officials make out.
At the same time, I do know that there are Wild Boar in AB. I took some time and effort to research AB Boar in the hopes of trying to hunt them. I know for a fact the location of 2 "pockets" of Wild Boar within 2 hrs drive of Edm, and a couple weeks ago I met a fellow who has harvested 11 Wild Boar in the Manning area.
I have seen many more Wolves in AB then I have Wild Boar.
I was very lucky to find a Wild Boar skull in 248 last year, and this year my heart stopped when I thought I saw one while Elk hunting. Thought it was a Bear at first then realised it was a Hog. What that big pot bellied pig was doing out in the middle of no-where I'll never know, but it sure was exciting for a few minutes.
Pics on next post.

That was the reason i asked about caliber. I haven't seen much on here about boar hunting. I don't want it to suffer but i do want to try and save the meat. Maybe the 243 is a better choice.

I will post a picture if we get one. Apparently a friend of a friend has then on his farm.

Here is a pic of that boar skull.
Also a pic of the "wild boar" that was far from home. Attachment 126472Attachment 126473Attachment 126474


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I should have mentioned that facing the skulls, the skull on the left of the Boar is a mature Bear, and the one on the right is a mature Wolf.

I have shot pigs in U.S., Germany and eastern block countries.. Most of the place prefer you use something bigger than a 223. Pigs are pretty tough and a 223 rarely produces an exit wound. If they don't die on the spot it makles tracking a real son of a gun.Most places use trained blood trailers to track pigs becuase they are ntoriously difficult to find blood trails for.

A 308 or 3006 with fairly heavy bullets is pretty common pig fair in the States. In Europe, 30-06, 7x57, 8x68S and 9.3x62 and 74 are the common pig calibers. I have shot them with 30-06, 308 and 375 Ruger. The 375 is more gun than you need, fun though and really anchors pigs, and the recoil makes getting multiple shots off on multiple targets difficult so my preference is the 308 in a semi auto with Barnes bullets or 165 grain Interlocks.

I have another question...i know we are not allow to carry rifles on quad/sled until noon in most wmu's when hunting but am I allow to carry if I'm hunting wild boars seeing as they are not game animals???

No you are not allowed if there is an open big game season, with some exceptions....

Hunting with Motorized Vehicles
It is unlawful to
•discharge a weapon at antelope from within 46 m (50 yards) of a vehicle;

•use motorized travel within Willmore Wilderness Park; and

•carry a weapon (see definition) on an OHV between 1 hour before sunrise and the following noon during an open season for big game* on public land in the following WMUs: 102-166, 200-260, 300-351, 354-360, 400-446, 507, 508, 514, 521, 522, 526 and 841. This does not apply to a person who is traveling on a direct route to or from a location accessible by vehicles designed for highway travel and his or her isolated campsite, and the weapons and ammunition are carried out of view in separate locked containers (and remain locked during the trip). Also, the restriction does not apply in a WMU when the only big game season open is a spring black bear season.
* this restriction applies to all hunters (including bird game hunters).

I've shot about 50 feral pigs in Texas, about 20 with an AR 15 .223, 5 with a .280, 5 with a .270, 10 with a 220 Swift, a couple with a .243, 2 with a 308, 1 with a 10 gauge and about 10 with arrows. With the Swift and AR I shot them in the side of the head if I could get close enough and had a good rest (pig under a feeder, me in a blind with a bench). I wouldn't shoot a large boar in the body with anything less than a .243. I've whacked a few 300 lb pigs through the shoulders with the 270. 280, 308 and they fell over right there. I hit some 100 lb pigs with a 243 just a bit to far back and never found them. Their anatomy is much different than a deer.

Failed loading a pic. I'll try again later.

If I had to choose I would take the 243 cal

This one is easy to answer, 50BMG!

223 should work with the right Projectile
 

Sounds like the kind of hunt you don't want to waste expensive larger caliber ammunition on. Your 223 should work fine if you are shooting the right projectiles. V-max will not be effective because they will fragment before achieving adequate penetration. Perhaps a 55gr soft point or a 55gr FMJ might work better. I have also loaded my 223 with 75gr boat tail hollow points, they do not fly straight with my 9" twist barrel. Load em hot!
if the hunting is close range I would go for my trusty Remington 870 loaded with 00 buck and a modified choke!

I can se how the 243 might be better since you can reasonably shoot bullets over 100grains.

hunting wild boar
 

Replied by mistake trying to post a pic with Tapatalk.

Aim carefully if you're using a 223 on a pig like this one. I wouldn't worry about wasting meat on a big boar, it will be too rank to eat anyway.

Shot them with my 6-284...bang/flop a few now, 50 yards, neck shots, no issues, 100 gr hornady's.
243 will be suffice.

I'd ise something bigger than a .223 you might be able to kill them with that but when I was hunting them in Oklahoma some were shot with a 30-06 and still got away, they're tough hided that's for sure

I have hunted them here in Alberta and in the USA... the preferred round is a 5.56...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have killed two. Both with 308 win 168 grain sgkbt
One frontal brain shot
The other required two broadside running shots at roughly 25 yards. After absorbing one bullet in his lungs he did a 180 to head back the same trail. Took another through and through.

My next excursion will be with cast bullets for my model 92 in 357 mag

Of the OPs guns I'd take 243.

Brought Home The Bacon From Saskatchewan
 

Took two Wild Boars last week in Saskatchewan with a 30-06; shot placement was right behind the ear and in both cases the spine shattered and the animals, each plus 150 lbs hit the ground where they were shot and died after a few moments of nervous-twitch action. Used a sweet fermented corn bait mixture and both boars were taken with about 15 minutes of light left. Shooting occurred from a blind set up on the edge of a farmers barley field. Glad I didn't have to trek into the woods looking for a wounded Boar!!! Getting the beasts back to the hunt camp was the difficult part for a solo hunter!! Last night, back in Calgary we enjoyed pork medallions with apple slices drenched in whiskey!! This morning we had breakfast that included maple-drenched boar belly bacon.....delicious!! Fine eating animals. Good Luck!!