Best 30-06 and 12 ga round for pigs

[DougK]

Hi what a great board!!!

I'm getting what I think is the perfect pig gun. A 30-06 with 12 ga combo with a 2-10x33 scope. Now I'm trying to figure out the best rounds to help in the demise of the pig. What have you found that works best?

Thanks,
Doug
Austin TX

 

[shaginator]

Hey Doug, welcome to JHP

Those "best round" questions are gonna get you a lot of answers, but most will agree that variants of the 165 gr for .30-06 will give you the best all-around bullet, and many favor the Nosler partition at the tip for good penetration/expansion balance.

As for the 12-ga part, if you already have the .30-06 you'll be shooting that first unless you're in a part of the land requiring a shotgun; but I'm not too sure how the game warden would interpret a combo gun, unless you mean some kind of interchange-able barrel, I guess. So, anyway, I find the Winchester Super-X 1-oz rifled slugs work pretty well out to 50 yards with a modified choke out of my Rem. 870. 1600 fps out the muzzle ain't too bad either.

I can't say that I've yet shot a hog with that slug, but it does some mighty fine damage to a stack of phone books out to 40 yards.

Buckshot? Don't recommend it.

Wiser fingers will have more to say on this, I'm sure

 

[feelinducky]

The only hog I've gotten was with a 12ga slug out of a Rem 870 with rifled choke. The hog weighed 87 lbs field dressed skinned head was still on. Shot him right above the front shoulder and it exited the other shoulder blowing it out and ended up nicking the atria of the heart. Pretty much packed a wallop on the hog and my shoulder at about 30 yards. Federal Classic 3in 1@1/4 oz. Don't know much about the ballistics, but if you look at the Remington web site it should give you some of the info you need on drop and muzzle velocity.

 

[DougK]

I have found 4 rounds that look like they might work on pigs. Has anyone used Winchester Partition Gold Sabot (1900 fps @ 3 ft), the Federal Premium Barnes or Hydo-shok (1550 at muzzle), the Remington Premier Copper Solid Sabot Slugs (1550 at muzzle) or Bennke SuperSabot (2536 at muzzle)?

Thanks
Doug

 

[fishhead]

I took my first hog with a 30-06, 180 grain nozzler partition at 100 yds. It took the hog off its feet. See what shoots well out of your rifle, they're all different.

 

[Freedivr2]

I've used the same load on every hog I've taken. Handloaded 165 Grain Nosler partitions with 57 Gr. IMR 4350 in 30-06. Puts the bullet out the muzzle at 2882 FPS and performs as well as you could hope a bullet to perform.The farthest that any of the hogs traveled after being hit was 50 yards (that was the lung shot pig). Also (I think I posted this earlier), I took a head shot at one pig, and the partition went thru the brain and into the upper portion of one lung of another hog. They dropped like dominos...once in a lifetime shot for me I'm sure. But that told me how much energy those partitions still have after crashing thru the head of a 160 lb. boar.

I have had nothing but perfect performance with Nosler partitons regardless of head, shoulder or lung shot.