Can u help me out?

[m57jager]

I have a 300 win mag that I usually use for pig, but I've had my eye on the new Ruger compact .243.  Kind of small, but with a well placed nosler it should be just fine, right?  Really could use some good advise on this one guys.  Thanks

 

[Kernhuntr]

It will work, although the way I've been shooting lately a .416 Rigby couldn't kill one.
I have friends that use that cal. for hogs, and everything else they hunt short of elk or bear. Shot placement is vital.
Will it work, yes..would I personaly use it, no.
Kernhuntr

 

[songdog]

Yes, definitely.  Use a good bullet like a Partition and keep the shots well placed and under about 200 yards and you'll be just fine.  I've taken at least two with the identical configuration.

Your .300 is a better "pig gun" but like Kernhuntr says, you still have to hit them.

(Edited by songdog at 6:29 pm on Mar. 4, 2002)

 

[THBailey]

Sometimes I use my .243 Win for hogs.  I shoot 100 gr Hornady btsp bullets.  The two I have shot I have shot with it, a 150 lb sow and a 200 lb boar, both dropped pretty quickly when shot broadside at and just behind the shoulder.

 

[kellyg]

With good placement you should do fine with the .243. I have never used anything but a 30" carbon Epsilon tipped with a 125gr. Thunderhead. The wife and I are going after javelina and hog this weekend, she with the 06 and myself with the bow but I might try out the rifle if there are some 'mounters' out. We have never been to this place so I am not sure what to expect. Either way, shot placement is the most important part of the puzzle regardless of what you are using. Good luck!

 

[yotegetter]

Songdog is right on with this one. I just bought a Ruger .243, not the compact though. I mounted a springfield armory on it. Ruger gave me the wrong rings for it, but I called them and they sent the right ones out in 4 days.

 

[Chapped Lips]

A 243 is a good cartridge to use with pigs along with a good bullet it should work fine, I would personally like to use a bigger bullet in the 30 caliber range, that allows heavier bullets for more energy or knock down in case I hit in the shoulder.

 

[EVAN III]

    Chapped lips,
Welcome to Jesse's, Better watch out though this place is addicting. Anyway glad to have you. Best bunch of guys on the web.
                               EVAN III

 

[Speckmisser]

M57,

I've been reading along, but now I'm gonna kind of disagree with these guys, but only on a technicality.  The .243 is certainly capable of killing a pig, especially with good placement and good ammo.  

BUT...  

You said you had a heavier weapon, a .300 or something right?  In the words of the African pro hunters, Use Enough Gun.  That doesn't mean barely enough gun, which really defines the .243, but enough gun to kill with a marginal hit.  

I'm the last person to knock the .243.  I love mine, and I know that with well placed shots it will kill anything in the lower 48...maybe excepting Grizzlies and big black bears.  For that matter, a .22 will kill most of the continent's large game, if the shot is placed properly...but I digress.

I won't preach what YOUR responsibility is as an ethical hunter, but at the same time, I consider it to be any hunter's responsibility to make sure they get a good kill and don't leave wounded game in the woods (recall the list reaction to our boy who wanted to wound a pig so he could kill it with his knife).  I'm not saying that shooting with the .243 is in the same league as that yahoo, but it's really only a matter of degree.  

If a .243 was all you had, I'd be the last one to say you couldn't go hunt pigs with it.  But if you already have a more adequate rifle, I'd strongly recommend against moving down the ladder to something that is just sufficient.  

I'm thinking this response over carefully, because I can imagine the initial reaction it'll cause.  I can almost hear the retorts now.  But I'm not advocating overkill...  I just think it's a better call to use a gun that will definitely do the job rather than one that will do the job with a bunch of qualifiers (well-placed shot, premium ammunition, moderate range, etc.).  We just don't often find all the factors just right in the field, and it'll be your own loss when conditions conspire against you.  

Pigs can be hard to kill.  When wounded, they are usually very hard to track.  Even when hit with a larger caliber, they don't always leave a lot of blood trail, due the the heavy layers of fat between the skin and the muscle.  

Finally, if you do decide to go with the .243, practice a lot, and make danged sure you CAN perform when the time comes to place that bullet.  

 

[shaginator]

Hi m57jager,

Personally, I don't have the confidence to put a well-placed .243 on even a 120lb. hog at 150 yards. 100 yards would be my upper limit. I think I'd have to cut that distance to much less than half if I hafta deal with stalking in brush, just because the bullet is pretty light.

I use a .44 Mag carbine with 300gr JSPs @ 1300fps from the muzzle. My upper limit of confidence for an ethical kill is 75 yards for a 120lb. hog with the sweet spot at around 50 yds. I think I'll need a LOT more range time to get that out to 100 yds.

(My assumption being that I won't have a bench and sandbags with me out on the field. :crazeye

If I'm dealing with bigger hogs at a greater distance, a scoped .308 or a .300 Win Mag like the one you already have is a no-brainer. Have you considered a Ruger compact in that .30x-class or even a more accurate and durable Browning Micro A-Bolt in that caliber?


(Edited by shaginator at 10:04 pm on Mar. 5, 2002)

 

[songdog]

Just a point of clarification as I go back and re-read...

If all you have is a .243 and you know how to shoot it and have some good 100gr Partition type loads for it, I'd say go hunting and bring home the bacon.  

If you have a .260, .270, 7mm, 06, etc. I'd grab that first as they're just plain better pig guns.

There are a couple of areas that I hunt for coyotes that have (supposedly, never seen them myself) pigs as well.  Rather than grab the .223 or .22-250 I'll grab the .243 and throw a few extra 100gr Partition loads in my pocket "just in case".  

I wouldn't choose that as my primary pig rifle but if I were on public land and had a chance to take an incidental pig with my .243 I wouldn't hesitate for a moment.

Clear as mud? :wink-yellow:

 

[Rimrock]

Gotta agree with Speckmisser and Songdog's last post. There is a difference between pigs and HOGS. I have shot a few pigs with a .243 and 6MM and they worked fine. I have used an .06 on a couple of hogs and was glad that I had it.

Remember, you have a responsibility to retrieve any shot game. if you wound one and have to go in the brush after it that 300 Win. would be mighty comforting.

Play fair.

 

[Hntrjohn]

I hunt wit 165 grain 7mm mag. But a well placed shot with a GOOD 243 bullet is better than a bad placed 300 and above anything mag.

john

 

[Chapped Lips]

Hey Evans III thanks for the welcome, this looks like a fun board and very informative. thanks again, Kim

 

[kellyg]

Rimrock is right, I shot a pig that was just right for BBQ in South Texas last year and that country is solid thorns. I was on my hands and knees for about 40 yards before I found the pig and was thinking as I was crawling along, "Now what am I gonna do if I come up on a pi$$ed off hog in here?" A knife, which I did have, is the only thing you would have a chance to use that close especially since the ranch didn't allow firearms(.45 usually goes along). I decided not to go back to that ranch....

 

[nextrodeo]

Killed a lot of hogs with a 243, it doesnt really matter what cal. you use when you shoot them in the eye at 50 yds. When a client wounded one and it went into the brush, you can believe me,I didnt crawl in there with the 243. Nothing runs through the muzzle blast of a 44. magnum with 245 gr. hollow points, even if you miss they arent going to get you, kinda like rolling grenades at them.

 

[m57jager]

Thanks for all the good info.  Gave me some things to think about that I hadn't thought of.  I think I'll go ahead and get the 243, but only use it for KA deer and other critters.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  It's nice to have an info forum with so many ethical hunters and not a bunch of yahoos.  Thanks