Not enough firepower?

[Metdawg44]

I hunt an area here in California for Coyotes using my 22-250. Occasionally I see evidence of rooting by some hogs. If I was to run into a pack, would a 22-250 kill a hog if it was a head shot? I don't want to would an animal only to lose them.

 

[Arrowslinger]

The following should help:

 

[stv]

slow em down with an arrow (or a bullet), then kill em with a big stick

 

[Timjackson]

With a well-placed shot they will go down. I prefer to have a little more power though... Hope you get one...

 

[Speckmisser]

Definitely not optimal, but it would probably kill a hog at reasonable range. Depends a lot on the bullet. A lot of those varmint rounds are likely to do nothing but crater on a hog's hard head or shoulder, crippling the animal without killing it.

If you go back up specifically looking for the hogs, you ought to take something a little more significant.

 

[bigtusker]

I have killed a few with the .22-250 making head shots within a couple hundred yards but they were well placed (bipod or sandbags) shots. I would not recommend it unless you are close and have a good rest.

 

[Wild Turk]

Put one behind the ear and it should do the trick. That small load is far from optimal though.

Hope you have the opportunity to find out!

Turk

 

[ucsdryder]

A guy on the ranch next to mine killed a pig with a .22-250. I believe he finally shot it 7 times before it died (the last one was in the head). BTW, he is probably still alive due to the fact that when the boar charged him he somehow managed to shoot it in the jaw, breaking the boar's jaw, and making it impossible for the pig to chew on him. The pig did manage to throw him up in the air (the guy weighs EASILY over 300lbs). The pig was never weighed, but the rancher estimated it at around 500-700lbs. I saw it once on my ranch and I believe his estimate to be pretty accurate.

 

[shaginator]

As others have stated, this load seems marginal for hogs.

Hm... this sorta leads to lengthy discussions about alternatives. What about an '06 with lighter loads for yotes and heavier loads for possible hogs? Just read about some guy who uses 110-gr with 57-59gr of good powder behind it for yotes...

Always an excuse to get another gun...