Sensibility of using 17HMR for hogs.

[EMSFlyer]

On a different website a person posted a picture of his young son with a "trophy" boar he took with a 17HMR. According to the father, his son shot the boar between the eyes and dropped him. Everyone congratulated him and his son on a fantastic take, including me, but I also gave him my 2cents regarding ethical take and setting an example for his kid.

I couldn't believe the response its generated!

My question to you all is, how many of you WOULD take a hog with a 17HMR--DFG regs aside?

 

[Rancho Loco]

Wouldn't do it.

 

[Family Tradition]

I have a 17HMR and with my personal experience I think the story is Ummmmm how do I put this nice

I have shot Med sized game that almost shook of the .17 let alone a Trophy hog with a head shot.

I may be a hardazz but I would get his e-mail addy and forward the info to the DFG and let the truth come out about what really happened.

Okay I'll get off my S-box since I still have newbie status around here

 

[hatchet]

I WOULD PREFER THE CROSSMAN IN SOMETHING LIKE UM...A .177 CAL.
IN MY OPINION[FOR WHAT ITS WORTH] NOT A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE SET HERE
FOR A YOUNG HUNTER

 

[Mailman Bill]

MY OPINION.........Like going bear hunting with a stick.

 

[BGH831]

DFG rules state a gun with a minimum of either 695 or 795 ftlbs(don't remember) of pressure out of the muzzle to be legal. but as long as there is moonshine and idiots someone will shoot deer/hogs with the .17 HMR

 

[RIFLEMAN]

I don't think the .17 is the most ideal round for hogs under any circumstance, but I would strongly discourage its use when hunting without dog. The close proximity to the hog afforded you by the use of dogs makes the placement of a round into the ear likely, if not assured.

Was this hog taken in CA or somewhere like TX?

 

[Speckmisser]

OK...maybe in self-defense.

 

[switch]

Nope and Nope. As FT mentioned, I too have had small to medium sized animals get up and leave after a .17 hit them. Way, way too small.

 

[sidepass]

Its not a suitable caliber for anything but small varmits and large paper targets.Have used mine on both with great sucess, but on a hog? i think not. My

 

[Corinthian]

Jeeez... 17HMR is for squirrels.... not hogs. IMHO I wouldnt go after a hog OR deer with anything less than .25 cal
As to the shot being between the eyes... hmmm... I am very surprised that the round got through the skull. OK, a 17HMR might kill if it went down the ear canal and rattled around a lot..

 

[Caninelaw]

Stupid, stupid, stupid....Unless you get that "golden BB" (like they say in waterfowl hunting) all a 17 is gonna do is piss him off, then what do you do? Run like hell?

 

[Arrowslinger]

Ya sure could, but you better have a sharp knife & either your running shoes or dogs ready........wouldn't do it

 

[inchr48]

When preparing for a hog roast, I had a domestic boar shake off a .38 slug put between his eyes from about 5 feet. He only went about 20 feet, but didn't drop him instantly.

That being said, I also once shot a sheep for the neighbor's roast with a Rem. 5 mm RF. 40 paces, quartering forward, through the neck at the base of the skull. Dropped in its tracks.

I wouldn't hunt pigs with the 17HMR. Heck I wouldn't do it with my .223.

 

[bighorn67]

I would not go lighter than a 270 for hogs. The kid may have made a great brain shot, but one inch left or right and he would have a mad hog with a blown out eye socket.

Dave

 

[boarhunter67]

After seeing pigs shot in the head with a larger caliber and shake it off, I'd say no. I did see someone try to shoot a pig in the head with a small caliber once and it bounced off the forhead.

 

[Family Tradition]

I'm still stuck on the whole RIMFIRE issue myself

I mean we are talking about a 22mag case with a .17 bullet stuffed in the end.

If my kid did that he would lose his gun for at least a season to help him understand the severity of what took place.

But thats just me

 

[easymoney]

Absolutely NO...
I have shot pigs, skinned them out and found 30 and 45cal bullets under the skin that did not kill them. Save the 17 for varmints...

 

[randy m]

you guys are the best. i never post in here just read the stories and sometimes it gets deep. things like you better bring your track shoes or bounced off his forehead or nothing less than a 270. i will admit i would not shoot a pig with a 17 caliber either, but only because i don't own one. anyone that wants to see what a small caliber bullet will do to a hog head needs only to shoot them with a 223 and the cheapy 45 grain winchester bullets. a buddy of mine and i had a depredation permit for hogs and probably shot 70 pigs in a year. all with a 223 and all dead. pigs will not chase you down and are not bloodthirsty. they want nothing more than to get away from the jerk behind the rifle pulling the trigger. you guys crack me up.

 

[Lurediver]

Originally posted by EMSFlyer@Sep 14 2005, 06:46 PM
On a different website a person posted a picture of his young son with a "trophy" boar he took with a 17HMR. According to the father, his son shot the boar between the eyes and dropped him. Everyone congratulated him and his son on a fantastic take, including me, but I also gave him my 2cents regarding ethical take and setting an example for his kid.

I couldn't believe the response its generated!

My question to you all is, how many of you WOULD take a hog with a 17HMR--DFG regs aside?

What website was this?