[5108]

I was just going over the hunting regulations for Hawaii, my new home, and noticed that the smallest cartridge for hunting game mammals on the islands is the .22 mag. Seems to me that one would want a little more oomf when going head to head with a wild pig. I haven't seen one yet but they've gotta be fairly large. There are also blacktail deer on the islands, but I've yet to see one of those so I can't comment as to the size. What I have seen a lot of is chickens. I feel pretty confident about those.

What do y'all think about a .22 mag vs. feral pig?

 

[Airedale]

I am surprised that the mag is listed for what most people consider big game. Everyone knows that a good hunter with perfect shot placement can take these animals with a mag but that does not make it right. I would recomend a deer cartridge of a known track record for both of these species. I have friends that hunt wild pigs and they can get nasty when cornered, a mag is an extremely poor choice for these animals.

 

[4769]

Ditto

to what Airedale said. With perfect shot placement, even a .22LR will take these animals, but perfect shot placement under hunting conditions is a matter of luck, even for the very best marksman. Go with a conventional deer cartridge.

 

[5108]

Shoot, I just wanted to know what you think. 'Domestic' pigs are mean enough, I wouldn't chase after wild ones with anything smaller than a 22-250, and even that seems a little light to me. Maybe one of them shoulder bustin' elephant guns would be the way to go, or a .50 BMG... 'course all I'd have left would be pork sausage and a few strips of bacon. I could pack some eggs to fry on the barrel when it was over.

 

[4769]

If you

don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question! You wanted to know what we thought, and we told you. A .22 mag. is too light for the game you named -- period. Go with a big game cartridge.

 

[281]

Everyone knows that a good hunter with perfect shot placement can take these animals with a mag but that does not make it right.

This is exactly what I was thinking.

A 22lr can kill a 140 pound white-tail deer but it doesnt mean that it is a good cal.

I would possible to use it but not a good choice. .23 cal or bigger.
Dean_311

 

[Chum]

I killed a 300lb Russian boar at a hunt club with my bow. My arrow weighs about 350 grains and draw weight is 70lbs. My bow shoots at about 250fps. Correct me if I am wrong but if you do the math I believe that is alot less energy than a 22 magnum has. It is funny how people under estimate the killing power of any gun. Many people have killed large game with a bow but like anything else it requires good shot placement. The indians killed buffalo with self made bows and arrows.

 

[Chum]

Check this out

http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.arrow-energy.html

 

[4769]

I bet

if the indians had 30-06's, they'd have used them instead.

1. You might get lucky and kill a wild boar with a pellet rifle. That doesn't make a pellet rifle a good choice for boar hunting. An ethical hunter uses a weapon that is very likely to produce a quick one shot kill under difficult field conditions where bullet placement is likely to be imperfect.

2. Terminal energy is a poor indicator of lethality. A .44 magnum with a 240 grain bullet generates far less energy than a 220 Swift with a 40 grain bullet, but only a fool would argue that the latter is the superior big game cartridge.

3. A broadhead arrow uses the mechanical advantage of it's cutting edges to create a wound that is far more devastating than it's terminal energy would indicate. Arrows are not bullets.

 

[Zircon]

I was just going over the hunting regulations for Hawaii, my new home, and noticed that the smallest cartridge for hunting game mammals on the islands is the .22 mag. Seems to me that one would want a little more oomf when going head to head with a wild pig. I haven't seen one yet but they've gotta be fairly large. There are also blacktail deer on the islands, but I've yet to see one of those so I can't comment as to the size. What I have seen a lot of is chickens. I feel pretty confident about those.

What do y'all think about a .22 mag vs. feral pig?

Get more gun!! Sure, you might get lucky and put the pig down with a single shot, but more than likely all you're going to do is make him suffer or pi$$ him off, in which case you may be the one suffering.

I just had the opportunity to shoot some woodchucks. We were shooting Winchester Supremes and CCI TNTs in our .22 WMRs. While these would anchor a chuck, they usually would not make for an outright rapid kill, and most times required a follow-up shot. In my opinion a .223 is the minimum that should be used for a chuck-sized animal. We switched to centerfires when we saw the results. Use something like a .270, .308, or equivalent for the pigs. Be kind to them. They don't deserve to die a slow, painful death.

Zirc

 

[Zircon]

I was just going over the hunting regulations for Hawaii, my new home, and noticed that the smallest cartridge for hunting game mammals on the islands is the .22 mag. Seems to me that one would want a little more oomf when going head to head with a wild pig. I haven't seen one yet but they've gotta be fairly large. There are also blacktail deer on the islands, but I've yet to see one of those so I can't comment as to the size. What I have seen a lot of is chickens. I feel pretty confident about those.

What do y'all think about a .22 mag vs. feral pig?

Get more gun!! Sure, you might get lucky and put the pig down with a single shot, but more than likely all you're going to do is make him suffer or pi$$ him off, in which case you may be the one suffering.

I just had the opportunity to shoot some woodchucks. We were shooting Winchester Supremes and CCI TNTs in our .22 WMRs. While these would anchor a chuck, they usually would not make for an outright rapid kill, and most times required a follow-up shot. In my opinion a .223 is the minimum that should be used for a chuck-sized animal. We switched to centerfires when we saw the results. Use something like a .270, .308, or equivalent for the pigs. Be kind to them. They don't deserve to die a slow, painful death.

Zirc

 

[Chum]

All bullets are not created equally. TNTs wont penetrate a snow bank more than 12 inches. You would have better penetration on larger game with some 40 grain HPs or 50 grain gold dot. If you want your chucks to fall over dead shoot them in the head or chest.

An ethical hunter waits for the perfect shot and passes on less than perfect shots.

 

[5108]

Klof--I Apologize for Last Post in Thread

It just doesn't read the way it sounded in my head. I know what I meant, but realize it comes across wrong because I was trying to be humorous. However, I was not being a smarta$$. My opinion of the hunting regulations of game mammals in Hawaii is that they are not well thought out, and I wanted to know if others agreed. My second post was just expressing my agreement with you, not belittling your advice. I thank all of you for your opinions.

 

[Chum]

I don't want to come off wrong either. My main point is you still have to make a good shot. Although the use of a .22 magnum is legal and would do the job I don't feel it would be the best choice either. Those pigs can get very nasty. And it's not always the one you shot that will get you. They are very socialy protective animals and are very unpredicable. The boar I shot with my bow ran 50+ yards before falling dead with a double lung shot. The rest of the hoggs at the club went nuts and the dominate boar was very angry about the whole thing. The owner of the club always carries a sidearm just incase.

 

[Zircon]

All bullets are not created equally. TNTs wont penetrate a snow bank more than 12 inches. You would have better penetration on larger game with some 40 grain HPs or 50 grain gold dot. If you want your chucks to fall over dead shoot them in the head or chest.

An ethical hunter waits for the perfect shot and passes on less than perfect shots.

The use of TNT's and Supremes is generally accepted on this forum as accurate, effective hunting bullets. All shot placement was in the "boiler room"/chest cavity. We're not talking about how .22 WMRs perform in 12" of snow, but in a live animal. My point is that if I could not make an instant kill with a .22 WMR in something the size of a 4 lb rock chuck, what chance would anyone have making a clean kill in a 250 lb feral hog?

Zirc

 

[obx22]

Would you folks please define the term "clean kill" for me?

 

[Zircon]

Well I was using the terms "clean kill", "fast kill" or "instant kill", but for me it's lights out, instantaneously. That doesn't mean that the animal has stopped breathing, but they are immediately unconscious, and they aren't trying to drag themselves off to some hole. I know that may not be practical for a large animal, but in the case of a sage rat or chuck, it's certainly achievable.

I don't know how anyone could get close to this with a .22 WMR on a pig-sized animal, short of a slaughter-room type kill where the muzzle is in the animal's ear or up against the cranium, and collateral damage comes not only from the projectile, but also from the rapidly expanding gases.

Zirc

 

[Chum]

Clean Kill

I define a clean kill on big game as a double lung shot. No meat wasted and minimal suffering. They don't ever drop on the spot but they don't go far.

 

[Chum]

Zircon

I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. My point was that if snow can make a bullet come apart so fast it is probably not the best choice for larger critters. In the tests I did which was only to compare bullet performance under the same circumstances, other bullets would penetrate 2-4 feet. The copper jacket on the TNT peels away instantly and what is left is a small light weight pelet of lead. This would be great for poof factor on small critters but for larger game I would have to recomend a bullet design that would stay intact and mushroom the lead as well. I have not tried TNT's on rock chucks. But if you are putting the shots in the vitals and they are not dieing something is wrong. Try some HP 40's or Maxi mag + V and let me know how they do. The magnum is plenty powerfull enough to kill a chuck humanely. I would have to say to achieve a "lights out" you would have to hit them in the head. I have shot some deer through the heart (not with 22) when they offer a quartering away shot and they still run. They are dead but just don't know it yet. I don't believe you have to split the critter in two to kill humanely. I also don't believe that you have to bust both shoulders on a deer to make him drop on the spot to have a clean kill. But If that is what you want to do that is fine with me also. I bet if there was a big problem with people not killing animals effectively in Hawaii with a mag it would not be allowed. I think the reason it is not allowed here is because of a few hunters unwillingness to follow up on their shot and make a real effort to retrieve their game. Every year I talk to people who say "I missed". I ask "How do you know", they reply " It wasn't laying there dead, I saw it run away". Sometimes we go back and get a deer.

 

[sharkman8810]

clean kill

Well for me for small game it is that the critter is dead after hit with one shot, and it doesnt move more than a few feet because of left over adrenaline. For me i use a .22 mag for groundhog sized critters at under 100 yards. For deer i know a heart shot and they will still run, and there isnt nothing you can do about that, using a cannon isnt gonna help much either, a hole through the heart is a hole through the heart. I personally like to neck shoot deer, and this proves to be very effective(my fav deer caliber is the 30-06).