So I'm looking at going on my first hunting trip had a local military vet that wanted to set it up for me seeing I have only hunted what walks on two legs!

So I'm looking for advice on what rifle I should bring to the hunt. I know I'm going to have to get a 5 or 10 rd mag and that's cheaper than a new rifle.

Anyway, I have an AR-15 in 223 and 300 BLK I also have an STG-58.

Scope, since I don't know much about hunting hogs, would a red dot work or should I get a scope?

Last ammo. Mostly for if you say go for the 223 or 300 BLK and hell if you say 308 win like to hear what you have to say!

I'm excited to do this!  My last chance to do this was back in 2007 but everyone backed out! Now that I'm in Texas this needs to get done! Thanks!

If extended ranges I'd skip .300 and use 5.56 or 762. Red dot is fine.

Ask your friend about the range you'll be from the hogs and decide based on that. In our neck of the woods, most of the hog hunting is close in, but the further west you go, the longer the shots. The distance should guide both your caliber and your optic.

Make sure you are using good hunting ammo that will expand. While you can take hogs with M193, if you're going on one hunting trip in the foreseeable future, use something with a better record.

Have fun!

1.  Take whatever rifle you got handy
2. Get up close and shoot them in the face
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until exhaustion, and lack of ammo stops you from continuing....

Have fun and put pictures of the pile up when you’re done.

Sparkyd approves this message! Now have fun.

Use the ar or blk. Either will work. If you have a chance at longer shots then I would pick up a scope like a 1-6x. I loaded up my own ammo, 62 gr Sierra game kings. But you can find decent hunting ammo at walmart....probably 55gr soft points of some type.

You will be hunting at night. The scope you use is more important than the rifle or the caliber.  The same shooter in the same area will get about four times the number of hogs using a thermal sight over anything else. Most shots are between 50 and 100 yards, so a high mag scope is more of a hindrance than a help.

What part of the state are you going to be hunting in? I just started hunting hogs last February when we bought our ranch in the Buffalo TX area. I started with a green light on a 1x8 Illuminated scope and killed a bunch but it was setting up on a bait pile I found I never went above 4x on the scope and have used an Aimpoint PRO several times with good results. So using a reddot and a green light is doable for sure.  I have moved to Photon RT digital nv scope with a hand held Flir thermal for stalking and it’s working out really good.
As for caliber I rotate between 556 and 7.62/39, in 556 I have been using 75gr golddots, Honardy Black 75gr bthp and some CBC 77gr bthp and been dropping them like flys. In the 7.62/39 it’s Honardy steel 123 SST or Fed Fusion 123. Both are killers. But my farthest shots has been only been 125 yards. So I’d say take either your 556 or 300 depending on distance. If you’ve got a suppressor use it also take good electronic hearing pro, I found them to be the best thing to use where I’m at, turn them all the way up and you hear everything in the woods.
Good luck and drop ever piggee you see.

Get a scanning predator red light and a LED kill light in red or green. Id go with the 300blk over 223. Scent is key, they can smell better than deer. Most of the time, you get one shot and they scatter. If youre able to get a double kill when theyre over bait, do it.

Just like anything, shot placement is key. Aim in between the eyes or below the ear. Last year, i hit one in the neck and it dropped and kicked for a minute or two. I thought i bagged one. It got up and ran. They have a thick plate of armour and fat, the wound probably healed up. There was barely a blood trail.

I was in NC 2 weeks ago and got a 60 lb pig. Last August, I managed to get a razorback about the same size.

Current setup: 6.8 SPC Hornady SST, ATN X-sight II night vision 3-14x

I'm not aware of any mag capacity restrictions for hog hunting.