Hunting forum seems pretty dead so I thought I'd ask on this one if anyone has had the pleasure of hog hunting with an AK or AR in 308. Just ordered one because of the price, but I had it in the back of my mind the whole time to help take care of the hog problem on my deer lease. I've seen them 10 or more at a time and get a boner thinking about how much fun it would be to see how many I could get!

Sounds like fun!

we have a hunting forum???

yes i hunt hogs with a AR-10 and M1A.
for 0-200# pigs a good hit in the boiler room will put one down.  he may run 50-100 yds but they will go down.for pigs over 200# i think it is a head shot only deal

do not expect to hammer 5 pigs when you go out.
if you can get a bipod or sandbag rest you can hit two or three at the most before they "vanish" and a cluster of pigs will explode on all directions when you start shooting.  a better bet is to get a heavy rifle like a .338 win mag, 45-70 or .444 marlin and wait for two or three to line up and shoot thru them.

I've shot them before with a bow and hell breaks loose. It always seemed like so much chaos that there would be time to get a couple more.

Quoted: a better bet is to get a heavy rifle like a .338 win mag, 45-70 or .444 marlin and wait for two or three to line up and shoot thru them.

I like your style.

IMO the AR-10A2 would be a fine Hog weapon. I only have the AR-10T with target optics. It is a bit of a "pig" to lug through the brush.
I have hunted them with the 5.56 in all styles of AR’s with limited luck. When the alternative to a timed clean shot is a quick  "mount and pull", center of mass type shot, the 5.56 will leave you with some fun tracking. IMO, the 5.56 is only effective for sub-100yrd timed & scoped, edge-of-pasture post hunting. If you can't place your shot in the head, don’t bother.
As far as hog hunting within my own artillery, I cannot beat my Browning BAR in .300WM. It is reasonably light, maneuverable, and powerful. Fixed with a 3-12 wide-objective scope with forgivable eye relief, I found it to fit almost any situation. In the most non-favorable of conditions, the heavy grain soft-tips will plow over the animal and not be afraid of any small obstructions in the process. Also given easy picking at long range, it is right there and forgiving of slight operator error.

Actually, I bought a 16" AR10A2 upper for hog-hunting.  Too bad my wife freaked, and now it's on its way to a new owner.

Now, i'm gonna have to resort to my VEPR K 7.62X39.  It will do just fine, but i'd have prefered the 12mm more oomph in the 7.62NATO

The 308 (7.62x51) is capable of clean kills on any game animal in North America and most other continents. The only problem maybe reliable feeding of hunting ammo in your military pattern rifle.

The 7.62x39 is also a good pig round and the SKS is perfect for draging through the swamp.

I have used my Win Model 100 auto in .308 for hogs, they wern't very impressed with the .308, so I have switched to my VZ-24 in 8x57, it performs much better.

Quoted: I have used my Win Model 100 auto in .308 for hogs, they wern't very impressed with the .308, so I have switched to my VZ-24 in 8x57, it performs much better.

The early-mdl Win 100 in .308 (my father's) was my first Whitetail gun. Engraved with acorn themed artwork on the grip and forearm. Shot my two first deer in my life with that gun.

Don't waste em - they are awfully good to eat!

Never have I had the opportunity to hunt this type of action with a semi auto. Been times in past on bow hunts when have had javelina all around and hell breaking loose, had a 300 lb. Russian boar once catch me standing with a recurve bow(nice piggy piggy) and shot a hog once between the eyes on a tight tunnel like trail with no place for either of us to go(lucky for me he ran the other way with my arrow stuck between his eyes). This VEPR deal is getting me pumped! Good thing about pigs, they taste good, the season doesn't close and everybody wants them killed.

308 with proper ammo is a great hog killer. Personally I want a Remington 7400 synthetic carbine in 308 for hogs, when my college student budget can afford another rifle. The 7400 is lighter and easier to carry through brush than an AR 10, and much more affordable. It would suit my uses for a 308 carbine better.  

I bagged a little one with my M1 last weekend... I'd probably use the M1 for hogs up to 200#.  The little one I got was about 50# or so.  Shot entered the left rear and exited the opposite, blowing apart part of it's pelvis and tearing it's opposite thigh apart.  The exit wound evicerated him.  He got about 15 feet where I finished him with my .45....

so.. I think an AR10 will be an adequate choice for hogs up to a couple hundred pounds.  Next time I go out, I'm going to take my M1 Carbine with me.  That should make easy work of the small ones, but I'd abstain on shots on larger animals.  :)

im in s.e. new mexico.....anybody know if there are hogs out in this area....ive seen javelina, but no hogs.....snipertaz out

I guess it depends on where you are hunting & the terrain.  I'm in Central Florida, and the occasions I've been hawg hunting have all been in swampy areas where a "real" rifle was not the #1 choice.  I'm not much to sit in a stand & wait for something to walk up, so we stalked them carrying shotgun or leverage action rifle.  Light weight, something you don't care if it gets muddy or scratched up.

Funny story, I was out one time with two fellow Marine buddies of mine hunting in a swamp with shotguns.  We had split up to cover more ground when we heard a herd coming through.  I saw them moving through the brush but couldn't get a clear enough shot, but they were headed right toward one of our guys.  I heard the blast pf his Mossberg, then the sound of a raging squeal, then "Oh #uck", then the crack of a pistol twice, then silence.  Intrigued, I ran over to see what had happened.  After the initial shot, my friend ejected the spent round with his pump Mossberg, but when he tried to chamber the round the forks came loose from the fore grip. The 150 lb boar was badly wounded but really PO'ed so he was rushing my friend, who frantically took out his .45 backup & was able to nail the hog twice in the chest to bring it down.

So, the morale of the story I suppose is 1) carry a good firearm, 2) plan on Mr. Murphy hunting the same ground so carry a backup to whatever you choose as a primary.  I am a Remington man since then.  

Happy hunting.

KKyle:

Here are 3 out of a herd of 5:


The two sows and one juvenile are on the truck.  We let two other juvies go although I could have easily taken them as well.  We just had enough meat and chores ahead of us for the evening.  Of course, I prefer the bolt action, but have hunted them with .22 hornet, .223, and bow as well.

The advice about carrying a good sidearm is wise.  Trust me.

-White Horse

One more story. A bow hunting friend and I were asked to travel north to help a rancher kill some hogs about 10 yrs. ago. All the other hunters were LEO's with semi autos. We got a separate section of land and were sneaking up on 3 big pigs and a bunch of little ones when we saw them haul ass straight at us. The LEO's had doubled back and got on our section. We ducked behind big trees and they opened up. We had hogs running all around us, shots being fired too close to us and we thought it had started to rain , but because of the angle the blood and guts had been sprayed in the trees and was dripping down. We didn't seem to see as much humor in the situation as they did! Hard to be taken too seriously when you're armed with a bow and they had semi autos.

It doesnt have to be a highpower rifle to kill them, just well placed shot.....should be well placed in either case.  I just killed a 100lb sow with my Glock 20 in 10mm using Black Talons.  The bullet expanded perfectly my buddies nephew shot his 100lb boar with a Glock 19.

Seeing a reoccuring theme with Florida having a lot of problems with hogs too. Didn't realize they were doing that well there also. How many other states are overrun?

Quoted: Seeing a reoccurring theme with Florida having a lot of problems with hogs too. Didn't realize they were doing that well there also. How many other states are overrun?

it's not that Texas is overrun it's that one joker will buy 30-50 hogs a year and turn them loose on his property so he can charge people to hunt them.  the fences are just "5 stran-bob-wor" so the pigs go right through and into the surrounding land where they destroy anything valuable.  they damage fences livestock feeders and kill and eat calfs and lambs.  in Missouri there are almost no wild hogs because people consider pigs a valuable commodity and put up hog fence to keep them out.  any wild hogs roaming about get trapped and "fed out"  

Texans have more money than sense because we will import the biggest Russian boar we can find and breed it to the largest domesticated pigs available to make a 600" monster hog from hell!
     

IMHO, order of importance in hog hunting:

Lightweight  (carry it all day long, hiking, stalking)
Rugged (muddy, wet, sweat dripping on it, briars, fences)
Durable (see above)
Accuracy (hey, I suck, the gun does not need to be .25 MOA)
Large Magazine Capacity  (Hey, I miss alot)
Caliber (.223 is fun. cheap, and effective)

308wood- In East Texas they have always turned the hogs loose. When the season is right, it would be time to hunt and make bacon. Now with a decrease in this method they have overpopulated. They're smart and they have a whole slew of little ones in every litter.Those South Texas Russian boars are a whole new story. I know it's hard to believe, but when you see a brown volkswagen sitting in a sendero and you are bow hunting it sends chills down your spine. What part of the state are you hunting?

Haven't hunted them, but I hear that Illinois also has an abundant hog population down south.  

FWIW.

kkyle,

If you need any assistance bustin' the hogs on your lease, all you've got to do is shout.

I know it's old fashioned, but a Marlin 336 with Hi-Viz front sight and Williams ghost ring works on 'em real well.  Good at dusk, very fast sight picture, and those slow old .30-30's thump the pigs pretty good as long as the range is reasonable.

I like my Contender pistol in .357 Maximum.  I use 180gr XTP/FP's.  Chrono'd the rounds and was averaging 1978fps @ the muzzle.
Took it on an E TX hunt last year and planted 2.  I do also carry a 1911 Commander as a back up.  Too hard to speed load a TC under pressure.

The AR idea sounds like fun.  I've used a .223 on Javelina, but the limit there is 2 in S. TX.  Hogs are a menace and can be hunted/ shot relentlessly.