[mauser9]

That's why I bought a smoothbore deer barrel for my shotgun. Buckshot was a lousy pattern at 20 yards with full choke tube with Federal loads. Quite a difference with cyl. choke barrel for the Fosters.

 

[rando]

I wouldn't use a shotgun with any buckshot on a grown boar hog at 60 yds. if a shotgun is all you have, get closer or only shoot smaller pigs . unless you got real lucky and a pellet went in his ear, you are not going to get him. he will either run a VERY long way off and die or be protected by his armor and heal up. I've skinned several boars that had buckshot imbedded in their gristle shields. they were all healed up or in cysts but the boar was healthy. close range and with a head shot, a shotgun works good on hogs. at 60 yds even a 000 pellet has lost a lot of energy. hogs are heavier built than deer. and that heavy skin & gristle shield absorbs buckshot pretty good.

Yeah like you wrote above Blaster about them Boars being tough. They are shielded pretty good like you explained. I have only shot them with my 270 Winchester rifle and a 44 Mag. revolver. I only do head shots though. I would not want to piss a big hog off and have it charge me like I have heard others explain.

 

[mauser9]

Me too with the .270 at Tioga Boar Farm in Pa. Heard an archer zapped a Black Russian the day before and the hog charged him and he ended up with a gashed ankle! My .270 130 grain dropped em on the spot at 40 yards. Legs thrashed a few seconds but that was it.

 

[Ranger4]

Many decades ago at a place called Stamford Lake in Texas it was common for cowboys to rope the hogs, get two ropes on them and then bring up a trailer. They would feed them out for about 3 months then butcher them. Got to be a regular weekend sport for local guys there. The old cowboy that I knew said he had lost 3 dogs, one horse and a half pair of boots catching hogs.. The horse story went that he was the only one to get a rope on the hog and it gutted his horse because they could not move away fast enough. The half pair of boot story was actually funny, he had his rope on the hog and it lunged at his horse so he took his boot out of the stirrup and tried to kick it in the head. Problem was the hog bit the end of his boot and tore a chunk out at the toe.

Until I was around hogs I would not have believed it, but I do believe it and have heard many similar. I also know a guy who ran a broken tree limb completely through his arm near the bicep when a hog charged him. He was dove hunting, it charged and he killed it at the end of his gun as he fell, shot it with 7.5 dove loads. Then he nearly bled to death. Young guy, a marine actually, and he healed fine, just a long scar. Point is they will charge and they are bigger than we are.

A few years ago I was traveling in Texas in the area about 20 miles south of Vernon Texas, not to far from Stamford, and saw a highway sign that said something like, "attention motorist, wild hogs in the area, if you break down, do not leave your car". Anybody ever see that one?
They do kill folks now and again, so just like gators and coyotes and California cougars they should be taken seriously. IMHO
https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-woman-killed-wild-hogs-front-yard-home/story?id=67308386

 

[geral ray johnson]

I wouldn't use a shotgun with any buckshot on a grown boar hog at 60 yds. if a shotgun is all you have, get closer or only shoot smaller pigs . unless you got real lucky and a pellet went in his ear, you are not going to get him. he will either run a VERY long way off and die or be protected by his armor and heal up. I've skinned several boars that had buckshot imbedded in their gristle shields. they were all healed up or in cysts but the boar was healthy. close range and with a head shot, a shotgun works good on hogs. at 60 yds even a 000 pellet has lost a lot of energy. hogs are heavier built than deer. and that heavy skin & gristle shield absorbs buckshot pretty good.

my marlin model 55g has a 36 inch barrel full choke ! 50 and 60 yards ! It can handle it

 

[big shrek]

Not fond of shotgun for hog as they ruin too much meat.
That being said, that Marlin & 000 Buck will KEEEL them.
Use a metal detector wand while carving up into freezer meat...

 

[geral ray johnson]

View attachment 146814 View attachment 146814 using 000 buckshot ,or smoothbore slugs ! I need to shoot wild hogs at , about 60 yards ! this is a bolt action shotgun ! long goosegun with a full choke

 

[geral ray johnson]

View attachment 146814 View attachment 146814 using 000 buckshot ,or smoothbore slugs ! I need to shoot wild hogs at , about 60 yards ! this is a bolt action shotgun ! long goosegun with a full choke

36 inch barrel has a long reach ! my shotgun in the woods

 

[geral ray johnson]

shotgun is finished and in the woods

 

[TXplt]

I wouldn't use a shotgun with any buckshot on a grown boar hog at 60 yds. if a shotgun is all you have, get closer or only shoot smaller pigs . unless you got real lucky and a pellet went in his ear, you are not going to get him. he will either run a VERY long way off and die or be protected by his armor and heal up. I've skinned several boars that had buckshot imbedded in their gristle shields. they were all healed up or in cysts but the boar was healthy. close range and with a head shot, a shotgun works good on hogs. at 60 yds even a 000 pellet has lost a lot of energy. hogs are heavier built than deer. and that heavy skin & gristle shield absorbs buckshot pretty good.

This.

Buckshot still holds a fair bit of energy at 100 yards. More than enough to kill at that range. Against something thick skinned with fat or bone, meh. Not sure.

But the pattern is unreliable. And different buckshot loads pattern differently (fr' instance, the Federal LE 00 buck patterns much more tightly than the Remington standard 00 buck).

IF you pattern the gun at the range you intend shooting, it's consistent, it will do what you want, and you have some measure of good penetration at that distance I'd say have at it. But barring that I'd find another gun. There are better guns for the task.

I'd personally go the slug route at that range (after shooting some through it to verify accuracy; you'll need some type of sighting device at longer ranges); the issue is your gun has a full choke and has been said that doesn't lend itself to slugs.

The time might come where a person is STUCK with one gun to do more than it should do. Fair enough. There's a difference between that and setting oneself up to fail. I COULD hunt deer with my MP-15/22 (.22 LR) or a .22 magnum if I had to (and people certainly have done this in the past successfully). But I have better choices available to me given the shots I'm likely to get. For a close in shot against something that might hurt me 00 or 000 buck is fine (and is often a good choice). But I'd not plan to take rangy shots with it (in fact, a short barrel shotgun loaded with buckshot trying to be used beyond the range it was intended was what contributed to the deaths of Cowley and Hollis at the hands of Baby Face Nelson; Ed Hollis being a firearms expert and Cowley being more of an excellent administrator/investigator and hard worker but not very proficient with firearms. Hollis consistently undershot with the shotgun at the ranges you mentioned striking Nelson in the legs with buckshot but not incapacitating him. Had Hollis had the Thompson and Cowley the shotgun things may well have turned out differently than both FBI agents losing their life).

 

[chesterwin]

There's alway's the trick that one of my friends that was special forces in Viet Nam used. His long gun was a 1897 winchester pump trench gun from WW1. He had a buddy that would take the shot card out and encapsulate the buckshot in wax. He swears the wax would help hold a pattern out to about a hundred yards. Here again, we're talking cylinder bore.

He also carried a Thompson with the buttstock removed slung around his neck and over the shoulder and a 1911. The shotgun was his primary weapon though according to him.

Alex says he got a pass home early because of the bounty that was on him.

 

[Ranger4]

Many brands of buckshot like the S and B and the Estate brand do not have a shot cup, the 9 pellets are just stacked in the case 3 a breast for 3 levels. That gives a pretty wide spread at closer ranges and may cause a problem at beyond 40 yards or so. When I reload them I always use a standard shot cup it keeps the shot pretty much stable inside the barrel and keeps the shot together longer. You might try different brands to see what works in your gun. This link shows how the S and B are stacked without any shot cup.

https://image.sportsmansguide.com/adimgs/l/2/222603_ts.jpg

Federal solved the problem with the "flight control" wad and Hornady uses the same wad. Nearly all of the big 4, Winchester, Federal, Remington and Hornady have a shot cup designed to keep the shot together for longer range and any should be fine. Just the import ones pattern poorly at longer ranges because once they exit the muzzle they have nothing holding them together. The 60 grain bullet only has about 160 foot pounds left at 50 yards, about like a hot 22LR, so you want as many as you can get in the hog at that range.

When can we expect to see some pictures of hog?

 

[cjleete]

Many decades ago at a place called Stamford Lake in Texas it was common for cowboys to rope the hogs, get two ropes on them and then bring up a trailer. They would feed them out for about 3 months then butcher them. Got to be a regular weekend sport for local guys there. The old cowboy that I knew said he had lost 3 dogs, one horse and a half pair of boots catching hogs.. The horse story went that he was the only one to get a rope on the hog and it gutted his horse because they could not move away fast enough. The half pair of boot story was actually funny, he had his rope on the hog and it lunged at his horse so he took his boot out of the stirrup and tried to kick it in the head. Problem was the hog bit the end of his boot and tore a chunk out at the toe.

Until I was around hogs I would not have believed it, but I do believe it and have heard many similar. I also know a guy who ran a broken tree limb completely through his arm near the bicep when a hog charged him. He was dove hunting, it charged and he killed it at the end of his gun as he fell, shot it with 7.5 dove loads. Then he nearly bled to death. Young guy, a marine actually, and he healed fine, just a long scar. Point is they will charge and they are bigger than we are.

A few years ago I was traveling in Texas in the area about 20 miles south of Vernon Texas, not to far from Stamford, and saw a highway sign that said something like, "attention motorist, wild hogs in the area, if you break down, do not leave your car". Anybody ever see that one?
They do kill folks now and again, so just like gators and coyotes and California cougars they should be taken seriously. IMHO
https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-woman-killed-wild-hogs-front-yard-home/story?id=67308386

A horse and three dogs for some hogs is a terrible trade. That's why I believe in rifles that start at 30-06 and up for game that eats you back.

 

[geral ray johnson]

A horse and three dogs for some hogs is a terrible trade. That's why I believe in rifles that start at 30-06 and up for game that eats you back.

my deer rifle is a 1903 A3 remington

 

[blaster]

^ why don't you use the 03 A3? you could reliably take big boars out several hundred yards.

 

[geral ray johnson]

^ why don't you use the 03 A3? you could reliably take big boars out several hundred yards.

I only carry the 55g while I am in real thick woods

 

[K75RT]

Geral Ray, I found an excellent article over at Shooting Illustrated I will leave the link...it gives the Maximum Practical Range of Slugs & Buckshot hope this is helpful to ya. https://www.shootingillustrated.com...he-maximum-practical-range-of-slugs-buckshot/

 

[geral ray johnson]

Geral Ray, I found an excellent article over at Shooting Illustrated I will leave the link...it gives the Maximum Practical Range of Slugs & Buckshot hope this is helpful to ya. https://www.shootingillustrated.com...he-maximum-practical-range-of-slugs-buckshot/

thanks ! I know the normal effective range for a shotgun ! this is a 36inch barrel full choke ! I am working up some buck and ball shells ! as soon as I can save up the money for the equipment for a 12 gauge ! I am disabled , due to heart attacks

 

[geral ray johnson]

thanks ! I know the normal effective range for a shotgun ! this is a 36inch barrel full choke ! I am working up some buck and ball shells ! as soon as I can save up the money for the equipment for a 12 gauge ! I am disabled , due to heart attacks

custom buck and ball is nothing like you have ever seen from a full choke 36inch barrel

 

[geral ray johnson]

Many brands of buckshot like the S and B and the Estate brand do not have a shot cup, the 9 pellets are just stacked in the case 3 a breast for 3 levels. That gives a pretty wide spread at closer ranges and may cause a problem at beyond 40 yards or so. When I reload them I always use a standard shot cup it keeps the shot pretty much stable inside the barrel and keeps the shot together longer. You might try different brands to see what works in your gun. This link shows how the S and B are stacked without any shot cup.

https://image.sportsmansguide.com/adimgs/l/2/222603_ts.jpg

Federal solved the problem with the "flight control" wad and Hornady uses the same wad. Nearly all of the big 4, Winchester, Federal, Remington and Hornady have a shot cup designed to keep the shot together for longer range and any should be fine. Just the import ones pattern poorly at longer ranges because once they exit the muzzle they have nothing holding them together. The 60 grain bullet only has about 160 foot pounds left at 50 yards, about like a hot 22LR, so you want as many as you can get in the hog at that range.

When can we expect to see some pictures of hog?