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I have come to a little dilemma which is I would like to get into hog hunting and maybe yotes as some friends have purchased land and some co workers have hog problems on their land. I currently have only 1 AR which is a DDM4. The reason for my DD purchase was for defense/range, not that the rifle wont do perfectly fine hunting but would you suggest keeping it as a defense/range rifle and just picking up something like the S&W sporter or do those that own a combat rifle have no reserves on using it for your weekend hunts? Thanks All
Murph
build a A2 for a dedicated hog gun, i did the same except we have no hogs so it is a wolf gun but you get the idea the extra length is great for sight radius and the solid stock in great for stability for hunting good luck
I had an .458 SOCOM A2 for deer thumping. Worked great! Put a slug on the scapula bone, and squeeze off one of those fat chunks of lead. I bet those poor deer felt like Paul Bunyan hit them with a sledge.
With the right load you can get 1-1.5 MOA. And out to 200 yards it flat pounds!
Would be outstanding for hogs too.
Coyotes...maybe not the best if you want to reach out and touch them though...up close it would break one of those little hapless in half
The DD will be fine for what you are doing as long as they aren't huge huge hogs. But no 5.56 is a great giant hog dropper in my opinion. You want something will a little more ooomph like a .308 or beyond.
I used an m4gery in 5.56 with .223 nosler tipped federal rounds.
Worked like a charm on a 185# boar. Shot placement is king.
Why not use your defense/range gun in a practical setting such as hunting?
Beat Trash
05-11-12, 09:03
I'd use what you already have. Pay attention to shot placement, which is something you should strive to do in a defensive situation anyway.
Consider it another way to train with your defensive gun.
If you decide to build/buy a dedicated hog gun, then spending some time first with your DD will give you an idea what you would want different for your hog gun vs. your current DD setup.
great responses, thanks all. I think I will do what some have suggested and use my DD and work on shot placement.
Bluedreaux
05-11-12, 09:54
A .223 will do great on hogs. Make it a tough bullet (TSX, TTSX) and you won't have any problems. They're not as tough as people like to think.
Google hog anatomy. There are some pics out there of a hog autopsy that show where the need to be hit. It's lower than you'd think.
A .223 will do great on hogs. Make it a tough bullet (TSX, TTSX) and you won't have any problems. They're not as tough as people like to think.
Google hog anatomy. There are some pics out there of a hog autopsy that show where the need to be hit. It's lower than you'd think.
thanks bud
TangoSauce
05-11-12, 10:23
Buy a DD 6.8 upper.
You paid for the 1:7, get some 70gr. Barnes (TSX) and you'll be fine.
johnpuga1982
05-11-12, 11:14
Buy a DD 6.8 upper.
This!
I recently put this one together as a varmint/coyote rifle but most any AR will foot the bill for those purposes.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/data/500/medium/Noveske-BCM_Easter_2012_014.JPG (http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/238022/cat/500)
Buy a DD 6.8 upper.
This!
Are you guy's saying that you don't think a .556 is
adequate for what he wants to kill?
johnpuga1982
05-11-12, 11:58
Are you guy's saying that you don't think a .556 is
adequate for what he wants to kill?
Not at all. Just a little justification for new toys.
I don't think such a thing exists yet, but I'd love to see an AR in .358 Win loaded up with some 310gr subsonics and a suppressor. That'd be one hell of a pig gun. Or if you really want to get weird, a 9.3x51mm wildcat with some 320gr Woodleighs.
I got a 18'' 6.8SPCII middy from Bison. After doin some homework I found 6.8 calls for T2/H2 heavy buffer. I use a Spikes T2 buffer on both mid length gas on 6.8, and with the carbine gas system of my DD upper 556; both off same Spikes lower. change out is a snap, this is kinda helpful as well http://www.joeboboutfitters.com/product_p/jbt-bolt-sav.htm Oh ya 6.8 drops them there.
I'd use what you already have. Pay attention to shot placement, which is something you should strive to do in a defensive situation anyway.
Consider it another way to train with your defensive gun.
If you decide to build/buy a dedicated hog gun, then spending some time first with your DD will give you an idea what you would want different for your hog gun vs. your current DD setup.
I'll second this train of thought...
Blankwaffe
05-11-12, 13:16
Just pick a alternate caliber upper and add it to you lower,no need to buy a whole new gun.Thats the advantage of the medium caliber AR15 cartridges we have seen over the past few years,allows alternate caliber with a push of the pins and a magazine swap.
I personally used my 5.56 guns for a season here and had good results.
Did see a need for more gun in a few situations,especially at range on larger game size animals like deer.
So I bought a 6.5 Grendel from AA and Ive been pleased with the performance.
That said,Im going to stop beating around the bush and return to the 7.62 Nato/308 win. for large game hunting,will be going to a AR10A-A4 carbine for this season if it comes off backorder in time.
Check out the hunting forum:
https://www.m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=202
Nightvisionary
05-11-12, 15:17
Are you guy's saying that you don't think a .556 is
adequate for what he wants to kill?
6.8 is so costly to get into IF the OP wanted to do something like that he would be better off going .308.
6.8 is so costly to get into IF the OP wanted to do something like that he would be better off going .308.
A $600 upper (you used to be able to get a PSA 6.8 for $400 with BCG.) For purely hunting, you'd only need 50-100 rounds/year, and that is if you do a LOT of hunting.
Now a AR 308 will cost a couple thousand dollars.
Personally, if he can legally hunt with the gun he has, why wouldn't he just get some good ammo, and hunt with it untill he finds a reason to be dissatisfied with it. I've hunted with my BCM. It isn't sub-MOA accurate, but you don't need that to hunt anyways.
6.8 is so costly to get into IF the OP wanted to do something like that he would be better off going .308.
I agree 100% with that. I went with the 300 Blackout for that reason. No special mags and I had extra BCG's laying around. I reload so ammo is plentiful. The difference in killshitability is small when stacked next to the price of 6.8 mags alone.
Back to the OP, I think hunting with your defense gun can only help. Carrying your rifle afield and using it to hunt will teach you alot about your rifle. It helped me with sling choices, Bi-pod selection,stock choices etc. Like has been said before you paid for quality beat the shit out of it, you won't hurt it. I have more than one AR but when I only had one it did it all.
TangoSauce
05-11-12, 15:50
6.8 is so costly to get into IF the OP wanted to do something like that he would be better off going .308.
A $600 upper (you used to be able to get a PSA 6.8 for $400 with BCG.) For purely hunting, you'd only need 50-100 rounds/year, and that is if you do a LOT of hunting.
Now a AR 308 will cost a couple thousand dollars.
Personally, if he can legally hunt with the gun he has, why wouldn't he just get some good ammo, and hunt with it untill he finds a reason to be dissatisfied with it. I've hunted with my BCM. It isn't sub-MOA accurate, but you don't need that to hunt anyways.
Similar response to my thinking. You can get into a 6.8 upper for way cheaper than a .308. Quality 6.8 hunting ammo is in the same price range as match .223.
And not to get into the 5.56 vs 6.8 hog killing power debate as this is not the thread for it, but in several states the 6.8 is a legal deer caliber but 5.56 is not.
TangoSauce
05-11-12, 15:55
I agree 100% with that. I went with the 300 Blackout for that reason. No special mags and I had extra BCG's laying around. I reload so ammo is plentiful. The difference in killshitability is small when stacked next to the price of 6.8 mags alone.
Back to the OP, I think hunting with your defense gun can only help. Carrying your rifle afield and using it to hunt will teach you alot about your rifle. It helped me with sling choices, Bi-pod selection,stock choices etc. Like has been said before you paid for quality beat the shit out of it, you won't hurt it. I have more than one AR but when I only had one it did it all.
Again, not to get into the whole 300BLK vs 6.8 debate, but I will say that not getting into a caliber simply to save a hundred bucks or two will never be an valid argument to me. I will say that MOST hunting is within the 100 yards or less making each worthy of consideration. However, if you ever get into goats, etc all I have to say is good luck stalking into range of a 300BLK.
Your right as far as 6.8 upper vs a whole .308......but a whole new caliber upper for hunting something you can kill with a .556? Why? he said coyotes and pigs. Not deer and bear.
TangoSauce
05-11-12, 16:02
Your right as far as 6.8 upper vs a whole .308......but a whole new caliber upper for hunting something you can kill with a .556? Why? he said coyotes and pigs. Not deer and bear.
Valid. You'll probably be good in that realm. I still would prefer the 6.8 for pigs just to ensure a clean kill and to be able to drop larger hogs. It can certainly be done with 5.56 with the correct round choice, no arguments there.
Personally, as stated above, it's always hard to walk away from buying new 'toys' so to speak.
:)
I am ALWAYS up for new toys.
Ya see one of the reason I went with AR cal. variant is because it makes you learn how to reload and then you get to buy all those other toys :laugh:... Then you get to pick what cal. upper do want to shoot the shit out of for a couple of years get it and reloading set up and give it hell...sorry got carried away at end.
http://www.joeboboutfitters.com/product_p/jbt-bolt-sav.htm
Never seen this before.....I bought a stock from there too. Like I said "always up for more stuff", ordering 3 of these tomorrow. Gotta get $90 worth of stuff for free shipping.;)
Bluedreaux
05-11-12, 17:34
Even "big" hogs aren't bullet proof. This one took a 62 grain TSX and didn't twitch.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z118/Bluedreaux/SA%20Lease/070.jpg
DirectDrive
05-11-12, 20:31
Hog hunters are wiping out the 6.8 supply.
It must be working.
A rifle is as good as its shooter, AR I think makes a great hunting rifle..its light, durable...and really most of your small-medium game in North American a good 5.56 rnd will take down....
I figure .223, as a hunting round, is (in my book) good for hogs and Coues deer on down.
Jake Bauer
05-11-12, 23:41
Ive heard 75gr Hollowpoints work well on pigs.
I had to step it up to the 6.8 because the 223 kept on getting deflected on under brush/small trees (ya I know tend. to the prop. will fix that).. At first was skeptical of 6.8spc and if would work, because only thing that had worked repeatedly on Alabama thickets was 94' 30-30win. But whole hardly agree that 223 can drop alot of North American game.
battlestick
05-12-12, 08:57
Use your DD. You will get the most from your experience and can use it as "training" if you like. Strap on your camelback, and go stalking through the woods. At night. :D
You will learn to use all your senses, you will learn to walk quietly, light discipline, you will learn to "see" in the dark, and will see when you are shooting fast and straight. I strongly suggest you use electronic ear pro so it will amplify sound yet protect your hearing.
You just thought your AR was fun was until you were 20 yards from a group of piggies, lighting them up and letting 'em have it. :lol:
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