good evening,an interesting read. now i come under thames valley police and have aolq on my fac ,now the interesting bit ,tvp firearms dept say i can not use my 6.5x55 with 156gr bullet but i can use my 308 with 150gr.! both aolq but the 308 can be used for boar but not the 6.5x55
Boar Cal
- Thread starter tony rentokil
- Start date
EMcC
Well-Known Member
I was on a trip to Lithuania where I borrowed a rifle to shoot boar and the rifle leant me was in 6.5 x 55 calibre, I don't remember the bullet weight but I shot four reasonable sized pigs with it.
So if you have a 6.5x55 and your FC does not specifically say 'not to be used for Boar' and you have AOLQ on it then, if you feel confident, go for it.
Quite frankly tho, if you have a .308 then that would be my go to calibre using anything from a 150gn to to 180gn bullet.
So if you have a 6.5x55 and your FC does not specifically say 'not to be used for Boar' and you have AOLQ on it then, if you feel confident, go for it.
Quite frankly tho, if you have a .308 then that would be my go to calibre using anything from a 150gn to to 180gn bullet.
Sorry, can you clarify what you mean.
TVP say you can't use a 156gr bullet for shooting boar, but can shoot boar with a 150gr from your 308 ?
Was this verbal, or in writing ? from who, your FEO ?
Eddy,
what about head shooting boar over a feed station, at night, from a stand, in the UK ?
I'd be picking the lower recoil rifle !
EMcC
Well-Known Member
That would definitely be the better option from a high seat over a bait station or even if stalking and you get the chance to shoot a boar unaware of your presence.
Sonicdmb73
Well-Known Member
I would be getting whoever made that comment. To point out the exact legislation that means that you can’t use one but you can the other.
By that I mean the law, quoted section and paragraph. Not their interpretation of Home Office Guidelines etc.
Because I doubt very much they can quote anything. ALQ AOLQ means just that Any Legal Quarry.
Last time I checked Boar were a legal quarry.
In the UK there is no driven rifle shooting, so it is virtually all shooting from seats/stands at pigs baited to a feeding station.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Have a read of https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/Wound+Database/Boar+shoulder+shields.html
Trouble with Boar is that they vary hugely in size. So whilst a 100 or a 120 kg (gralloched but head still on weight) is a good pig, you can easily gets boar weighing 200, or 300 kg. In central Germany where I have hunted, they have had them over 400kg.
And pigs are tough, their skin is tough, skulls are tough with small brains and generally they don’t understand (unlike deer) that a bullet through the vitals means should lie down and die quietly. For a Boar A bullet through the vitals means that they are now cross and will go for pretty much anything that moves or could irritate them. Sit down with a bunch of Boar hunters - in particular those who are in the beating line or follow up wounded ones and you will soon be getting lots of stories and showing of scars of what boar can do.
Yes you can shoot them with 223, 243 etc. These are fine for small yearlings, but last shoot I went on friend a 300 win mag through the vitals of a 120kg boar. It carried on to then next gun - 150 yards away, it charged his stand and he put another two rounds into it. All the shots were killers, just nobody told the boar.
Thats why recommendation is to use a good sized tough bullet driven hard, and shoot again till its dead. I use a double 7x65r which is OK,. Ideally you want a bullet that penetrates well but also destroys the vitals.
270 is a sensible minimum, 7mm is better and 308, 30-06, 8x57 and 9.3s are ideal. But as always bullet choice and placement is a prerequisite.
And shooting at night from a highseat. Do you really want to follow up a wounded dangerous animal in the dark. It’s a little bit too exciting. And do you really want a wounded boar getting away, sulking overnight and then having a go a somebody walking their dog the following morning.
Trouble with Boar is that they vary hugely in size. So whilst a 100 or a 120 kg (gralloched but head still on weight) is a good pig, you can easily gets boar weighing 200, or 300 kg. In central Germany where I have hunted, they have had them over 400kg.
And pigs are tough, their skin is tough, skulls are tough with small brains and generally they don’t understand (unlike deer) that a bullet through the vitals means should lie down and die quietly. For a Boar A bullet through the vitals means that they are now cross and will go for pretty much anything that moves or could irritate them. Sit down with a bunch of Boar hunters - in particular those who are in the beating line or follow up wounded ones and you will soon be getting lots of stories and showing of scars of what boar can do.
Yes you can shoot them with 223, 243 etc. These are fine for small yearlings, but last shoot I went on friend a 300 win mag through the vitals of a 120kg boar. It carried on to then next gun - 150 yards away, it charged his stand and he put another two rounds into it. All the shots were killers, just nobody told the boar.
Thats why recommendation is to use a good sized tough bullet driven hard, and shoot again till its dead. I use a double 7x65r which is OK,. Ideally you want a bullet that penetrates well but also destroys the vitals.
270 is a sensible minimum, 7mm is better and 308, 30-06, 8x57 and 9.3s are ideal. But as always bullet choice and placement is a prerequisite.
And shooting at night from a highseat. Do you really want to follow up a wounded dangerous animal in the dark. It’s a little bit too exciting. And do you really want a wounded boar getting away, sulking overnight and then having a go a somebody walking their dog the following morning.
All the shots were killers, just nobody told the boar. Worth remembering
.
.
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Minimum calibre restrictions apply on the continent, .270 or 6.5x55 typically, as above you can whale away with anything in your arsenal with AOLQ on the ticket in the UK.
.243 will definitely kill a boar but you’re going to have to be careful about bullet placement, compared to a deer theres a lot of meat in the front half.
A .243 win will certainly kill a boar if you pull off a successful brain shot with a tough bullet at sensible range. Would I use one for that ? No.
having to wait for a wild boar to rock up ,
and then being dependent on only being able to take a brain shot , is a fruitless operation in my opinion. Your reducing your chances of success by a massive factor and also increasing your chances of horrible wounding to the animal.
there are lots of good and suitable chamberings of rifle for wild boar and a .243 win is not one of them, neither is a 6.5x55 and neither is a silly 6.5 weemore.
kindest regards, Olaf
Vulpes
Well-Known Member
I've also had conflicting advice from TVP regarding boar, they follow the Forestry Commission guidance on a minimum of .270 cal hence why they have said 6.5 is not enough. Of course, we all know that both will do the job admirably, if you have ALOQ on your certificate then you can legally use your 6.5x55 on boar and I know a couple of guys also in the TVP area using this calibre on boar. The guidance TVP use is exactly that, guidance and is not a law.
If you have ALOQ on the 6.5x55 I'd recommend you conclude your conversation with TVP and go about your boar shooting, as has been said earlier in the thread there is no minimum calibre for boar currently written into law within the UK.
nice historical post sir.
A Guy Out West
Well-Known Member
Without a doubt a .243 to the head will kill a boar, especially with a solid copper bullet, its a no brainer.
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
See what you did there...
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
This is what Grumpy Boar can do
I met a lady in her late 60’s on a Boar shoot a couple of years ago. Very much the German equivalent of Scottish country lady who works a string of labs picking up on shoots. And thinks nothing of dispatching a phaesant with quick break of its neck or tap on the head with her stick. All of 5ft 2” tall and probably a deadly shot as well and woukd have graced the Field magazine in her younger days. We all know the type.
Except she was dressed in Lodencloth and rather than labs or spaniels she had two GWPs, but not the skinny long legged bird dogs we get here. These were Drathaars - both males but string solid and must be 50kg of muscle. She has bred them all her life and trains them to a very high standard. On her belt was a bayonet length dagger. She had been beating all day and we chatting at post shoot barbecue. She had had a good day and had dispatched two pigs. She pointed to them as hanging on display. They were both good Keilers. How I asked. Her two boys helped - one grabbed the tail, whilst the other bayed it. She goes in with her knee behind its ear, knocks over and the dagger goes into the heart. It is dead very quickly. She has been hunting since the age of ten, but now finds a gun a bit heavy, hence just carrying the knife!
I met a lady in her late 60’s on a Boar shoot a couple of years ago. Very much the German equivalent of Scottish country lady who works a string of labs picking up on shoots. And thinks nothing of dispatching a phaesant with quick break of its neck or tap on the head with her stick. All of 5ft 2” tall and probably a deadly shot as well and woukd have graced the Field magazine in her younger days. We all know the type.
Except she was dressed in Lodencloth and rather than labs or spaniels she had two GWPs, but not the skinny long legged bird dogs we get here. These were Drathaars - both males but string solid and must be 50kg of muscle. She has bred them all her life and trains them to a very high standard. On her belt was a bayonet length dagger. She had been beating all day and we chatting at post shoot barbecue. She had had a good day and had dispatched two pigs. She pointed to them as hanging on display. They were both good Keilers. How I asked. Her two boys helped - one grabbed the tail, whilst the other bayed it. She goes in with her knee behind its ear, knocks over and the dagger goes into the heart. It is dead very quickly. She has been hunting since the age of ten, but now finds a gun a bit heavy, hence just carrying the knife!
Is it just me, but when I attempt to shoot any creature my intention is to try to kill it as quickly and humanely as possible with the absolute minimum of suffering. We all know it is possible to kill creatures with what would normally be classed as inadequate calibres, be it either by luck or supreme skill. But does that make it right to attempt to do so when there is surely a greatly increased chance of causing unnecessary suffering when more suitable calibres are available? Surely better to follow Robert Ruak's advice and 'use enough gun', especially where boar are concerned?
Similar threads
