Boar Calibres

[Greener Jim]

Now I'm very much in the big bore camp for everything but I don't for one second doubt that .243 Winchester can (and does) work on boar.

My only reservation, and this isn't directed at .243 (as a caliber or cartridge) more small cartridges in general, is that shouldn't we carry a rifle/cartridge/bullet that does the job when something goes wrong rather than just when it goes right?

I think the above is most people's justification for larger calibers and more power when going after boar. No doubt a tough bullet in .243" will work nicely but I would personally want my .458". Although smaller would be preferred so a .358",.366" or .375" would be nice. Something running a little north of 3000 ft-lbs. Boar aren't buffalo, I think 375 h&h may be over egging the pudding somewhat, but it doesn't really matter.

If you can shoot it, use it. It all ends in dead pigs

 

[oldmate]

A 45-70 in a ruger no 1 is on my wish list, just for bunnies!

 

[Cris]

A 45-70 in a ruger no 1 is on my wish list, just for bunnies!

Just in case it goes wrong

 

[stuartp]

7mm is the minimum in Croatia.

Preferred or the law?

 

[Cris]

As 270 is recommended minumum UK smallest calibre and best practice guides go on to recommend 150grn minumum.

 

[Sash]

For driven boar (in France, but I doubt the requirements are materially different elsewhere on the Continent) I have recently been delighted with my .308 with Federal Vital-Shok. It's a 180g Nosler Partition bullet and (when/if I hit!) does the job perfectly. I used to borrow a friend's 9.3x74R side by side, and loved shooting it in France (pre- the lifting of the military calibres ban), but I can now use my UK deer rifle. I recommend the combination highly, and have no doubts at all about the capability of this particular round even when/if things go a bit wrong.

 

[VIGILAIRE]

stuartp Preferred or the law?

Law ( I think ) plus 160 gr bullet minimum weight. TBH I got the info from lasarotta.co.uk web site which lists all the calibres/quarry for Croatia under the ammunition section.

 

[stuartp]

Looking at the wording, that might just be their preference?

This is part of the problem, the '270 minimum' line gets trotted out often enough people assume it is the law or even start stating it is, when it is just a recommendation - as Chris has stated.

 

[VIGILAIRE]

Maybe so Stuart but not bad advice nontheless.

Most hunters from the UK seem to use 270, 308, 30.06,.300 Win, 7mm Rem mag with 9.3x74r being popular in doubles. Have seen the odd 375, .30.30 Win,.30 Blaser, 8x68s, 8x57r plus one .470 (!!) and once a 6.5x55.

The locals seem to use a lot of 8x57 Mauser types plus 12 bore combinations with Brenneke slugs plus a 7x65r barrel or similar.

The above list builds up a picture of what is effective and preferred. This is just my observation over several hunts in several countries. I cannot speak about sub 7mm as I don't think I've ever come across them used in Europe for boar.

 

[8x57]

I am not certain but I believe that with the exception of Scandinavia where 6.5x55 is very popular most of Europe sets the minimum calibre for boar as 7mm in one way or another. In Scandinavia as far as I have read they accept 6.5mm but with heavy for calibre bullets.

For myself as I have a small Johnson I will stick to 8x57jrs or 9.3x74r.

 

[Pine Marten]

I am not certain but I believe that with the exception of Scandinavia where 6.5x55 is very popular most of Europe sets the minimum calibre for boar as 7mm in one way or another. In Scandinavia as far as I have read they accept 6.5mm but with heavy for calibre bullets.

For myself as I have a small Johnson I will stick to 8x57jrs or 9.3x74r.

There are various minimal specs for calibres in France but it varies from one region to the next. It doesn't matter though because pretty much everyone uses the biggest calibre they can lay their hands on. My brother-in-law uses a 9,3x64 (yes, 64, not 62) which has been known to take a boar's leg off.

8x57, I've tried a 9.3x62, which I believe is the same as the 9.3x74R to all intents and purposes, and found it to be a bit of a thumper, although I was shooting from a bench. How different is it to shoot from an 8x57JRS?

 

[stuartp]

and once a 6.5x55.

I know of dozens, probably more boar shot cleanly with 6.5x55

We are back to post #8

 

[8x57]

PM the 9.3 shot from the bench can be a bit of a thumper especially if you are of fairly small stature but fired free hand you don't really notice it especially if a boar is running straight at you.
Its a bit like shooting a 12 bore from the prone position you should try that sometime, surprising how much recoil that can generate if you are square behind it.

I can't say I notice any great difference in recoil between my 8x57 and my 9.3x74 probably because while the 9.3 rifle is lighter the stock fits me well. Also I tend to use heavy bullets in the 8mm which are not too far off the weight of the bullets that I shoot out of the 9.3mm.
Shooting freehand is the way to go though with both as shooting any great number of rounds from a fixed position is going to get you both punch drunk and give you a bruised shoulder. Definitely intended for instinctive shotgun style swing shooting.

 

[reiver]

I know of dozens, probably more boar shot cleanly with 6.5x55

We are back to post #8

Maybe so but in most European country's the 6.5 x55 is illegal for hunting Boar for better or worse .
Anyway why go with the very minimum caliber for boar when the continental foresters/keepers would prefer you to use enough gun as they say.
.30" cal or larger has worked well for over a century for our Continental cousins who know a bit more about hunting wild boar than us.

 

[VIGILAIRE]

The hunter who came on our first trip who had the 6.5x55 didn't get a shot so I never got to see how well it stopped a boar.

 

[I. Farticus]

I'm probably wrong, but I thought that a lot of European countries specify the minimum weight of bullet, not calibre ie 10 gram (155gr) bullet.

If they specified the calibre as 7mm, what's to stop you rocking up with 139gr ammo giving just 77% of the sectional density of the 6.5x55 156gr round...?

 

[mereside]

I have been reading this thread with interest, using the biggest calibre you can has good reason, yes other calibres can do the job but boar have a great deal of fat, a large bullet creates a large hole to bleed out of but also does not close up like a smaller calibre can and often does.
Boar have a tendancy to leave little sign behind at shot site making people think they have missed, these also travel a large distance, a track can be anything from 3km upwards on a realatively good shot, so much further with bad ones.
head shot on boar if it is hit in the wrong place will end with a huge track or a horrible death and the trouble with head shots or shots behind the ear, so many times the guy doing the shooting aims too far back and hits muscle or the large bone dropping the beast but to find out in a few moments the beast getting up and going at it full tilt.

you can see in the diagram the neck is like a swan dipping right down so very hard to hit the spine. the heart is also very low and another common shot on boar results in a long track with a hetz, here

shooting too low sometimes breaking the legs and even with both broken can result again in a long track.
Boar also have a tendancy when feeding to shuffle backwards and forwards and people have a difficult time at night actually seeing which way they are really facing and anyone who has shot boar at night will agree.
Boar are very hardy and travel very long distance when injured and most people just think i have missed or even with a few spots of blood or fat at the strike think it is only a grazing shot.
We have seen some horrible injury's on Boar and I personally think a person that has practised well with a larger calibre with a properly constructed bullet is the right thing to do. Lots more people are seeing and shooting boar and it is only going to be on the increase, atb wayne

 

[243varmint]

Great post mereside.

ive got a 9.3x62 being done by Jager SA. Fingers crossed it will be done ready for a trip abroad.

Jon

 

[Wolverine]

I too have read this with interest.
6.5x55 is minimum in a lot of European countries,including Germany.
I also have various photos,one especially with a hole in the neck where the animal was tracked over 6km and then brought to bay and dispatched.
As Wayne says........swan neck
Animal was very much alive with a 9.3 bullet having caused the damage.......

I have also very very graphic photos of head and jaw shot animals which have went over 10km and have been tracked and dispatched,sometimes over 48 hours.
ATB
George

 

[Jagare]

I have been reading this thread with interest, using the biggest calibre you can has good reason, yes other calibres can do the job but boar have a great deal of fat, a large bullet creates a large hole to bleed out of but also does not close up like a smaller calibre can and often does.
Boar have a tendancy to leave little sign behind at shot site making people think they have missed, these also travel a large distance, a track can be anything from 3km upwards on a realatively good shot, so much further with bad ones.
head shot on boar if it is hit in the wrong place will end with a huge track or a horrible death and the trouble with head shots or shots behind the ear, so many times the guy doing the shooting aims too far back and hits muscle or the large bone dropping the beast but to find out in a few moments the beast getting up and going at it full tilt.

you can see in the diagram the neck is like a swan dipping right down so very hard to hit the spine. the heart is also very low and another common shot on boar results in a long track with a hetz, here

shooting too low sometimes breaking the legs and even with both broken can result again in a long track.
Boar also have a tendancy when feeding to shuffle backwards and forwards and people have a difficult time at night actually seeing which way they are really facing and anyone who has shot boar at night will agree.
Boar are very hardy and travel very long distance when injured and most people just think i have missed or even with a few spots of blood or fat at the strike think it is only a grazing shot.
We have seen some horrible injury's on Boar and I personally think a person that has practised well with a larger calibre with a properly constructed bullet is the right thing to do. Lots more people are seeing and shooting boar and it is only going to be on the increase, atb wayne

Above post sums it up nicely . 6.5 is the min calibre for boar in Sweden. There was a interesting article in one of our hunting mags about calibre = wounding on boar. The 6.5 was the worse for wounding and the 9.3 had the least wounding. As the picture above of a boars anatomy shows boar have a different layout than deer. As with all hunting, bullet placement is every thing.