Choosing the Right Calibre Rifle Please Help?

Question

I am just starting to get back into Shooting again.
I need to find out if anyone has used a 22.250 on Pigs before succesfully. This is one calibre I have not had much to do with over the years, and for what the price is and the hassles of obtaining a firearm nowadays, I do not want to make the wrong choice.
This reason being is that my 2 Daughters , 11 and 14 would also like to shoot with me , and I did not want to see them with Sore shoulders at the end of a trip, to keep them coming back.
We are into Handguns up to 9mm and the Youngest is a bit tender around 30/30's as they boot to much for her.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Brett

Hi All ,Thanks for the feedback so far, I must Apologise, I should of said that I have hunted Pigs quite a bit before and I have been one of those on the receiving end of an upset one. I do also carry extra power with us for back up.
The Girls are excellent shots, I was more looking at, would this Calibre do the job, as I do not want to see any animal suffer Feral or not. This is a calibre I just have had nothing to do with when I was right into hunting. A lot of Pr Shooters here seem to use this size quite a bit and also 243.
D58 thank you for your input, it is great to have people out there who can give very informative answers.
Also no not Oklahoma D58 , I am in Queensland Australia, but would love to come over to the States at some stage even just to try some Fishing.
Thank You again

Answer 1

The 22-250 is not the best choice for an experienced hunter let alone a youth hunter.
The feral hog can and have charged a hunter if not anchored with the first shot.
Do you wont to put your daughters in that position with an inadequate caliber.

Can a 22-250 or a 223 kill a feral hog, in the hand of an experienced hunter and good quality hunting bullet, Yes.
Note: I said hunting bullet not a varmint bullet, the varmint bullet is more likely to just crater on the surface and wound the wild bore.
But is it a wise choice, No.

For low recoil weapons for youth hunters.
At the very least I would suggest nothing less then a 243 using Federal Premium 100gr Nosler Partition,
Also the 25-06 Federal Premium 115gr Nosler Partition would work.
At this low of caliber bullet selection is critical.
Even the 7mm-08 with Remington Express 140gr core-Lokt would work well

The 30-30 or 308 would be by far much better for feral hogs.

I’ve included a few links that may help.

***insert from link***
Best caliber for wild pig
Choosing the right caliber for hunting wild boar can be quite a daunting proposition for some people. The truth of the matter is, there are quite a few loads that work adequately for wild boar - and most are not as exotic as you might think. Rather than tell you specifically which cartridge you should choose, this article will look at several different scenarios and the options available to you, and clear up some common misconceptions

The Quarry
Wild Boar have garnered quite a reputation as a particularly tough hombre to tangle with - and rightly so. Today's population of "Wild Hogs" are a mix of domestic swine gone feral (in some cases for hundreds of years) and European Wild Boar brought to this country for sporting purposes. It is commonly held by most experts, that there are no PURE "Russian" or European wild boar in the wild - outside of game ranches.
Having said that, the resulting hybrid is still a very tough and formidable opponent. It is true that boars (males) develop a thick, hard "gristle" plate or "shield" on their shoulders made up of scar tissue and calluses acquired during their numerous territorial fights with other boars. Often this shield can be large enough to partially cover some of the vital organs. So as you can see, it is true that while wild boar ARE very formidable opponents, they are not bullet proof...

For the closer end of this range, (70-100 yards) some cartridges that would work are:
.308
.270
.30-06
.444 Marlin
.45-70


http://www.tx-outdoors.com/wild_boar/active_content/display_content.asp?id=21

This is an excellent anatomy view.
http://www.texasboars.com/anatomy.html

What ever caliber they shoot shot placement is critical.

D58

Stillwatercharters just curious, that would not have something to do with Stillwater Oklahoma now would it?


Hunting with Rifle, Pistol, Muzzle loader and Bow for over 3 decades.
Reloading Rifle, Pistol and shotgun for over 3 decades.

Answer 2

The .22-250 is properly a varmint caliber. Yes, yes... I know. It's killed pig and deer but it is still a varmint gun and the bullet may be too light and too thin and too easily deflected by hard muscle and tissue condemning your target to a slow, lingering death.

The .22-250 has less than five pounds of recoil, so it is a sweet shooting little rifle. The .243 (considered the minimum deer gun) has less than nine pound of recoil and the .25-06 Remington has about twelve pounds of recoil. So your choices are very narrow unless you are willing to get something 'exotic' like the .223 WSSM with about 6.5 pounds of recoil. You're still left with basically a varmint round that shoots a 55 grain bullet 250 fps faster than your .22-250. So, until your daughters get older you're probably stuck with the old .22-250...

I know a girl (ranch neighbor's daughter) who regularly kills feral hogs with her .25-06, but she's in high school. Why don't you get a .25-06 or .270 Winchester and let your girls shoot the .22-250 until they're older?

Best.

H

Answer 3

I would advise against using the 22-250 on hogs
I wold go with no less than a 243
I use a 30/06 myself with a 44 Remington mag as a backup
If you reload then you can load the 30/06 down a little so it doesn't kick as much
although if you are in Australia i would recommend a 303 British as i believe it is popular down there and would have more then enough power to take down a hog

Answer 4

Even your little Aussie pigs are a bit much for the 22 bullets to handle. Finding a bullet that's constructed properly is going to be a lot of trouble. Almost all are either FMJ or made for very rapid, violent expansion. 22-250, as you probably know, is a necked-down 250 Savage, which would be a good choice, but it's become rather rare. I'd suggest 243 Win, 6mm Rem, or perhaps one of the 25 caliber or 6.5 mm cartridges.

Answer 5

I would not hesitate harvesting pigs with a 22-250, However the key factor as always is proper kill shot placement of the bullet.I have harvested many Whitetail Deer with 222, 22 Hornet, 218 Bee and 22-250 with no problem whatsoever. If I were you just put a recoil pad on the 30-30 for them.* That takes care of your recoil problem. Your daughters are inexperienced therefore the caliber decision is up to you, but to be on the safe side until they become more experienced and better Marksman go with the 30-30.*

Answer 6

If you want to make an economic choice for a centerfie .22 then I would recomend a .223 rifle. I say this because it is far more common and can get it cheaper as well. It doesn't kick and are very accurate out 250 yards. Sierra makes a 69 grain round that is legal for deer in some states (not many though), so I would think it be suitable for feral pig.

Answer 7

I shoot a 22-250 and there is not a lot of kick but it is very loud as the bullet moves at faster then the speed of sound there is a second bang as the bullet breaks the sound barrier, kind of cool actually I would recommend hearing protection for you and your kids,as for shooting pigs I am not sure but I have shoot deer with it and it does a adequate job.

Answer 8

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It's a good free solution.
Cheers.