# Your Gear, Guns, Sidearms, Knife, etc.



## Mahnster (Jan 7, 2012)

Alright Guys, I'm a newbie to hog hunting, but I absolutely love the thought of it. Right now I'm assembling a wishlist of my hog hunting gear, and I wanted to know what you guys used. 

My dream gear, I THINK, is a really good 12 gauge, a bigger bore revolver (.45LC or .44Mag, perhaps?) and a trusty Ka-Bar just in case. I have yet to figure out the specifics. I'll probably figure it out with time, and modify according to cost. (About $400 per gun will be my absolute limit. :roll: )

So, the real question is... What do you guys use? Main weapon, side arm, knife, camo, whatever! Pictures are not necessary, of course, but they may help. Thank you very much!


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## tammons (Aug 29, 2010)

Okay, I'll bite - bored.
Cloths - Snake boots, Camo jeans, real leaf jacket, camo hat, camo gloves, hydration pack with odds and ends med etc.

Knives - Kabar Large heavy bowie on belt, becker necker and a utility knife with a linolium blade in pack, Kershaw chill in pocket. The becker knecker is a great small skinning knife.

Backup Pistol - Have used a 460 S+W, 44 mag taurus and a couple of others. Right now I use a XD-45 tactical set up to shoot 45 super loaded hot with either 240 gr magnum XTPs or 265 gr WFNGC. 13 in the mag makes me feel secure. 
If I were to get something else for a backup it would be a 454 casull.

Rifle - I prefer something that can stop a large animal in its tracks.
Used AR15 s in 6.8 spc, 458 socom and 50 beo for a while but prefer bolt action rifles for the most part. 
6.8 SPC is the best low recoil hard hitting round in an AR I have used.

Have used Savages in 7mm-08, 308, 338-284 and 375 ruger and a few others. I am a barrel swap nut. 
The 338-284 is basically the same as a 338-06. Loaded hot with 210 gr Barnes tipped TSX bullets its a sledge hammer. 
To date that one is the one round that really dropped hogs on the spot that I liked the most. 
Had a 19" bbl, short action, short stroke, handy rifle.
The 375 ruger was even more of a good thing but more recoil, although manageable. Overkill for hogs.

Right now I have my main Savage rifle setup as a 270 win, but will soon buy a 35 whelen barrel. 
Camo stock, camo wrap, DBM.

Loaded my 270 a while back with Barnes 95 gr TTSX bullets at 3700 fps and shot an 80# hog last spring. 
Hit him in the front shoulder quartering towards me and it blew one entire ham off and left his guts hanging out.
His ham was nowhere to be found.

To date the scope I have used the most is a VX1 Leupold 2-7X with Burris extreme rings. 
Great all around scope. Light and relatively cheap.

Right now I am very attached to a 4-12X Nikon mildot scope so I might try a burris fast fire on top of that.

Tried various types of gen 1 night vision and finally gave up on gen 1. It sucks. 
Last one I tried was a Zeiss Orion 80 military scope. Had bad intensifier tubes.
You really need gen 2+ at least or better yet gen 3. Just dont have 3G to drop on one right now.

Personally I dont think a shotgun is enough at least for me. With 00 buckshot and small pigs, you will kill a lot of them, but if you run into something huge it will not. Talking 400# +.
A slug will probably knock one down, but wont DRT it if its a huge hog.

A 30-06 would be better than a shotgun IMO. 
You should be able to get a Stevens (savage) 30-06 for about $300, then scope rings etc.
Load it with 220 gr RN bullets for the big boys and mostly anything else for small pigs.
They also make stevens in 7mm RM and 300 WM if you can deal with magnum recoil.

A 44 magnum is a good pistol round for hogs. 
45LC would do as long as you can run it +P and loaded with heavy hardcast bullets.
A 454 casull would be better. 
Standard 45 auto is weak. 
10mm auto loaded with 180 gr XTPs or heavy hardcast bullets is a great semi auto hog round.


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## Mahnster (Jan 7, 2012)

Tammons, thank you very much! This will be very helpful. Since I'm in some thick Fl swamp on the ground, a good 12 will still probably have a heck of a whallop, and my weapon needs to be easily maneuverable through brush. I may have 00 buck, slug, 00 buck, slug, etc. loaded in.

I love your knife selection! I personally am in love with my Large Heavy Ka-Bar bowie, and I always have my Kershaw Storm with me.

I will definitely look over all of your suggestions. Your advice is very appreciated.


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## Okie Hog (Nov 30, 2010)

i hunt light- very light. My outer garment is coveralls. My warm weather boots are cheapies: My winter boots are Meindel. Most of my hunting is done with a muzzleloader; i do not carry a sidearm: A sidearm is illegal on the US property i often hunt. My muzzleloader reloads, a blood tracking flashlight and a drag rope are carried in a small possibles bag.

In the truck are a pair of chainsaw pants and a shotgun with buckshot for going after wounded hogs in thickets. There are several gallons of water on the truck for washing out hogs after they are field dressed. In hot weather there is a 100 quart cooler with ice on the truck.


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## Mahnster (Jan 7, 2012)

Wow, Okie Hog. You do hunt lightly indeed! Do you hunt on the ground or in a stand? I cannot foresee good things happening if your first shot isn't a kill, on the ground. xD

That sounds like crazy fun, though. Any knives?


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## Okie Hog (Nov 30, 2010)

> I cannot foresee good things happening if your first shot isn't a kill, on the ground.


Been chased by wounded hogs twice. My hog hunting is about half in stands and half on the ground. i normally hunt hogs at least two days each week. Most of that hunting is with a muzzleloader. Shooting big boar hogs on the ground with a muzzleloader makes one a better shot. Many of my hogs are killed at ponds or game plots while sitting in a lawn chair.



> That sounds like crazy fun, though. Any knives?


Its the most fun a guy can have fully clothed. i carry a folding knife in my pocket and sometimes a hunting knife in the possibles bag. The most danger comes from hogs in thickets, especially wounded hogs. That's what the shotgun and chainsaw pants are for.

Named this boar hog Osama bin Laden. Took me over three years to get that sucker. One time i cornered him in a thicket. Looked at that big snorting hog about 15 yards away, looked at my muzzleloader and quietly left.


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## Mahnster (Jan 7, 2012)

That's crazy! How much did he weigh? And how did it feel to finally catch him?

After doing some research, a Mossberg 590 with a bayonet seems like a nice hog gun. What is everyone's opinion?


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## johnDjoker (Apr 4, 2012)

Hello guys,
me also love so much hunting hogs and I'm using Mag-10 shotgun.

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I am proud of the fact that I invented weapons like billy club weapon to be our self defense in times of trouble.


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## bigoledude (Aug 25, 2007)

Here in Louisiana we don't usually get very cold. I hunt in some pretty light camo. As far as sidearm is concerned, you may want the challenge of killing a hog with your sidearm. I've killed a few with my .44 magnum and my .44 special. But if you are charged by a hog with your sidearm in the holster, experts say you don't have a anywhere near enough time to draw and shoot!

I have nearby a 100 quart cooler 3/4 filled with ice to get the meat cooled down quickly.

I hunt mostly with a 30-06 using 150 grain bullets. My granddaughter's .243 has me convinced to start using a smaller caliber. She has been pee-laying DRT very nice-sized hogs with that lil round. I think I need to go buy me a 25-06 jes cuz I want one!

I could get really stupid with the money I'd like to spend on knives but, I'm married. I love my Kabar. But, I am not gonna kill the hog with my knife so, I carry a nice Sharpfinger skinner.

For many years all we had was shotguns to kill hogs. Inside 15 yards, I've never seen one run after being neck-shot with 0 to 00 buckshot. I think the biggest hog we ever shot at with a shotgun was close to 300 pounds. That meat lasted a long time.

I would "rent" a thermocell for the purchas price, when the gnats and mosquitos are bad!

We built a rickshaw-looking thing out of sqare aluminum tubing with two 20-inch mountain-bike tires to haul our ice-chests-n-stuff in and our hogs out. At the time I began to second-guess if buying the expensive aluminum was really worth it? Well, it was worth it alright!


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## wrjr54 (May 8, 2013)

I have taken a lot of hogs in past years. Some people think it takes a cannon to take one down this is so not true. In snake country snake guards or boots are a god idea especialy ay night. I use my folding buck hunter on my belt and usualy my 25-06. I carry a Barreta 380 or 45lc never had a problem. As a general rule hogs will try to get away from you the danger is if they feel traped and you are the only way out. I have also taken several in the 300 - 400 range with a 300 savage and 3030 both loaded with 110 gr sierra. The 243 with 100gr will stop them in there tracks. This is assumeing that you are at least a decent shot. If you tend to gut shoot or just wound the animales on your first shot the I would suggest a 50bmg.


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## tammons (Aug 29, 2010)

44 magnum or bigger is best for a handgun IMO.

A 45LC will do as long as you can load it hot with +p heavy loads, IE no taurus etc.
454 Casull would be better then you can also shoot 45LC.

10mm Auto is also a perfect sidearm handgun for hogs if you like semiautos.
Load it with 200 gr HC.

I have a SA XD45 tac 5" that I have set up to shoot 45 super and 265 gr hardcast. 
Will probably convert it to a 460 rowland sometime soon.

Favorite rifles - 6.8 spc for a light rifle. 338-06, 375 ruger for heavy hitters.

Plan on a lever action soon and that will probably be a Browning BLR in 325 WSM.
160 gr TTSX at around 3300 FPS.

Snake boots, Big *** Kabar knife. 
Will be getting some Kevlar snake chaps soon, more for hogs than snakes.


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