25-06 Enough Gun?

[Mntngoat]

I am thinking of picking up a Ruger #1 in 25-06 (Songdogs fault he brought his to Wister for me to drool over) for hogs here in California. Do you think it is enough for up to 200 lb. pigs. I am intersted in a food pig not necesarily a trophy.

Thanks for the help

Michael:confused-yellow:

[Kickaha]

Mntngoat,

Look at the "Can u help me out" thread here. ###There's a lot of good information and opinions there.

[shaginator]

This is similar to the following recent thread:

http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/cgi-bin/i...5&topic=125 (http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard//topic.cgi?forum=35&topic=125)

Discusses the .243 and hogs. .25-06 seems just marginally better.

There are #1's in .300 and above. Take a look:

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/rfsingle.html

Whatever you decide, #1's are indeed nice rifles.

(Edited by shaginator at 8:24 pm on Mar. 6, 2002)

[Bill W]

Personally I think a 25-06 is fine for hogs. ###I think it's on the bottom end of "fine", but still in the "fine" category.

A 25-06 has quite a bit more juice than a 243. ###The muzzle energy on a factory 243 load is 1945 ftlbs, while its 2400 ftlbs with the 25-06. ###That's a 20% increase. ###More importantly the heaviest bullet available in the 243 is only 100 grains. ###You can get a 120 grain bullet for the 25-06. ###That should spell substantially more penetration with the right bullets.

JMO
Bill

[Speckmisser]

First, I'd direct you to the same thread that everyone else has pointed out. ###There are a lot of really good points made there, both pro and con. ###

I'm not real familiar with the 25-06, except to know it's a really good deer round and offers a somewhat heavier bullet. ###I expect it'd perform more consistently on hogs than the .243. ###

But deer aren't pigs, and the same features that'll drop a thin skinned, light-boned deer will only irritate a hog. ###

Following that, I'd direct you to the DFG's hog hunting handbook (you can download it in PDF format, or you can request a copy in the mail for free), which includes a chart of recommended hog hunting calibers. ###It's simply a rule of thumb kind of thing, and certainly not all-inclusive. ###But according to that chart, even the .308 is considered "light" for hogs at "range". ###

The thing is, you say you're only looking for "meat" pigs, but does that mean you'd pass up a shot on a 300 lb tusker when he trots by flashing his 3.5" daggers? ###Or at 150-200 yards, all you see is big, brown animal under an oak tree. ###Is it 150lbs or 300? ###Do you walk away because you aren't sure your gun can kill it? ###

It'd be in your own best interest to make sure your gun is not just "on the bottom end of fine", but plenty fine. ###And of course, on the other hand, you're better off with a really sweet shooting gun that you can handle well, than a shoulder-breaker that makes you close your eyes when you pull the trigger. ###

It's starting to seem to me that this discussion is going to become more and more like the ongoing discussion of the "best deer round". ###That one's been raging for over a century now, and there's still no definitive answer. ###

[SDHNTR]

I've got one and while I got it for deer and not for pigs it will certainly do the job. ###"On the bottom end of fine" is probably a good way to describe it for hogs. ###If you want one fine, but I would not buy a .25 specifically for hogs. ###There are better choices. ###90% of the hogs you will see will be under 225lbs or so and it would be fine out to 300 yds with a good shot. ###But Speckmisser made a good point, if a 300lb mean old muther appears you'll want more lead. ###I usually take my 30-06 hog hunting (or my old .300 savage, or my .54 cal muzzleloader) but I'm taking my 25-06 on the Santa Cruz Island because its lighter and the pigs are smaller. ###If you have you're heart set on a Ruger #1 for just pigs look at the 308. ###If you want one primarily for deer and varmits, that will also take a pig, then your choice of 25-06 is a good one.

[wmidbrook]

Pig are tougher than you think. ###Yes something in a .22 cal will work and I've heard of some being taken with a .22-250 shot behind the ear--I know of a rancher's neighbor who takes pig with a .25 cal but he's lost a few over the years.

###A rancher friend of mine just shot a pig a few days ago with a .270 in the boiler room with a 130 gr Nosler partition. ###It flipped the 200 lb sow on her back and it's feet were flailing a bit and rolled into a ditch. ###He's shot many pig, had a rest and knew he connected well.

My buddy walked about the 100 yds to the ditch and there was no pig to be found. ###The blood trail stopped @ about 30 yds away. ###He figures it went into thick grease brush another 100 or 200 yds away...He didn't find the pig.

I've shot a 'little' 100 lb boar with my 150 grain Sierra BTSP handloads out of my 30-06. ###First shot through the lungs...it was down. ###A minute later it lifts up it's head. ###I shoot again hitting it in the head. ###A few minutes later as I am walking towards it it jumps up and I shoot it offhand in the boiler room it's down for good. ###

The shot at the head travel 5 inches along its snout and deflected before penetrating its skull...I have pictures of this and will post when I get a new scanner.

They are tough. ###I will never use less than 180 gr premium bullet , nice 'n warm handload with my '06 again. ###In fact, I'm thinking of only using a .338 mag for pigs when I get one. ###



(Edited by wmidbrook at 6:33 pm on Mar. 7, 2002)

[songdog]

Two things...

One, if you can shoot it well, a .25-06 would kill a pig plenty dead.

Two, and maybe this is a topic for another thread but... ###Very little big game (pigs, deer, elk, antelope, etc.) will drop on the spot even when hit with a perfect shot that takes out the heart and both lungs. ###Many times they don't realize that they're dead and still run 50-200 yards.

So the question is how good are you at finding game that goes more than that first 10 yards after being hit? ###What are your secrets?

I know for myself that when I started bowhunting it made me a better rifle hunter when it comes to finding game after you've shot it. ###

I think that a lot of this caliber vs. that caliber stuff boils down to people's ability to find game after it's been shot. ###Just an opinion...

[Speckmisser]

Songdog,

Gotta give that one an AMEN!

You've seen my posts in other areas enough to know how I feel about following up the shot with tracking skills... and how important it is to consider recovery BEFORE the shot. ###

As I've said before (and won't go on about now), finding sign after a 300 to 500 yard shot is a slim bet for most hunters. ###Once you stretch past 500, it's gonna take a lot of luck just to find where the critter was standing when you shot...much less picking up blood or spoor. ###

One more real good reason to use enough gun. ###:soapbox: