I need your wise cousel!

I'm interested in hunting hogs with a shotgun but have no idea what shells to use. I never really considered using my shotguns for anything other than bird hunting, and after a recent quail hunt, I'd like to use them for a hog hunt. I have an over/under 20ga and semiauto 12ga.

Important to note that my intent is to keep the meat rather than just killing the hogs. Meat retention is key. I'm thinking that head shots would allow me to achieve this.

When looking at public land, some areas allow slugs and sabots, while others do not. Not sure what performance difference is between the slugs and sabots. Other than slugs, what else is suitable for harvesing the hogs at some distance? What's the reasonable max distance? I wouldn't think to use chokes with slugs but are they? What chokes to use if using something other than slugs?

As you can see, I am at a complete loss and need your help!

In summary, I'd like to hunt hogs at varying distance and want to keep the meat and need help with the shotgun setup.

Thanks in advance!

Buckshot is always good but about 40 yards is a max shot. If you think you will be making 30 to 100 yard shots then a slug is what you need. The 2 or 3 times I hunted with a shotgun for pigs my first shot was a slug with buckshot as the next few shots to try to get them as they run.

Saving the meat is your problem. You will have to figure that out on your own.

Personally I prefer an AR but some hunts don't allow it so the AR12 comes out.

As I see it, 00 Buck will pattern too wide for meat retention. Remington (or other) 3" conventional "slugger" Foster style slugs always worked well for me for close work. They call them "rifled" but that really doesn't do what you might think. But the fins DO allow the slug to safely pass through mild chokes. 430gr at 1700 FPS at the barrel is a lot of energy.

For extended ranges, you really will need a rifled barrel and Sabot rounds.

The above covered it perfectly .

When we use shotguns we used OO Buckshot, we also don't keep the meat.

220 Savage or Moosburg 695 with copper sabots. Mine shoots 1.5 inches or a little under at a hundred. I have some copper solids up to 1 and 3/8s. Very deadly out past a hundred. Do some bench work and it will surprise you how accurate they are. 12 or 20 either one.

This is excellent. Thank you all for the input. I typically hunt with my 6.5 PRC or 7mm-08 but since there are few public land areas that allow rifle hunting I am venturing out with a shotgun. This is great advice.

buy a breaching choke and use it with 00 3" for more pellets/power.

I use a remington 870 security that I had threaded and breacher installed, at 50 yds. my pattern is less than 3'.

anything over 50 yds. and you won't get thru the hair/skin, head shot is not good either (I have had 2 hunters here tell me they head shot with a .308 and the hog got up and ran off, maybe so/maybe no?).

this is what mine looks like, 18.5" barrel. I carry it on property (2,000 acre private hunting place I manage) and have killed more than a few in the 10 yrs. I have been here.

sometimes I will load slug/buck/slug/buck etc. if I am walk hunting, out of the sxs or sitting it is all 00.

Winner


https://www.federalpremium.com/shot...-with-flitecontrol-wad/11-PFC154+00.html

Better

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/shotgun/12-ga-sst-300-gr-ftx-slug#!/

Federal Flight Control.

Done it. Use a Modified choke and at 30 yards your pattern will be 6-8". First pig I shot fell over like he'd been hit by a truck.

Those can be hard to find. Right now most of the public land is greening up to the point seeing more than 35 yards is a real open spot. If you can get rifled slugs to hit near your point of aim out of the average bird gun then use em. Buckshot can be the same way, need to shoot it to see where it hits and how it patterns. When you only have 9 pellets you need to know where the center of the pattern is.

OO buckshot, 3" 12 gauge when walking or on 4 wheeler.

Thanks for the advice.

Does this one require a rifled barrel? My shotguns are smooth bore.

Thanks again for all of the advice!

My favorite way to hunt hogs. Stalk in the thick stuff, use shotgun with 3" 00 buck shot. Works every time.

00 Buck does not have the velocity to do massive meat damage. I have only shot a few pigs with 00 buck, but I didn't have to toss very much meat. Those that say 00 Buck will ruin too much meat, have you tried cleaning them after shooting them? Or are you assuming that it will cause too much damage?

They do make rifled chokes also. Not as effective as a rifled barrel, but helps.

This was my experience. Several years back, me and a buddy set up 20 yards off of a feeder and each dumped 5 rounds of 00 buck shot on a group. Butchered 5. I was extremely surprised at how clean the wound channels were.

Another vote for 00 buck shot. I load my own in 2 3/4” AA hulls. 12-.33 caliber pellets of 00. Patterns tight in my old fixed full choke mossberg 500. I have other shotguns but they don’t pattern the buck shot as well as the old 500. I posted a thread about it on here in the past. It is pretty nasty @ 50 yards. Don’t expect an exit on hogs with buck shot at 50 yards but it will take a grown hog off its feet. Hogs have a good nose but don’t see worth a darn. If you play the wind it is easy enough to get inside shotgun range if they are feeding or laying down. Not so much if they are traveling. To stretch shotgun range, your best bet is to find a rifled barrel for your 12 gauge and shoot slugs. Back In high school and college I used to deer hunt the Army Ammunition Plant south of McAlester Ok. @ Savannah. Shotguns were legal firearms hunting the base. If you monkey around till you find a slug and load a rifled shotgun likes, you may be able to achieve 3” groups at 100 yards. At shotgun velocities, you can eat right up to the hole. Slugs or buck shot don’t tear up much meat like high velocity rifles do.