How Far Would a .22, .25, or .30 Hunting Airgun Be Able to Humanely Take a Hog?

---

Hey guys.  

Me and a shooting buddy were kinda sitting around talking back and forth over a few cool ones, and a question came up about airgun hunting...especially for Feral Pigs. 

ive seen many YouTube videos of air rifles taking every critter imaginable so we know they’re plenty capable of delivering a lethal shot to a hog.

Aside from the BIG SPECIALTY calibers that are very loud and only are able to shoot a couple, I’d like to know the potential of a .22, .25 or .30 in this situation.

Questions:

1.  Would a .22, .25 and the .30 be capable of cleanly taking a feral hog humanely?

2.  In these calibers, at what distance could you expect to get a humane kill shot in a wild hog with a properly placed pellet?

Whats your thoughts on this?  I’m pretty anxious to see so I can have the info for the next Suds Session with my buddies!!

Slaughtered a lot of stuff with a .22LR.

Range was usually from contact to 3ft. Targets are brain stem or flat of forehead, as that's the weakest spot. (domes are strong)

Works well. Use solids, not hollow point.

I cast bullets, of all different sorts. Airgun pellets are much, much softer, than what I'd prefer to shoot at a pig SKULL.

At 30 yards, a .380 acp would be acceptable (do the math to extrapolate) if you could stack holes, and the head was still.

I would not try for the spine (neck) with .380, and the heart will mean a lot of tracking, possible loss.

30cal with no frag is a small hole.

You MIGHT be able to at least stun them with a dome shot, with a .22 slug, at this same range.

Maybe not, or they get right up. Better be ready for a follow up, with a real gun.

Probably a 12ga with slugs... gonna need some penetration for that rump roast between you and the good stuff.

Airgun forum...so limited comparisons to Pb guns.

Your basic .22LR will earn something like 95-100 foot pounds at 100 yards....that's a pretty stiff bit of competition at 100 yards..and most hog hunters totally poo-poo the .22LR.

Only hope is to hit the "good bits" dead-on-perfect (accuracy over energy)....but the dang hogs don't stay still or present that "perfect" shot.

Am good with hunting hogs (at least at short range) with PCP's....just have to pass on shots I'd take with a Pb. rifle....but if you are willing to wait for "perfect", they work.

Excuse my comparison.

I was trying to present what would normally be considered a low power handgun, marginal for pigs with a 90gr projectile @800fps.

Most of these are near that https://griffinairgunammo.com/collections/30-slugs

And I see mention of 30 cal maxing out around 120fpe.

If you could get something in the 125gr range, up to 800fps, you would be nearly clear of marginal on the bellringer.

We are, again, assuming that you're boringly accurate. I would want to be shooting 1/2 groups at whatever range (your range)

Honesty, I don't have a lot of experience using low velocity, small caliber bullets, on game, except head shots.

If I were going to play this game, I'd be packin' something like a 457 Texan, and neck shooting.

Ribbon, could you define the "good bits" and "at short range" a little more clearly?

Do you shoot at the heart, or strictly CNS?

What cal, projectile, energy?

I have shot a lot of hogs with a .25 marauder and .30 fx boss. Longest kill with the .30 cal was 167 yards and with the .25 was 80 yards. Those are the longest distances i have tried with those two guns. Right now i have an hm1000x .35 and have never pushed it past 110 with a hog but I know it will kill farther. Main difference with the .35 is the drop. Huge difference in the drop on the .30 and .35. You need to know your gun at those distances which involves shooting every 10 yards out to 200. I would keep my data on a sheet of paper on my gun. Also some advise I would not shoot the flat top of the skull or between the eyes if they are facing you unless you are in a good elevated position. I had several pellets skip off the skull with bad angles. I only stick with side head shots just above and  to the left of the eye

I did a LOT of pellet testing in a bunch of game mediums 12 or so years ago with every pellet available in .22 and .25 at the time. From Bear/deer/hog down to sparrows. That being said, I've now done some real world testing with some of the new slugs and can offer some advice. Now, understand that without question accuracy and knowing the anatomy of your animal, ie. shot placement is the single most important factor in hunting with anything.

I've now taken hogs with .22, 25, .30 and .45 airguns. The farthest with a .22, 16gr polymags, moving at 953fps was 42 yards, side shot between the eye and the ear...the 124lb hog dropped like he was grenaded...the pellet was found in the skull on the off-side from the shot...chipped bone on the off side, but did not break the other side of the skull...turned the brain into gel.

With the same pellet in .25, moving roughly the same speed, I've taken 5 hogs at 77-84 yards (distance to a buddy's feeder from his shoot house). 4 of the 5 were headshots...all penetrated both sides of the skull, 2 were complete pass throughs from the side shot, the other two were laying against the spine in the neck (frontal brain shots). I shot one in the boiler room, just over the heart, on purpose....he ran 60 yards before stumbling around and falling over at the edge of the woods...that pellet was found under the off-side hide...90lb hog.

I've got some Nielsen hollow Points, 29gr IIRC. They punch through both sides of 100lb hogs at 80 yards. Frontal brain shots result in pellets found in the neck/chest cavity from frontal brain shots.

The farthest I've shot hogs with the .25 Nielsen's is 108 yards, through the boiler room...took some tracking, but I found all three within 80 yards...65-120lb hogs.

With a buddy of mine's .30 Impact, anything within 100 yards is dead...he's killed over 30 now, I've killed 4 with it.

I have to reiterate, moving projectiles at speeds faster than 850fps and being able to place the projectile exactly where it needs to be is the absolute most critical aspect of ANY hunting.

Jamie

Posted by: @nalajr

---

Hey guys.  

Me and a shooting buddy were kinda sitting around talking back and forth over a few cool ones, and a question came up about airgun hunting...especially for Feral Pigs. 

ive seen many YouTube videos of air rifles taking every critter imaginable so we know they’re plenty capable of delivering a lethal shot to a hog.

Aside from the BIG SPECIALTY calibers that are very loud and only are able to shoot a couple, I’d like to know the potential of a .22, .25 or .30 in this situation.

Questions:

1.  Would a .22, .25 and the .30 be capable of cleanly taking a feral hog humanely?

2.  In these calibers, at what distance could you expect to get a humane kill shot in a wild hog with a properly placed pellet?

Whats your thoughts on this?  I’m pretty anxious to see so I can have the info for the next Suds Session with my buddies!!

LOL....according to some airgun "lottery shooters" all you need is a .22 Gamo Swarm at 20 yards or even a .177 Gamo Hunter Extreme (distance not given)..........

https://trclips.com/video/oHKuO6_4Tuw/177cal-air-rifle-vs-400lb-hog-headshot-with-2-thick-skull.html