is a .17 HMR a good hog rifle?

doeslammer4 · Oct 27, 2009

Hey guys-- I first of all want to let you all know that I am a new member to the site. I am having fun reading all of the posts and discussions you all are having and I am liking the environment here. It makes me feel like home on the internet...

My question to you all is if you have had any experience in shooting a hog with a .17 HMR?

I have killed a couple of them with a .22 long rifle, and that does the job quite well. I purchased a .17 HMR a few months ago, and I love the rifle-- the problem is that I never shot a hog with it, so I don't have any experience in knowing what it will do to a big animal. I have shot a couple of rabbits, a couple of squirrels, but mostly blackbirds with the hollow point bullets. The squirrels are the ones that tore up the most...and that leads me to believe that if that round does that much damage to a squirrel, it should kill a hog.

Once again, thanks for your replies and happy hunting to all!

whbonney26 · Oct 27, 2009

Well......it will get the job done with a well placed shot. There are better guns for the job but I have seen them taken with .17HMR, .204, .223, .22mag and others.

oleheat · Oct 27, 2009

NO!

(inside joke)

Welcome, Curtis!! Glad to see you made it on here....

hunter5567 · Oct 27, 2009

If you shoot them in the head it will work. My buddy's son shot one with a .17 and after a minute or 2 it dropped. Seen plenty killed with a 22 mag in the ear hole or about 1.5" above between the eyes on a frontal shot. Now if you get one after you I think you'd rather have a lot more power than a .17 to stop it. I shoot 45 Colt magnum loads in my Blackhawk with 260gr bullets around 1400fps.
I'tll blast through both shoulders and keep going.

SeventhSon · Oct 27, 2009

And I thought my Socom in 308 was just right.

AK shooter · Oct 27, 2009

oleheat said:
NO!
(inside joke)

Welcome, Curtis!! Glad to see you made it on here....

What he said!

doeslammer4 · Oct 27, 2009

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8EWl-3O3zQ[/ame]

here's a link to what lead to my curiosity earlier. we caught seven hogs on labor day weekend back in september. in this clip, i'm shooting my ruger .22, and a well placed shot behind the ear heading out toward the opposite side of the skull is a kill shot every single time.

i wasn't wearing my glasses when i was shooting, so that's why it took me four shots... the youtube community wasn't kind to me missing the first three shots. like they are all pro's right????

doeslammer4 · Oct 27, 2009

and buy the way guys, i appreciate the quick responses. i'm hoping to trap one soon so that way we can see what it really does to a hog...

Leopardcurdog · Oct 27, 2009

Geez dude, ya gotta be kidding me. That is too stupid to even comment on.

hunter5567 · Oct 29, 2009

Geez, I didnt know you was shooting them at point blank range. Next time try putting a peanut on the end of the gun barrel. lmao

charlie12 · Oct 29, 2009

Never shot a 17 but I'll ask my neighbor I think he has one.

Yrdawg · Oct 30, 2009

We shot a 300 # pen hawg last saturday with a .22

between the ees about 1 1/2 in up

dropped like a rock

as usual the slowest wit gets to run in and be designated juker, when jeanus jumped on to juke Porky woke up and it was on

Drug Jeanus in the pig mud (eewwwwwwww ) whopd him purdy good, finally he escaped and more shots did the trick

Bet next time the shooter will accept my offer of the .40 ...not "we always use a .22, it does a good job

.17 hmmmm maybe more muzzle energy but not enuff for me

I'm too old and crippled to chase the wild ones or to rassle the tame

SpencerSS · Oct 31, 2009

Hogs average bigger than whitetails and are tougher. That should give you an idea.

The reason 22WMR became known as the "hog gun" is WMAs only allowed hogs to be shot with firearms legal for game that was open season. WMAs were smallgame only for a long time, then had very short deer seasons until recently. The 'biggest' thing you could legally shoot small game with was a 22WMR, so that's what the hog hunters carried.

It's legal to shoot hogs with rimfires like the 17HMR. Its not the best thing to bagum consistently, but if you want to do it small, go for it, it will kill them. Use the FMJs or 20 Game point, and put it right behind the ear and it'll put a smile on your face.

doeslammer4 · Nov 2, 2009

i'm liking your kind words of encouragement, spencer-- thanks!

and yrdawg, if you watched my video you can see that a .22LR does a great job.

SOLAteeda · Nov 2, 2009

YouTube on an iPhone sucks.

On a side note, when our class at LCI went to the slaughterhouse, we saw them kill pigs with a bolt gun. Used .22 blanks to drive a bolt into their head, which then was retracted with springs.

Yrdawg · Nov 2, 2009

doeslammer4 said:
i'm liking your kind words of encouragement, spencer-- thanks!

and yrdawg, if you watched my video you can see that a .22LR does a great job.

LOL.....ok, .22 does a great job

I prefer something that will allow at least a small margin of error

When I'm told that "we use a .22 cause its the way granpa did it" I think about stories about when guns and ammo were in short supply. My Pop used to tell me how the kids in his time were counted out .22's and held accountable for something to eat for every round ( He was a kid in the 1915 time frame )

Probably many hogs were shot with 22 cause it was availabe and cheep and the tradition continues and hogs suffer and then die cause of tradition

Just pop him inna head with a .40 , he falls dead and no show ( for a pen hog )

I don't shoot wild hogs with buck either, just too messy when you get 4 or 5 pellets in the thing. Slugs or 270 up

Hogs are good to eat, I don't mind shooting them but I do have a problem with anything suffering needlesly, or escaping wounded

oleheat · Nov 2, 2009

I think a .17 would be okay if shooting a penned up or snared hog....If I had a choice, though, I'd rather a .22 WMR- especially if hunting & not trapping..... It's very difficult to get a perfect behind-the-ear shot on a free moving hog.
Of course, doeslammer convinced his skeptical uncle (yours truly) into getting a .17 over the summer- and it is a fun, flat shooting little rifle. So, I'm pretty sure we will learn soon enough how it works as hog medicine....

charlie12 · Nov 2, 2009

oleheat said:
I think a .17 would be okay if shooting a penned up or snared hog....If I had a choice, though, I'd rather a .22 WMR- especially if hunting & not trapping..... It's very difficult to get a perfect behind-the-ear shot on a free moving hog.
Of course, doeslammer convinced his skeptical uncle (yours truly) into getting a .17 over the summer- and it is a fun, flat shooting little rifle. So, I'm pretty sure we will learn soon enough how it works as hog medicine....

I saw a coyote between your house and mine early this morning (about 0230) on Liberty rd. I stopped in the road and put my flashlight on him. He didn't seem scared he just stood and looked at me about 15 yards away then walked off.

He knew I couldn't shoot him there.

bayoupirate · Nov 2, 2009

Let's be clear.

If you have to put down a hog in a pen and you can make a well placed shot to the skull or base of skull, that .17HMR will do a great job.

If you are taking to the woods to hunt for wild hogs, the .17HMR is a very very poor choice of weapon. END OF STORY!

I've read lots of other stories here, but read it again. Hunting Wild Hog with a 17HMR is a VERY POOR Choice.

Sure it's possible.
I know of a deer killed with a cheap 9mm 115gn fmj ball, but it was still a stupid thing to do.

There will be NO margin for error.
Unless you have the shot as described above on a hog, you'll be hunting unethically.
A 17 HMR will not deliver an effective and humane Kill shot on a hog in the vitals area.

Any other gun will drop a hog instantly with the head/spine shot described above as or more effectively as the 17HMR, but another choice of weapon will also allow you to take ethical shots to the vital of a hog, at distance, and quickly and humanely kill the beast.

SOLAteeda · Nov 2, 2009

I agree that a larger caliber would be desires, but have always been told to try and get a headshot on a hog if possible. Considering the gristle plate, which would be the lowest caliber you would suggest for a heart shot on a wild hog?

is a .17 HMR a good hog rifle?

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