It is kind of funny but both Montana and Ontario allow any center fire rifle to be used for deer hunting. That being said, there are .17 cal Remingtons and the usual .22 suspects that are legal in both places. Shot placement is ALWAYS the trump Ace for hunting and as shrpshtrjoe says, the blood trail is skimpy at best usually and that is a real concern. Hunting varmints is one thing but but food for the family is completley another. From all that I have heard from friends who have hunted hogs in Florida and Texas, they liked hunting with the ARs as that was a treat but they found out quickly that .22 cal was not preferred by their guides or the performance results on the hogs. Some of them had to be shot mulitiple times I was told.

Les, here is a target shot with my AR at 100 yards, off a bench. Its a DPMS Lo-Pro Classic. I was thinking about selling the thing to raise money for a new kayak and then it did this...

Ohhhh Punkin!!!
I want it!!

In some properties in NSW pigs are plentiful, we just shoot them with FMJ Norico 223, I reckon they are about 55gn.
Not optimum for long distances, but for the usual scrub distances (50 - 100 meters or so) they are good pills, cheap to boot.
Never try em beyond 200 meters tho..
I am using Ruger 77 CR for this kind of shoot.

I don't know if I want to believe what I am reading.I have been shooting the 223/556 for-oh 37 years,and loading for 33 of those years,on all platforms.Bolt guns,breach loaders,semis,and all have performed"correctly" when the correct bullet type was used for the specified "game" animal.I don't say this with antagonism in mind but to expand peoples knowledge about the capabilities of this caliber.I have found thru a great deal of experimenting that the best game bullets for this caliber appear to be the 63-70 grain soft points with a heavy jacket construction.With these bullets I have taken several black tail deer,and even a couple of mulies.Now I do notgo for heart shots,as the guns I use are all moa shooters.Read into that what you like,and I have already been chastised for doing labotomies on deer-but you need to know where to shoot to be most effective.I find the sierra 63 grn(not the varminter),and the 70 grn speer are more than needed for a good marksman to deal with "heavy skinned"game-not varmints with a well placed shot.Just remember-a 220grain bullet out of a 30-06 is still about worthless if you hit the game animal in the foot or in the gut.It's gonna run a ways!

Well, lots of good comments. I can appreciate the undesirability of a limited blood trail and the toughness of hogs, especially the big ones. I think this exercise will help me decide on the next upper to build. 6.8 and 450 Thumber are good choices.

"The best laid plans of mice and men ..." I had more go wrong at the range today than I ever had. Forgot to reset the elevation turret from the last 500 yards session so I lost the first two bullets over the target. Case gauge said brass was ok but got stuck in the S&W. Broke the bolt/t-handle getting it out. 4 primers failed to fire. Wow. So I only collected data with the WOA 24". Very nice grouping with the 62bg TTSX. I'm going to fine tune TTSX and GMX. Will go back to the range next week with the S&W 16". Still pondering the results.

You know TRBLSHTR, you remind me of the saying beware of the man who owns but one gun. He will know how to use it. You own several and you know how to use all of them by the looks of it. I don't have any experience with heavier .22 bullets only the varmint types and the military ammo 55fmj and 62fmjbt so I am a student to you guys who do use the heavy weight bullets.

well Im going hunting tomorrow and I think I might just leave the .270 at home in the cupboard and take the .223 just because .

Ouch. hope next weekend is better for yah.

inthedark wrote:

You know TRBLSHTR, you remind me of the saying beware of the man who owns but one gun. He will know how to use it. You own several and you know how to use all of them by the looks of it. I don't have any experience with heavier .22 bullets only the varmint types and the military ammo 55fmj and 62fmjbt so I am a student to you guys who do use the heavy weight bullets.

Like Ron...the bulk of my experience is with military ammo in the 5.56mm calibre...55gn FMJ and 62gn FMJ...and the last being the SS109 round. All were accurate, but were designed for much "thinner skinned" targets than hogs or deer.

I have seen a mate shoot deer with his HOWA Mountaineer in .223 (I did the handloads for him) and although it is very accurate, the performance of both HP and SP bullets on fallow deer was marginal at best...and I would never use a .223 on the hogs we have here in QLD...you might just hit one and make the bugger cranky. Check this website out:

Hunt Australia - Wild Boar Hunting

This is a direct quote from the website regarding firearms "suggested"

Equipment
You will require very good binoculars, as most of the productive hunting is conducted during very low light conditions. As these boars weigh up to 200 KGs (440 lbs) and have very heavy protective shoulder "shields", you require a rifle which shoots heavy bullets. A minimum of 308W or 30-06 is required, however a 300 magnum or 9.3 X 64 with high quality telescopic sights are about ideal for the job. We can supply suitable scoped rifles on any of our hunts.

Medium to heavy weight, soft point bullets are most suitable for our Boars. Some hunters prefer to use a 308W or 30-06 rifle. These calibres are suitable with heavy bullets, when using well-placed shots.

You will not be overgunned using a 375H&H magnum if that is your choice.

Use a .223 on pigs...personally, I wouldn't, them buggers is tough with a capital T.

You must have peeved our old Irish mate Murphy Slim, having all those problems. Keep at it mate...this is all good, quality info mate.

Cheers, Vince

Vince wrote:

although it is very accurate, the performance of both HP and SP bullets on fallow deer was marginal at best...

That's why I'm only considering the monolithic bullets as I believe their terminal performance and total weight retention are critical to success.

Vince wrote:

these boars weigh up to 200 KGs (440 lbs)

In Texas, we call one like that Hogzillia! I wouldn't think of shooting one like that in the body with a .224 bullet going 3000 fps or less - maybe the head. If you watch any of the hog hunts from helos here in Texas, the .223/5.56 does an impressive job of swacking them down.

Vince wrote:

You must have peeved our old Irish mate Murphy Slim, having all those problems. Keep at it mate...this is all good, quality info mate.

I believee in O'Brian's Law. He said Murphy was an optimist!

well I didnt manage to try out the .223 on deer today, we spooked one but didnt see it. it was that curse of the queen wasp again Slim.
but a 40 lb pig showed itself for a split secound it was bolting so I swung through as it dissapeared and let rip through the ferns.... yip those 52grain hps do a good labotamy. ...

Nice Elvis...now where's the pics mate????

Cheers, Vince

well its been murawaied now so it will look a bit foreign. I will take a photo and get SWMBO to post it for me soon. Didnt come out too bad for a LPG cooking ring job.

Looks good mate...and your Cocker Spaniel is patiently sitting there waiting for her share.

Cheers, Vince