270 Win. enough on big tuskers?

[Ruraldoc]

One final word, the 270 with premium 150 grain bullets is recommended by the Alaska department of fish and game for brown/ grizzly bears.

Master brown bear guide Phil Shoemaker told me the 270 with Barnes tsx bullets or Nosler partitions works very well on the largest Brown bears.

A 270 with the right bullet in the right place will kill as well a 300 magnum in my experience.

 

[Altitude sickness]

The Hungarian boar in the photo I posted earlier could not be weighed. He was significantly larger than several 300+ pound boars that I have seen weighed. I have hunted a lot of black bear, and I am confident he was bigger than 90% of the black bear killed in North America each year - perhaps 95%. I would also make the argument that a large boar is both far more aggressive and more difficult to anchor than any black bear. I would never depend upon a 130 gr whitetail round for black bear.

Wild boar turns tables on French hunters, wounding two – DW – 10/25/2018

The men were injured when the animal turned and attacked, leaving one of them in critical condition. A debate over hunting has continued to gain momentum in France due to the high number of humans being killed.

www.dw.com

Hunter dies in Germany after wild boar he was trying to shoot attacked him

Man, 50, was on boar hunt near north-eastern town of Greifswald and encountered animal in reeds after firing shot, witnesses say

www.theguardian.com

Black Bears are dangerous if they get you down. Or get ahold of you. But they are also very easy to kill. They have very small ribs and bones are similar to a human of the same size. Black bears die easily.

Large mature cerdos, keiler and sanglier have thick hides and don’t die as easily.

 

[Red Leg]

Black Bears are dangerous if they get you down. Or get ahold of you. But they are also very easy to kill. They have very small ribs and bones are similar to a human of the same size. Black bears die easily.

Large mature cerdos, keiler and sanglier have thick hides and don’t die as easily.

I agree and understand completely. It is why posted the analogy. Most of the folks here suggesting light rifles will easily deal with a pig would unquestionably use enough gun on a large boar black bear. A large European boar will take more punishment and is actually more dangerous in a follow-up in the thick stuff.

 

[Red Leg]

One final word, the 270 with premium 150 grain bullets is recommended by the Alaska department of fish and game for brown/ grizzly bears.

Master brown bear guide Phil Shoemaker told me the 270 with Barnes tsx bullets or Nosler partitions works very well on the largest Brown bears.

A 270 with the right bullet in the right place will kill as well a 300 magnum in my experience.

Recommended? I look forward to @Scott CWO 's thoughts.

As I remember, their guidance is that a .270 with premium 150's can legally be used for all big game in Alaska, but strongly recommends .30 cal or larger (if the hunter can manafe it) with 200-220 gr premium bullets as a minimum. My personal minimum for bear - brown or black - is a 9.3 or .338.

 

[Altitude sickness]

I agree and understand completely. It is why posted the analogy. Most of the folks here suggesting light rifles will easily deal with a pig would unquestionably use enough gun on a large boar black bear. A large European boar will take more punishment and is actually more dangerous in a follow-up in the thick stuff.

I should have been more clear. I was backing your initial point.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Bears have relatively thin hide and need a different bullet design than the thick skin of a large pig

 

[Red Leg]

I used a .270 Winchester in the attached picture. I have killed many big boars with the .270, along with Elk and Bears. All were one shot kills with a 130 grain Barnes TTSX bullet. You are well equipped for your boar hunt!

Have you ever even seen a mature central European wild boar? They can absolutely dwarf that cute little piggie against which you are kneeling.

A number here have bragged about how many feral hogs they have killed (with BB guns for all I know) - big ones in Alabama someone noted - and of course the legions in Australia. I live in central Texas. So have I. I often use a 5.56 ( at night at an animal that doesn't have clue I am there). A big boar in Central Europe might as well be a different species.

And yes, whoever was going to take on a large European boar with a knife, do please have it filmed.

This is a typical Spanish wild boar (and as @grand veneur notes the biggest boars don't always have the largest tusks - these are exceptional) His Central European cousin can can double or triple his weight. Please at least use a quality 150 gr bullet.

 

[WAB]

A lot of people on this thread think their experience with a feral pig in the US would be the same as with a big keiler in Europe or Asia.

Please take a cameraman with you as you battle a 200 kilogram keiler with a knife. This for educational purposes

Take the advice from the more experienced hunters and the hunters from Europe. Yes you can take it with a 270 in ideal circumstances. But you have a chance to lose it or you have to do a follow-up the next day or in low light circumstances. A wounded keiler is no joke. Listen to your PH. A lot of European hunters use much bigger and stronger calibers.

Exactly! You cannot equate a feral hog in the US to a wild boar in Europe. These are two very different animals. I’ve killed quite a few feral hogs at night with .223 and 6.5 Grendel. The Grendel absolutely flattens them, but I would never consider using it on a European wild boar. If I were going on a trip specifically for wild boar I would take my 9.3x62.

 

[WAB]

One final word, the 270 with premium 150 grain bullets is recommended by the Alaska department of fish and game for brown/ grizzly bears.

Master brown bear guide Phil Shoemaker told me the 270 with Barnes tsx bullets or Nosler partitions works very well on the largest Brown bears.

A 270 with the right bullet in the right place will kill as well a 300 magnum in my experience.

I’ll give you a real life example. My son shot a big brown bear perfectly behind the shoulder at 120 yards with his .30-06. The bear roared, bit the bullet hole, and took off on a dead run for heavy timber. I swung through and backed him up with my .375 shooting 270 gr Swift A-Frames. The bear flipped in the air and landed on his back stone dead. The two bullet holes were 1 1/2” apart. Would the bear have died from the first shot? Absolutely, but we would have been following up in heavy timber. Would I go after a big brown bear boar with a .270? Not on a bet. These bears are rarely far from heavy cover. You need to drop them where they stand.

An interior bear is a completely different story. More aggressive, but much smaller.

 

[deewayne2003]

Have you ever even seen a mature central European wild boar? They can absolutely dwarf that cute little piggie against which you are kneeling.

A number here have bragged about how many feral hogs they have killed (with BB guns for all I know) - big ones in Alabama someone noted - and of course the legions in Australia. I live in central Texas. So have I. I often use a 5.56 ( at night at an animal that doesn't have clue I am there). A big boar in Central Europe might as well be a different species.

And yes, whoever was going to take on a large European boar with a knife, do please have it filmed.

This is a typical Spanish wild boar (and as @grand veneur notes the biggest boars don't always have the largest tusks - these are exceptional) His Central European cousin can can double or triple his weight. Please at least use a quality 150 gr bullet.

@Red Leg …. Is that a “mule footed” hog, as in the non-cloven/un split hoof?

I ask because you said it’s from Spain.

We Call them “Mule Shoes” and I shot one that looked identical to that years ago in Southern Oklahoma of all places.

 

[Flbt]

A lot of people on this thread think their experience with a feral pig in the US would be the same as with a big keiler in Europe or Asia.

Please take a cameraman with you as you battle a 200 kilogram keiler with a knife. This for educational purposes

Take the advice from the more experienced hunters and the hunters from Europe. Yes you can take it with a 270 in ideal circumstances. But you have a chance to lose it or you have to do a follow-up the next day or in low light circumstances. A wounded keiler is no joke. Listen to your PH. A lot of European hunters use much bigger and stronger calibers.

The largest one I have taken with a knife was 489lbs it was or looked to be a wildhog
But I have taken what looked to be Russian stock that has topped out a 350lbs scale
I can’t tell you how big. And yes it was a job but fun.
I am to old and hurt up now to go after one with dogs and a knife. But that’s how we hunted them for years if we were going to kill them.
When I was young we would catch and tie them take them out of the woods and put them in a feed pen.

I am not experienced with hogs across the pond. But from what I have seen here on thousand of them feral hogs and Russian stock shipped in.

A 270 with a good shot is more than enough especially with all the ones killed with 22.

I am not saying bigger is not better if you can use it and it’s set up the way you need.

 

[Ruraldoc]

Alabama feral boar. Had to load him in truck with tractor loader. Did not weigh. Have weighed smaller ones 275 to 300 pounds.

I figure live weight of 400 pounds.

 

[Ruraldoc]

250 pound hog with bigger teeth.

 

[Flbt]

@Red Leg …. Is that a “mule footed” hog, as in the non-cloven/un split hoof?

I ask because you said it’s from Spain.

We Call them “Mule Shoes” and I shot one that looked identical to that years ago in Southern Oklahoma of all places.

I think the mule foot hogs were turned out in most places in the south. I know when fl was still free range . People here had them.
I know I have seen the in ga and Al.
And when the hunting plantation started they say there was a lot of Russian stock imported.

 

[wvhunt]

Black Bears are dangerous if they get you down. Or get ahold of you. But they are also very easy to kill. They have very small ribs and bones are similar to a human of the same size. Black bears die easily.

Very true. I seen a number of black bears killed with a 22WMR. The dogs tree the bear and one shot to the head and they normally fall out dead.

 

[Ruraldoc]

For perspective, the truck is a Ford F 250 long bed.

These may not be as big as the biggest Eurasian swine but they are wonderful living test media for centerfire cartridges and bullet designs.

Having killed 400 of the things in the last 5 years, I can tell you that the difference between a 270 with a premium 150 grain bullet and a 300 magnum with a premium 180 grain bullet is pretty minimal.

A 375 with a TSX bullet is a different matter. Much larger wound channel, exits without fail from any angle so far tried.

John McAdams recently started sending me ammo to test on hogs. We have a target rich environment.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

@Red Leg …. Is that a “mule footed” hog, as in the non-cloven/un split hoof?

I ask because you said it’s from Spain.

We Call them “Mule Shoes” and I shot one that looked identical to that years ago in Southern Oklahoma of all places.

We used to know a guy over by Lebanon that had some mule footed hogs

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Those big Eurasian boars are terrifying. You couldn’t melt me and pour me into the thick stuff with one with nothing but a knife…

On the other hand, these measly little pigs we have here don’t phase me much. I crept up to a couple of decent sized ones at work the other day with nothing but a phone and a pocket knife. Probably got within 10-15 yards of them in an open field. Should’ve had a rifle with me but still made for a fun/neat video

 

[DieJager]

The largest one I have taken with a knife was 489lbs it was or looked to be a wildhog
But I have taken what looked to be Russian stock that has topped out a 350lbs scale

That is a great achievement for sure. I hunted wild hogs when visiting Florida with a rifle. I admire the guys that go after them with a knife, you have to have some big balls doing that. Definitely would love to try it with guys who know how to do it.

That said I would not even think about doing that with a big keiler over here in Europe. Those things are not the same

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Most of the truly large wild pigs I’ve seen here look like they were eating out of a trough until shortly before they met their demise….

The largest true wild pig I’ve personally seen and had a hand in weighing was shot under a feeder by a friend of mine. Weighed 352 lbs. He had apparently been caught by dog hunters at some time in his youth because he was missing the family jewels. Could’ve been another boar that did it I guess. Point is, he likely only got to that weight because of his castration. In actual agricultural areas I don’t doubt they get that large or larger but I’d say any actual “hogzillas” on this side of the pond are mostly behind high fences… Or are in the “Black Belt” of the south.