270 Win. enough on big tuskers?

[zephyr]

The European Boar is a much tougher animal then the Feral Hogs encountered in the US and can soak up a lot of lead unless you are comfortable with high shoulder shots or other CNS shots
Good Luck should be a great Trip

 

[HankBuck]

Hi fellow hunting friends,

I would have a question, which require your expertise.

I have a hunt coming up in Hungary on big tuskers. I have hunted wild boars before with my 270 Win. and did not have any problems (the load is "gecco express" in 130gr. or 8,4g european metric with an energy of 2263 ft.bs for 100 yards or 3013 J for 100 meter).

As I am going for wild boars, I will be stalking them in the evening in the forest with my night vision scope so that the optimal max. distance will anyway just be around this 100 yards/100m distance. More likely in the woods, max 50 yards...

Now the PH told me that my 270 Win could be a "little light" on the big tuskers and recommend me to use a 300 Win. mag. However, my scope is mounted on that particular 270 Win. gun and it would be too much of a hustle to use it on something else. What is your opinion on that?

Thanks for any useful opinions/recommendations.

Cheers,

@The Gamshunter - if you shoot your .270 accurately and are confident with it then That’s what I would use ! Any well constructed 150gr bullet will penetrate deeply and combined with proper “bullet placement” - always the most important thing - you should have a great Hunt.

 

[WAB]

I would listen to your PH. These are big tough animals. I used a .300 WM to take a very nice boar in Italy. I’m sure I could have made the shot with a .270, but as others have said, I would have wanted a heavy for caliber bonded bullet.

 

[Green Chile]

Of course the 270 will kill one but when you compare a good sized boar to the average deer, don't you think it warrants a bit more gun? The 270 is most well known as a deer class cartridge. A boar is built like a tank with heavy shielding for fighting and thick skin. A deer is built...like a deer.

 

[analog_peninsula]

A brief digression: thermal is terrific for following up pigs in the dark, but they will usually head for the thickest, nastiest cover they can find and it can be challenging to find them even with thermal since thermal can’t see through obstacles. Another limitation of thermal is that field of view is very narrow at short range, to the point of being useless on moving targets. The answer is a combo green laser / light at the end of your gun. You can’t beat it for night follow ups in thick cover. I use this one:

TLR-2® G | Weapon Light with Green Laser | Streamlight®

 

[Red Leg]

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

 

[The Gamshunter]

Is this a driven hunt, or hunting from a stand? It makes a difference. With pigs, draw a line between the eyes and the point of the shoulder. Any hit along that line will anchor your boar without difficulty. If you hit the pig behind the shoulder, the pig will run, even with a perfect double lung hit, no matter the caliber. The distance will depend on the lethality of the hit.

The .270 is more than sufficient with a quality bullet, but the larger calibers put larger holes on running pigs. On a standing pig, caliber makes little difference with decent shooting.

The following pig was hammered with a 300 grain .416 tsx moving 2800 fps mv and still made it about 75 yards. Of course, a blind man could have followed the blood trail to the downed porker.

416 hog

Hi,

Thanks for your advise.

It will be by stalking and high seat during the night. So I shall have a stable shot. However, I will get a bonded 150g to make sure indeed as they can get close to 400 pounds.

Cheers,

 

[The Gamshunter]

View attachment 694922

The way it will be!

 

[JG26Irish_2]

270 is one of my favorite hunting cartridges. I have used it for decades on deer with the 130g bullets. All have been one shot kills. I use the 130g because my old Mauser shoots it better than the 150g options. It will kill any boar you shoot with it. I have only hunted boar once and I used a 165g 308 for a one shot kill. I just returned from Africa where I used a 7mm/08 for PG taking four animals with that rifle. All with 140g Barnes TSX or Hornady 139g CX ammo. The largest was a Black Wildebeest at 314y. I found it to be adequate in every case. The 270 is if anything a bit more powerful than the little 7/08. I do agree that the 150g would likely be a better choice as long as your rifle shoots them well. 300WM is NOT necessary. Especially if the range is only about 100-200y.

 

[The Gamshunter]

Your question surprises me a bit. Are you a native Austrian?

No matter, this is about hunting abroad and with perhaps expensive hunting fees. Whatever is wounded will be paid for. Stalking at dusk and at night is not without risks. Sure, you can shoot wild boars with the cartridge 270 Winchester, the shot placement is as always important, but with the cartridge 300 Winchester Magnum and a heavy bullet you have more reserves if something not goes as planned. As it is so often recommended by many members on the Forum, you should above all listen to the advices of your PH. If not, it is possible that anything that does not go as planned will be attributed to your cartridge, that in the opinion of your PH, was too weak.

Thanks for your recommendation. If it would be on my private estate, I would honestly not mind to have to track them. However, as it is indeed abroad, I am a little worried, especially as I was told they might have really big tuskers, which would be a pity to loose. I have a few "bonded federal 270 win in 150 grains", which shall do the trick at the distance and this scenario at night.

 

[The Gamshunter]

As a side note, the title is big tuskers, but the heaviest wild boars don't always have the biggest tusks. The heaviest wild boar I have shot was in Malaysia. We did not weigh it, but two of us could not move it. Since I once shot a wild boar weighing 140 kg, in comparison this wild boar probably weighed not far from 200 kg. Compared to the one that weighed 140kg, this one had much smaller tusks.

140 kg / Belarus
View attachment 694980


? / Malaysia
View attachment 694981

Thanks your answer. That is a good point. Weight indeed does not equal tusks.

 

[The Gamshunter]

270 is one of my favorite hunting cartridges. I have used it for decades on deer with the 130g bullets. All have been one shot kills. I use the 130g because my old Mauser shoots it better than the 150g options. It will kill any boar you shoot with it. I have only hunted boar once and I used a 165g 308 for a one shot kill. I just returned from Africa where I used a 7mm/08 for PG taking four animals with that rifle. All with 140g Barnes TSX or Hornady 139g CX ammo. The largest was a Black Wildebeest at 314y. I found it to be adequate in every case. The 270 is if anything a bit more powerful than the little 7/08. I do agree that the 150g would likely be a better choice as long as your rifle shoots them well. 300WM is NOT necessary. Especially if the range is only about 100-200y.

Thanks for your recommendation. That is what i thought having shoot a few "normal" boars (sows, middle aged tuskers...) at night with my 270 win, 130g at 50 yards. I will however indeed upgrade to a bonded 150g (federal fusion in 150g).

 

[Nyati]

I have shot a few wild boars with the .270 and 7x57, but when we are talking about really big ones, then I would be happier with my .338WM and 225gr Swift AFrames

 

[Jäger_Ivo]

My reasoning:
- This is a hunting trip, so whatever you shoot, you have to pay for it, and it might be expensive. Whether you kill it or not.
- In the evening, it's hard to estimate distances accurately with night vision.
- Can you see with night vision how the game is standing? Is it standing fully sideways or a little obliquely? Are you placing the shot correctly?
- Wild boars are constantly moving.
- Use your PH experiences.
- Use enough gun!

What bases do you have? I can change scope in 30 minutes picatinny to picatinny.
Good readon to buy a new rifle or scope?