# Perfect fit gun for hunting the Florida wild boar hog



## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

:thumbup: 
Perfect fit gun for hunting the Florida wild boar hog
In Florida we are fortunate to be able to hunt twelve months out of the year. On private land there is no closed season on the very cunning, dangerous, wild boar hog. One of the first questions facing the serious hog hunter is, should I use a shot gun or rifle? Without question a shot gun with buck shot will put a hog down. But will it keep him down? Large boar hogs have what is called a shield protecting the front part of the animal. This 'shield' is very capable of stopping, to a large extent, even 00 buck shot. I have harvested many huge hogs with a shot gun. However, I have also had many run only to die a painful death later on. 
If we decide to use a rifle, the 'shield' is no problem. Non-the-less, putting them down and keeping them down can prove to be very difficult. Even a heart/lung shot is no guarantee our trophy will stay down. We all have our own opinion as to which gun, and what caliber, is best. Here is where personal preference plays a huge part. I have been hunting hogs in Florida for over 50 years. I have learned a great deal of respect for them. For many years my gun of choice was a BAR 7 mm Mag. Very fast and powerful, however, without a perfect head shot, often not available in the wild, they will run even on this very powerful magnum caliber. Somehow hogs just do not think too much of the idea of being shot; they definitely are not happy campers. They have a tenancy to act rather badly. Most try to get away; some don't. Our big boar's tusk tend to be rather large, and he definitely knows how to use them. Being charged by a 200 + pound wild boar hog is not exactly a good situation to be in. By far the better solution is to drop this monster and keep him down before he has a chance to inflict grave bodily harm. My personal preference; my 'Perfect fit gun for hunting the Florida wild boar hog' is the Marlin 1895 stainless 'guide' gun. It's small, fast, easy to take care of, extremely dependable, and can chamber the big boar, drop them in their tracks, 45/70. Will it keep him down? You had better believe it. 

Bob Harbison Florida Outdoor Writers Association


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

When I lived in Turkey in high school, we hunted Russian boars in the mountains. Turkish law restricted us to shotguns with slugs and some of these hogs weighed in excess of 600 lbs. Exciting to say the least.
What I would have given for a center-fire rifle back then.


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## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

Not too familiar with slugs. I presume they are very powerful particularly at close range. 
How do you think they would compare with the 45/70?


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## sureicanfish (Sep 30, 2007)

i plan on taking my 20ga next time i go for squirrel/rabbit and a few slugs (3/4oz at 1600fps) in case I see some hogs.


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## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

Good choice. That way you will be ready for just about anything. Bob


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Harbison said:


> Not too familiar with slugs. I presume they are very powerful particularly at close range.
> How do you think they would compare with the 45/70?


It's a big chunk of lead but not that much range. I guess if you had a slug barrel with rifle sights it might be OK up to 100 yards but we were just shooting smooth bores with the bead front sight. There were plenty of hogs killed but most within 50 yards.
The 45/70 would for sure be superior.


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## bigbulls (Mar 12, 2008)

Harbison said:


> Not too familiar with slugs. I presume they are very powerful particularly at close range.
> How do you think they would compare with the 45/70?


Modern sabot slugs that are designed to be shot out of a rifled barrel are essentially duplicating, and sometimes surpassing, a 45/70. Many of them can hold 1.5" - 2" groups at 100 yards.

For example..... 
Winchester 12ga Dual bond 3" shell fires a 375 grain 45 caliber bullet at 1800 fps. 
Or their 12ga XP3 3" shell fires a 300 grain 45 caliber slug at 2000 fps.

This a approaching the heaviest 45/70 loads and exceeds the standard stuff put out by Remington, Winchester, and Federal... which spits out a 300 grain bullet at 1800 - 1900 fps.


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## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

Agree 100% on Washington. 
Thanks for the information on slugs. Sounds fantastic! I am sure they would do the job just fine. Guess slugs have come a long way. The only ones I am familiar with dates back fifty years ago. Would love to try them on hogs. Bet here is that they would put them down & keep them down! Best! Bob


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

I haven't used slugs since the early 70s so I'm not up on the modern ones either. To me , you just can't beat a 30/06 but that's what I've used for 35 years.


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## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

*Personal choices*

:notworthy: 
The choice of what gun, what action, what ammunition to use are all personal choices. The 375, 338, 300, 308, as well as America's own 30.06 are all great calibers. I like my Marlin lever action 45/70 stainless Guide Gun because it is very appropriate for what I do. It's short size makes it ideal for hunting in Florida's tight environment. It is extremely easy to clean and to take care of. Though limited in distance, the 45/70 will put down the large, dangerous, wild boar hog and keep him down. The lever action is extremely dependable and very fast. 


The repetition of the 30.06 is outstanding. It is often the caliber of choice for marine snipers. One of the 30.06 # one selling points is it's versatility. It's many available bullet weights make this caliber one of the best. 

The modern day slug gun really interest me. I would love to try this:

So many great choices. 'personal choices.' Some times I think too many Bob


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