Hogs are tough, unpredictable, and often run on adrenaline alone. If you’ve hunted them long enough, you’ve probably seen one hit square in the vitals and still vanish into thick brush like nothing happened. That’s why choosing the right caliber matters more than most folks realize.
It’s not about knockdown fairy tales or chasing velocity charts—it’s about reliable penetration, weight retention, and punching through bone when needed. And there are plenty of cartridges out there that fall short when the shot angle’s wrong or the pig’s too big.
Whether it’s a popular plinking round or a deer cartridge that fades on impact, there are calibers that simply fail to anchor hogs—especially on marginal hits. Here are some that’ll leave you tracking after dark, wondering what went wrong.
.223 Remington
Plenty of hogs have been killed with a .223, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. You’re banking everything on perfect shot placement and ideal conditions. If the angle’s off or the boar’s bigger than expected, a .223 often doesn’t punch deep enough.
Even with bonded bullets or monolithics, it lacks the mass to bust through the shoulder or reach the vitals on quartering shots. You might drop a 150-pounder if everything goes right. But when things go sideways, all it takes is one rushed shot and that hog’s limping away.
.17 HMR
You’d be surprised how many folks have tried taking hogs with a .17 HMR because “it’s accurate and fast.” Sure, it is. It’s also a rimfire designed for varmints and paper targets. It doesn’t carry enough energy or penetration for anything bigger than a coon.
Even on small pigs, the .17 HMR struggles to reach the vitals, especially behind the shoulder. If you’re head-shooting at close range, maybe you get lucky—but that’s no way to hunt responsibly. Use it for squirrels. Leave it home when pigs are on the menu.
.22 LR
Some folks swear by it for close-range headshots, and yes—it can kill a hog with perfect placement. But it won’t anchor one. If your angle’s wrong or the pig moves, all you’re doing is irritating it or crippling it.
A .22 LR doesn’t have the energy or penetration to handle a pig’s thick hide, skull, or shoulder plate. You’re not doing the animal or yourself any favors. It’s fine for dispatching stuck hogs in a trap, but don’t bring it to a hunt unless you’ve got something else slung over your shoulder.
.204 Ruger
The .204 is flat-shooting and fun for varmints, but hogs aren’t coyotes. You’re dealing with heavy muscle, bone, and unpredictable movement. The bullet may expand too quickly or fail to penetrate deep enough to matter.
Even if you use controlled-expansion projectiles, you’re pushing a tiny pill that was never designed for the kind of barrier-blind performance needed on wild hogs. It might look good on paper, but it leaves too many pigs wounded in the real world.
.30 Carbine
There’s nostalgia around the M1 Carbine and its cartridge, and it’s fun to shoot—but when it comes to pigs, nostalgia won’t break shoulders. The .30 Carbine has trouble with penetration and energy retention, especially beyond 50 yards.
It’s marginal on smaller pigs and downright unreliable on boars with thick armor. You might hit one and think it’s a clean kill, only to find no blood and a pig that vanished into the palmettos. That’s not the kind of lesson you want to learn twice.
5.7x28mm
This cartridge gets a lot of attention for its capacity and speed. But speed doesn’t equal stopping power—especially on hogs. The 5.7 was designed for personal defense in specific roles, not for punching through gristle and bone.
Even with expanding rounds, you’re not getting the deep penetration you need on anything over 100 pounds. Hogs soak up hits like a sponge, and the 5.7 often lacks the weight to drive through their vitals unless everything’s perfect.
.30-30 Winchester with light bullets
The .30-30 can absolutely anchor a hog—but not when loaded with lightweight varmint-style bullets. Too many folks grab 110 or 125-grain loads thinking faster is better. It isn’t. You need weight and structure, not speed, to punch through a boar’s shield.
Stick to 150–170 grain soft points or monolithics. That lighter stuff might fragment or fail to penetrate. If you’re using a lever gun in the swamp, don’t ruin your odds by picking ammo meant for whitetail neck shots.
.243 Winchester
It’s a solid deer round, but hogs don’t behave like deer. A shoulder shot that anchors a buck might stop short in a big boar. And if you’re using thin-jacketed bullets meant for fast expansion, you could be setting yourself up for a long track job.
The .243 can work with the right bullet, but many off-the-shelf hunting loads aren’t built for hogs. If you’re going to use it, choose a tough bullet and stay off the shoulder unless you’re close.
.300 Blackout with subsonics
The .300 Blackout gets praise for running quiet, and with supers it’s a decent hog caliber. But those subsonics everyone loves for suppressors? They rarely anchor pigs unless placement is surgical.
A 200+ grain subsonic round chugs along like a .45 ACP—slow and heavy. It might expand, but it won’t reach deep if you hit the shoulder or a bad angle. If you’re hunting at night with a suppressed rig, you better know where that bullet’s going and what it can’t do.
7.62x39mm with FMJ
Plenty of folks take AKs or SKSs hog hunting, and that’s fine—but not if you’re running cheap full metal jackets. Those rounds are built for punching paper and tumbling in soft tissue, not controlled expansion.
A clean double-lung shot might still leave a hog running for several hundred yards. If you’re using 7.62×39, grab a soft point or a bonded bullet. Otherwise, you’re taking your chances and risking wounded game you won’t recover.
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*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.
