The Best Calibers For Wild Boar Hunting

Wild boar populations have absolutely exploded in many parts of the country. Aside from the numbers not being sustainable long-term for their own well-being, these invasive animals are wreaking havoc on the local native populations. To put it bluntly, they’re destroying crops and hurting livelihoods, and hunting them is the best way to help keep the populations in check.

So if you’re going to head off on a wild boar hunt, you’re going to need to bring a gun. That much is pretty much a given, but what caliber should you bring on a wild boar hunt? Well, now you’re asking the right questions.

Our Picks For The Best Calibers For Wild Boar Hunting

There’s an old joke that says if you ask five hunters for their choice of the best caliber to use on a given hunt, you’ll get five different answers. While this may be true to a certain extent, if you ask enough people, you’re bound to get some repeats. Those repeats are exactly what we’ll be talking about here. This is by no means the be-all end-all list of best calibers for wild boar hunting, but it’s certainly a good place to start. If you pick any of these calibers, you’ll be well prepared for a wild boar hunt.

.308 Winchester

Accurate, affordable, and available. The .308 Winchester meets all three of those requirements, making it a great caliber for wild boar. There’s no denying the popularity of the AR platform, and the AR-15’s big brother, the AR-10, is a fine firearm that is right at home when it comes to handling the .308 Winchester. While you could certainly use a bolt-action rifle in .308 Winchester, putting this caliber to work in a semi-auto rifle is perfect if you’re hunting boars in a setting where there is a huge population. If you’re looking to take multiple shots in a short period of time and you want to be certain that those boars go down quickly, then the .308 Winchester is the right caliber for the job – especially when paired with a semi-auto rifle.

.30-06 Springfield

There’s not a single animal in all of North America that cannot be brought down with the .30-06 Springfield cartridge. It’s a fairly common chambering, so you may already own a rifle in .30-06, thereby cutting down the cost of entry for a boar hunt. The .30-06 Springfield cartridge is available in a wide variety of loads, most all of which maintain a high ballistic coefficient, so you’ll definitely be able to find one that fits your specific needs for boar hunting. Whether you’ll be making your shots at close range, long distance, or somewhere in between, the .30-06 Springfield is a capable caliber for wild boar.

.270 Winchester

Like the .308 Winchester, the slightly smaller .270 Winchester also meets the three A’s: accurate, affordable, and available. Hunters have been using the well-rounded .270 Winchester to bring down all sorts of wild game for decades – many of them being larger than a wild boar. Therefore, there’s no reason that you can’t take your hunting rifle that you use for other pursuits and put it to good use on a wild boar.

Tips For Wild Boar Hunting

Down, But Not Out

Wild boar are hearty creatures. Just because you hit one and they go down doesn’t mean they’re going to stay down. Plenty of hunters have been fooled by a hearty boar that hits the ground from the initial impact of a shot, but then gets back up and keeps going. If you can make a headshot, then take it. Otherwise, be prepared to make a quick follow-up shot to ensure that your wild boar stays down.

Embrace the Night

It’s a common misconception that wild boar are dumb. They’re definitely not. If they sense that the pressure is being put on them, or simply if it’s too hot out during the day, they’ll adapt and wait to become more active once the sun goes down. If you’re not having good luck on a daytime hunt, then it might be a good idea to change tactics and head out after dark. In fact, a night hunt is one of the most fun ways to go after these animals. Check with your local game laws first, though, because while it’s legal to hunt these animals at night in many places with or without lights, that’s not the case everywhere.

Mind the Armor

A wild boar is a hearty creature, and they’re well protected. As we mentioned earlier, when it comes to your shot placement, a headshot is always a good idea. If that’s not a shot that you can take or are comfortable taking, then aim for the vitals – but beware the internal armor. Make sure you hit just far enough back to avoid the shoulder, and aim a little low. Yes, that’s right: aim low. A boar’s vitals are a little lower than you might expect, so you’ll have to adjust your point of aim if you want to make the best heart or lung shot.

Hunting With A Suppressor

Since wild boar tend to stay in groups, anything that happens to those around them can alert and spook the rest of the group. If you’re able to make a solid shot with a subsonic round and a suppressor, then there’s a chance that the boar will drop without making a sound. This will help keep the rest of the boar oblivious to what happened to the boar you shot, and they’ll be more likely to stay put and not scatter so that you or your fellow hunters can get off multiple shots from one location.

Not only will hunting wild boar with a suppressor help you stay stealthy by reducing your sound signature, it’ll also give you the advantage of being able to hear all of the wildlife around you without having to worry about damaging your hearing when it comes time to take your shot.

Speaking of hearing damage, we’re not just talking about your own hearing. It’s very popular to hunt wild boar in groups, so your fellow hunters will appreciate the decibel reduction, too. Some hunters even use dogs when out searching for wild boar, and since dogs have more sensitive hearing than humans do, it’s a huge plus to be using a suppressor any time your hunting dogs will be within close proximity to your shots.

Call and Get Yours Today

If you’re ready to go on a wild boar hunt and you want to add a suppressor to your setup, then get ahold of us here at Silencer Central today, and let’s make it a reality.

Silencer Central is licensed to sell suppressors in all 42 states where they are legal. We’ve been doing this all day, every day for more than 15 years, and have sold countless thousands of suppressors in that time.

Let us handle the entire purchase process for you and even deliver your suppressor right to your front door once it’s been approved. It really doesn’t get any better than that, so what are you waiting for? Call us now!