How many fps to penetrate a boars skull?

[Rhettster19]

I've taken a few with my synrod 25 using heavy kings at 40. It's very possible but you need to have a very accurate gun. The right shot placement makes the world but you won't have a very big window. 

 

[Guest]

I've hunted boar with bow and arrow and I can say they are one tough animal. Out of respect for an animal the size and toughness of a boar. I wouldn't even think about using a 22 caliber air rifle.

I have taken a lot of big Wild boars with .22 airguns,......it's all about shot placement and using the right ammo.



There's so much to talk about this I might link a couple threads videos on the subject.

 

[Guest]

This was a decent size young boar taken with a H&N Baracuda 21gr .22 @ 660 fps



https://youtu.be/CUcyrfIO--4

 

[Queequeg]

IMO it's mostly shot placement. I've killed 1200 lb. steers with a .22LR pistol one shot between the eyes = DRT. A little high and it will likely bounce off. I once saw a sheep shot at point blank range with a 9mm 115gr FMJ and it ricocheted and went through the roof of the trailer the sheep was confined it. It was a ram and you want to talk about pissed off, it was. A second shot through the ear passed through and did the job.

I wouldn't recommend a .22 PCP unless well powered up and and a perfect opportunity arises. But as is evidenced by several videos it's certainly doable.

 

[Guest]

As stated, shot placement is the key I hear stories of 30/30 rounds bouncing of the skull, yet I have killed several big wild boars with .22 and .25

Gotta be patient, get close and be willing to pass the shot unless it's absolutely perfect.



Here is a decent young boar taken with a Disco .177



https://youtu.be/kPIS3tShJ5E

 

[N2 Shooter]

I remember this very question coming up on the reddit r/airgunhunting sub, and the answer remains the same. Between the ear and the eye point blank with +75 fpe. If I also remember correctly, there was a safety issue that desired this to be safe to use without possible harm to others.

At that point, your only option is a pneumatic stunner. As many have already stated, you can end up with full passthroughs to a complete ricochet, you must be able to adjust airgun use accordingly or risk serious injury or death. Kinda no way around that.

 

[fuznut]

If the air gun community ever hopes to have the trust of game officials and the endorsement of other sporting groups. It will have to fight to distance its self from those in it, who feel the old saying ( bring enough gun ) is something they can ignore.

 

[Queequeg]

That's a 175 pounder and a tuned .177 Hatsan Flashpup from a previous thread here: https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/tiny-bullet-huge-hog/

 

[Guest]

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That's a 175 pounder and a tuned .177 Hatsan Flashpup from a previous thread here: https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/tiny-bullet-huge-hog/

As you can see above it's all about shot placement, patience and getting close to your quarry,.....Firearm manufacturers will lead to believe you that you need 1200 FPE before even thinking of taking big game but in reality it's all about the hunter.

 

[Queequeg]

There used to be video of that hunt but I guess YT blocked it?

Anyway that hog went DRT instantly!

 

[crosman2016]

I never would have thought that some of my air rifles were capable of bringing down a pig.

 

[fuznut]

A field point arrow with perfect placement will kill any animal on the planet. Yet bow hunters don't even hunt small game with field points. I know many here will do as they please, but I hope other more reasonable members will wake up to damage being done by that.

 

[Queequeg]

To be an effective bow hunter requires the same skill set that hunting with PCPs does. Even with broadheads, only a perfect shot on the heart / lungs will guarantee a quick kill and recovery. Anything else and off it goes, and you may or may not find it. Considering there are a lot more bow hunters than PCP hunters there are certainly a lot more wounded animals caused by arrows. 

It appears to me that the people who have demonstrated that it's possible to use a small caliber PCP for hogs have done due diligence before their successful hunts, and I see no ethical lapses. What is an ethical lapse is to go out and buy a 75lb compound bow and shoot it a few times before opening day then day then going out and sticking a Buck in the guts and watching it run off to die miserably. Or buying a .45 caliber Texan and thinking the excess power will make up for a poor shot opportunity that you took anyway.

Patience, discipline and shot placement will get the job done whatever your choice of weapon.

 

[Guest]

A field point arrow with perfect placement will kill any animal on the planet. Yet bow hunters don't even hunt small game with field points. I know many here will do as they please, but I hope other more reasonable members will wake up to damage being done by that.

Well there's your basic difference, With a bow that precise shot is far, far from repeatable, on the other hand a scoped PCP is and excercise in repeatable precision.

Been Bowhunting for over 20 years and I make my own bows, they way you kill with a bow is completely different then with an Airgun.



Actually they are waking up the other way,...Back in the day big game hunting was only a big bore thing, I did done a ton of testing with small bores and soon realized that the precise shot from an airgun was far more effective then people though,.....I took a lot of criticism back in the day on The Yellow and Adventure in Airguns by the established big names in the field but I continued because I knew I was right,

Well look at today taking big game with small bore is pretty much accepted and done all over,....again is all about the hunter

Patience, get close, study your quarry and be willing to pass the shot if it's not perfect.



Look at this video, I took 10 minutes before taking the shot because I was making sure it was a perfect square broadside.



https://youtu.be/p5-04nDd9ac

 

[fuznut]

Take all the video's and the results of your extensive test and present them to any game department or sporting organization in the country. When they endorse what your doing you can make the case opinions are changing. Good luck with that. The feral hog is such a problem in this country most states have no restrictions on methods of take. You can blow them up with explosives, shoot from air at night with a machine-gun or burn them up with a flame thrower, all legal. Because of that yes a small caliber air gun is legal to shoot them with. But if you have any interest in the opinion regulators have of people who choose to do so a simple phone call would be all that's needed. No point in going any farther with this, I have done what I can and all I'm going to. Good day all, hope all have a great Christmas.

 

[edenwildfood]

Don't shoot larger game with small caliber air rifles. It's not ethical whatever anyone else wants to tell you or convince themselves of.

 

[Queequeg]

Shot placement is critical no matter what you're shooting with. Even with powder burners of large caliber, shot placement is still important. I once shot an elk in the head with a 30.06 and missed it's brain by an inch. It ran off and was still alive 20 minutes later when I found it leaning against a tree.

For the record I wouldn't myself consider a .22 PCP for hogs but it's obvious they work if properly used.

And I guess with hunting if not otherwise codified ethics are in the eye of the beholder:



https://youtu.be/-9_8XERi5wc

 

[Guest]

Don't shoot larger game with small caliber air rifles. It's not ethical whatever anyone else wants to tell you or convince themselves of.

Really ? ...How so ?

The guns have proven to be perfectly capable to for several years and a lot of big game down now,....the main variable is the hunter not the weapon.