NcongruNT,NcongruNt wrote:Ah, ok.
Well, I'd say .223 might be a bit small to hunt with. My understanding is that you'll want something with significant more mass than a .223 would offer for hunting something as tough as wild pig. Something closer to .30 caliber would probably be more appropriate. I've heard .270 is a common hunting round. Since you can't hunt with FMJ here in Texas, I'd be worried that a SP or HP .223 round wouldn't have enough penetration to kill the animal efficiently enough and may cause undue suffering.
I cannot find a prohibition on FMJ ammo. Where did you see this?
glockoneniner,
Without going over the entire .223/feral hog discussion (I kill them quite dead with a .223)
a larger caliber is probably better for deer, assuming that you are NOT doing head/neck shots.
One of my neighbors takes 30-40 deer a year including Axis and Sika and uses a .243 exclusively.
He loads 95 gr Nosler Partitions and they are very effective on body shots.
A friend of mine shot a large Axis doe at my place with a .222 Rem and it dropped in its tracks.
It was a neck shot at about 90 yards and her first Axis. She later told me that after cooking up Axis
she would never go back to Whitetail. I hear that a lot.
If you are a meat hunter then get good at head and neck shots. They bleed out fast, don't run off,
and you don't ruin any meat. On the other hand, body shots are a lot easier to make for a casual hunter.
In either case a .243 makes a great TX deer gun. A step up from that would be a 6mm Rem,
then maybe a .308. It is not necessary to go any larger than that in TX.
Good luck with your choices, and your hunting.
Kind Regards,
Tom