The best hog hunting gun for 2021 is the AR15 in the affordable knock down caliber of 762/39.
Lots of articles are written every year about which rifle or cartridge is best for hog hunting. Everyone has an opinion. Just like cars and trucks, brand loyalty plays a big part and let’s be honest, most of the web articles on the best of anything are really paid advertisements.
I am a hog hunter. I have hunted with .223, 30-30, 300 blackout, 6.5 Grendel, 762/39 and 12-gauge shotguns. As a hog hunter, I want a semi-auto with knock down power. It is just no fun searching around at night in the brush for wounded or dead hogs that ran 50 or 100 yards after you shot them. Yea, some will read this and say they can kill a hog with a .22, sure with the perfect shot. If you ever get the pleasure of feeling the adrenaline running down your body standing in a field full of running wild feral hogs, forget that perfect shot.
When I night vision wild hog hunt with my buddy Andy at Owen Farm Hunting Preserve in South Georgia, it sounds like a war zone with his AR15 and mine rapid firing at wild feral hogs stampeding across dark fields in every direction. It’s just too much excitement. That is what night vision and thermal scopes were made for!
You can sit in a blind with night vision overlooking a bait site, walk and stalk after dark in fields, hunt hogs with dogs, or even from helicopters. Night hunting using night vision, thermal or just a green light is getting very popular and a must for any hunter’s bucket list. I use Digital Crosshairs Night Vision Clip-on because it lets me keep my great glass optics for daylight hunting and use the same rifle+scope setup at night with no re-zeroing necessary.
You may be surprised that my go-to rifle of choice, and in my opinion the best hog hunting gun for 2021 is the 762/39 AR15 platform. I have hunted with several different guns. To be honest, there are many great hog hunting guns but in this year’s environment, which ones can the average hunter afford to shoot. The cost of ammo today is something to be considered. I love my Grendel but it cost 70 cents to $1.50 every time I pull the trigger. Most other calibers heavy enough for hogs are also pretty pricy. I use Wolf 762/39 HP which does the job well out to 200+ yards, has knock down power, and best of all is affordable at a cost of about 40 cent a round.
Feral hog populations are exploding in the United States, especially in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. What other big game can you hunt day or night, and year-round in many states. What every your choice of rifle or caliber, enjoy the hunt!