Author Topic: 30 carbine and shot placement (Read 3769 times)

benjaminw7528 · « **on:** April 07, 2007, 01:49:14 PM »

I was thinking about taking my m1 hog hunting would it do the job and where would i shoot it

Land_Owner · « **Reply #1 on:** April 08, 2007, 11:30:00 PM »

Yes your M1 will do the job. Shoot it from your shoulder. Shoulder the safe end and point the business end at the hog.

I've shot hogs with a 22LR for years from 25 yards and a rock steady rest. Shoot them in the "X" between the ears and eyes from a steady rest and you can use very small caliber firearms to do the job. If you are walking/stalking and they are broadside, shoot them like you would shoot a deer - in the boiler room just behind the front shoulder and 2/3 down from the tip top pf the back. If you have a steady rest, shoot them in the head or neck. Like deer, they don't take it well in the neck.

John R. · « **Reply #2 on:** April 12, 2007, 07:52:40 AM »

The M1 30 cal. carbine is a piss poor caliber for just about anything. It doesn't even kill people particularly well. Not trying to be difficult, but there are many better choices.

Land_Owner · « **Reply #3 on:** April 12, 2007, 05:01:19 PM »

If you are good enough, you can hit them in the forehead with a baseball bat. If an M1 is what you have, the M1 is more than sufficient to do the job. Put the bullet where it will bring down the hog i.e. boiler room and chase or head/neck and no more steps.

John R. · « **Reply #4 on:** April 13, 2007, 02:36:24 AM »

Most people agreed the M1 is a poor choice in your other post under Handgun Hunting. I suspect you have something else that would work much better. I have seen a few deer shot with the 30 cal. carbine, and most either took multiple shots or were never recovered. Large Russian boars are much tougher than a deer. I will agree that IF you have time to take a perfect shot it will work, however it has been my experience that when stalking hogs you rarely get the perfect shot.

rockbilly · « **Reply #5 on:** April 13, 2007, 10:36:44 AM »

Some folks in East Texas and Louisiana hunt hogs with a bowie knife, it is effective for them as they do kill hogs. That would not be my choice, neither would the .30 carbine. I agree, it is better than a sharp stick, but not by far.

I am not knocking benjaminw7525, but from his post, I am of the opinion that he is a young, and somewhat inexperienced hunter. If this is, in fact, the case, I would not recommend the .30 carbine at all. First, it is a poor choice, even for an experienced hunter, and secondly, it is not the gun a limited experienced hunter needs to gain the expertise in successfully taking game.

I have taken all kinds of game with a .22, from deer to rabbits, but I never attempted a deer or hog until I had a lot of experience with the gun, knew my limitations, the limitations of the gun, and the game I was hunting. I am not as steady as I once was, so today I prefer something a little bigger, with a good scope, and only try to make a heart/lung shot. Does a 7mm mag sound too big?

Land_Owner · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2007, 11:26:20 AM »

I'll 2nd our limitations rockbilly. I wouldn't propose to shoot hogs with 22's or hit them with B'ball bats if I didn't have the field time under my feet. I have never shot an M1. Neither have I seen them shot where I have been shooting. I just inherently know that a 30 cal. weapon, a carbine, is more than sufficient to kill hogs. Bullet placement and bullet choice (soft point not FMJ) are critical components to a humane kill. Most of our hogs are shot within 30 yards. Yea, some are shot at 250 yards but those are shot with 243, 270, and 338 calibers. It should be every hunters ethical and moral requirement to find and use a steady rest. They are so prevalent that not using one should be bad form.

alsaqr · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2007, 12:53:04 PM »

Shot placement is some what critical on hogs, especially big hogs. Killed some of them with a .22 Hornet. Have a friend who hunts hogs with a .22 magnum and the hogs he shoots are all bang flops. Saw hogs run off and not be recovered after being shot with 7mm and .300 magnums. If you are hunting with a gun that is not very powerful put the bullet between the eyes and the ears, or better yet right in the ear. Most of my hogs have been shot with a .50 muzzle loader and most were bang flops. All hogs i ever shot was recovered-except one. That guy laid and squealed for a solid minute, jumped up and ran off just as i got the muzzle loader re-loaded.

wsmitty01 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 15, 2007, 10:01:57 AM »

I killed them with 4" blade pocketknife, BUT give the hog a break and kill them with a good heavy bullet from a good heavy caliber. I have only had 1 good easy shot on hogs in my life and that was at 20 yards with a layin down sow that thought she was well hidden (30-30 contender pistol) and she didn't even quiver after a good neck shot. Most hogs I shoot are usually movin or running, I hunt them with my crossbow, pistols (30-30, 7-30, 45 auto) and pocketknives. All of those will take a hog down quick (pocketknife included), even with a less than perfect shot, which is a lot more common than a perfect shot. The last thought I'll leave you with is " do I want to crawl into the bushes after a wounded boar with my 30 carbine"? Carbine might be good over a feeder stand at short range, I just don't hunt that way, might as well go to the butcher shop!

tomzuki · « **Reply #9 on:** May 15, 2007, 10:26:17 AM »

The .30 carbine is faster and has more energy than the .357 mag.

.30 carbine = REM 110 gr. sp Velocity - 1990, energy 967 ft. #

.357 Mag = FED 110 JHP Velocity - 1300, energy 410 ft. #

What you have in a .30 carbine is an autoloading equivalent of slightly better than the .357 Mag. You say you want to hunt with it?? (Varmints, Pigs, etc), just keep it to within about 150 yards as the velocity and energy drop off considerable past 200 yards.

200 yard velocity is 1236 and energy is only 373 ft. #.

Sure the .30 carbine was only designed to be a light battle rifle for some that could not shoot the .45 Govt., and the military use for this weapon was to put multiple shots into a target. For best hunting results I too would choose a larger, caliber with greater energy, but if thats all you have, know the limitations and act responsible/sportsmanlike.

John R. · « **Reply #10 on:** May 16, 2007, 03:29:29 AM »

You can run that that 357 quite a bit faster than 1300 fps with a 110 gr. load. I would prefer a heavier bullet in the 357.

tomzuki · « **Reply #11 on:** May 16, 2007, 05:49:42 AM »

John R,

No Doubt you can increase the weight to 158 grs. and add a couple of hundred ft/sec. (total 1500 ft/ sec.), but the muzzle energy only increases to a bit over 500 ft. pounds (525-550). This is almost half the .30 carbine and shows that you still would have an advantage, although small one, over the .357 with the .30 carbine. You still have to keep shots under 150 yards for both, maybe even shorter for the .357 mag. when using heavier projectiles. I used the 110 gr. simply to compare each fairly. The .30 carbine, I feel, gets a bum wrap from shooters. With soft point bullets, and reasonable distances, it's not bad for varmints and smaller game.

John R. · « **Reply #12 on:** May 16, 2007, 07:06:24 AM »

I agree it's ok for varmits and small game, however a 400lb. Russian Boar is not a varmit,especially when pissed off.

dpastordan · « **Reply #13 on:** May 29, 2007, 03:44:54 PM »

The M1 Carbine would not be my first choice. But my father used one when he was an Army Engineer stationed in Alaska (1949-1950). He woke up at midnight when a bear came through the camp and decided to nibble on his sergeant. Dad had a choice of an M1 or his .22 magnum he brought along to shoot ptarmagn to supplement the Army rations. He shot the bear in the back of the head at 30 feet [the bear was busy trying to decide which part of the sergeant to eat first]. The 900 lb Kodiak bear dropped. My father admits it was a lucky shot and would never recommend the little rifle for bear...but when it is the only tool at hand, you better shoot straight. [By the way, the sergeant survived - he was just knocked down. He got up and noticed a second bear in the camp and used that same rifle to kill it. Seemed like the engineers were camping too close to a garbage dump.]

If I were to use the M1 it would be when hunting with dogs where I could get close and make a precision shot to the hog's head. I would not use it beyond 30 yards on a hog.

I had a friend in Special Forces who used an M1 Carbine on his first tour in Vietnam - he hated it. To him it was not a reliable people killer.

Paladin · « **Reply #14 on:** May 29, 2007, 05:06:05 PM »

I had a friend in Special Forces who used an M1 Carbine on his first tour in Vietnam - he hated it. To him it was not a reliable people killer. believe me neither is the M 16

dpastordan · « **Reply #15 on:** May 30, 2007, 08:45:53 AM »

Paladin - you are right. My friend was able to get his hands on a .45 Thompson submachine gun. Said it cut down the brush AND the VC. He said the AR 15/M16 was a little better than the M1 Carbine...but not by much. He preferred the M-14.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #16 on:** May 30, 2007, 09:37:45 AM »

I have killed several deer with the carbine , yes it worked the deer were does 110 lb max all 1 shot dropped dead ! a few spikes also no trouble ! but the 160 lb. 8 pointer 4 quick shots to shoulder at 30 yards showed little effect , son killed the deer with what else a 30/30 ! That was the last time i hunted deer with it ! I like the gun , on small game it works , on large er game at best its a maybe ! I have only killed one hog and would be the last one on this site to be an expert , but if ya got a bigger gun , it might be better to use it !
my family killed hogs for the table , we would use a 22 short , 350 -450 lb. hogs ( barnyard hogs ) but a wild boar NAW !
IMHO - hunting should never be to see what a gun will do but to use a gun that will do the job when under the worst condition !

Old Griz · « **Reply #17 on:** July 04, 2007, 06:07:48 PM »

Well, I guess you can kill almost anything with almost anything if you're lucky enough.

I guess you can kill a hog with a M1 carbine, but it sounds like a great excuse to buy a new gun to me!

SwampThing762 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2007, 01:34:30 AM »

If you want to kill a hog with a carbine, I recommend spending a C-note and getting a Mosin-Nagant M38 or M44 carbine. All hunting ammo for that gun will kill a hog deader than pigsnot. Pun intended.

ST762

Old Griz · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2007, 06:37:26 AM »

Also, for safety sake, you might want to "fix bayonet" before ya start shootin'. It might be handy if you hit a big one and piss him off. The "pig-sticker" will do more actual damage than the bullet.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2007, 07:18:28 AM »

pig-sticker , now that was good !

Land_Owner · « **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2007, 07:47:15 AM »

There is a WHOLE LOT of hope in every hunter that the next hog you see is a "400# Russian boar" and along with that thinking comes "you darn sure better have enough gun for it".

HA! The next pig you are LIKELY to see is a young boar group or sow with shoats. IF you are LUCKY enough to SEE a huge hog, your M1, at the RIGHT DISTANCE, with the RIGHT AMMUNITION and the RIGHT SHOT PLACEMENT, from a STEADY REST will do the job.

On the other hand, if you have available to you other heavier weaponry than the M1, take that instead. You just never know, next time that BIG ONE may step out and you sure don't want to piss him off...

BRUTE · « **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2007, 08:46:16 AM »

Put it right behind the ear and the hog will drop. Don't care how big the hog is or what caliber you are using.

I have shot many hogs with my .22 MAG and recently with my 17HMR. Farthest one was 75yds. Know your ability with the gun when you go.

Shooting for the heart is risky... especially on a big hog. The plate in the shoulder actually covers the heart if the pig is perpendicular to you. The hog has to have its rear facing you more,, kind of fading away to actually have a chance to hit the heart. Lungs shots and stuff like that result in lost hogs or blood trailing. Both are for the birds in my opinion.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #23 on:** July 05, 2007, 08:58:54 AM »

there is a story about the first night vision sniper scope in Korea , it was made for the M2 carbine , seems and officer was asked why the 30 cab. anything can take a hit from a carbine ! the reply - yea , but not much can stand 30 hits from um !
so if the first shot pisses him off keep pulling the trigger ! right up till ya stick him with the pig sticker ( i love that ) !

Land_Owner · « **Reply #24 on:** July 05, 2007, 08:59:06 AM »

Where I am, E. Central Florida, the surrounding area is thick palmettos, dense wetlands, and closed to all but the deer, ground scurrying animals (hogs) and humans on hands and knees. It is NO PLACE to be chasing a wounded hog of ANY weight class whether or not a blood trail can be located. You more likely than not will meet face to face, on all fours, in close quarters with no where to turn, and the advantage will be 110% to the HOGS. A human can get real torn up real fast in a place like that (not that I have seen it personally mind you - but I have been in there looking a time or two - and it is scarier than the Land's Tax Bill).

ANCHOR that hog like Brute says and the chase is OVER. Like I said earlier..."They don't take it well in the neck."

BRUTE · « **Reply #25 on:** July 05, 2007, 05:28:03 PM »

Quote from: Land_Owner on July 05, 2007, 08:59:06 AM

Where I am, E. Central Florida, the surrounding area is thick palmettos, dense wetlands, and closed to all but the deer, ground scurrying animals (hogs) and humans on hands and knees. It is NO PLACE to be chasing a wounded hog of ANY weight class whether or not a blood trail can be located. You more likely than not will meet face to face, on all fours, in close quarters with no where to turn, and the advantage will be 110% to the HOGS. A human can get real torn up real fast in a place like that.

I drop dogs down ever time anticipating getting face to face with the big one.

All that you mentioned and add thorns like 16 penny nails and cat claw that make fishing hooks look like sewing needles and you have SOUTH TEXAS.

Cabin4 · « **Reply #26 on:** July 28, 2007, 04:28:23 AM »

Much better choices out there then a 30 carbine to kill a hog. This caliber was never designed to kill game. Unless there are better bullet choices then the 110gr bullets I have seen, this one should stay as a range gun. The 357 mag is a much better choice with a 180gr bullet designed to kill game. I have used the 357mag in a revolver to take deer within 50 yards and works great with the 180gr Nosler Partions. In a lever gun the ballistics can be improved.

Syncerus · « **Reply #27 on:** August 03, 2007, 11:50:13 AM »

I'll bite on this one, I guess.

Remember the first post:

"I was thinking about taking my m1 hog hunting would it do the job and where would i shoot it"

The answer is in the post. Sure, a .30 carbine will kill a pig when shot accurately, but we ALL agree that it's not the weapon of choice, and it's absolutely not the weapon of choice for a first timer. The fact that he's asking where to shoot the pig gives us our answer right there. A first timer is clearly better off with a bit heavier weapon to give a little margin for excitement, etc.

Sometimes money is an issue, sometimes it's not. A lot of fellows just like a particular firearm and want to use it in the woods; there's nothing wrong with that. If money is an issue, as it is for most of us, a Mosin-Nagant seems an excellent and inexpensive choice.

I agree that an experienced hunter can use a much lighter caliber, if he wants to handicap himself in that way. I don't agree that a first timer should use an unduly light cartridge unless forced by circumstances to do so.

Cabin4 · « **Reply #28 on:** August 03, 2007, 01:44:48 PM »

Quote from: Syncerus on August 03, 2007, 11:50:13 AM

If money is an issue, as it is for most of us, a Mosin-Nagant seems an excellent and inexpensive choice.

I agree with that:

I purchased one of these about 6 years ago in 7.62 x 54 for around $70. It was in pretty good shape and even came with a walnut sporter stock. I bought the scope mount kit for around $35 and had it drilled & tapped for about $50. Put on an inexpensive Bushnell on it for around $80ish and its a good shooter for a grand total of around $235. Ammo is cheap and the ballistics are close to the 308. I have killed deer with it and no dought it can kill a hog.

For that matter, a good used 30-30 for around $250 and the iron sights should be more than enough to kill a hog.

Hunting & shooting does not have to be expensive.

trotterlg · « **Reply #29 on:** August 03, 2007, 06:12:26 PM »

Only hogs I have hunted were in Northern CA, I will tell you that you will feel real small looking at a 600 pound pig while holding a 30 carbine. If you screw up it will eat you. I will second the Mosin-Nagant, I have a 91-59 I carry during Bear season, they are crude, but they are utterly reliable, I don't think there is any condition in which they would not function. I use 180gr RNSP bullets ment for a British 303, I just pull down Chetz silver tips and crimp in the SP bullets. Larry