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October 30, 2018
Feral pigs offer quite the conundrum: The animals are very destructive to land and habitat, yet they offer an exciting sport-hunting opportunity that generally lasts all year.
Primarily, hog hunting is meant to control populations, and even eradication in some scenarios where their presence challenges livestock health and production.
Method of take crosses the entire spectrum of hunting. In fact, due to their destructive nature, methods might be considered unethical for other species of game animals, such as deer.
Hunters use a variety of sporting arms, with some even using dogs and knives. In one state, those with access to a helicopter have resorted to shooting pigs from above, all to protect property and habitat.
WHY HOGS? Wild pigs are extremely prolific, meaning a single sow can farrow up to three litters per year consisting of four to 12 piglets each time.
Anthony Amantine spends a great deal of time hunting hogs, and he believes having the right rifle and scope is critical, and a red-dot scope on a flat shooting rifle is hard to beat.
“While hogs can be patterned, they are very nomadic and pelagic within their home range,” Amantine said. “That just means they move all the time. Getting them to stand still for an effective kill shot can be a challenge, so being capable of taking a fast shot on a moving hog requires practice and quality gear.”
Amantine shoots several times a week, and suggests continued practice, regardless of the species you prefer to hunt.
“Hogs are very tough animals, and that makes shot placement critical,” Amantine said. “Many different rifles and rounds can be effective, if you hit the pig in the right spot.”
OPTICS Being able to make a fast, accurate shot on a quickly moving animal comes down to quality gear and time on the range. The extensive list of adequate arms is long, and is ultimately up to personal preference.
However, when considering optics, Aimpoint has hogs covered with cutting-edge technology, durability, reliability and top-shelf accuracy.
The company has a long list of applicable red-dot scopes built to hunt elephants all the way down to turkeys and squirrels. For most hog hunting scenarios, Aimpoint’s Hunting Marketing Manager Dory Schoby — an accomplished hunter and shooter in her own right — recommends the Micro H-2.
“For the U.S. hog hunter that prefers the AR platform, the Micro series is a great option for shooting hogs on the move,” Schoby said. “The versatile mounting options make it one of my favorite red-dot scopes. It’s equally at home on a crossbow, shotgun, pistol and especially ARs.”
Schoby recommends positioning the red-dot scope further down the barrel than where a typical scope might be placed.
“When it comes to shooting a moving target, the further from your eye the optic is, the easier it is to shoot and focus with both eyes open,” she said. “Keeping both eyes open on a moving target will make for faster decisions and better shot placement.”
Finally, an impressive feature that comes standard with Aimpoint red-dot scopes is the battery life. Most of the company’s scopes will run for five years of continuous use. That means turned on at a mid-level setting for 50,000 hours.
Regardless of gear, hitting a moving target requires a great deal of practice at the range. Hunters can’t expect to just walk out and hit a running hog.
