Unless you're dead set on a semi auto,try a blr. Man they throw up and aim easy on running game and are also a good rifle from a stand. .308 or .270 and your good to go.
I'd consider myself a fair rifle shot, from a bench, with all the time in the world, when I'm in the zone, and all the stars are aligned. don't like shooting freehand period, esp at distance or if game is walking let alone being chased by dogs. I know some of you guys can do it but I think I'd be lucky to hit a running animal freehand at more than 30 yd's with a rifle or slug and buckshot at under 40 yd's would give me an edge. just an opinion from someone who knows absolutely nothing of hunting deer/hogs with dogs.
We routinely have shots up to 200 yds or more on straight main grade roads or clear cuts so a rifle is crucial. We don't hunt like elsewhere in the South with dropped-off standers/buckshot/stay in 1 position/etc. That's the old fashioned way that terribly sucks to me.
Time to break out the bar 308 I think :chain
Nacho- I've shot half a box of bullets from my 300wsm and only killed 2. It's an art shooting in a fast paced scenario.
I shot a hog running across a road over 200 yards with my blr free hand,I had a scope though. That buck I killed last week was running hard and I put two holes in it at 50 yards. That was with 12ga slugs.
gotta disagree about slugs, yes up north, in certain areas we had to use them and were not allowed to use buckshot. my longest kill ever was with a rifled slug (rem slugger) from a smoothbore mossberg 500 with open sights, app 85 yds, thru and thru, drt. of 25 or so deer and 1 hog all were complete pass thrus with big holes and blood trails a blind man could follow, if they moved at all. as for 8 shots, not to insult but it sounds like theres something wrong going on, kinda think you likely did connect on a few and they just didn't drop right there, who knows? range or rushing the shot? a few cliches come to mind, one shot one kill, this is this, and aim small miss small. and the shooting off the box thing, I'm sure not every shot fired by doggers is off a box with a good angle.
