there is an "optimal" time,place and distance for every caliber. imo a round like a 308 has a much broader effective area. Kemster has proven that a 223 will kill pigs but if he is in a thick palmeto thicket I'd bet good money he has his 45 acp on his hip. if you want to hunt those thick areas on foot with a 223, make sure your 30 round mag is full, you just may need it.
What type of fixed platform/location are you shooting from in the open?
Do you mean when I'm hunting or when I go to the range and shoot?
When I go hunting, my hunting method is usually walking around and shoot whatever pig that I see.
When I go to the range, I do bench shooting with rifle rest and stuff to sight it in first and then do variety of stuffs with it.
When hunting, the point we were trying to make is that the folks that are using a .223 to kill hogs are shooting them from the roof of a truck with a bipod, at night, with night vision, silenced, across open fields and meadows.
Big difference between walking through a WMA where you're lucky to get a 40-60 yard shot and shooting from a fixed location in the open at night (shooting gallery). If you shoot a hog with a .223 while stalking and don't make a perfect shot to the ear, eye or spine your chances of ever recovering the wounded hog is slim to none. As Nacho stated above, make sure you have a full 30 round mag.
My 14 years of hunting hogs on public land - still hunting and stalking them, I have never been presented a shot over 60 yards and it was usually after I had snuck up on them to get a clean heart/lung kill shot, just like on a deer from the ground. Buy a .30 Cal. center fire rifle or a 12 Gauge with slugs to stalk hogs and leave the .223 for the range.
I do have a day time AR set-up in 5.56 that also eats Federal Fusions. I do stalk the creek beds with that rifle and don't have any problems. Granted the .45 is on my hip, but have yet to pull it. If you stalk slowly with the wind in your face you will spot them before they see you. Have killed many a hogs with a free arm shot with the AR and they have resulted with piggys laying on the ground.
When I did hunt WMAs during small game, the gun of choice was a 12 ga with slugs, only because the rules say no center fire rifles.
I guess, not wanting to offend anyone, and for lack of better words, I am confident with my abilities with the AR platform and the .223 bullet I have chosen to get the job done. Have shot hogs up near 400 lbs and never really thought that I "needed something bigger" .....
An AR with the right ammo is a pigs nightmare. ammo wt will need to be adjusted to the twist rate of the barrel
the original ? was about the 223. so suppose you had to hunt with a single shot 223, as I have one now. would you still feel comfortable in the thick stuff with a 223 single shot? or would you prefer something bigger? the 223 is growing on me but I still think you have a much less margin for error with a smaller/lighter bullet than a larger/heavier one, especialy if you are not off the ground or at a safe distance.
