poole93
Senior Member
Looking at buying one of the two for using on wmas during small game. Pros and cons?
Y'all's ballistics and energy figures still can't hold a candle to a .50 Cal muzzleloader with a 300-400 gr bullet and 100 grains of powder. A .50 cal ML will smoke an 800 lb elk easy peasy, but y'all are shooting small game weapons meant for squirrels and mice. I cant figure out why. Forget the stuff with 400 ft/lbs energy and go with big lead, and big powder. If you shoot a hog in the head with a .50 Cal ML at 60 yards, you will slap flip that sucker upside down. ,1,000 lbs energy. A .17 or .22 can't do that. Never could,never will.
One thing to consider: you might want marksmanship practice. If you shoot a hog anywhere but the boiler room / bullseye with a .17, well, you basically just shot it with a BB gun. If you smack it in the neck with a .50 cal sabot, it will only go 18".....straight down. A .50 cal will plow through a big boar hog like he just got hit by a train. A misplaced shot by a .17 or a .22 will just feel like a flea bite, and he'll stop and scratch it after he laughs at you.
Agreed on all counts if you're specifically hog hunting. But I think the main deal is that a lot of people like to actually small game hunt, but be prepared if they see a hog while doing so. A .22 mag will work on a hog, but a .50 doesn't work too well on a squirrel or rabbit.Y'all's ballistics and energy figures still can't hold a candle to a .50 Cal muzzleloader with a 300-400 gr bullet and 100 grains of powder. A .50 cal ML will smoke an 800 lb elk easy peasy, but y'all are shooting small game weapons meant for squirrels and mice. I cant figure out why. Forget the stuff with 400 ft/lbs energy and go with big lead, and big powder. If you shoot a hog in the head with a .50 Cal ML at 60 yards, you will slap flip that sucker upside down. ,1,000 lbs energy. A .17 or .22 can't do that. Never could,never will.
One thing to consider: you might want marksmanship practice. If you shoot a hog anywhere but the boiler room / bullseye with a .17, well, you basically just shot it with a BB gun. If you smack it in the neck with a .50 cal sabot, it will only go 18".....straight down. A .50 cal will plow through a big boar hog like he just got hit by a train. A misplaced shot by a .17 or a .22 will just feel like a flea bite, and he'll stop and scratch it after he laughs at you.