Two words explain…Fast and Powerful. Every Southern Hunter that ever went after a Wild Boar knows you can sit in a ground blind and kill a wild hog with a 22 long rifle cartridge. It is legal to do that because Wild Hogs are not considered Game Animals. You can kill a deer the same way but it is not legal in most states nor considered a humane shot.
For the Sport Hunter that takes Deer, Black Bear, and Wild Hogs I have several recommendations. First lets take a look at what the old world hunters use during a Drive Hunt. Its going to be a standard 30/06 or something you might not know about the 9.3×62 this is a more modern version of the 9.3x74R which fires a 286 grain bullet. These two rifle calibers get the job done now.
The 30/06 Springfield is correct for just about everything short of the Dangerous Game of Africa. The 9.3×62 is more or less a 366/06 similar to the 350 Remington Magnum and the 35 Whealen.
When I’m Deer Hunting now with the real possibility of a hog encounter the minimum for me is my Ruger Scout Rifle in 308 Winchester with 150 grain bullets. I use this as the all around grab it and go anything rifle. If shooting from a stand I have a CZ-586 Combination Gun (Not made anymore) it combines a 12 gauge shotgun barrel that is very effective with 000 buckshot and Brenneke Slugs, with a highly accurate 30/06 barrel underneath which likes 165 grain Winchester Power Points. With this I have brought down some really big Wild Boars.
How big do they get? You hear tales of Boars over 500 pounds this is very possible and no myth. You just never know what’s going to walk up on you or what the dogs will bay.
I had a Marlin 444 I really liked as a Boar Stopping rifle with 265 grain Buffalo Bore bullets, nothing ever got up after a hit with that, but now, when things get scary I have my Henry 45-70 Lever Action. The standard hunting load for deer and large game with the 45-70 is the Hornady 325 grain Flex tip bullet for tubular magazines. This works just fine in Single Shot rifles as well. This combination is your Hog Stopping Rifle if you need it. Pass it on.