On another hunting site, there was a long running thread about big game hunting with a .223. One fella insisted it was a suitable moose caliber. When asked if he had any real life experience hunting moose with a .223, never got an answer. I took that as a no.

I know two people that bought a rugged 308. Both had a lot of problems. One shot 5 shots and destroyed the gun rugar replaced it the new one also was so over gased it sheard off the last shot hold open latch . He sold it for a loss .

The other guy is in TX and messed with It a bunch to try to get ti to function properly .


The 16" barrel short gas tubs and over sizes gas ports are the problem even running it on the lowest setting. The guy in TX swaped out a different adjustable gas block and did some other things in order to get ti to function properly. These are both very knowledgeable fire arm guys I have know over a decade
Their experience is why I have not bough one.


At this point I'd an AR is something I decided I "need to shoot" it will likely be in 6mm arc in a standard area.

the ones I have heard of having issues were 16" the 20 functions fine on the higher setting they recommend for break in it abuses brass on the lighter setting it is easier on the brass I wouldn't count on many reloads on the brass but if you feed it factory and aren't picking it up it won't matter.

the spring guys played with some heavier buffer springs they were able to slow down the bolt with a heavier buffer and springs and still get good function

my son things there will be a Gen 2 out with a more adjustable gas block , there is already a company making one.
there is a lot of variation in 308 ammo for 2 settings and an off

Well I buy a gun, vehical, tractors, ect I expect them to work properly. Not have to mess with them to get them to function. If I chose to upgrade or modify them to my tast that's my choice but it better function from the start or it goes down the road. I don't think I would buy a rugar semi auto at this point

As tar as 20" working with the longer gas tub whan they sent my friend a new gun after the receiver blew apart on the first one he requested a 20" planing to cut it to 18" if it functioned properly . But it also had issues.

You can argue this thing around to hades and back and won’t reach a conclusion
I for omen shoot squirrels in the head out to 80 yards with my squirrel rifle that prints at only a tad under 1 MOA
A couple of my 223 ‘s shoot better that half MOA and the brain box on a hog is a bit bigger than that of a squirrel
You draw your own conclusions from that
PS. I have not seen a hog or deer or anything else I shot argue with me about the 223 size lomp of leat tattling around in its head

I look at it this way , a 223 with a decent bullet is more capable than a bow an arrow and we allow that.
as long as you treat your 223 shot like it is an archery kill it should work.
I wouldn't do it because you might see that moose for 20 seconds and it may never give you a perfect shot I don't even like 223 for deer because you can't take some shots and if all your being given is those shots your going to have to accept tag soup and I hate tag soup.

does that make 223 ideal , not at all far from it .
are we going to tell archery hunters to get a rifle ?

Your going to kill a moose if you put holes in important parts with a223. But your going to have a bigger hole and better blood trails and chance of recovery with an arrow.

I can kill anything in North Amarica and drop it on the spot with a .22lr and a head shot. Just becuse I can and have taken very large animals under percict conditions and ranges does not mean I'm going to think a 223 is bigger if a .22 will do it a 223 will be more better. Can it work absolutely. If you want to wait for perfect shots and be limited on what distance and shots you can take.

I have shot nearly 1000 hogs - a lot of them with a .22 mag. If I have a hog standing still inside 100 yards, I will probably kill it with a .22 mag. Hogs are easy to kill with any rifle if standing still. BUT, I shoot many hogs on the run, sometimes four or even five at a time. I have yet to meet anyone who can consistently put a bullet in a running hog’s head at 75 yards. That is when you need a caliber that has enough energy to make it obvious you hit them. I used to use a 6.5 grendel. While a great caliber when a hog is standing, they are pretty weak on a running hog. You spend too many shots shooting at a hog you have already hit but didnt know it. .308 is a great caliber if you dont mind and AR 10.

I have killed multiple hogs with each of the following - .22 lr, .22 mag, .223, .224 valk, 6mm creed, 6.5 creed, 6.5 grendel, .308, and .450 bushmaster. I once killed 153 hogs in 6 months. All around, for my hunting - usually with a thermal at night - an AR 15 in .450 bushmaster with a 7 rd mag is what I pick up.

You should read that entire thread. There's multiple moose kills posted on there, with field necropsy photos. Necropsy photos for the majority of the kill shots on there. A 77 TMK out of a 223/5.56 will kill any pig on this continent in short order. You wanna subscribe to the Fudd mentality of bigger is always better, that's fine. Bullet design has progressed so much now that hard recoiling magnums and non-magnums are not needed. You can spot your shot through the scope and stay on target. It's a proven fact that everyone shoots a lighter recoiling rifle better than a high recoiling rifle. That's not even debatable.

You folks shoot a lot of hogs in Idaho?

Cuts down on the blood left in the trap when shooting them in the trap.

I think what a lot of people are failing to understand, is yes, you can kill the biggest hog dead as a hammer with a properly placed round from almost any caliber rifle with a well placed shot. I have killed a number of them with a .22 lr. But, hogs are also one of the few larger animals that are often shot in number. I commonly shoot two to four in one shooting. Other than small game, most hunters are not shooting two to four deer or elk at a time. This is where the larger caliber rifles outperform the smaller calibers. I bought a 6.5 grendel - which has about 40% more energy than a .223 - and I had trouble telling I even hit them as they were running off. I took my thermal off it and put it on an AR 10 .308. It did a good job, but i dont have a thermal scanner and an AR 10 with a thermal scope gets pretty heavy when scanning. So I put my thermal on my .450 bushmaster AR 15 - which I had used with a red light for years, and it was superior to all those calibers. Even with it, I dont always know I hit them - but I can tell it a lot more often than the grendel and for sure my .223. You dont want to be shooting at and hitting the same hog three times when there are a dozen more to shoot at.

Also, lets not forget, the skull is the trophy on a feral hog. Dont want no bullet holes in the trophy. I live in Arkansas where the college mascot is a Razorback. On a forum made up of a lot of folks who are trying to turn a dollar off the animals they have taken - Razorback red boar hog skulls are pretty popular in my home state

LOL

OMG! I'm rolling on the floor right now!! Nice one!

All I can say is, very nice shooting!

I repectfully disagree.

I would suggest a small bullet - .223, 1437 ME - in a poor shot location is not nearly as effective as a larger bullet - .450 bushmaster, ME 2800 muzzle energy - in the same shot location.

50 CAL muzzle loaders and 12ga slugs tell me big holes through both sides make a difference

you couldn't get a much worse bullet design than a 1/2 inch lead marble

or a .720 lead thimble