Best Legal shotgun caliber for dispatching weaner and fat pigs

F1 657283

Member
I have a 12 bore and a .410 , we have both wearers and finishing pigs what caliber is best and what load of cartridge. must be legal. Thanks
 

bitwrx

Member
.22 rimfire blank, captive bolt gun.
Give these guys a call tomorrow. https://raytradeuk.co.uk/humane-slaughter/

12 bore going off in a piggery sounds a bit risky to me. At the least I'd be worried about a stray round taking out the wrong animal in an inhumane way. But then I'm not a gun person; what do I know? 🤷‍♂️

ETA: If you're performing emergency kills of pigs, you should be familiar with this document: https://www.pigvetsoc.org.uk/files/document/192/Casualty Pig - April 2013-1.pdf
(It says .410 for smaller pigs, bigger gun for bigger animals. No info on charge or load. It also says you'll need someone to restrain the pig with a snatch wire. Fine with a bolt gun, but I'd be fudged if you'd find me standing anywhere near the business end of a shotgun holding onto a wire. Just get a bolt gun.)
 
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beardface

Member
Location
East Yorkshire
410 on anything under boar size. 12 boar would make a fair mess of weaners. Captive bolt is ample for finishers. Heard a story once of a a boar that had 9 bolt holes in its head and just stood there as if nothing had happened!
 

Treecreeper

Member
Livestock Farmer
I use a single bore 12 gauge for most despatches, lead AAA for anything big cattle Inc, 4/5shot for smaller animals, be wary of other compounds in enclosed spaces.. Don't do it point blank allow 15-20cm to allow pressures in barrel to exit. If you can't get close up to 5m with AAA is ok as at this distance expansion of pattern is minimal and gives a bit of margin of error. Remember points of aim vary according to species.
 

Hard Graft

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
British Isles
have used just about every conceivable fire arm from shot guns rifles and pistols and they all have their place but shotguns are a good job but so are pistols but the benefits of a shot gun is you don’t need to be spot on
 

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