Maybe the real problem is the obliteration of North America's large carnivore population. This is what happens when we mess with ecosystems that we do not understand, or fail to care about the effects of messing with those ecosystems.

I, for one, welcome our new porcine overlords.

A Texas county I worked at the newspaper of record for, once hired a helicopter hunting outfit to fight the feral hog problem. The program wound up cancelled six weeks later - hunters were taking one or two hogs and calling it a successful hunt, when the original plan was for hunters to not stop killing until they were out of either ammo or hogs, whichever came first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj5dd-Bge5I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ribiDIkEv_s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4nhKNy9Sqg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruGpwqqmpAs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3k80Vuq34

But don't you know that guns are bad, ar-15s have no legitimate use and the argument that starts with "Ranchers out west" is just something made up by the NRA? Hey Slaytanik, here is a quote from aphis.usda.gov

"Feral swine are not native to the Americas. They were first brought to the United States in the 1500s by early explorers and settlers as a source of food. Free-range livestock management practices and escapes from enclosures led to the first establishment of feral swine populations within the United States."

I think if you realized the size and power of some of these creatures and frankly the distance they travel you would also realize that native predators simply would not (and did not) keep up with them. Remember, these creatures have been thriving in the US since the 1500's long before farmers and population growth had a major impact on predators. It's a story of an intentionally introduced invasive species such as starlings and Asian carp.

On a side note the meat is delicious https://www.dartagnan.com/wild-boar-recipes-and-uses.html if you have the right set of genetics. Some people have a gene that causes them to smell urine in cooked male pork (of any verity) due to the Androstenone. I for one can not eat the meat of a male pig, its hit or miss at the supermarket but when my friends go hunting I usually end up with something much nicer and typically for free.

By federal law, feral hogs must be inspected "pre and post mortum" or alive and dead in order to confirm its safety. Hunters are allowed to eat their own feral hog meat, but they cannot donate it to food banks....go figure.

check out https://www.feralhogsforthehungry.com/

I wouldn't feel comfortable going after these hogs with anything lesser than .308.

I've taken a hog with a hot-loaded .45LC round, so something like a .30-30 or a hunting-loaded .44 Magnum could do the job reliably. There is the problem that a lot of farmers run cattle too, so over-penetration is a worry. A .308 would be the biggest thing I'd take one with.

e. I would not use a .223 or an AR-15. If you wouldn't take a deer with it it's useless on hogs.

Are you okay? You seem erratic and unfocused.