{"id":2245,"date":"2012-03-26T00:11:45","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T04:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=2245"},"modified":"2025-11-24T06:28:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:28:58","slug":"gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Scott Mayer<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.gibbsrifle.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Pig Buster from Gibbs Rifle Co. are made from reactivated1903A3 Springfield drill rifles.<\/p><\/div>\n

The folks at Gibbs Rifle Co. have a history of taking surplus military rifles of arguably minimal collector interest and turning them into sport specialty rifles that have a serious \u201cfun gun\u201d factor and \u201ctough as nails\u201d demeanor. Perhaps the best known of them are the Summit and Quest chambered in .45-70 and .308, respectively. Those were built on surplus Enfield actions and were not attempts to reproduce any sort of historical military gun at all. Instead, they were practical, utilitarian rifles that made good use of surplus military and some new parts. \u201cCommercial sporterizing,\u201d probably best describes it, and as Gibbs puts it, they \u201c\u2026take the best features of historic military arms and translate them to meet modern sporting needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the fall of 2012, Gibbs is introducing a new sport specialty rifle called the Pig Buster that\u2019s every bit as tough as its predecessors, and in true Gibbs Rifle form, makes good use guns that might otherwise never see a live round again. The Pig Buster is built on reactivated 03A3 Springfield actions, and was originally conceived as something of a \u201cscout\u201d rifle. Gibbs showed the first one at the 2012 SHOT Show, and darn near everyone who handled it said, \u201cThat\u2019s a hog hunting rifle,\u201d and thus the Pig Buster was born.<\/p>\n

\"Original<\/a>

Original 03A3 Springfields had 24-inch barrels and full-length handguards and stocks. The Pig Buster has an 18 \u00be-inch barrel, and the stocks are shortened, respectively, to just in front of the rear barrel band.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are generally two main types of hog hunters: those who go high-tech with night vision and suppressors<\/a>, and those who see their gun as a tool on the level of a hammer. The Pig Buster is military tough, and definitely for the latter. I don\u2019t know what it is about the gun, but holding it triggers something in me that makes me want to bludgeon something with it as much as I want to shoot it.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, they\u2019re reactivated drill rifles with modified synthetic drill rifle stocks and new four-groove barrels topped with new-production No. 5 Jungle Carbine flash hiders. Metal parts have a super-tough, olive-colored Parkerizing treatment and stocks given a new green and black \u201cspider web\u201d finish. Chamberings are .30-\u201906 or .35 Whelen, both of which are more than suitable for makin\u2019 bacon. Each Pig Buster comes with a new-made Malcom Hi-Lux\/Leatherwood 2.5-power scope mounted in a new reproduction Redfield-type steel scope base, The cost of the complete set up is $725.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>

As part of reactivating these rifles, Gibbs had to break the weld on the magazine cutoff. You can see there is no trace of that weld under the new Parkerizing finish.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re like me and are inspired to use this rifle with not so delicate a touch, then you might want to opt for an 03A3 rear peep sight that simply attaches to the rear receiver bridge–but you\u2019ll have to find the sight on the surplus market, it\u2019s not an option on the Pig Buster.<\/p>\n

Deactivated guns are ones that have been made inoperable and I\u2019ve seen a lot of stink raised about reactivating them because you can\u2019t safely reactivate every one. Whether you can or not depends a lot on how a gun was deactivated in the first place, and to what degree. I\u2019ve seen reports of companies reactivating Garand receivers that were cut completely in half, so suffice to say nothing short of miracles are possible by someone knowledgeable about welding and metallurgy. Gibbs has more than 50 years of experience reactivating tens of thousands of guns, including machine guns, and it\u2019s not a process the company takes with a cavalier attitude. If a gun can\u2019t be reactivated safely, they won\u2019t bother. It\u2019s not worth it.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Malcom Hi-Lux\/Leatherwood scope is a high-quality steel optic fully adjustable for windage and elevation.<\/p><\/div>\n

These rifles were originally working 03A3 rifles from World War II that were deactivated for drill use by welding a steel rod in the bore so a bullet cannot pass through. To make sure someone didn\u2019t simply swap barrels to make a working gun, barrels were spot-welded to the actions. Heaven forbid someone actually manage to chamber and fire a live round in a gun with its bore welded shut, so firing pins were removed, and bolt faces welded closed so even if you did replace the firing pin, it couldn\u2019t reach the primer. Lastly, the magazine cutoffs were spot-welded in place. You remove the bolt from an 03 by placing the cutoff between \u201con\u201d and \u201coff,\u201d so spot welding the cutoff prevented someone from putting in an active bolt.<\/p>\n

Reactivation is a little more involved than simply reversing things. To begin with, not every one of these drill rifles is suitable for reactivation, so Gibbs hand selects which ones to use. Next, Gibbs breaks the welds and scraps the barrel and bolt.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no sense in removing the rod from the bore and trying to salvage the rifling when you can simply use a new barrel. The barrels are fitted with new reproductions of No. 5 Jungle Carbine flash hiders because the barrels are only 18 \u00be inches long and, depending on your load, produce spectacular fireballs from the muzzle.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The drill rifle stocks are synthetic and solid all the way through except for the storage compartment in the butt. It\u2019s a great place to keep a small, personal suture kit in case the pig wins.<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m personally not so concerned about the muzzle flash. Instead, I like the fact that the hider is also the mount for a No. 5 bayonet. One method of hunting pigs is to bring the boar to bay with dogs, hold it with a catch dog, and then dispatch it up close and personal with a large knife. I\u2019ve handgun hunted pigs with dogs and there\u2019s a little too much excitement going on for me to get my face that close to a pissed-off pig slashing its razor-sharp tusks at everything nearby. Instead, mounting a No. 5 bayonet on the Pig Buster would provide a margin of safety so I could use it like a spear and stick a pig from a little distance, and if I chickened out at the last minute, could always blast it instead\u2014poor form or not!<\/p>\n

Reactivating bolts is a little dicey because the heat used on them during deactivation welding can anneal the metal making the bolt lugs too soft to be safe, so instead of taking any risks, Gibbs uses its supply of original, un-issued 1903A3 bolts that were made by the U.S. during World War II. The only modification they do is to give the bolt handle a little sweep so it clears the scope when cycling the action.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>

One of the sight-in groups measured right at one-inch spread. Groups were consistently about two inches or less with the largest recorded group being 2 \u00bc inches.<\/p><\/div>\n

Pig Buster stocks are repurposed drill rifle stocks. I\u2019ve seen grousing on Internet forums about the suitability of them because they weren\u2019t originally intended for use on firing guns. It\u2019s true that they weren\u2019t, but that doesn\u2019t mean there was any specification to make them unusable for firing guns, either. They\u2019re not plastic like you think of used on newly made kids\u2019 BB guns. Instead, they\u2019re dense synthetic more like nylon and solid all the way through except for the compartment space in the buttstock.<\/p>\n

Gibbs is not far from me so I was able to go by there and see for myself what the stocks are like before and after modification. No doubt, the \u201cbefore\u201d stocks took a beating from drills, but I\u2019m pretty confident in saying they\u2019re a lot sturdier than any value-priced synthetic stock on the market today, and they\u2019re way more sturdy than any wooden stock. I\u2019m pretty sure I can curb stomp one with a small car and not break it. Inside the stock, the molded inletting mates almost perfectly to the action, but understandably is not nearly as tight as you get with a true bedding job. Generally, the more intimate the mating surfaces are between the action and the stock, the more accurate the rifle.<\/p>\n

\"Gibbs<\/a>

Gibbs showed the first of these rifles at the 2012 SHOT Show. Nearly everyone who saw it said looked like a hog hunting gun and thus the Pig Buster was born<\/p><\/div>\n

As for the modification, original 03A3 Springfields had 24-inch barrels and full-length handguards and stocks, so Pig Buster stocks are abbreviated to better suit the 18 \u00be-inch barrels. Both the handguard and stock are cut off just in front of the rear barrel band and rounded smooth at the front before getting the green\/black spider web paint job.<\/p>\n

While visiting at Gibbs, the owner, Val Forgett, III, and I, decided to pop a few caps with the Pig Buster, so we went to the public range at the new Peacemaker National Training Center in nearby Inwood, WV. Some folks think that review guns are cherry-picked before going out to writers, but I can assure you that was not the case. The rifle had only recently been assembled and the scope just snugged into the rings. This would be its maiden trip to the range, so we had to square the reticle and zero it before attempting any shots for accuracy.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A reproduction No. 5 Jungle Carbine flash hider tops the barrel. It not only helps control the muzzle blast, but is also where you attach a No. 5 bayonet.<\/p><\/div>\n

The little Hi-Lux\/Leatherwood scope has a \u00be-inch tube, which is quite a departure from the norm for a lot of shooters who are more used to one-inch or even 30mm tubes, and its 2.5x magnification makes pinpoint accuracy a challenge until you get accustomed to using it. With that magnification, you\u2019re never going to have the target precision a higher magnification provides, but for hunting situations I find myself on the lower power end of things more often than the higher. When hunting it\u2019s generally good practice to keep your scope on a lower setting. What that does is allow a shot if you suddenly have a close-range shot opportunity. If you have an opportunity at longer range, you usually have a moment to crank up the magnification, but rarely do you have that when the situation is reversed. If you have a scope cranked up to 9x and are suddenly presented a shot at 75 yards or less, it\u2019s going to be hard for you to find your game in the scope because everything is so magnified.<\/p>\n

\"Bolts<\/a>

\"Gibbs<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve previously used the Hi-Lux\/Leatherwood brand scopes when reviewing Sharps-style rifles and can say they\u2019re extremely well made and hold their zero. Unlike the original Malcom scopes they replicate, these are water- and shock-proof, sealed to prevent fogging, and the lenses are coated for a clear, bright image. If you want a more powerful scope, there aren\u2019t many \u00be tube options. Most of the ones you find are billed as \u201crimfire\u201d scopes where you get what you pay for, so sticking with the Hi-Lux\/Leatherwood is your best option for an optic. When you look through this scope with both eyes open, the svelte, steel body all but disappears leaving you with a sight picture that\u2019s more like crosshairs superimposed on the target instead of viewing them through a tube. The crosshairs are really fine, which makes it easier to aim more precisely despite the low magnification.<\/p>\n

Forgett brought along a mixture of military surplus ammo for the zeroing, and Remington 150-grain roundnose factory loads to see how well the gun shoots<\/a> with ammo similar to what a pig hunter might use. He bore-sighted the rifle at the range the old fashioned way by removing the bolt, looking through the bore, and centering an object in it. Without moving the gun, he aligned the crosshairs on the same object resulting in the first shots being on the target backer at 100 yards. A few shots and scope adjustments later, the rifle was on paper where Val shot a really nice one-inch, three-shot group. After another adjustment, the rifle was zeroed in and between the two of us we were consistently shooting groups that measured around two inches or less. Groups got larger as the barrel heated up, which is often the case with rifles, but even the largest group, 2 \u00bc inches, was pretty darn good considering the barrel was really hot and the bore arguably dirty and was easily \u201cminute of pig.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The steel scope base is a new-made reproduction of the Redfield-type originally used on these rifles. If you opt for iron sights, an original 03A3 peep fits right on the rear receiver bridge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gibbs kept the original two-stage military trigger on the Pig Buster instead of going with an aftermarket single-stage unit. On a two-stage trigger, there is a long, light take-up prior to the trigger reaching its full pull weight and it takes a little getting used to if you haven\u2019t used one before. Judging by the small groups we were shooting, it\u2019s safe to say neither of us found the long take-up the least bit distracting or problematic. I did not have a pull gauge with me to measure it, but I estimate the pull weight to be around 4 pounds.<\/p>\n

Also kept original is the safety lever. It\u2019s a tab on the cocking piece at the rear of the bolt that you flip up to put on \u201csafe\u201d and flip down to the left to \u201cfire.\u201d In the safe position, it rests right up against the scope and might be difficult to operate if you have really thick fingers. If that\u2019s the case, then Dayton Traister makes a low profile Mark II replacement safety lever your gunsmith can install.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>

In the \u201csafe\u201d position, the safety lever presses right up against the scope. If you have trouble operating the safety, Dayton Traister makes a low-profile replacement that your gunsmith can install.<\/p><\/div>\n

In doing my homework prior to my visit to Gibbs, I read concerns from shooters about recoil from the Pig Buster. The .30-\u201906 really is the upper recoil limit for most shooters and, fired from a carbine-size rifle, it\u2019s worse because the gun is lighter so it really does kick harder, and the muzzle blast is a lot louder and closer to your face and that rattles folks just as much as the kick. At 8 \u00be pounds though, the Pig Buster is in the same weight class as full size guns so you don\u2019t experience any more actual recoil because of weight, and the flash hider does a decent job of directing the muzzle blast away from you. I\u2019m probably not the best judge of recoil because I shoot a lot and am conditioned to it, but in this case I made a conscious effort while shooting the Pig Buster to gauge whether or not I thought recoil was over the top. It\u2019s not. Even though the gun retains the drill rifle\u2019s steel buttplate, so long as you keep it tight to your shoulder and maintain a good cheek weld and follow through, recoil won\u2019t be any worse than shooting any other .30-caliber non-magnum deer\/pig rifle.<\/p>\n

\"While<\/a>

While not nearly as tight a fit as a custom bedding job, the inletting for the action is really good.<\/p><\/div>\n

I have to hand it to Gibbs for coming up with the Pig Buster if for no other reason than it revives drill rifles that would otherwise be wall hangers. Springfields were such well-made guns that to me seeing one inoperable is as sad as seeing a bird dog that\u2019s too old to hunt be left at home on opening day. You don\u2019t have to be a pig hunter to appreciate the Pig Buster. It is what it is: a utilitarian rifle that you can beat the ever-lovin\u2019 snot out of and not worry about hurting it, and it shoots groups every bit as tight as most modern sporting rifles. Best of all, if you ever get a chance to pig hunt, you can carry a No. 5 bayonet with you and at the moment of truth decide if you want to go up close and personal with just the bayonet, fix it to the flash hider and have a margin of safety, or simply pull the trigger.<\/p>\n

MSRP $725<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A take-off drill rifle stock (bottom) is modified for use on the Pig Buster. It\u2019s a tough synthetic that will stand up to years of abuse.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Pig Buster\u2019s flash hider accepts the No. 5 bayonet in case you want to \u201cstick\u201d your pig instead of shoot it. Photo courtesy libertytreecollectors.com.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The folks at Gibbs Rifle Co. have a history of taking surplus military rifles of arguably minimal collector interest and turning them into sport specialty rifles that have a serious \u201cfun gun\u201d factor and \u201ctough as nails\u201d demeanor. Perhaps the best known of them are the Summit and Quest chambered in .45-70 and .308, respectively. Those were built on surplus Enfield actions and were not attempts to reproduce any sort of historical military gun at all. Instead, they were practical, utilitarian rifles that made good use of surplus military and some new parts. \u201cCommercial sporterizing,\u201d probably best describes it, and as Gibbs puts it, they \u201c\u2026take the best features of historic military arms and translate them to meet modern sporting needs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1220,7,1222,18,4321,1243,1217,4320,37,1223,43,992,1219,19],"tags":[],"featured":[],"hunt365":[4089],"class_list":{"0":"post-2245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-huntgear","8":"category-gunsamerica-authors","9":"category-firearms","10":"category-hunting","11":"category-guns","12":"category-hog","13":"category-hunt365","14":"category-hunting-hunt365","15":"category-gun-reviews-rifles","16":"category-rifles","17":"category-scott-mayer","18":"category-specialty-publications","19":"category-technique","20":"category-game","21":"hunt365-hunting"},"yoast_head":"\nGibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History -\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The folks at Gibbs Rifle Co. have a history of taking surplus military rifles of arguably minimal collector interest and turning them into sport specialty rifles that have a serious \u201cfun gun\u201d factor and \u201ctough as nails\u201d demeanor. Perhaps the best known of them are the Summit and Quest chambered in .45-70 and .308, respectively. Those were built on surplus Enfield actions and were not attempts to reproduce any sort of historical military gun at all. Instead, they were practical, utilitarian rifles that made good use of surplus military and some new parts. \u201cCommercial sporterizing,\u201d probably best describes it, and as Gibbs puts it, they \u201c\u2026take the best features of historic military arms and translate them to meet modern sporting needs.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-26T04:11:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-24T12:28:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"619\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Administrator\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Administrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Administrator\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/22dfdf179dd8b469b0171e432c489568\"},\"headline\":\"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-26T04:11:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-24T12:28:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\"},\"wordCount\":2938,\"commentCount\":35,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"#HUNTGear\",\"Authors\",\"Firearms\",\"Get Hunting\",\"Guns\",\"Hog\",\"HUNT365\",\"Hunting\",\"Rifles\",\"Rifles\",\"Scott Mayer\",\"Specialty Publications\",\"Technique\",\"The Game We Hunt\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\",\"name\":\"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-26T04:11:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-24T12:28:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History -\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg\",\"width\":\"1200\",\"height\":\"619\",\"caption\":\"The Pig Buster from Gibbs Rifle Co. are made from reactivated1903A3 Springfield drill rifles.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/\",\"name\":\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\",\"description\":\"Gun Reviews, Industry News, and Product Reviews for Rifles, Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Optics, and Ammunition. Looking to purchase a firearm online? Look no further than GunsAmerica.com, America's premier destination for buying and selling firearms.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GunsAmerica\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png\",\"width\":286,\"height\":156,\"caption\":\"GunsAmerica\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/gunsamerica\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/gunsamerica_official\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GunsAmerica\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/22dfdf179dd8b469b0171e432c489568\",\"name\":\"Administrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e26041d419546ff37904ef43fa54f9926890697093afcf244f4c24f15a86934?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e26041d419546ff37904ef43fa54f9926890697093afcf244f4c24f15a86934?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e26041d419546ff37904ef43fa54f9926890697093afcf244f4c24f15a86934?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Administrator\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/author\/administrator\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History","description":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History","og_description":"The folks at Gibbs Rifle Co. have a history of taking surplus military rifles of arguably minimal collector interest and turning them into sport specialty rifles that have a serious \u201cfun gun\u201d factor and \u201ctough as nails\u201d demeanor. Perhaps the best known of them are the Summit and Quest chambered in .45-70 and .308, respectively. Those were built on surplus Enfield actions and were not attempts to reproduce any sort of historical military gun at all. Instead, they were practical, utilitarian rifles that made good use of surplus military and some new parts. \u201cCommercial sporterizing,\u201d probably best describes it, and as Gibbs puts it, they \u201c\u2026take the best features of historic military arms and translate them to meet modern sporting needs.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/","og_site_name":"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica","article_published_time":"2012-03-26T04:11:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-24T12:28:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":619,"url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Administrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gunsamerica","twitter_site":"@gunsamerica","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Administrator","Est. reading time":"16 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Administrator","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/22dfdf179dd8b469b0171e432c489568"},"headline":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History","datePublished":"2012-03-26T04:11:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-24T12:28:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/"},"wordCount":2938,"commentCount":35,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg","articleSection":["#HUNTGear","Authors","Firearms","Get Hunting","Guns","Hog","HUNT365","Hunting","Rifles","Rifles","Scott Mayer","Specialty Publications","Technique","The Game We Hunt"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/","name":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg","datePublished":"2012-03-26T04:11:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-24T12:28:58+00:00","description":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History -","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573.jpg","width":"1200","height":"619","caption":"The Pig Buster from Gibbs Rifle Co. are made from reactivated1903A3 Springfield drill rifles."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/gibbs-pig-buster-a-hard-hitting-hog-hunting-rifle-with-a-little-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gibbs \u201cPig Buster\u201d\u2014A Hard-Hitting Hog Hunting Rifle With A Little History"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/","name":"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest","description":"Gun Reviews, Industry News, and Product Reviews for Rifles, Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Optics, and Ammunition. Looking to purchase a firearm online? Look no further than GunsAmerica.com, America's premier destination for buying and selling firearms.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization","name":"GunsAmerica","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png","width":286,"height":156,"caption":"GunsAmerica"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica","https:\/\/x.com\/gunsamerica","https:\/\/instagram.com\/gunsamerica_official\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GunsAmerica"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/22dfdf179dd8b469b0171e432c489568","name":"Administrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e26041d419546ff37904ef43fa54f9926890697093afcf244f4c24f15a86934?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e26041d419546ff37904ef43fa54f9926890697093afcf244f4c24f15a86934?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e26041d419546ff37904ef43fa54f9926890697093afcf244f4c24f15a86934?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Administrator"},"url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/author\/administrator\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/CRW_8573-150x77.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2245"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225570,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions\/225570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"hunt365","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hunt365?post=2245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}