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.223 works fine if you use good ammo and know how to hit the spine or heart. The main advantage to a .223 is lighting up a pack of pigs with fast follow up shots, but you will probably get off only 1 or 2 shots before the pack disperses.
The small ones are the tastiest. Young males up to 40-50 lb. are fine. The sows up to 150 lb. are pretty tasty and yield bigger cuts of meat. The big boars taste really bad and gamey, and I can't recommend eating them.
I use a .30-06 and a .44 mag myself when I'm hog hunting. If I'm diving into the thick S. Texas brush I leave the range rifle at camp and take my 12 gauge with an 18" barrel, alternating slugs and buckshot. Big hogs are very tough, smart pack animals and have been known to charge and gore humans who aren't even trying to kill them. (pic related) Pursuing them, especially if you surprise them or track a wounded animal, DEMANDS your full attention.
