Hog durability question

[GrayCreed]

I usually shoot them with 556, in the heart/lung/shoulder/head area.... Gold dots or Hornady black sbr or Winchester 64g deer season. Just keep shooting till your close to gut them.... I guess that doesn't count as long range hunting but the wild pork scrapple was good tenderloin stir fry was good too

Not trying to be acting like I'm super experienced here, only kill't 2 hogs to date... But I can say I've eaten 100% of the hogs I've seen! Average (I shoot one my brother shot one) 9 rounds fired per hog. That's like 249,991 rounds less than The Army takes to kill one terrorist! The average rounds that actually hit the hog was 2.5.

Granted I shoot .3-1.0 MOA on the range and my brother can shoot pistol like Hickok45. What happens in the woods is just different man!

 

[JC300]

Have killed numerous hogs with 223/5.56. From Very well placed shots to the not so great. Found it to "Leave a lot to be desired for performance" for myself. Your statements are correct on foul shots, slight deviation and it's a bad hit. I have found that full fragmenting bullets make up for this. The kill zone on a hog in the neck is larger than one might think. Plus if - if we consider wind effect right or left, the bullet drifts to another kill zone. Head or heart lungs. Brain shots on hogs I have found to be the easiest in my experience. Stout bullet and let shattered bone do the work. Fragmenting bullet and same thing happens. Good looking hogs by the way.

 

[emp1953]

I raised pigs for several years and shot them with everything I had in the cabinet. Most intriguing was a butcher that came with of all things a .17cal. He was taking three 650lb+ pigs. Two pigs went down instantly, between the eyes. The third had a big "S" on his chest. I had to pull my .45 1911 out of the truck and finish it off. I had a deer stand off the edge of the pig pen and would go up there and take out the pigs we were set to butcher. First, the spine is not in the exact same spot on every pig. Neck shots are not recommended. Face on, low in the chest. My 30-06 with 200gr Sierra game kings placed in the ear put them down instantly. A shot between the eyes is ideal but depending on the pig the skull can be extremely thick there. And if the head is lifted or tilted a little bit the bullet will ricochet off. My son started using a .410 shotgun slug, between the eyes. Puts them down for the count. He always jumped in when they were down to slit their throat to bleed out. Any way you slice it, they are tough critters and each one is slightly different. I realize domestic pigs are not the same as wild ones, but close enough to make close comparisons.

 

[Chorizo]

Short answer...yes. As long as you don't hit then in the CNS, it will knock them down temporarily and they will get back up.


Little know fact....after the Comanche obtained firearms, this was a preferred method of capturing wild horses. Of course, the Americans and especially the US Army copied the practice. Shoot them in the neck and stun them, run up, hobble them and get a rope around their neck before coming to. It was called creasing, as you can read in the article, some were better at it than others. The claim in these articles is only one in fifty survived, but I have read contemporaneously written books where the author claimed than it had a much higher success rate, close to 75%.

The Cambridge Sentinel 10 July 1909 — Cambridge Public Library's Historic Cambridge Newspaper Collection

Cambridge Public Library's Historic Cambridge Newspaper Collection

cambridge.dlconsulting.com

A Life Lived “To the Utmost Limit”: Comanche of the 7th

The Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas houses Comanche; the stuffed hide of a 15-hands buckskin-colored horse with a black dorsal stripe.

www.jonathansteffen.com

https://images.library.wisc.edu/History/EFacs/SetPerAmerInd/Miles/reference/history.miles.i0015.pdf

CAPTURING TEXAS WILD HORSES MUSTANGS Sharp Shooters Creasing to Stun Horse 1868 | eBay

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Back in the days when CA considered hogs feral and a pest (before they saw the opportunity to make money off of them), we used to trap them on our ranch in CA on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and we used a 22lr rifle while they were in the pen for the ones we felt were worth eating, the males we would drop a rope around them and pull them up to the wire and castrate them. We would then turn them loose. To shoot them, draw an imaginary X from base of ears to opposite eyes, place it there and it would drop them like a rock. They can be tough, but like every other animal, a round to the CNS and they go down.

 

[Laguna Freak]

I've experienced 100% DRT on shots through the head neck region when the bullet also blows through the main pumps. The first one entered the right cheek and exited behind left shoulder. Second is similar entry but further back because she was almost broadside.

 

[Chorizo]

Shooting them with a 17 HMR seems to work too!

Shooting Hogs with a 17 HMR

Our mission at TexasHogHunter.com is to promote the exciting sport of hog hunting while bringing an awareness to the vital importance of hog population control.

texashoghunter.com

 

[CBH Australia]

Here is a video of how tough they can be.

Choot em Liz,

 

[CBH Australia]

Cow's are the same way, X from eye's to ears and the brain is above that

Works for most animals.
The Australian Light Horse Brigade actually done this when they found they could not return to Australia with their horse after the war. I don't think it was taken lightly as they had become attached to them.
I have destroyed injured livestock and trapped feral pigs.
I have shot feral pigs in the field. Headshot, shoulder shot and neck shot. With shot placement they stay down and stay dead.

People need to stop saying shoot between the eyes. This does not do enough damage to the vital part of the brain. The brain sits above the level of the eyes.

In a First Aid course we were asked what causes death. Answer, the heart stops.

Shot placement, destroy the heart. Where required head shoot and destroy the brain that in turn stops the heart and causes instant loss of consciousness and is a humane kill.

That's in a perfect world but aspire to better shot placement.

If you are finishing off with a handgun round, with good shot placement it should destroy the brain and cause instant death.

I shot and killed yarded cattle with a .357magnum lever action using .38special ammo. Hitting above the eyeline it killed cleanly and instantly. Blood coming out and the animal dead on its feet going straight down as the legs gave way without taking a step.

Cartridge and projectile selection are important. Shot placement is paramount.

@Brett Bracken Using those Berger Target loads is not the right choice for hunting, you may get mixed results.

I have pulled shots or had a pig run, but not far and not when shot placement was good or effective.

 

[Brett Bracken]

Works for most animals.
The Australian Light Horse Brigade actually done this when they found they could not return to Australia with their horse after the war. I don't think it was taken lightly as they had become attached to them.
I have destroyed injured livestock and trapped feral pigs.
I have shot feral pigs in the field. Headshot, shoulder shot and neck shot. With shot placement they stay down and stay dead.

People need to stop saying shoot between the eyes. This does not do enough damage to the vital part of the brain. The brain sits above the level of the eyes.

In a First Aid course we were asked what causes death. Answer, the heart stops.

Shot placement, destroy the heart. Where required head shoot and destroy the brain that in turn stops the heart and causes instant loss of consciousness and is a humane kill.

That's in a perfect world but aspire to better shot placement.

If you are finishing off with a handgun round, with good shot placement it should destroy the brain and cause instant death.

I shot and killed yarded cattle with a .357magnum lever action using .38special ammo. Hitting above the eyeline it killed cleanly and instantly. Blood coming out and the animal dead on its feet going straight down as the legs gave way without taking a step.

Cartridge and projectile selection are important. Shot placement is paramount.

@Brett Bracken Using those Berger Target loads is not the right choice for hunting, you may get mixed results.

I have pulled shots or had a pig run, but not far and not when shot placement was good or effective.

CBH Australia,
I appreciate your comment about the Berger Hybrid Target bullets. However, I have found them to be extremely effective......especially the 215 and 220 gr Hybrid target. I shoot hogs out to 850 yds on my ranch and I need extreme accuracy which both these bullets provide. I pretty much restrict my shots to head/neck only. You might be interested to know that this past weekend I killed 2 150'ish lb hogs with one shot using the gr 220 Hybrid long range target. Not on purpose, of course, but it just happened. Didn't see the hog standing behind the one I was shooting. Anyway......both hogs went down immediately. You might check out a guy on Longrange Hunting that goes by BROZ. He has a thread "Comparing the Berger 210 VLD to the 215 Hybrid target". Very informative and interesting. Basically he proves that the Berger 215 Hybrid target works just fine on elk at long ranges....500 to 1000 plus yds.

 

[Coldfinger]

I've got a question for all you experienced hog hunters: Is there a spot on the neck of a hog that is possible to temporarily drop them in their tracks but is not fatal? Twice now, out of over 100 hogs killed, I've had a hog get up and take off after being shot in the neck between the back of the head and front of the shoulder. The second one being this past Saturday night. I shot a medium sized boar dead center in the neck, at least that was my POA, at 454 yds. This is my usual POA and it always drops them DRT, but this time it didn't. Granted....I must not of hit the hog exactly where I wanted but I'm shooting 220 gr Berger out of my 300 Win mag. This dropped him immediately and he didn't move, which was kind of odd to me because they normally twitch and kick for about 2 mins or so. I shifted my rifle off of him just for an instant to try to pick up another boar, in my scope, that was feeding off to the left under a lighted feeder 300 yds away. When I shifted back to the first hog it was gone. I searched Sunday morning for him with no luck. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

BTW....my rifle is a custom built rifle that easily shoots 1/4-1/3 MOA groups with my load. I don't miss at this range.

Probably the same on wild hogs but it seems on my domestic hogs the neck is the toughest part on them. It supports that massive head and does all the bulldozer work when they're rooting around.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

When I shoot hogs they are usually within <200yrds maybe 250 due to the areas I hunt. I use a Night Vision D760 Scope 6 Power. I have to say that it is not like shooting with a regular NF or Leupold scope at day. I usually shoot the hogs about 2" below their ear and they drop in their tracks, actually just have their legs fold up under them. I am hunting with a 223 65gr SGK.
For you shooters that are shooting out past 300 to 800 I applaud you. You have to bee shooting in daylight. If you are so accurate to shoot in the neck and than they keep moving ,you missed the spine, too much are to misjudge, I suggest you shoot 2" below the ear. Another thing if your shots are so far why shoot in the neck if that accurate? A good shot in the boiler room will put them down especially with a 30 caliber. You should also have a blood trail from the exit wound. Hogs are like WWII Air Plane fuel blades in their wings they can be shot with a .30 and not leak. Hogs are kind of the same way. Shoot a hog with a 223 and through & through you wont see blood trail, but shoot a hog with a good 30 cal 200gr SGK and the exit will be blown out. You will have a blood trail and soon to drop.

 

[Brett Bracken]

When I shoot hogs they are usually within <200yrds maybe 250 due to the areas I hunt. I use a Night Vision D760 Scope 6 Power. I have to say that it is not like shooting with a regular NF or Leupold scope at day. I usually shoot the hogs about 2" below their ear and they drop in their tracks, actually just have their legs fold up under them. I am hunting with a 223 65gr SGK.
For you shooters that are shooting out past 300 to 800 I applaud you. You have to bee shooting in daylight. If you are so accurate to shoot in the neck and than they keep moving ,you missed the spine, too much are to misjudge, I suggest you shoot 2" below the ear. Another thing if your shots are so far why shoot in the neck if that accurate? A good shot in the boiler room will put them down especially with a 30 caliber. You should also have a blood trail from the exit wound. Hogs are like WWII Air Plane fuel blades in their wings they can be shot with a .30 and not leak. Hogs are kind of the same way. Shoot a hog with a 223 and through & through you wont see blood trail, but shoot a hog with a good 30 cal 200gr SGK and the exit will be blown out. You will have a blood trail and soon to drop.

Actually I am shooting them at night. My bait holes have lights on them so I can see the hogs through my NF 5-25 X 56 ATACR scope. albeit it is not easy. It's some getting used to. And I tried to avoid hitting them in the boiler room as you suggested because I rarely get any blodd trail and they usually do not go down immediately. Once they run into the deep weeds and brush they are extremely hard to find. Hence the reason for head and neck shots.

 

[emp1953]

I raised pigs for several years and shot them with everything I had in the cabinet. Most intriguing was a butcher that came with of all things a .17cal. He was taking three 650lb+ pigs. Two pigs went down instantly, between the eyes. The third had a big "S" on his chest. I had to pull my .45 1911 out of the truck and finish it off. I had a deer stand off the edge of the pig pen and would go up there and take out the pigs we were set to butcher. First, the spine is not in the exact same spot on every pig. Neck shots are not recommended. Face on, low in the chest. My 30-06 with 200gr Sierra game kings placed in the ear put them down instantly. A shot between the eyes is ideal but depending on the pig the skull can be extremely thick there. And if the head is lifted or tilted a little bit the bullet will ricochet off. My son started using a .410 shotgun slug, between the eyes. Puts them down for the count. He always jumped in when they were down to slit their throat to bleed out. Any way you slice it, they are tough critters and each one is slightly different. I realize domestic pigs are not the same as wild ones, but close enough to make close comparisons.

 

[philipbrousseau]

The same with any animal. Head shot neck shot miss or kill b.s.