Hog hunting question

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

We shot one with a 25-06 right in the boiler room, hog ran away, nowhere to be found. Will be upping the cartridge choice next yo around.

Hogs are like the Fuel Bladder in a fighter jet. Their hide and fat are like "StopLeak". Unless you put a huge hole in them, they can run and no blood trail. They will end up dead, but lose the meat if wanting to eat. Best shots are two inches below the ear if possible. Drop in their tracks.

 

[LCI16]

Good point, may give the the 25 another try and go for the placement you mentioned.

 

[WildRose]

We shot one with a 25-06 right in the boiler room, hog ran away, nowhere to be found. Will be upping the cartridge choice next yo around.

Don't shoot hogs there. Shoot them just blow and behind the ear half way to the point of the shoulder or you're going to lose a lot of them.

Big boars in particular can soak up a whole lot of lead because of the thick cartilage shield they have that runs from behind the shoulder across their chest up to the neck. It can be as much as 3" thick or more on a really large boar.

Our wild hogs are just tough. Many years ago I put five 44 mag JHP's into the chest of a boar that went almost six hundred pounds and he ran a total of almost five hundred yards before we finally put him down with a shot to the head.

 

[Laguna Freak]

We shot one with a 25-06 right in the boiler room, hog ran away, nowhere to be found. Will be upping the cartridge choice next yo around.

It happens some times. Especially with the 200+ lb'rs. You really have to wait for a good angle if you want a harvest. Otherwise, you may be just paying dues to the Turkey Vulture Preservation Society.

 

[LCI16]

I hear ya, learned the hard way.

 

[DUCKMAN11]

Smallest cartridge to kill hogs???? I've shot close to 350 hogs with a 22lr and 22mag out of a 6" revolver at less than 8ft in a trap. Shot placement is key with any cartridge and any animal. Their skin is made out of the same stuff they make run flat tires out of. In my experience varmint style bullets moving real fast at the base of their ear does as good of a job as a 200gr nosler partition. I want a hog bullet to dump ALL of its energy before it reaches the off side of the pig. I want 1 hole and pure destruction for 10-12". My old 25-06 did a flawless job with 115vld's @3350fps. My howa Grendel has become the rifle I grab more often than not. My hunting partner uses a 22-250 a lot. But these are 100-200yd head shots.

 

[Swinehunt74]

PERFECT SHOT. If u look at my Avatar, check out shot placement directly between ear and shoulder, shot with 6.8spc 110 vmax 18". My kill count is in excess of 2K feral hogs last 20 yrs. KILLED most with 6.8, after using 338 fed, 308, 6.5's (6.5 rem, 260 down to Grendel), settled on the 6.8 because it flat out killed better than the rest. Any caliber will work in the ear hole, just hard to hit when their running full tilt. Cause after first shot heard is trying to leave the county. Shoot the large hogs in rear hip to stop them, continuing to engage moving heard to come back and finish wounded big ones.......

 

[snox801]

Smallest cartridge to kill hogs???? I've shot close to 350 hogs with a 22lr and 22mag out of a 6" revolver at less than 8ft in a trap. Shot placement is key with any cartridge and any animal. Their skin is made out of the same stuff they make run flat tires out of. In my experience varmint style bullets moving real fast at the base of their ear does as good of a job as a 200gr nosler partition. I want a hog bullet to dump ALL of its energy before it reaches the off side of the pig. I want 1 hole and pure destruction for 10-12". My old 25-06 did a flawless job with 115vld's @3350fps. My howa Grendel has become the rifle I grab more often than not. My hunting partner uses a 22-250 a lot. But these are 100-200yd head shots.

I also reach for my grendel every time.
97gr hammer at over 2900fps and they do t go far.

 

[Jaustinhogfader]

I know several hunters who use .17 HMR or .17 WSM. These are strictly ear and eye shots of course, buy they
drop lots of pigs that way. If you are using .223, you want a ear/neck area shot placement. If you plan to
target heart/lung, you'll want 6.5 CR up to 30.06

 

[DUCKMAN11]

I don't think cartridge matters as much as bullet construction. A varmint style bullet out of a 22-250 does better for heart shots than a bonded bullet out of a 7mag. The key is to make the biggest wound channel possible. Like I've said before their skin is made out of the same stuff they make run flat tires out of. 2 .308" holes ain't gonna work. You gotta stir them guts up with a bullet that expands rapidly.

 

[Jaustinhogfader]

I don't think cartridge matters as much as bullet construction. A varmint style bullet out of a 22-250 does better for heart shots than a bonded bullet out of a 7mag. The key is to make the biggest wound channel possible. Like I've said before their skin is made out of the same stuff they make run flat tires out of. 2 .308" holes ain't gonna work. You gotta stir them guts up with a bullet that expands rapidly.

I agree. I've had great results using .223 American Eagle hollow points for neck shots, but won't use an FMJ for the same shot.

 

[Pauleye]

RE ammo what about 300 blackout with 110 barnes bullets?

 

[asd9055]

Shot my first with a .223, DRT. Shot my last with 300 blackout, 110 grn.

 

[Jaustinhogfader]

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