2 hogs, 2 hunters, 2 rifles, 2 calibers, 2 reactions

[talltexanrancher]

Earlier this year I guided 2 hunters looking to harvest a couple of hogs. We were hunting spot and stalk when I spied 2 sows, each weighing about 125 pounds, 150 yards from us feeding on cactus. We slipped to within about 65 yards when we ran out of cover. The 2 sows were calmly feeding nose to nose, perfectly broadside, so I had my 2 hunters sit and shoot off of crossed sticks. One hunter was using a 100 grain bullet in 243, while the other was using a 165 grain bullet in 30-06. I instructed them to aim 2/3's down on the front shoulder as I counted down for their simultaneous shots. They fired together, and their shots were perfect. The hog hit with the 165 grain bullet simply crumpled and the bullet exited. The hog hit with the 100 grain bullet ran about 90 yards through the brush, and because the bullet did not exit, left us no blood trail. It took us awhile to find her but it all ended well. In my long experience of hunting/guiding for hogs in the thick Texas brush, more caliber is better...so if you have it, bring it.

 

[swe123]

Or shoot them behind the ear.

 

[just country]

morning, behind the ear or neck junction. hogs r very tough.
u have less resistance from body mass. the right bullet in the 243cal.
will definitely dispatch a hog. barnes bullets I very good
for penetration. for reference in San Antonio a 400lb.
hog was dispatched on a golf course. justme gbot tum

 

[bocajnala]

Hogs are tough animals with a powerful will to live at times.

Upon skinning the animals. What did you see? As far as shot placement, bullet performance, wound channel, etc

 

[Goring2358]

Really great story...The topic of this thread sounds like a cool cocktail Joke.

 

[talltexanrancher]

Hogs are tough animals with a powerful will to live at times.

Upon skinning the animals. What did you see? As far as shot placement, bullet performance, wound channel, etc

Shot placement was perfect from both shooters. The 30-06 bullet broke both shoulders, destroyed everything in between them, and exited with a 2 inch hole on the off-shoulder. The 243 bullet broke the near shoulder, caused a good bit of damage to the lungs and lodged itself against the off-shoulder bone, leaving it unbroken.

 

[talltexanrancher]

Or shoot them behind the ear.

I couldn't agree more, and when I have hunters in stands over feeders, that's exactly what I have them do. But when I have hunters who are new to me doing the spot and stalk thing, I've found through the school-of-hard-knocks that the broadside shoulder shot gives them some leeway should they pull their shot while still allowing us to recover the hog in almost every case.

 

[bocajnala]

Shot placement was perfect from both shooters. The 30-06 bullet broke both shoulders, destroyed everything in between them, and exited with a 2 inch hole on the off-shoulder. The 243 bullet broke the near shoulder, caused a good bit of damage to the lungs and lodged itself against the off-shoulder bone, leaving it unbroken.

Bust through both of those shoulders and that hog drops too. Good (literal) side by side comparison.

What was the .243 guys reaction to the results?

-Jake

 

[talltexanrancher]

Bust through both of those shoulders and that hog drops too. Good (literal) side by side comparison.

What was the .243 guys reaction to the results?

-Jake

It was a father/son hunt and I was impressed with how the son conducted himself throughout our 3 day hunt for hogs and javelina. After the shot, the son was worried that he had simply messed up and you could see the disappointment on his face. I told him that with careful tracking, we would find his hog because I knew he had made a good shot and it wouldn't go far. The hog ran pretty much in a straight line from where it was shot, and the look of relief/happiness on the son's face when we walked up on it was priceless.

 

[HARPERC]

.... After the shot, the son was worried that he had simply messed up and you could see the disappointment on his face. I told him that with careful tracking, we would find his hog because I knew he had made a good shot and it wouldn't go far....,,

Never hurts to learn it's not TV or a video game, stuff doesn't always drop at the shot.
Just like behind the ear isn't always possible.

 

[talltexanrancher]

Never hurts to learn it's not TV or a video game, stuff doesn't always drop at the shot.
Just like behind the ear isn't always possible.

Well said sir.

 

[snox801]

Oh great one of these again.
It has nothing to do with bigger gun. I have a video collection of me trying different calibers on hogs. Most shot with 6x45 and .223 went right down. Had a few go right down and some run with every caliber. Matter of fact for fun I shot one at about 15 yards with a .338 lapua and a 300gr Berger. Left a huge hole out the back side and the two behind it died in place. First hog hit ran 35-40 yards with nothing inside left. Every one was shocked it made it so far.

Moral of the story is every one is different and good shot placement and bullet choice is key. I've seen many lost to big rounds with wrong bullet or bad shots. Just luck how some run and some don't.

 

[bocajnala]

It's not luck. But it's also not predictable. And every animal and every shot will react differently.

There are certainly things you can do to swing "luck" in your favor.

-Jake

 

[nicholasjohn]

Hogs are built a lot more solidly than deer. This requires a stiffer bullet. I think that a 243 is plenty big enough for a hog in the size class you mentioned, but the bullet may not have been up to the task. The last time I shot a hog, it was with a 270, using a 130-grain Hornady factory load. It flattened the animal, a 250-pound boar. The bullet broke the near-side shoulder, and totally fragmented. This turned its heart & lungs into soup, and the animal died right there without so much as a whimper. What's not to like about that ??? Well, I would have liked it better if the bullet had keep on penetrating to break the other shoulder, and then exited. I guess we can't count on a deer bullet to do that on a hog - the bones are just too big.

The other animal we shot that day was one my buddy Jeff knocked down with a 30-06. He was using a 180-grain Barnes TTSX, and we found that bullet under the hide after it broke both shoulders on the 300-pound boar. How often does somebody find one of those bullets in the animal ? I never have, before or since. By the way - the expanded bullet looked just like the picture on the box, and the hog dropped immediately at the shot. I think this is the way it's supposed to work.

I've written several times on this forum about shooting deer with the 22-250, using bullets that are more heavily constructed than your typical prairie dog bullet. This worked just fine for me, at least on the rib cage shots I've tried it on. All that said, I wouldn't do that with a hog. There's ammo out there designed for shooting hogs with lighter cartridges, and most of it loaded with a monolithic copper bullet. This is probably as it should be, and that would be my recommendation. The other thing I would say is this : How big are your hogs ? A 100-pound sausage pig is not the same animal as a 300-pound tusker. If you wouldn't feel comfortable shooting a big black bear with your gun/bullet set-up, you probably aren't going to like the way it handles a pig of similar size.