Ok so I'm going on a hog hunt and while I have killed dozens of pigs with a bow I have never shot one with a gun so hear is my problem do I take me 22-250 and shoot for a head shot or take my elk rifle a weatherby 30-378 and not worry about the size of the hog or if I will only have a head shot what does everyone els think...
Depends on the size of the hogs, range, and your ability to really place shots well.
Sows under 300lbs, and boars under 250 aren't very tough. I've killed quite a few of them with my .204 Ruger and dozens with my .220 swifts.
Big/old Boars, can be extremely tough to bring down. If you don't break the shoulders or get a direct CNS hit, they are not going to go down fast or easy most of the time.
With the small guns, a well placed shot betwen the crease of the neck and base of the ear, will do the job very nicely even out to about 400yds with the righ bullet. I have however seen small rounds literally deflect off of the skull with a full on frontal shot, and then you have a very angry, and very dangerous animal to deal with.
I've also skinned many a boar and found all sorts of buck shot, bird shot, even rifle rounds up to .30 caliber that never penetrated the shield; the thick layer of cartilage that runs from the shoulders across the chest.
I saw one that field dressed right at 490 hit solidly in the heart with a 7mm mag 140gr ballistic tip run over 500yds before he went down. He was shot at about 300yds so there was no lack of energy involved. When we opened him up everything in his chest cavity was a chunky gelatinous mess, and I mean everything! They can be very tough animals to DRT unless you hit them exactly right.
We had one 425lbs or so boar many years ago shot five times in the chest with a 44 magnum 230gr JHP's that still ran over 300yds and tore the hell out of a dog when the dog got him stopped.
One nice thing about them though is that unless they can hear or smell you, if you are slow and careful in nyour approach you can walk right up on them within pistol range. They have extremely poor vision beyond about 20yds and rely mainly on their noses and ears to detect threats.
Good luck and have fun but do keep in mind what you are dealing with is not "Wildbur",
