Hog durability question

[Bob Wright]

Here is a video of how tough they can be.

That is insane toughness on that hog. Wow....

 

[HRM Johnny]

Here is a video of how tough they can be.

@scott0303 thanks for the video. That was really cool footage. I can't believe that hog hung on the way he did.

 

[MZmoose]

Big boars are a whole new level of tough compared to average pigs. A big boar we killed in south texas this spring was shot at the base of the skull with a 458 Socom, which dropped him. When we skinned him the shield over his shoulders was 1.25" thick. We had to cut the hide down the spine and belly to get the shield off in two pieces. Previously we had used 5.56mm, 6.8 spc, and a subsonic 300 BO. Which all work with proper bullet placement but we kept loosing hogs which didn't make the ranch owner happy when he's got unrecovered dead hogs rotting all over his ranch. We hunt thick stuff and haven't shot over 150yds so we got the 458 Socom uppers and rarely lose pigs now. And the rancher is happy with a full boneyard of pigs. Use what you're comfortable with and suits your hunting area but I would suggest go with plenty of gun in case you don't get the shot you want or you run into a big boy.

 

[John Klingenberg]

Lol, why on earth would you even attempt to skin a big boar? Only ones worth eating are the young sows and piglets. Those old boars are so tough you couldn't chew the gravy.

 

[Opus]

I've shot several boars in the 200-300 lb range with factory 308win 150gr core lokts. At 100 yards if you put it in the shoulder it gets to the center of the hog in the vitals and stops there then they run 100-200 yards and die. If you put it behind the shoulder it will pass through sometimes depending on the size of the hog and they still run a little ways. I can see how the one at 325 ran off if it was a center shoulder shot. I assume your 600 kill was more behind the shoulder to allow more penetration/damage.

Hi CA,
I loaded the .308 Hornady 150gr SP Interlocks for my son to use this year, the pics he sent of the damage they caused to the vitals were impressive! All of his shots were under 100 yards with an AR10 which isn't a bullet I'd select for distances I like to shoot at them. I'd never had a failure to down a hog in my previous hunts using the SST's. I've kept this experience as a lessons learned to chamber another round and stay on the animal or send another one to be certain its down.
Cheers!

 

[CA48]

Glad the sst's have worked for you, I have never used them or interlokts on pigs. Only reason I was using core lokts at the time was because they were free. If you shoot enough hogs even with a good shot sometimes you'll have one run away.

 

[Laguna Freak]

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.

Definitely. Have had it happen with a big sow last year. I did the same thing. While she was twitching and kicking I swung to try to get another pig rather than putting another one in her. When I went back to her she was running off with only her hind feet on the ground. Damndest thing I ever saw. Never found her but the brush is thick where I hunt and I did not give it a long look that night or the next day. I doubt she ever produced another litter though.

 

[Laguna Freak]

Lol, why on earth would you even attempt to skin a big boar? Only ones worth eating are the young sows and piglets. Those old boars are so tough you couldn't chew the gravy.

Lot of work for dog food huh?

 

[MZmoose]

Lol, why on earth would you even attempt to skin a big boar? Only ones worth eating are the young sows and piglets. Those old boars are so tough you couldn't chew the gravy.

My 1hp grinder chews em into sausage for me.

 

[CA48]

Lot of work for dog food huh?

Anyone I've ever seen that cleaned a big hog turned the whole thing into sausage at least. I myself prefer piglets and shoats.

 

[John Klingenberg]

Yep, sausage, added beef fat, and a ton of spices make it edible. Occasionally we would catch a few piglets and take them home and fatten them up like a domestic hog. They turn out almost as good as a domestic.

 

[Bob Wright]

Yep, sausage, added beef fat, and a ton of spices make it edible. Occasionally we would catch a few piglets and take them home and fatten them up like a domestic hog. They turn out almost as good as a domestic.

So feral hogs are not too tasty? What is different from raised pork? Never had feral meat so got to ask....

 

[Aussie Hunter Steve]

A lot depends on the season and what they've been living on. If they've had access to cereal crops and in good condition they're very tasty. If it's been a poor year and they've struggled to survive it's a whole different story.

 

[lejuch]

So feral hogs are not too tasty? What is different from raised pork? Never had feral meat so got to ask....

Sows and young pigs of both sexes are OK, but feral hogs are much, much leaner and subsequently not as tasty as domestic. Also, feral hogs are obviously not controlled bred for good taste like a domestic. An old boar? Impossible to eat.....after cleaning one you may never eat any pork again