New to Hog hunting
- Thread starter Mauser34
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That depends. If you don't like tracking, go for a head shot. When I can, I go for the eyes or the ears. A bullet to that general area will drop the hogs. The lung cavity on a hog is smaller than a white tail deer, so if you don't hit the vertical line of the front leg, be prepared for a long tracking job, if you can find him. If you shoot more that a few inches behind the front leg, you will miss all of the vital organs and likely not recover the hog. I've shot a hog with a .338 LM and not recovered him due to poor shot placement.
Hogs can absorb an amazing amount of punishment from a bullet. Shot placement is much more important than the size bullet you use. My favorite gun is a R700 in .22-250. The gun is a tack driver, and it has dropped a number of hogs. You .30-06 will do the job if you do your job.
I just ran a Google search for "wild hog anatomy" and found quite a few photos/diagrams. Might be worth a few minutes of your time before your hunt.
Double Naught Spy
Well-Known Member
Many of us can shoot 1" groups at 100 yards...on the range, but in the field, such placement doesn't always occur so well. I once had a perfect frontal head shot on a hog messed up by a slight movement on the hog's part, moving its head to the side just as I fired. In approximately 1/8 of a second, the hog moved its head about 2", enough for the bullet to wizz by, clip the ear, and plow through the shoulder and down and out of the belly. The hog died just fine, but the point of impact was way off from where I intended to hit.
Head shots are great. I prefer a quartered away shot where the shot enters the neck near the head and crosses into the skull. Here you get the benefit of a CNS shot disrupting the spine, brain stem, and/or brain.
The problem with head shots is that hog heads tend to move about quite a bit. I like to watch a hog to seem if it moves in a patterned behavior before taking the shot. For example, a hog may put its head down for 3 or 4 seconds to eat and then lift to check. I wait until after he checks and the fire when he drops it down to eat again. Or, better, I like to shoot when hogs put their heads up to do their security checks. They will often stand still, hold their head still and sniff and listen. This is when they are a perfect target.
I am not a fan of just neck shots and am not a fan of broadside behind the ear shots. Both types of shot have the potential to miss vital structures and if the bullet doesn't pass close enough to the spine or brain to get the benefit of direct damage or hydrostatic shock, you will be chasing the hog into the brush. I have watched at least a couple vids on Youtube showing "behind the ear" shots that did not drop pigs and have recovered one pig with a healed "behind the ear" shot.
The problem with "behind the ear" is that the ear really is at the rear of the head and so you can end up shooting through neck muscle and nothing more without hitting the head or spine.
I have seen a lot of folks shoot "behind the ear" and they end up shooting behind and well below the ear. This is a good shot that is apt to hit the spine near the junction of the skull.
If you don't hit and significantly disrupt the CNS, expect the hog to run. Hogs can run over 100 yards with a blown heart and in my experience, nearly 200 yards with a lung shot (though most fall within 100). Many shoulder shots you see that drop hogs in their tracks are going to be hogs that also had their spine disrupted, either directly or via hydrostatic shock. Don't count on a shoulder shot necessarily dropping a hog.
Head shots are great. I prefer a quartered away shot where the shot enters the neck near the head and crosses into the skull. Here you get the benefit of a CNS shot disrupting the spine, brain stem, and/or brain.
The problem with head shots is that hog heads tend to move about quite a bit. I like to watch a hog to seem if it moves in a patterned behavior before taking the shot. For example, a hog may put its head down for 3 or 4 seconds to eat and then lift to check. I wait until after he checks and the fire when he drops it down to eat again. Or, better, I like to shoot when hogs put their heads up to do their security checks. They will often stand still, hold their head still and sniff and listen. This is when they are a perfect target.
I am not a fan of just neck shots and am not a fan of broadside behind the ear shots. Both types of shot have the potential to miss vital structures and if the bullet doesn't pass close enough to the spine or brain to get the benefit of direct damage or hydrostatic shock, you will be chasing the hog into the brush. I have watched at least a couple vids on Youtube showing "behind the ear" shots that did not drop pigs and have recovered one pig with a healed "behind the ear" shot.
The problem with "behind the ear" is that the ear really is at the rear of the head and so you can end up shooting through neck muscle and nothing more without hitting the head or spine.
I have seen a lot of folks shoot "behind the ear" and they end up shooting behind and well below the ear. This is a good shot that is apt to hit the spine near the junction of the skull.
If you don't hit and significantly disrupt the CNS, expect the hog to run. Hogs can run over 100 yards with a blown heart and in my experience, nearly 200 yards with a lung shot (though most fall within 100). Many shoulder shots you see that drop hogs in their tracks are going to be hogs that also had their spine disrupted, either directly or via hydrostatic shock. Don't count on a shoulder shot necessarily dropping a hog.
I think that's called a "Texas heart shot."
FearNoWind
Well-Known Member
This link:
MasterTargets Available Targets
will give you all of the "scientific" information you need.
Practical information is quite another thing. If you can get within a hundred yards of a hog without alerting it or the hoard it's grazing with to your presence you'll be fortunate. Then the issue is whether you've got a classic full profile shot or an front/rear angle shot. Then the issue is whether you've got time to select a prone position or if you're having to shoot from a sitting, kneeling, or off hand position. Hunting hogs isn't range practice; don't be too sure of your ability to accomplished well placed shots in the field. It's common to place the sights on a hog just about the time he becomes aware of you. They move VERY quickly - which means you sometimes have to take them on the run. The last one I shot was running away at an angle, on a hillside below where I was standing on an adjacent hill. My attempted shot placement was between the ears and shoulders along the top of his back. Turned out to be a scored lung shot from top of the back, left side, through heart zone.
MasterTargets Available Targets
will give you all of the "scientific" information you need.
Practical information is quite another thing. If you can get within a hundred yards of a hog without alerting it or the hoard it's grazing with to your presence you'll be fortunate. Then the issue is whether you've got a classic full profile shot or an front/rear angle shot. Then the issue is whether you've got time to select a prone position or if you're having to shoot from a sitting, kneeling, or off hand position. Hunting hogs isn't range practice; don't be too sure of your ability to accomplished well placed shots in the field. It's common to place the sights on a hog just about the time he becomes aware of you. They move VERY quickly - which means you sometimes have to take them on the run. The last one I shot was running away at an angle, on a hillside below where I was standing on an adjacent hill. My attempted shot placement was between the ears and shoulders along the top of his back. Turned out to be a scored lung shot from top of the back, left side, through heart zone.
Double Naught Spy
Well-Known Member
While proprietary, I do not suggest shooting hogs in the nuts as said hog tried to take mine afterwards. Learn from the error of my ways.
I would be interested in any video concerning a hog getting nut shot!
FearNoWind
Well-Known Member
.... and substantiation of the claim that the shot was, in and of itself, fatal.
I was a designated marksman in the USMC so my field experience is very good and the rifle I am shooting is capable of holding 1 MOA. I just never shot a hog so I need to know where to place the shot. Also what gear are you guys using for hog hunting?
Coy Franks
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2008
- Messages
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A fast truck!!
Tons of gear. The trouble is deciding what to use. My current rig is an Armalite .308 with a FN 5.5-22x56 scope. I'm also prepping a DPMS .308 with a NF SHV scope. The illuminated reticle is awesome for low light shots. I've got thermal and am waiting on night vision delivery. I've also used a .22-250, a .338LM, a 450 Bushmaster, a 30-30, a 12ga, a R700 in .308. I've got night vision goggles, and a thermal monocular. The monocular is very helpful for finding hogs or determining that there are no hogs around. Much less wasted time.
This is not a cheap hobby!
This is not a cheap hobby!
