|
|
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,755
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,755 |
When hunting with dogs, a friend of mine just uses a knife. He doesn't even carry a gun.
When I was much younger and even more inexperienced, I believed what one outdoor writer wrote. That even a .44 magnum couldn't penetrate the gristle plate of a boar and was inadequate for any pig hunting.
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.
- Albert Einstein
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,906 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 20,906 Likes: 1 |
Bullet placement trumps cartridge capability. Trappers use a 22 rimfire handgun. I have killed them with my 280 often. If I am going pig hunting specifically then I'll choose my 45-70 Model 1886 (lever gun).
"I never thought I'd live to see the day that a U.S. president would raise an army to invade his own country."
Robert E. Lee
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,839
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,839 |
When hunting with dogs, a friend of mine just uses a knife. He doesn't even carry a gun.
When I was much younger and even more inexperienced, I believed what one outdoor writer wrote. That even a .44 magnum couldn't penetrate the gristle plate of a boar and was inadequate for any pig hunting. Again, it's as much about angles as anything. I've personally seen the gristle shield of a boar with several bullets lodged in it, at least one of those being a .303, .308 or similar size projectile (hard to tell exactly what it was). Also in a lot of situations you need to remember pigs wallow in mud, especially if it's warm or there's a lot of ticks or lice in the area, that can mean a good thick layer of mud caked into the bristles which can play havoc on light bullets.
The original international turd
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4,413 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 4,413 Likes: 1 |
It's all about shot placement.Their heart and lungs are purty much protected by their shoulders.They have a thick,fatty,gristle plate from the flank to the head.That and the long hair,provides an area above the spine that gives you a false target with a high shot.I like to shoot low through the shoulders,neck or right at the hole in the ear and that will usually drop them!
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
As Bob Hagel would say"You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong."Good words of wisdom...............
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 13,268
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 13,268 |
I've shot a metric crapload of hogs. In 2008 (the last year I bothered counting) I shot a couple of hundred hogs combined on my property and via a spotlight on WMA's in an effort to reduce pig numbers of WMA's that aren't open to hog hunting normally. I probalby have shot 1/4 of all pigs I've ever shot with .45ACP because I had it handy at the time. If shooting them with a rifle if you shoot them quartering away right behind the ear where the bullet exits out the snout or between the eyes it really doesn't matter what you shoot them with  I do think if you shoot them with a small caliber bullet and don't drop them quickly if shot thru the shoulder/plate area that you won't get much of a blood trail. The best weapon to shoot a pig with is whatever you happen to have handy at the time. Even if it's a .22 rimfire and the hog crawls off and dies 4 days later you have accomplished the goal of removing one more hog.If your state treats pigs as a game animal (TX doens't) that probably won't apply to you however. I would say in TX probably 80% of all hogs are shot with the same gun the person deer hunts with.
Last edited by NathanL; 10/29/11.
Otto is my co-pilot.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,460
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,460 |
I have used a .223, .257 Roberts and .35 Whelen without problems. The bigger calibers might be a bit better for behind the shoulder shots.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 50,169 Likes: 1
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 50,169 Likes: 1 |
When hunting with dogs, a friend of mine just uses a knife. He doesn't even carry a gun.
When I was much younger and even more inexperienced, I believed what one outdoor writer wrote. That even a .44 magnum couldn't penetrate the gristle plate of a boar and was inadequate for any pig hunting. If he doesn't have a couple of dogs hangin' on it's ears, he's crazy.
The only thing worse than a liberal is a liberal that thinks they're a conservative.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494 |
It depends on where you hit them and how big the hog is.
I know guys that use 300 Weatherbys and know how to shoot them. We still end up tracking them sometimes with good heart/lung shots.
I have used a 308 once and my boy used it once (M1A) we both went home empty handed, mine was a head shot. It dropped to the shot, laid there kicking for a while, got up on it's hind legs then ran off before I could get a shot. The boy shot his in the shoulder. It dropped, then got up and ran. I should have shot it when I had the chance but I was trying to line up on a bigger boar.....
I have come to the conclusion that Federal Blue Box loads are fine for deer....Next time I take a 308 it will be loaded with TSX's
I have used a 6.5x55 with 129 grainers, lung shot and she run maybe 50 yards, but left a nice blood trail. The boy used a Mini 14 loaded with 64 power points, same thing, thru and thru, although it was a 60 to 70 pounder.
I shot a nice sow (around 125-150) with a 44 mag and hard cast at maybe 30 yards, DRT. I think I think that was a spine shot. Same with my 444.
So, I have learned to use good bullets (TSX's) or something that will leave an exit wound. Other than that use whatever you have your favorite deer rifle. In the future I plan on using a 223 with 62 or 70 TSX's.
A head shot that gets up is the shooters fault totally. I"ve killed a load of them with a 22lr pistol because I carried it all the time. The only time caliber really comes into play is if you try to penetrate the shield of a really big boar. Even with that if you know where the soft spot is it doesn't take much. Choose a good bullet, and place it well and its done. Beyond that any standard deer rifle, yes even the 308, will suffice all day long. I've killed probably over a 100 with a bow too...
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 380
Campfire Member
|
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 380 |
Interesting reading. Shoot them with whatever you have but shoot all you can.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,949
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,949 |
Only bullet failure I ever had was a pair of the early 150gr ballistic tips in .308, two rounds a couple inches apart penetrated less than 3-4" before pancaking out and stopping on the shoulder and dried mud of a big sow. Round #3 through the earhole settled that. For body shots I like something more than the .22 caliber stuff but pretty much anything elses loaded with a reasonable bullet does just fine. I have shot bigger pigs that gutted over 325lb but the vast majority of pigs taken in California are in the 150-175lb range at most and they are easily handled by good shot placement with a well constructed bullet.
Hunt hard, kill clean, waste nothing and offer no apologies.
"In rifle work, group size is of some interest...but it is well to remember that a rifleman does not shoot groups, he shoots shots." Jeff Cooper
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 6,840
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 6,840 |
One thing to keep in mind, if you're going to take a "behind the shoulder" shot, is that the vitals of a hog are farther forward than on a deer. So if your shot is very far "behnid the shoulder" it could be "behind the diaphram"
I think this may be one reason why hogs have the reputatin of being so tough to put down.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,164
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,164 |
Yep, good point. Farther forward and the heart is very low....pretty much where the foreleg meets the chest on a broadside shot.
"Good judgment comes from experience but unfortunately, experience is often derived from a series of bad judgments"
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 13
New Member
|
|
New Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 13 |
Check out the photo's on this site. Gives you allot better ideal were the kill zone is. http://www.texasboars.com/anatomy.html
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 869
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 869 |
I have killed and whitnessed the killing of a lot of feral pigs. In fact, I have killed more hogs than any other game animal combined (other than waterfowl) using primarily a 25-06, but other calibers as well, including a number with a 223 and a few with a 204 ruger. I have whitnessed one small hog killed with a 17hmr to the head. Caliber didn't make a difference in how far the pigs ran after being hit nor how fast they died. What did was shot placement and the type of bullet used. The only caliber that was not satisfactory was the 17HMR, to no suprise, the little pill failed to penetrate the skull of the pig on the first shot. The fragile bullet was most likely to blame.
Pigs are actually easier to kill than deer in my opinion simply because they are easier to find, easier to sneak up on, and are usually found in groups. There is nothing magical about them.
|
|
|
|
|
86 members (10Glocks, 35, BamBam, 10gaugemag, AnthonyB, bbassi, 8 invisible),
1,270
guests, and
933
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,748
Posts18,495,248
Members73,977
| |
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
