Best shot for a hog? - Page 2

TXGunNut · May 28, 2011, 05:45 PM

No way on the buckshot! A big hog has a thick covering most folks consider armor plating from about their elbows forward. I've seen it nearly an inch thick, last hog wasn't especially big and it was over .5" thick. It looks and feels like gristle and I'm doubtful a buckshot pellet has the energy to penetrate it and continue on to the vitals. Buckshot doesn't perform especially well on thin-skinned critters, not anxious to try it on something that "runs both ways".

LSnSC · May 28, 2011, 05:59 PM

Ive killed a few smaller hogs with buckshot. Usually checking a feeder and walk up on them. A load of #1 buck to the noggin takes the fight right out of them.

C0untZer0 · May 28, 2011, 07:11 PM

I should qualify that I'm not talking head shot / behind the ear shots - I am talking about front shoulder shots.

I would think that #0 or #1 Buck with a flight control wad would be effective, although Federal doesn't actual make their "FLITECONTROL®" shells in #0 or #1 Buck.

hogdogs · May 28, 2011, 07:27 PM

The "shield" can be well into the 2-3 inch thick range on just a decent good size hog.

We have found bullets, buckshot balls and even a long 4 blade broadhead embedded in the shields. It is such a tuff thing to deal with I don't even try to skin the hog in one piece as I would any other animal.

I get to the shield and hack it off in pieces.

Buck to the head would be okay and if you hit the sweet spot behind the shield and a bit south of center, it would be okay at reasonable range too.

Brent

TXGunNut · May 28, 2011, 07:39 PM

You're right, Brent. I do recall a 350 class hog that had a very thick section of armor plating on the front of his chest, mebbe 2 inches. He was a nasty old boar, never got to see the inside of his armor to measure it carefully. Had a bigger boar that took a 30-06 to the shoulder and ran off, even after a quick follow up shot to the gut. Never got the details on his armor either because it was almost dark and he ran into the thick stuff. His skull turned up a few months later and I'm glad we didn't go in after him. Nice cutters!

Zen Archery · May 28, 2011, 07:39 PM

lets add this to the discussion...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je1PiHxfO_I

hogdogs · May 28, 2011, 07:47 PM

A New Zealand buddy once posted a pic I ripped and posted here (somewhere in history) of a cross section of shield with a rifle round in front of it for comparison. The shield was obviously thicker than the entire round was tall.

Brent

TXGunNut · May 28, 2011, 09:16 PM

Soooo....if you like little piggies and po'd big piggies by all means use buckshot! Just don't try to talk me out of my 45-70.

603Country · May 30, 2011, 09:52 PM

All that talk about the hog armor plate, and I was wondering why I haven't seen that on the 200 pounders I've shot or trapped on my place. Just now I realized that I haven't seen it because I only clean the sows for consumption. I guess I had a senior moment.

Next big boar I shoot, I'll autopsy him and check the plate thickness. After that, he becomes coyote bait, which works much better than my obviously lame attempts to call coyotes up.

thallub · May 30, 2011, 10:21 PM

The trick is to avoid hitting the shields unless you are using a heavy bullet that holds together well. The shields on this boar were about 2.5" thick. The hog was 19"wide at the shoulders. The 250 grain .452 saboted SST bullet went all the way through that hog, blew out two ribs on the off side and was found under the skin.

Hog ran full tilt for about 120 yards after being hit, started to stagger, fell, kicked for about 30 seconds and expired. You can see the entrance wound under my Encore's forearm tip.

Double Naught Spy · May 31, 2011, 12:05 AM

Quote:

lets add this to the discussion...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je1PiHxfO_I

C0untZer0 posted that link in another thread currently running on the perfect hog gun....
http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...light=jagerpro

What I said in that thread was...

Quote:

Let see, it was a long distance shot and contrary to what the guy in the video was claiming, that did not look normally mushroomed. I have to wonder what else the round hit first. It also looks like she was shot in the rump/hip area. Given the description, I am thinking the round was not the first shot fired, but one of the later shots fired after she ran, so somewhat sprayed and prayed. I have watched a lot of the Jagerpro vids and watched them shooting hogs on the run and watched them spray at hogs on the run. In short, it doesn't seem to be a properly placed shot.

In other words, I am having trouble believing that the irregularly mushroomed round that impacted the rear quarter of a female hog, in an area that would be behind the shield on a male, was a direct impact from a full power load. I am more inclined to believe that round hit something first, quite possibly the ground, befoer impacting the hog.

C0untZer0 · May 31, 2011, 12:23 AM

Double Naught Spy:

Quote:

I am more inclined to believe that round hit something first, quite possibly the ground, before impacting the hog.

I was thinking the same thing but I didn't write it. I didn't know what a round would look like richocetting up from the ground. Well anyway - who knows a lot of crazy things start happening to rounds, maybe they disintegrate maybe they don't. But that wound looked kinda far back on the sow. And I would have thought that unless a .308 hit a think layer of gristle and bone - up toward the shoulder, it wouldn't just stop like that. I don't know but I would think that if you shot any pig that far back, the round is going to penetrate. Not necesarily kill the pig - but not stop in the hide.

I'm not sure the interesting thing here is that the pig is so tough as the what happened to that round before it stopped in 1/2" hog hide.

C0untZer0 · May 31, 2011, 12:30 AM

And thanks to people who chimed in on #1 Buck.

I think the consensus is it can be used for head shots but it is not going to bust throught the armor / shoulder area to hit the heart / vitals.

Outlaw81 · June 11, 2011, 11:22 AM

The only way a hog gets a piece of my buckshot is if he's in my garden and I need a laugh!! Other than that he's gettin a 250gr Partition sleeping pill from my .35 whelen.

columbia_shotguneer · June 25, 2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

The only way a hog gets a piece of my buckshot is if he's in my garden and I need a laugh!! Other than that he's gettin a 250gr Partition sleeping pill from my .35 whelen.

#1 and 0 buck aside, i bet the laughs at him when he cartwheels and stays put with a load of 000 buck in his side.

Outlaw81 · July 6, 2011, 05:54 PM

I've been trying for days to post a video bout my previous. I found a boar that, undressed, weighed 422lbs. He was very adamant about bullying my dogs off their feeders so I went inside. I have a Remington 742 carbine that for all intensive purposes is not a long range weapon. The only thing I load for it is 250gr partitions or similar. That hog almost did a cartwheel at 35yds! I couldn't believe it.

columbia_shotguneer · July 6, 2011, 08:17 PM

Outlaw, good for you making a mighty boar do a spin! Lol, love to see that video, if not I believe you anyway, seen it done a few times, myself.

Hog Hunter · July 6, 2011, 08:27 PM

I like to shoot the big ones square in the shoulder with 160 grn accubonds out of my 7mm mag. Out of all the big hogs I have shot I maybe had 2 or 3 run off a bit and I have shot way more than I can count. Ill shoot the smaller ones in the head to keep all the meat. Ive seen 150-200 lb hogs with an inch and a half of fat and flesh befor it even gets to the meat. Wouldnt recomend shooting them with buckshot or a slug unless your at close range. Dont want a ****** off hog very close to you I promise.

Hog Buster · July 6, 2011, 08:46 PM

While hog vitals aren’t in quite the same place as deer vitals a good shot right behind the front shoulder with your average deer rifle will do them in. Now they might run a half mile before dropping, but they will drop. On the other hand a head shot, side in the ear or front above the eyes will drop them in their tracks.

I’ve killed quite a few with a .22 LR, but only with head shots from about 25 to 50 yards. While I don’t recommend hog hunting with a 22 it can be done. By far almost any head shot is preferable to a body shot, unless you like long walks in the woods, sometimes at night in the rain and cold.

gunhand · July 6, 2011, 08:56 PM

Look up pellet gun hog hunting or air rifle hog hunting on You Tube. You will see that the hog is just as dead as if you shot him with a 300 win mag. Also, the "shield" on a hog is far from bulletproof. Shoot them with whatever you want. Just put the bullet in the right place.

BUFF · July 7, 2011, 05:04 PM

+1 on placement. Hogs are weird that way. Hit a 150lb sow in the neck at 100 yrds. Went to go get her and she was playing 'possum on me. Had to empty my .45 in her head to go down. My dad put one in the ear of one with a 22-250 and knocked her sideways and went down in a heap. Head shots aren't always the best IMO. They have a small brain and a tough skull. I hit one quartering to just fwd of front shoulder at 130yrds with a .243 that ran off. I don't go undergunned anymore. Big bullet and vital shots for me from now on.

May 28, 2011, 05:45 PM	#26
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	No way on the buckshot! A big hog has a thick covering most folks consider armor plating from about their elbows forward. I've seen it nearly an inch thick, last hog wasn't especially big and it was over .5" thick. It looks and feels like gristle and I'm doubtful a buckshot pellet has the energy to penetrate it and continue on to the vitals. Buckshot doesn't perform especially well on thin-skinned critters, not anxious to try it on something that "runs both ways". __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

May 28, 2011, 07:39 PM	#30
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	You're right, Brent. I do recall a 350 class hog that had a very thick section of armor plating on the front of his chest, mebbe 2 inches. He was a nasty old boar, never got to see the inside of his armor to measure it carefully. Had a bigger boar that took a 30-06 to the shoulder and ran off, even after a quick follow up shot to the gut. Never got the details on his armor either because it was almost dark and he ran into the thick stuff. His skull turned up a few months later and I'm glad we didn't go in after him. Nice cutters! __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

May 28, 2011, 07:39 PM	#31
Zen Archery Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2005 Posts: 274	lets add this to the discussion... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je1PiHxfO_I __________________ Video Hunting Library

May 28, 2011, 09:16 PM	#33
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	Soooo....if you like little piggies and po'd big piggies by all means use buckshot! Just don't try to talk me out of my 45-70. __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

June 11, 2011, 11:22 AM	#39
Outlaw81 Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2011 Location: Southeast OK Posts: 114	The only way a hog gets a piece of my buckshot is if he's in my garden and I need a laugh!! Other than that he's gettin a 250gr Partition sleeping pill from my .35 whelen. __________________ Don't Run...You'll only die tired. “It was the ultimate hunting trip: a man hunting another man who was hunting me. Don’t talk to me about hunting lions or elephants; they don’t fight back with rifles and scopes!"--Chuck Mawhinney Marines never die...We just go to hell and regroup!!

May 28, 2011, 05:59 PM	#27
LSnSC Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2010 Posts: 514	Ive killed a few smaller hogs with buckshot. Usually checking a feeder and walk up on them. A load of #1 buck to the noggin takes the fight right out of them.

May 28, 2011, 07:11 PM	#28
C0untZer0 Junior member Join Date: April 21, 2011 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,555	I should qualify that I'm not talking head shot / behind the ear shots - I am talking about front shoulder shots. I would think that #0 or #1 Buck with a flight control wad would be effective, although Federal doesn't actual make their "FLITECONTROL®" shells in #0 or #1 Buck.

May 28, 2011, 07:27 PM	#29
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	The "shield" can be well into the 2-3 inch thick range on just a decent good size hog. We have found bullets, buckshot balls and even a long 4 blade broadhead embedded in the shields. It is such a tuff thing to deal with I don't even try to skin the hog in one piece as I would any other animal. I get to the shield and hack it off in pieces. Buck to the head would be okay and if you hit the sweet spot behind the shield and a bit south of center, it would be okay at reasonable range too. Brent

May 28, 2011, 07:47 PM	#32
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	A New Zealand buddy once posted a pic I ripped and posted here (somewhere in history) of a cross section of shield with a rifle round in front of it for comparison. The shield was obviously thicker than the entire round was tall. Brent

May 30, 2011, 09:52 PM	#34
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	All that talk about the hog armor plate, and I was wondering why I haven't seen that on the 200 pounders I've shot or trapped on my place. Just now I realized that I haven't seen it because I only clean the sows for consumption. I guess I had a senior moment. Next big boar I shoot, I'll autopsy him and check the plate thickness. After that, he becomes coyote bait, which works much better than my obviously lame attempts to call coyotes up.

May 30, 2011, 10:21 PM	#35
thallub Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2007 Location: South Western OK Posts: 3,112	The trick is to avoid hitting the shields unless you are using a heavy bullet that holds together well. The shields on this boar were about 2.5" thick. The hog was 19"wide at the shoulders. The 250 grain .452 saboted SST bullet went all the way through that hog, blew out two ribs on the off side and was found under the skin. Hog ran full tilt for about 120 yards after being hit, started to stagger, fell, kicked for about 30 seconds and expired. You can see the entrance wound under my Encore's forearm tip.

May 31, 2011, 12:30 AM	#38
C0untZer0 Junior member Join Date: April 21, 2011 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,555	And thanks to people who chimed in on #1 Buck. I think the consensus is it can be used for head shots but it is not going to bust throught the armor / shoulder area to hit the heart / vitals.

July 6, 2011, 05:54 PM	#41
Outlaw81 Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2011 Location: Southeast OK Posts: 114	LMAO! I've been trying for days to post a video bout my previous. I found a boar that, undressed, weighed 422lbs. He was very adamant about bullying my dogs off their feeders so I went inside. I have a Remington 742 carbine that for all intensive purposes is not a long range weapon. The only thing I load for it is 250gr partitions or similar. That hog almost did a cartwheel at 35yds! I couldn't believe it. __________________ Don't Run...You'll only die tired. “It was the ultimate hunting trip: a man hunting another man who was hunting me. Don’t talk to me about hunting lions or elephants; they don’t fight back with rifles and scopes!"--Chuck Mawhinney Marines never die...We just go to hell and regroup!!

July 6, 2011, 08:17 PM	#42
columbia_shotguneer Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2011 Location: ne florida Posts: 148	Outlaw, good for you making a mighty boar do a spin! Lol, love to see that video, if not I believe you anyway, seen it done a few times, myself. __________________ living in FL but my home's in alabama! From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun. sincerely, Blain

July 6, 2011, 08:27 PM	#43
Hog Hunter Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2009 Location: Georgia Posts: 386	I like to shoot the big ones square in the shoulder with 160 grn accubonds out of my 7mm mag. Out of all the big hogs I have shot I maybe had 2 or 3 run off a bit and I have shot way more than I can count. Ill shoot the smaller ones in the head to keep all the meat. Ive seen 150-200 lb hogs with an inch and a half of fat and flesh befor it even gets to the meat. Wouldnt recomend shooting them with buckshot or a slug unless your at close range. Dont want a ****** off hog very close to you I promise.

July 6, 2011, 08:46 PM	#44
Hog Buster Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2009 Location: Pointe Coupee, Louisana Posts: 772	While hog vitals aren’t in quite the same place as deer vitals a good shot right behind the front shoulder with your average deer rifle will do them in. Now they might run a half mile before dropping, but they will drop. On the other hand a head shot, side in the ear or front above the eyes will drop them in their tracks. I’ve killed quite a few with a .22 LR, but only with head shots from about 25 to 50 yards. While I don’t recommend hog hunting with a 22 it can be done. By far almost any head shot is preferable to a body shot, unless you like long walks in the woods, sometimes at night in the rain and cold. __________________ Those who beat their guns into plows, will plow for those who don't.-Thomas Jefferson

July 6, 2011, 08:56 PM	#45
gunhand Member Join Date: February 1, 2006 Posts: 66	Look up pellet gun hog hunting or air rifle hog hunting on You Tube. You will see that the hog is just as dead as if you shot him with a 300 win mag. Also, the "shield" on a hog is far from bulletproof. Shoot them with whatever you want. Just put the bullet in the right place.

July 7, 2011, 05:04 PM	#46
BUFF Senior Member Join Date: June 27, 2011 Location: Augusta, KS Posts: 226	+1 on placement. Hogs are weird that way. Hit a 150lb sow in the neck at 100 yrds. Went to go get her and she was playing 'possum on me. Had to empty my .45 in her head to go down. My dad put one in the ear of one with a 22-250 and knocked her sideways and went down in a heap. Head shots aren't always the best IMO. They have a small brain and a tough skull. I hit one quartering to just fwd of front shoulder at 130yrds with a .243 that ran off. I don't go undergunned anymore. Big bullet and vital shots for me from now on.