hog hunting advise needed

[Digital Dan]

I've had poor luck trying to penetrate the skull between the eyes. Some bullets do better, an ear shot is definitely a better "head shot". I've had a couple where that was the only shot presented, up close and personal, just not a shot I consider optimal.

Was sort of being sarcastic but not intended to be personal.

I like the frontal brain shot on hogs a lot and have been dropping them regular with CBs since around 2006-7. .22 CB shorts that is. Yes I'm close when I shoot and it is not a high risk shot. If one has the patience to wait for a hog to drop it's snout so the aspect of the frontal skull plate in near 90* it is a pop'n flop proposition. Shooting them in or behind the ear is riskier with low powered rounds due to the complex bone structure around the ear. Hogs have an inner and outer skull structure of sorts, particularly present in the aft hemisphere. Another shot I like is the vertebrae betwixt skull and shoulders. Either will present in every case if one is patient. Otherwise conventional theory is best supported by a larger bore gun.

[303Guy]

Something I haven't taken into account is that although the jaws and snout take up an overwhelmingly large portion of the head, the head is in fact pretty large so a close-up brain shot is not really all that small a target. My critter was a hare. But I would be expecting a pig on the move or ready to move in a instant so no time for careful shots. The only pigs I've shot were African bushpigs in the dark. One was with a 223, presumably through the heart - it ran about 40 paces and wasn't found soon enough to dissect. Another was through the shoulder and heart and out behind the diaphragm. The anatomy of the bushpig is a little different. That one didn't even twitch. That was with a 175gr Hornady RNSP.

[olafhardt]

I have been on exactly one hog hunt. I shot two with frontal head shots. One with a22 WMR and one with a 22 lr. Both just took off running apparently not seriously hurt. Years later I had the chance to examine a hog skull. Where I hit those hogs was a chunk of thick bone angled perfectly to deflect my boolits. My hunting partner shot one from the front with a 16 ga promotional load of #6 bird shot. He hit the head slightly to the left. When we cleaned the hog the head rattled like a sack of gravel and the left shoulder was torn up. I can't say that I learned a whole lot day about hog hunting but I learned a few things:
1. Rimfires aren't good hog rifles
2. People who down play bird shot for self defence probably never cleaned a hog shot in the nose with it.
3. I have shot lots of critters with a 22 and they all ran of or dropped. Therefore, while I can defend the homestead with a 22 I prefer a load of bird shot. High brass 4's or 5's are my pick.

[skeeter1911]

Thanks to everyone who replied. This is a fantastic resource to glean information from those who get far more experience (shooting pigs in this case) in one season than that I will get in a lifetime. You guys have shortened my learning curve, confirmed my initial thoughts on my load, helped me on where to hit 'em, and given me some confidence that when the moment of truth arrives it will be lights out piggy.

[trauma1]

I’m heading to Florida sometime in the first quarter of 2014 and will be taking a side trip looking to take my first hog, hopefully more than one. I would like to use a revolver, crossbow and/or lever gun. I have a Bisley Super Blackhawk Hunter in .44 magnum and a Lyman 429421 mold and would like to cast up some boolits with an appropriate alloy. I have straight lino & pure lead right now to work with.

I also have some Missouri Bullet “Elmers” (advertised B.H. ~18) that I’ve been loading over 10.0 grains of Unique. These are shooting real nicely at 25 and 50 yards, and are traveling 1190 fps thru the chrono placed about 10’ from the muzzle. They are not brutal recoil wise either which is another plus.

Assuming good shot placement my questions are: Is a 240 to 250 grain bullet at 1200 fps suitable for pigs? I'm guessing it would be fine. What kind of B.H. hardness should I looking to get from my alloy? What proportion of Lead, Tin, and Antimony would be good?

Also, if anyone has a guide they highly recommend, I’m all ears.

sounds like a decent load and plan. go for the "behind the shoulder" shot at <50yds and you should be fine. Try Westshoreoutfitters.com
Have hunted with them a couple of times and they are great guys. Close to the beach too! Matt is a stand up straight and honest guy.

[303Guy]

go for the "behind the shoulder" shot at <50yds and you should be fine.

Not for pig. The anatomy is different to a deer. The heart is above the front leg/chest confluence.



See how small the brain is? Behind the shoulder is a gut shot or maybe just clipping the lungs.

[Fenring]

.17HMR for hawgs. FTW.

[gofastman]

^ wow, really? I would have bet money a .17 cal anything would more or less bounce off a hog!

What do you guys think of 000 buck for hogs?

[Wayne Smith]

^ wow, really? I would have bet money a .17 cal anything would more or less bounce off a hog!

What do you guys think of 000 buck for hogs?

Range??

[gofastman]

Range??

I guess thats part of what I want to know, whats reasonable?
lets say im using this load:
http://www.federalpremium.com/produc...ll.aspx?id=456

[trauma1]

I guess thats part of what I want to know, whats reasonable?
lets say im using this load:
http://www.federalpremium.com/produc...ll.aspx?id=456

Now you go and throw that word reasonable in there and screw it all up. I think your original thought of the 44mag in a handgun is just fine as long as your shot is within 50yds and broadside. In a rifle you could stretch it out a little more. However, you can never be overgunned when it comes to a hog. Take something you are comfortable and accurate shooting because at the end of the day a well placed 250 gr 44mag at 1100 fps is deadlier than a poorly placed .500 SW. You want DEEP penetration, preferably through and through because down here in Fla. they like the thickest, nastiest stuff to run into when shot. I have taken them with 257 Roberts and 3006. I shot one last year with a bow. Through and through lung shot, ran 40 yds and it took 3 of us an hour to find it in the palmettos. I plan on using a 41mag and a 375 H&H with cast bullets this year. I would not recommend buck shot at all . While they will probably die eventually, your range is going to be limited to 30-40yds max with buck shot. Stick with your original plan and practice, practice, practice. While they are tuff critters they ain't elephants.

[303Guy]

Welcome aboard, trauma1

I've seen a pushpig shot in the rear with SSG. Broke both upper leg bones and it ran off! That was the one I shot with my 44mag. My boolit went through the flesh above its skull penitrating about a foot, going through neck muscle and nicking the topped of a neck vertebra and annoyed the pig. I finished it off with SSG. The first shot hit the neck at an angle and skidded off. The second shot penetrated and killed it outright. Funny thing is there was no fatal pellet hit. One pellet came to rest against a kidney, that was all. The others just made random holes through flesh, no lung punctures and no heart hits but the pellets hit the frontal chest area and angled into the critter.

[Fenring]

^ wow, really? I would have bet money a .17 cal anything would more or less bounce off a hog!

Yep, really. I went out one night expecting to find foxes, and I found a mob of small pigs feeding off a sheep carcass. One was shot below the ear at about 50 yards and was DRT. Another ran past me at maybe 20 yards and I shot it twice as it passed - one shot hit a bit far back behind the ribcage. The other hit it behind the shoulder and dropped it. Hornady Vmax. Pic was taken the next morning, hence why there's still a torch on the rifle in the daylight.

What do you guys think of 000 buck for hogs?

IMO the range has to be real close - I have seen solid pigs hit well and just run off squealing, even at close range. Not enough penetration and no bone breaking power. IMO you are better off with a carbine like a .30/30. .44Mag, .45/70 etc. Pigs can run out of shotgun range real quick.

[gofastman]

Its too bad no one makes 000 or 0000 buck loads with a flitecontrol/versatite wad!

[Firebricker]

Skeeter, I didn't read the whole thread but thought I would share some advise I was given. A few of us were going to go to the Big South Fork on the TN side for hogs with bows. So I was talking to a local guy and asked you got any advise. His answer was "You boys better learn to climb trees" he was a real good guy after a laugh he told me some areas to scout. Well this does nothing to answer your question but thought you might get a laugh out of that. FB

[Digital Dan]

^ wow, really? I would have bet money a .17 cal anything would more or less bounce off a hog!

What do you guys think of 000 buck for hogs?

There's folks out there killing smaller hogs with .177 air rifles, dunno why a powder propelled .17 wouldn't work given a proper bullet.

000 buck generally patterns poorly and would be my very last choice for shooting hogs. There is an Ithaca 37 20 bore in my locker that has over 70 hogs to its credit, all save one taken with #3 buck via a modified choke. The exception fell to a Forster slug, whop'n flop.

The misconceptions about the use of buckshot irritates me a fair bit because they are usually driven by ignorance. I doubt one can find 1 in 10 that actually test buckshot loads in their guns to determine which patterns best with a given choke. The second mistake is shooting long. Both lead to disappointment more often than not, but if one will test loads and keep their shots inside a range that puts 75% of the pattern in a 14-18" circle buck will hit like Thor's hammer and there won't be any tracking involved.

Buckshot should not be compared to rifle bullets in evaluating its effectiveness. The balls, regardless of diameter will penetrate quite effectively. The ability of a given load to kill is based on the large number of wound channels it delivers, not FPE or other conventional metrics.

[trauma1]

There's folks out there killing smaller hogs with .177 air rifles, dunno why a powder propelled .17 wouldn't work given a proper bullet.

000 buck generally patterns poorly and would be my very last choice for shooting hogs. There is an Ithaca 37 20 bore in my locker that has over 70 hogs to its credit, all save one taken with #3 buck via a modified choke. The exception fell to a Forster slug, whop'n flop.

The misconceptions about the use of buckshot irritates me a fair bit because they are usually driven by ignorance. I doubt one can find 1 in 10 that actually test buckshot loads in their guns to determine which patterns best with a given choke. The second mistake is shooting long. Both lead to disappointment more often than not, but if one will test loads and keep their shots inside a range that puts 75% of the pattern in a 14-18" circle buck will hit like Thor's hammer and there won't be any tracking involved.

Buckshot should not be compared to rifle bullets in evaluating its effectiveness. The balls, regardless of diameter will penetrate quite effectively. The ability of a given load to kill is based on the large number of wound channels it delivers, not FPE or other conventional metrics.

and that is why I did not recommend buck shot. most people will not spend the time or money to test buckshot loads. they just grab whatever is on the shelf at wally's and throw a full choke in the shotgun. while it can/has been effective it is based on testing the most "accurate" load and distance is still a problem.

[TXGunNut]

Buckshot is an awesome killer of medium sized, thin skinned game and sometimes 2-and 4-legged varmints but it has a very limited range and shot placement is still important. Chokes help but round balls, especially unstable round balls, lose energy and direction quickly.

[Cosmiceyes]

The only reason I came back to see latest post,and to see if ya'll had talked the hog to death!

[olafhardt]

I had an uncle that was an emergency room doctor. He started using buck shot after he had to remove several from a patient. Obviously the recipient of these little round dudes was not dead right there, but he was hurt real bad.