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  • leVieux

    TSRA/NRA Life Member
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    QUESTION:

    Grandson from Dallas & I are in Wharton County for hogs. I /we have done this for decades, usual success.

    I'm using .243Win, 100gr. He has .308, 168gr.

    Shots all about 80 or 90 yards, w/ Leupolds, from rests. Mostly heart or base of neck shots.

    Rifles sighting checked fine, both bore-scopes and paper targets.

    This year, five solid hits, no pigs or blood. We have been recovering ~ 90% of hit hogs but his year, ZERO. I know many prefer larger calibers, but I'm 76 & disabled.

    Any advice other than bigger rifles?

    Thanks,
    leVieux
    Texas SOT
     

    satx78247

    Member, Emeritus
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    Jun 23, 2014
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    QUESTION:

    Grandson from Dallas & I are in Wharton County for hogs. I /we have done this for decades, usual success.

    I'm using .243Win, 100gr. He has .308, 168gr.

    Shots all about 80 or 90 yards, w/ Leupolds, from rests. Mostly heart or base of neck shots.

    Rifles sighting checked fine, both bore-scopes and paper targets.

    This year, five solid hits, no pigs or blood. We have been recovering ~ 90% of hit hogs but his year, ZERO. I know many prefer larger calibers, but I'm 76 & disabled.

    Any advice other than bigger rifles?

    Thanks,
    leVieux


    leVieux,

    Fyi, the last "BBQ pig" that I shot & cooked was taken with a .22LR S&W revolver, from about 35M. - She took 3-4 unsteady steps & fell over GYD.

    You do NOT need a rifle larger than the .243 or .308, IF you shoot well, imvho. - I long ago lost count of how many hogs that I killed with an old Model 760 in .244 Remington with the 90 grain JSP , which is considerably LESS powerful than your .243 WCF.
    (About 3 years ago, I finally gave the rifle to my niece, as she kept borrowing it.)

    yours, satx
     

    mad88minute

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    I've shot a running hog on the head with a 270. Ran another 10ft probably from the fwd motion it had going for it.

    Shot another standing with a 22-250 behind the shoulder. He laid down on the spot but didn't die for another 10 minutes.

    Both at 75yds distance.

    Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk
     

    Double Naught Spy

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    Mar 4, 2008
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    North Texas
    QUESTION:

    Grandson from Dallas & I are in Wharton County for hogs. I /we have done this for decades, usual success.

    I'm using .243Win, 100gr. He has .308, 168gr.

    Shots all about 80 or 90 yards, w/ Leupolds, from rests. Mostly heart or base of neck shots.

    Rifles sighting checked fine, both bore-scopes and paper targets.

    This year, five solid hits, no pigs or blood. We have been recovering ~ 90% of hit hogs but his year, ZERO. I know many prefer larger calibers, but I'm 76 & disabled.

    Any advice other than bigger rifles?

    Thanks,
    leVieux

    I would reverify your zeroes. They are probably fine, but that would be the first thing that I would check as both calibers are certainly fine for hogs

    Neck shots that hit above the spine are going through nothing but muscle, so unless you have hydrostatic shock that shuts down the brain (virtually immediately) or stuns the spine with hydraulic shock with a near miss, then you have nothing but a flesh wound. I have killed two hogs with such wounds that were mostly/totally healed when I killed them. Shots below the spine are apt to hit the trachea and or esophagus which will all the hog to run a considerable distance. You may hit blood vessels below the spine and the hog will eventually bleed out, but that may be after running a long ways.

    Heart shot hogs can run in excess of 100 yards. Double lung can get about that far. Single lung can get over 400 yards...if you find them.

    Hogs have the ability, in many cases, to have their wounds seal up, both entry and exit, such that there is no blood trail. If the bullet doesn't exit, a sealed entry isn't uncommon. This is particularly true on fat sows and heavy shielded boars. The first mulefoot hog I killed sealed up tight and it was shot with a .45/70. We only found it by following it directionally about 100 yards until it was spotted and then could not find the bullet hole. Only after it was put entry side down for about an hour did some blood ooze out and we found the hole.

    Wounded hogs will often try to bury themselves under thick brush if they find a spot before collapsing. Some of my hardest hogs to find and recover were in briar thickets.

    Both calibers are fine for hogs. Instead of the base of the neck or heart, I would go with high shoulder that is going through the shoulder blade(s) and hopefully also the spine and if it misses the spine, you should get good lung involvement and still potentially drop the hog with the spine being stunned. Breaking one or both shoulder blades will impede longer distance running, though they may still run, just hampered. Or, go with cranial shots. Ideally, you want the bullet to penetrate the cranium and go into the brain, but breaking up the brain case around the brain is usually sufficient for the job.
     
    Last edited:

    leVieux

    TSRA/NRA Life Member
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    I would reverify your zeroes. They are probably fine, but that would be the first thing that I would check as both calibers are certainly fine for hogs

    Neck shots that hit above the spine are going through nothing but muscle, so unless you have hydrostatic shock that shuts down the brain (virtually immediately) or stuns the spine with hydraulic shock with a near miss, then you have nothing but a flesh wound. I have killed two hogs with such wounds that were mostly/totally healed when I killed them. Shots below the spine are apt to hit the trachea and or esophagus which will all the hog to run a considerable distance. You may hit blood vessels below the spine and the hog will eventually bleed out, but that may be after running a long ways.

    Heart shot hogs can run in excess of 100 yards. Double lung can get about that far. Single lung can get over 400 yards...if you find them.

    Hogs have the ability, in many cases, to have their wounds seal up, both entry and exit, such that there is no blood trail. If the bullet doesn't exit, a sealed entry isn't uncommon. This is particularly true on fat sows and heavy shielded boars. The first mulefoot hog I killed sealed up tight and it was shot with a .45/70. We only found it by following it directionally about 100 yards until it was spotted and then could not find the bullet hole. Only after it was put entry side down for about an hour did some blood ooze out and we found the hole.

    Wounded hogs will often try to bury themselves under thick brush if they find a spot before collapsing. Some of my hardest hogs to find and recover were in briar thickets.

    Both calibers are fine for hogs. Instead of the base of the neck or heart, I would go with high shoulder that is going through the shoulder blade(s) and hopefully also the spine and if it misses the spine, you should get good lung involvement and still potentially drop the hog with the spine being stunned. Breaking one or both shoulder blades will impede longer distance running, though they may still run, just hampered. Or, go with cranial shots. Ideally, you want the bullet to penetrate the cranium and go into the brain, but breaking up the brain case around the brain is usually sufficient for the job.

    Agree with those points, and did re-verify "reverify your zeroes".

    leVieux
     

    SC-Texas

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    .308. And this is where you to shoot them. Projectile choice is important. I am using the www.cuttingedgebullets.com 165gr Lazer Tipped Hollow Point. Its impressive.

    There is only one caliber that will let you hit them virtually anywhere and stop them instantly. . . .a 20mm with an HE round. Ans that might not be 100% Just sayin'

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    leVieux

    TSRA/NRA Life Member
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    .308. And this is where you to shoot them. Projectile choice is important. I am using the www.cuttingedgebullets.com 165gr Lazer Tipped Hollow Point. Its impressive.

    There is only one caliber that will let you hit them virtually anywhere and stop them instantly. . . .a 20mm with an HE round. Ans that might not be 100% Just sayin'

    View attachment 191523 View attachment 191524 View attachment 191525 View attachment 191526 View attachment 191527 View attachment 191528

    Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

    I guess that I have learned a lesson: Quit trying "heart shots" on hogs and aim for the neck or head.

    leVieux
     

    satx78247

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    SC-Texas,

    Fwiw, over the last 40 years, I've probably killed more feral pigs with a .22LR Remington Model 572 pump-rifle than with all my "high-power" rifles/shotguns combined. = SHOT PLACEMENT & ACCURACY is much more important than the caliber of the firearm that a hunter uses.
    (For many years, an old Model 572 "Fieldmaster" was my main "pickup truck gun".)

    Note: These days, with the large number of large/aggressive hogs & packs of feral dogs & "coydogs", that are commonplace in rural Texas, I now carry/use a Model 760 Remington in .243 WCF, .300 SAV or .30-06 in our family farm's vehicles, to "thin them out".

    yours, satx.
     

    SC-Texas

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    SC-Texas,

    Fwiw, over the last 40 years, I've probably killed more feral pigs with a .22LR Remington Model 572 pump-rifle than with all my "high-power" rifles/shotguns combined. = SHOT PLACEMENT & ACCURACY is much more important than the caliber of the firearm that a hunter uses.
    (For many years, an old Model 572 "Fieldmaster" was my main "pickup truck gun".)

    Note: These days, with the large number of large/aggressive hogs & packs of feral dogs & "coydogs", that are commonplace in rural Texas, I now carry/use a Model 760 Remington in .243 WCF, .300 SAV or .30-06 in our family farm's vehicles, to "thin them out".

    yours, satx.

    This says it all!

    SHOT PLACEMENT & ACCURACY

    That works 100% and generally isnt caliber specific.

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    leVieux

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    OK, Thanks for the replies, especially to "Double Naught Spy".

    Just to make sure, what I learned here is that the .243Win 100gr Hornady's are OK, if I can get a brain or spine shot.
    (As an ex-anatomist, I don't need anatomical instruction.) I have noted, in retrospect, that the ones we did hit in the spine went straight down, on the spot.

    Is there any trick for getting such shot on a feeding hog; or, is it just shoot quickly? Or, wait for the "perfect shot"?

    leVieux
     

    GoPappy

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    Dec 18, 2015
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    . . .
    Is there any trick for getting such shot on a feeding hog; or, is it just shoot quickly? Or, wait for the "perfect shot"?

    The problem is that they never stop moving, so it’s hard to ever get the perfect shot. I wish I had the right answer for you.
     

    Double Naught Spy

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    The problem is that they never stop moving, so it’s hard to ever get the perfect shot. I wish I had the right answer for you.

    I shoot a lot of stationary hogs. It is the best time to shoot them. One of my favorite times is to shoot a hog with its head down while eating, or one with its nose up in the air while doing its security check.
     
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