[Mossy Bloke]

Out hunting deer on the last Sat of the season yesterday. Hadn't seen anything by 10 am but kept hearing little squeals down in the swamp to my left. So I hop down and kind of slink in to the swamp and wade through some nasty water to what appeared to be a narrow strip of dry land. I find an old hollowed out log with 7 little piglets playing around, they're jumping over each other, playing around. I'm sitting on an old log about 30 yards away watching them for 20 minutes or so.

I hear something bigger coming through the brush and it appears to be the sow. I've never seen a hog in the wild before so this was a first for me. I couldn't tell you what she weighed but she was pretty big. The little ones were probably the size of large puppies (20 lbs? maybe) so I figure Mom has to be a decent size. Any way, I unload 3 shells of buckshot at her at maybe 40 yards and watch her run off. We looked for her for an hour and never found anything, no blood, no skin, no hair, nothing. I finally had to conclude I missed her completely. (In my defense, I was squatting on the ground to be able to see through the unbelievably think brush and she really blended in to the background well.

Well, while we're looking around for her, I come across a litter of other pigs, much smaller about 50 yards away in another hollowed out log. They were much smaller, maybe 3 or 4 pounds each if that. I could have picked them up since they were kind of rooting around at my feet.

It was a pretty cool experience.

Hogs are never out of season in GA (esssentially) so I'm planning on going back next week to the same spot with my 45/70 GG.

Since I saw so many small ones (13 as best I can tell) will there be a proportionate amount of full grown hogs in the same area? Can I expect to see another sow or a boar with all the little families about?

Second question, would you hunt hogs on the ground in light of all you read about how mean they are when wounded?

Third question, are sows as mean as a boar and what could one do to you if it got ahold of you really?

Lastly, I butcher all my own deer and have for years. Is cleaning and butchering a hog similar enough I'd be able to do it without guidance?

[H&Hhunter]

Any way, I unload 3 shells of buckshot at her at maybe 40 yards and watch her run off. We looked for her for an hour and never found anything, no blood, no skin, no hair, nothing. I finally had to conclude I missed her

Mossy,

I guarintee you didn't miss that hog. Buckshot doesn't work on hogs at anykind of range PERIOD.... They have such thick skin and so much fat under it that buck shot just doesn't have a chance at 40yards. Even if you did get a few pellets into her that fat plugs up the skin so well that hogs don't leave much of a blood trail many times even when hit good with a proper rifle.

I've seen buckshot completley fail at much closer range.

Get your 45-70 and get the job done.;)

Now to answer your questions.

1. Yes if you've got hogs in the area you can expect to see more. And anywhere there are sows you'll also find boars. They usually hang out in family groups though really big boars tend to be solitary critters, They'll be in the area.

2. I only hunt hogs from the ground and I kill in the neighborhood of 50 to 150 a year. Most of what you hear about how mean and agressive hogs are is complete bull sh--. They can and do get aggresivew at time but usually they'll run before they fight. Now if you corner one either onpurpose or by accident wounded or not they get a little froggy. But that is why your shooting a .45-70 isn't it? There is no reason to fear hogs just use a little common sense.

3. It's been my experience that sows are generally a little more mean than boars especially if they have young with them. Once again however notthing to worry about. Hogs tend to make some really loud and terrifying noises when confronted. And I believe that is primarily where they get there reputation as being mean. People are seldom injured while hunting hogs. Though it has and does happen so once again use a little common sense.

4. All mamals are built generally the same. Whether your cleaning a deer or a pig or an elephant. Gut it just like you'd gut a deer.

Good luck hunting and kill a pile of them. They are an extremely destrutive pest. That makes them all the better to hunt and they taste good too!!

[Mossy Bloke]

...so, in your experienced opinion..assuming I did in fact hit her, will she heal up and live?

I've lost a couple of deer in my life after hitting them during archery season, and it made me sick to my stomach.

[critter]

He's right about the lack of penetration of buckshot on hogs and on the holes plugging up. I killed a 75 lb female a few weeks back with my 45-70. Big ole 300 gr Rem JHP through right behind the shoulder. NOT A DROP of blood anywhere except the 'splash' where it was standing when shot. BOTH holes were plugged up. Hog only went about 50 feet though.

[H&Hhunter]

Mossy,

If I told you the wounds I've seen hogs not only survive but get over. You'd think I was lying. But there just ain't no tellin. Depends on where it was hit. But givin the fact that you were using buckshot I'd say the pig will live.

[Byron Quick]

Seeing as how I've killed a grand total of four hogs, I don't have much to add to what H&H said.

However, when young and ignorant, I caught a small pig in my uncle's pig pen. The sow hit me from behind and ran completely over me. I was lying there stunned and saw the sow doing a 180 for another run. She was leaning low and churning up sod. I cleared a fence I've never been able to get over before or since. If I run up on suckling pigs in the swamps, I will be retreating from them a ways and wait for mama or daddy. If I run up on said suckling pigs and they start up on their distress squealing...there ain't no way I'm sticking around to see if a wild sow is meaner than a domestic sow when it comes to her litter.

But the same goes for the young of many species.

Pick up a fledgling blue jay that's fallen from the nest sometimes. Did that too...once.:D

[John Galt]

No comments on the ethics of purposely shooting a mother with young.... I certainly wouldn't. However, you could mark the spot on your map and come back in 6 months and shoot all those youngins to fill the freezer.

My friend shot his first pig in the head with a 7mm Mag. After a lot of work getting it back to the truck, they went for another walk and happened past the same spot. Then they spotted another dead one that he had shot with the same bullet. Pretty good first pig(s)!!

[H&Hhunter]

No comments on the ethics of purposely shooting a mother with young.... I certainly wouldn't.

John,

I wouldn't on a game animal either but we are talking about the most prolific and damaging ferral animal alive. Go ahead and shoot population reduction is a good thing with pigs.

[Smoke]

I'll agree with most of what H&H said.

I shoot a lot of hogs (every one I see) and do most of it walking through the brush.

If you shoot a sow with young pigs, don't immediately run to the downed sow. Wait a few minutes and the young will come up and nurse. Then you have them lined up. A .300 Savage will penetrate 3 suckling pigs and draw blood on the fourth.

45-70 is a wonderful hog round. As is .300 Savage, 30-30, .308, 350 Rem Mag., I haven't shot one with my .300Win Mag but suspect it would work. I have taken some with a quater bore, but it takes some skill and some luck.

I bait hogs with corn. Cresote rubs are a good attractant also. Hogs are also cannibalistic, if you leave one you shot they will come eat the dead hog and you can shoot some more. Trapping them is another option. There is a good market for live feral hogs.

As far as ethics are concerned:
Hogs will litter twice a year, 3 times in optimal conditions. Average litter is 3 pigs. The females can reach sexual maturity at 6 months. You do the math. They are destructive, non native animals and should be eliminated. There are no ethics when dealing with feral hogs.

I certainly wouldn't. However, you could mark the spot on your map and come back in 6 months and shoot all those youngins to fill the freezer.

Hogs have no "home range". They might be there in 6 months, might not. Odds are there will be some hogs still there.

[Byron Quick]

Agreed. Hogs are like crazed giant rototillers. Talk about a ruined garden or field.

Around here there might not be ethics but there are a few regulations regarding feral hogs. As far as trapping them and selling them...I think you'd have to have a vet certify them. Is it a Coggins test?

[St. Gunner]

Byron,

The scare with Hogs is psuedorabies. I helped depopulate a domestic herd in this area that was supposed to have it. Supposed to kill goats, cows, dogs, and about everything else. But... On the same hog where we slaughtered 300+ hogs one morning they have all the above animals and haven't lost one...

Smoke,

You must have poor range conditions to only raise 3 to a litter, most of em here will have 8-10 to a litter(sow we killed yesterday had 12 in her), and raise 5-7 of them to weaning age.

Galt,

In this area I live hogs do MILLIONS in damage every year, their arrival here marked a steady decline in wild turkeys(State study says they find 87.5% of nests), deer, and many other ground nesting creatures or ground dwelling reptiles. Farmers lose 10-15 acres of crops per night to raiding hogs in many areas...

Ethics with hogs, yep the same ones you'd use to deal with a terrorist bent on destroying you, your life, and your income, you shoot and shoot and shoot in hopes the threat goes forever away. The hogs he had at his feet rooting would have all gotten killed, 2-3lbs or not.

Mossey,

Let fly with the 45/70, but be prepared to track those critters. I had a 75lb sow run almost 100yds shot through the front shoulders with a 405gr 45/70 load.

Have fun out there...:D

[Smoke]

You must have poor range conditions to only raise 3 to a litter, most of em here will have 8-10 to a litter(sow we killed yesterday had 12 in her), and raise 5-7 of them to weaning age.

Your right!

I took the number from TX Dept of Wildlife. Litter here is 3-5, 4 being the most common 3-4 being the most common sightings. We don't have as many hogs as y'all do in South TX (Thank God) nor do we grow the monsters I've seen come out of your area. We did have a 500+# boar come out of the Bosque River bottoms a year ago, never seen another or even heard stories of another that size here. Most hogs are around 200# grown.


No regs on hogs here. Kill them, trap them, all you want and use any method.

Smoke

[mousecat33]

here, about 40 mi. SE of the metromess one morning, sneaking up on a hog trap, I counted 8 football-sized(maybe two footballs) piglets : awesome looking little suckers, they had white stripes. there were probably more.....5 secs later 3 juvs/yearlings, followed by mature ???s,,,
anyway a 200+ boar was Impatiently waiting for 30/30...first hog kill.....
ITELLUWHAT if that empty hard plastic bucket of corn was instead my own two legs, it would have been closed-casket for my a$$!!!!!!!

last year during bow season I happened upon a MONSTER(way over 400lbs) had one of them catquivers( they suck ), dumped it, pulled an arrow out and stalked....he weren't no scared of me, he just kept movin'
off another 10-15 yds out of range(my comfort zone is 30) munchin' on oats and whatnot. wore myself down after about 45 minutes to an hour of this and quit....walking back to the truck I realized, HOW STUPID AM I??
One arrow....

This year I bought a bow quiver and took my small .357 with me....no hogs...


Regards from e.TX

mc

[Mannlicher]

Over the years, I have taken a lot of feral hogs. I agree with the others, that these are just eating machines, and can ruin a small farm if not controlled.

I will be going up to South Ga next weekend, to help with population control on a really pretty 3K acre farm. We will hunt for 5 days, and if it turns out like last year, we should take upwards of 50 hogs. Stand hunting with a .30/06, and still hunting with a .44 mag Marlin 1894, and for those really thick places, a Remington 870 with Brenneke slugs.

[nico]

I'd like to go hog hunting sometime. Does anybody know where/if you can hunt them in MD (or VA, WV, or PA)? I assume a .270 will do the job if a .308 will. What size/type bullet would you use? Since the have such thick skin, would a ballistic tip be more appropriate than a soft point? (they penetrate deeper than soft points right?)

[Diggler]

I believe WV has feral hogs, but only residents can hunt them. I am unaware of any wild hog populations here in PA, you would have to go to a preserve (I'd rather not, thank you) to hunt them. I don't know about VA or MD.

Ballistic tips are basically hollow points with a plastic tip. If I were hunting hogs, I'd use something like the Barnes X bullet or a Winchester FailSafe to get controlled expansion on the bigguns.

[H&Hhunter]

Since the have such thick skin, would a ballistic tip be more appropriate than a soft point? (they penetrate deeper than soft points right?)

nico,

NO!!! Ballistic tips generally do not penetrate deeper than soft points. I have been hearing this more and more lately. Ballistic tips are thin jacketed and the palomar tip is designed to push back into the bullet on contact causing explosive expansion. This causes poor pentration.

Now the accubond or the swift sirroc which are polomar tipped bullets that incorporate a thick jacket and a bonded core should work just fine. Do not use Ballistic tips on hogs in high velocity round. They will however, work just fine in a heavy for caliber bullet slowed down to around 2700FPS or less. I.E. a .308 win shooting a 180gr balistic tip at 2600 will work great. I've used them many times in this configuration.

The same bullet out of a .300mag at 3000fps will make an explosive mess and you may or may not get enough penetration to kill a big hog.

[JohnKSa]

The polymer ballistic tips are to improve aerodynamics, and to resist deformation while in the magazine and during feeding.

BUT, they will cause explosive expansion and are a bad choice for tough game.

[nico]

Thanks for setting me straight guys. That's why I asked. :) So for hogs, would a soft point like you'd use for deer (130-150 grain) be good?

[Matt G]

H&Hhunter said:I guarintee you didn't miss that hog. Buckshot doesn't work on hogs at anykind of range PERIOD....
Er, with all respect, sir, I will have to beg to differ, based on my own observations on the occasion of November 11, 2002. I was hunting with a friend and his friend near Gonzales, TX, looking or deer and hog. I was sitting with my friend's friend, who had what I thought to be an odd choice: and 870 Magnum 12 ga loaded with 3 1/2" 000 magnum loads. We stayed after dark, and along comes piggy. He turns on the light, and pops a ~200 lb pig from about 20 yards. I have to say, I was skeptical, but the result was really rather impressive. He hit the pig from 9 o'clock high amidships, and the full choke on the shotgun gave about 8" to 10" spread, with several pellets passing through and through! I went forward and put her down for good with my .45 (She was still squealing, but was effectively downed, having had her spine shattered.) I just had some of that sow with stir-fry last night, as a matter of fact!

Here's a pic of the hog, to give you an idea. The shot came from the pig's LEFT side, and you can see the blood leaving the right side, where some (not all) pellets exited. The 4-wheeler in the pic is the full-sized Polaris, and Steve, pictured, is 6'5", same as I am. BOTH of us rode that 4-wheeler out there.

(What a miserable, muddy night.)
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=762811
Like I say-- I was skeptical, and still don't advocate buckshot as your primary go-to for full-sized wild hog. BUT, that said, heavy-loaded high brass loads of 000 buck through a full choke at 20 yards or less seems to be effective. Special conditions? You bet. Just pointing out (and to a member whose posts I respect) that sometimes there are no absolutes. :) Seems to be the case with the hogs I shoot or am around when they're shot.

[H&Hhunter]

Matt,

When I said Buckshot doesn't work at "anykind of range" what I meant to say is anykind as in longer ranges. It starts to become mucho inefective at 40yds like the Mossy Bloke says he shot his pig at. And even if you do get a few pellets in it may or may not leave a blood trail.

I then went on to say I've seen it fail at much closer range.

I've also seen it work at 60yds and at 20 feet but I find it to be an unreliable killer on hogs. I have a friend whose tested all kinds of buckshot loads on hogs he's shot probably 25 or so with me on my lease and he's come to the same conclusion. Sometimes it works sometimes it don't. But in anycase don't bank on it working all the time. Bullets work better.

That's a good looking hog........;)

And thanks for your input I always like to hear about hog hunting and hog hunters. To tell you the truth I'd rather hunt a big ole nasty hog than just about anything else excepting a big ole nasty dagga boy. ;)

[St. Gunner]

Matt,

I'll second H&H saying it is not consistant. One of the guys I hunt with carries a 20gauge 870 with #3 buck along, most of the time the shots with the dogs are less than 5yds, often you have to step back to get the gun on the right side of the hog that is bayed. We killed a couple boars Thur. afternoon that dressed 132 and 147 FD e(incidentally they to went on a polaris 4wheeler to get out, and hung a bit further off the sides than the above sow). The first boar had 2.5" of teeth and was doing some serious damage to the dogs, I hadn't brought my pitbull to catch that day, spur of the moment hunt. Well my buddy lets this hog have it in the side behind the shoulder at about 2yds(6feet). The hog broke and ran, happened to go right past another guy with a .44mag rifle and some 300gr bullets, the race stopped there. The interesting part was, we found two pellets that made the vitals out of 20. The pattern wasn't dispersed much, less than 3" across. The hog never reacted to the shot but to run. About ten minutes later they came across the second hog, he blasted past my buddy at about 10yds, he shot and the hog stumbled, but kept going, the race continued for another 10 minutes before the hog left the 40 acre thicket and tried to cross a field with a guy with a rifle there, by that time he soaked up 5rds of 7.62x39 fired into his chest at between 10yds and 50yds.

Five years ago we bayed a large hog in a stock tank 286lbs live weight, he fired 5rds of buckshot into that hog at less than 20yds and as close as 5yds as he swam around in that tank. When the catch dogs got there we tied him up alive and took him home, gave him a shot of penicillin, stuck him in a trailer and fed and watered him for five days, then sold him to a wild hog butchering plant where he passed USDA inspection.

Not to long ago I blasted a couple with 3" mag 000 buckshot loads at less than 20yds out of a 12gauge and had to have dogs to find all of them.

I can also tell stories about the 120lb sow I killed at 50yds with 000 buckshot one day as she sat rooting in a field. Or the 160lb boar my buddy killed dead as a hammer at 25yds with #3 buck and that 20gauge of his. But after our little hunting groups bagging 197 hogs last year, and 211 the year before with dogs, after having shot a couple thousand in the last 18yrs working on various ranches to control populations or at times just for kicks, I can conclude with utter confidence, buckshot might work,but more likely it won't...

What sucks is I have 250rds of it in ammo cans and I don't shoot that many coyotes...

:D

On hog weights, go search back through my user name and you'll see some weights on hogs and pics. It takes a heck of a hog to make the 200lb dressed weight catagory. a hog with the same basic frame as a 200lb show pig, won't carry enough weight to bring the scales to 130 most of the time. The point was drivin home yesterday, a guy we know has some domestics that escaped about 5 months ago, he has been unable ot catch them, or shoot them, so we took the dogs over after the first two boars Thur. We ended up finding a York Barr(castrated hog), that was freaking huge. I weigh 240 and do heavy lifting for a living, I could slide it about 3', it took 3 of us to drag him 15yds to a spot close enough to get a 4 wheeler. He bottomed a 300lb scale gutted, we stuck another scale on his nose, he almost bottomed it also, adding the totals we came to 473lbs. Let me just say, it dispelled alot of notions that some of these hogs we see pics of on the internet are true weights. That hog hanging by his legs on a gambrel was 11' long from his back foot to his nose. He was close to 525 or so live weight. When we skinned him and cut his head and feet off he still weighed 292lbs. I have lotsa bacon coming to my house.:D

[Stand_Watie]

Sgt Gunner

On hog weights, go search back through my user name and you'll see some weights on hogs and pics. It takes a heck of a hog to make the 200lb dressed weight catagory.

Is there a function on this board to do that? I thought it would only let us look at the users last post? If I ever get a scanner I'll put a couple pics up. We trapped 3 old boars one year that we estimated at about 325, 275, 250 - surprisingly to me the smallest was the oldest (and meanest). Most of the ones we trap are 100 - 150. I think that is two years old is that right? We got 6 at one time in the 100 - 150 range, with one little one (maybe 35 or 40 pounds) in with the bunch of them.

[St. Gunner]

Stand_Watie,

Most of the ones we trap are 100 - 150. I think that is two years old is that right?

I'd think that would be pretty close to what they are, but range conditions play such a role in that. We're hunting a pack of hogs at present in one place that last year we killed 115 off the one property, it was literally full of small hogs in March last year, still suckling. We hunted it for the first time this year waiting on deer season to get over, smallest hog we killed was a touch over 100lbs. But we had acorns galore, the farmers peanuts got raided good with the early fall rain keeping them out of the fields with equipment, so the hogs had more vittles than normal.

I think the thing we don't think about is that hogs weights change just like people, late spring when the fields are full of food, the hogs are almost always fatter then late August when they are struggling to survive because of the heat and lack of feed. But even that changes from place to place based upon the agricultural programs in different regions.

The thing with hogs is they can nearly survive anywhere, i've heard of herds in New Hampshire where it is cold enough to kill lots of critters, and I personally hunted hogs along the Virgin River in Nevada, and saw them in the Virgin River Valley in Arizona and Utah. I actually found hog roots 9 miles from the river in the middle of the desert.

No matter where you hunt hogs they have two things that help pattern them, food and water. When it is 100+ degrees they don't have a choice but to stay near water to survive. Then everything has to eat.

Something else we have begun to see in some of the areas I hunt is the overall size of the animals shrinking, I think this mainly has to do with overpopulation, just to many critters for the carrying capacity. In one place they have rooted in almost every cactus bush catching baby rats and such, their has to be an easier way to make a living than filling your face full of thorns for a 3oz rat baby. :D

Hogs in many areas are just arriving, I happen to hunt in some of the core areas where they first got a foothold here in Texas, so the population density is pretty extreme. The pasture we killed 115 off of last year, it only has 75 acres of brush, and when we hunted the last day before deer season started as we where headed home with a truckload of dead hogs, about 40+ head came out of the brush and across a neighbors field.

I've seen some big wild hogs, I killed a sow years back that her hams touched the cab of the truck and her nose hung off the tailgate in a fullsize longbed ford. But that is truly just a freak of nature.

[Matt G]

St. Gunner--
Informative post. I agree that there's a lot more "600 lb" hogs talked about than ever seen. Same goes for "200 lb" whitetails. I have to admit that we estimated the weight of the sow, based on our personal knowledge of what a 100 and 200 lb deadlift feels like. Could have been 180, could have been 220. Weight was a hip-pocket guesstimate of three men who picked it up, loaded it on a 4-wheeler, and hung it from a chain to be dressed. (We were all kinda large.)

In my experience, I tend to overestimate the weights of deer, and underestimate the weights of hogs, while watching them on the hoof. Hogs are dense creatures, and the first shoat I ever shot (with a trapper-length Pre-'64 M94 .30-30), I had guessed to be about 35-40 lbs as I dropped the hammer. After going to pick it up and carrying it out of the creekbottem for field dressing, I revised my estimate to 60-80 lbs. (Words don't describe how my eyes opened, the first time I pulled one of that shoat's roasts out of the oven and tasted the tender, sweet meat that I had garnished only with onions, garlic, new potatoes, and mead. I knew then that this was the game to be bringing home! Yum.) Many hogs that I have figured at about 100 lbs on the hoof were a major struggle for my friend and I to carry out of the field. Good example: I figured the following sow to be 100 lbs when I shot at her with my .22 Hornet from ~80 yards away, one evening. We put her at right around 200 lbs when we carried her out. Maybe she was less, maybe more. I suppose we'll need to fetch a scale.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=767937

By the way, a single 45g .22 Hornet factory Winchester Super X doing about 2600 or less (Call it 2200 fps at 80 yards; Winchester says it sheds velocity rapidly (http://www.winchester.com/ammunition/store/cfrproductsheet.aspx?symbol=S22H1&qrystr=Y2FydGxpc3QrQUQwLU1qSWdTRzl5Ym1WMCtBQ1ktdXNlbGlzdCtBRDAtbm9uZStBQ1ktYnJhbmRsaXN0K0FEMC1ub25lK0FDWS1idWxsZXR0eXBlK0FEMC1ub25l)) out of a short NEF Handi-Rifle barrel will actually do the job quite well, if you put it in the right spot. :) Placement. Who knew? ;)
To give you an idea of scale in the size of the picture, I'm 6'5", was about 280 or so at the time, and wear size 18 shoes. The sow's head is partially resting on the ground, with her snout turned away from the camara.

[St. Gunner]

Matt,

Thanks...

Here are some other pics to help in guessing some weights...

The hog on the left dressed at 146lbs, similar to the sow you shot, or so it appears from your pic, depth and length wise. The hog on the right was 202lbs dressed weight. With a Browning A-bolt next to the black hog, the muzzle came to rest just below the hams, hanging with the nose scraping the ground. According to the tape measure when I am squatting like that barefoot and without a hat I am right at 4', so probably 4'6" of me with boots and hat squatted.

Funny thing with those hogs, the one on the left broke and ran from a stock tank at about 15yds and soaked up 3 150gr corelokts out of the .280 on the way out of the tank, one through one shoulder and exit behind the other, one lengthwise from the backside, and one grazing the head. I had to shoot it again, when I found it 15minutes later, he was still standing up. The hog on the right I had a right to left crossing shot at 15yds, took out the onside shoulder, slipped behind the offside, that hog dropped and skidded on bullet impact, never even squealed. Maybe 30 minutes apart from one another, with the same load and rifle...
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=57615

[Matt G]

Ah. I believe I've found one reason why your hawgs are clearly bigger than mine-- you're referencing dressed weight, while I've been referencing on-the-hoof weight. I figure that the gutpile from a 200 lb hog will easily go 25 lbs, and perhaps as high as 35 or so. That certainly accounts for some discrepancy. :)

Hard to compare one to another, though. Different people, positions, cameras, light, etc.

I've about decided that the only sure-fire way to put a hog down is a CNS shot. I watched a medium-large sow take a solid hit from a 165g GameKing '06 round and just hustle away, never to be found. I've then used the most aneomic centerfire rifle round I know of, to put down a decent-sized sow with one shot. With hog, I've become convinced that boiler-room hits don't mean nearly as much as cutting the control wires. :)

[Matt G]

BTW, here's the closer shot of the kill shot from that little Hornet. The bullet broke up on the spine, and some pieces exited her right side. Shot angle was from about 7 o'clock from her. Blood on neck is where I slit her throat-- her chest was still moving slightly, but she was dead, s'far as I can tell. Angle was almost flat-- level ground with me standing firing off-hand at 80 yards (paced). Reaction to shot was to roll over and die without squealing.
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=769065

[Stand_Watie]

Sgt Gunner:

Are those hogs typical in build of the hogs you take? I noticed that both your and Matt's hogs were somewhat difference in appearance to most of the ones I've seen in the area I live. They seem to be quite fat and have great big hocks in relation to the length and shorter faces. The ones I've trapped, and that I commonly see don't really have much belly at all, and tiny little hams compared to those, and longer noses with ears that set differently.

I thought it might have to do with the ratio of russian boar to feral hog. I found a couple of pictures, but I'm going to have to locate a scanner before I can get them online.

[Blain]

It sounds to me like the original poster, Mossy, used very poor and unethical hunting procedures. He had no clue how his buckshot load would even pattern at 40 yards and yet he takes a shot on the hog anyway! I find it hard to believe that people will go out and zero rifles and such that they plan to use for hunting, but then for buckshot think they can just pick up a random shell and go "buckblasting" without any type of tests whatsoever. I would bet you that the shot he used was also soft and unplated.

Then they are surprised when it doesn't work. It is my experience that a good 90%+ of the failures of buck, and thus its bad reputation, comes from exactly this ignorant and unethical procedure. It is very poor sportsmanship. People scoffing at the mere thought of going hunting without zeroing a rifle, and then doing the exact same thing when it comes to buckshot.

"20gauge 870 with #3 buck"

God....what do you expect? You use a 20 gauge with #3 buck and you wonder why it fails? First of all, the smallest gauge you should be using for buck is 12. The smallest size you should be using is 00. Anyone who uses #1 or smaller buck on an animal like a hog, and is surprised when it doesn't work is a fool. Esp. when they havn't even patterned it and determined an effective range!

If people didn't zero their rifles there would be a lot more woundings and failures too. You hunters should know better and be ashamed of yourself.
A properly patterned buckshot gun/load combo will put almost any animal down within it's effective range. It's effective range is about 75% pattern of 00 buck or larger, within a 10-12 inch circle.

Also, hardshot is VERY important when hunting with buckshot, and hardshot can make the difference between killing the game and wounding it.

Extra hard buckshot can make the difference between wounding and killing outright. This type of shot will break bones like matchsticks, even at maximum range. The lethality is exceptional and none of us want to cripple game. There are two ways to do this. One way is to melt a quantity of common wheel weights on the stove or plumbers pot and pour the lead into small ingots. Do the same for linotype(hard to find these days). Use a Lee Production Pot to mix a 50-50 mixture of the two. Dribble the hot lead into a Lee 33 caliber round bullet mould. Drop the pellet and repeat. Just as good: forget the linotype and cast wheel weight lead only. Place the cast pellets in a tray. Use an oven thermometer to set the temperature to 460 degrees. Place the pellets in the oven for 55 minutes. Remove and pour cold water over the tray full of pellets(be careful). If you want bright, shiny pellets like the alloy type, a tumbler is required. Otherwise, don't worry about it(I don't). To answer your question, Wheel weight lead contains 3% antimony and is approximately as hard as "magnum" lead. The lead alloy above contains 6% antimony. After heat treatment, the wheel weight lead is as hard as the lead alloy. One of these pellets, dropped onto a wood table from 12 inches will bounce 8 inches with a sharp sound. Pure lead makes a "thud". Attempting to squeeze one of these pellets with a pair of pliers will produce no result other than a small scratch. Maximum hardness is achieved after 24 hours.

Also, H&H hunter may claim to hate buckshot, but he has told me personally about African Guides killing Cape Buffalo with ONE shot of 2 ¾” 9 pellet 00 buckshot! This is no lie, and it can happen. If they use buckshot to down cape buffalos, what will a properly set up load do to a hog?

[Art Eatman]

I dunno, Blain. It sounded more like ignorance to me, than any question of ethics. Nobody was born an expert anything.

As far as buffalo and birdshot, so what? Animals or people, there're lots of weird things happen. Some things I just wouldn't bet on...

Nobody's stopping anybody from using buckshot or anything else, near as I can tell. But the majority of experiences in this thread about hogs is that buckshot ain't the best hog medicine.

And back to hogs...

:), Art

[H&Hhunter]

Also, H&H hunter may claim to hate buckshot, but he has told me personally about African Guides killing Cape Buffalo with ONE shot of 2 ¾” 9 pellet 00 buckshot! This is no lie, and it can happen. If they use buckshot to down cape buffalos, what will a properly set up load do to a hog?

Blain!!!

I figured you were gone. What took you so long, oh champion of the small ball. Glad you are back........

But if you're going to quote me get it right.

I told you about a game tracker (read native hunter) who finishhed off a wounded buff at close range with a Greener 12 ga with the above mentioned load. That's alot different than going out and "downing" cape buffalo with buck shot.

And right after that I also told you about the guy who has killed elephant with a .22lr. (Also a native hunter and in this case a poacher). And compared the two events in likleyhood and intelligence. You should really add that second part. Otherwise you are sounding very Clintonesque in your claims.

I don't hate buckshot. It has it's uses. And you are welcome to use it anytime you'd like. Of course you'd actually need to go hunting at least once in your life to prove any of your claims true or even remotley valid.

:neener:

[Blain]

Your hogs are dead!

[H&Hhunter]

Your hogs are dead!

Blain,

I think your Riddlen has worn off. Try and concentrate.... All of the hogs pictured were killed with rifles not shotguns except for one...

They are dead no thanks to buckshot in most cases.


I Said in a previous post..........

I've also seen it work at 60yds and at 20 feet but I find it to be an unreliable killer on hogs. I have a friend whose tested all kinds of buckshot loads on hogs he's shot probably 25 or so with me on my lease and he's come to the same conclusion. Sometimes it works sometimes it don't. But in anycase don't bank on it working all the time. Bullets work better.

Now Blain how do you make a buckshot "hater" out of me? I don't hate the stuff I just find it to be eratic at best and dangerous at worst. I have used it on stuff in the past. And I've used lots of other stuff as well. I find other stuff to work much better. As would you if you ever do any hunting.

[John Galt]

I'd like to add to the conversation that Blain's first post is "over the top" in vitriole aimed at the original poster. His comments would be usefull and valid if all the hateful sounding attack talk was left out.

To make the board enjoyable for all to visit, it is important to talk in a bit more friendly manner.

[JShirley]

Blain...

You say,
It is my experience

- then you say
you hunters .

So, Blain what experience do you have, again? I killed my first deer with buckshot 16 years ago. When did you kill your first...? (What did you kill first, btw?)

Incidentally, there were at least three bucks that trip I did not shoot at, because I was loaded with buck, and they were at least 41 yards away.

When you have some real-world PERSONAL experience to share, I'll be happy to listen. Until that time, maybe you should be listening.

John

[St. Gunner]

Blain,

Hardened copper plated 3" mag 000 12 gauge loads at less than 10yds is what is in the below pic. Funny thing was, it ripped a big nasty gash, but it didn't knock him down, kill him, or make him not want to fight. It was a full on frontal shot, we did find some pellets under the skin in the front, maybe lethality could be increased if we dipped all pellets in poison. :neener:

What finally brought him to the meat locker was a pitbull named Butch and a Case sheath knife to the heart. Much more effective than buckshot...

Yes #3 is a light load, but according to all the facts and figures you have quoted over the years, when it arrives in a close tight pattern, almost like a slug, nothing has a chance...

One of the guys I hunt with carries a 20gauge 870 with #3 buck along, most of the time the shots with the dogs are less than 5yds, often you have to step back to get the gun on the right side of the hog that is bayed.

And often Blain at those ranges you don't get pellets into the vitals, at ranges close enough you often have to pull the wad out of the wound... Blain, why it works that way, I don't know, but i've had it happen with all manner of loads... On all manner of hogs... In all manner of conditions... With enough test cases to pursuede me to leave the scattergun at home, a scattergun that when I call coyotes will place 90% of the 000 pellet in his chest at 40yds and drop him dead as a hammer.

I asked you a long while back to conduct a test of you buckshot using 1/4" plywood covered with leather and see how it faired, from your lack of a response, we all figured you finally figured it out. Thin skinned easy to kill game, sure thing, but make a critter with big tough bones(which sometimes don't shatter with rifle bullets) and cover that with something on the order of 1" thick leather, and buckshot is a proven loser. I would imagine I have killed more hogs in 30 seconds than most in this room have in their lives with a few exceptions(for the record I shot 13 in 27 seconds one day with an SAR-1 as they tried to cross a sendero with dogs after them.) Yes I used to carry a timer with me to see just how fast it happened( I had it for IDPA anyway)...

I've shot em with about every caliber I can think of, most gauges, even have one to my credit with a .410 slug that was a trick. A couple dozen with a .222 and some 50gr pills.

In all of that I have totally sworn off one thing, buckshot, I love it on lots of stuff, shoot my 870 is stoked with 7rds of 3" remington buffered 000 right now. But it just doesn't work on a reliable enough basis for me to trust my life and that of my dogs to it.

I doubt you can even find a guide for hogs that would recomend you use buckshot. Hell hogs are hard to kill with a rifle at times, i've shot 75lb pigs with 405gr sp's out of handloads stout enough to curl your hair and only a Ruger #1 will handle in .45/70 and watched em run off with a hole through both shoulders.

I have to get to bed, come back and enlighten us when you actually go kill a real live honest to goodness wild hog...

Oh and don't forget to look at the pic...

[Correia]

I've never hunted hogs. I have never really lived in an area that had them. My gosh though, the numbers you guys use for these things make them sound like they are 200 pound jack rabbits. :D

There are hogs down in Southern Utah, and I got an invitation to go down during the spring and do some hunting. After reading this thread I think I need to do that. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Question for you experienced hog hunters, how safe is the meat to eat? I saw that somebody mentioned psuedorabies. Is this a problem?

I love pork, I'm assuming that these things taste like a gamey pig right? :) Because if I can get a couple hundred pounds of edible and good tasting meat off of something that is basically a varmit, I'm cool with that.

[Correia]

And another question, how does 7.62x39 fare against them? I would most likely use a .308, but I shoot a lot of 7.62x39 and that is what I'm most likely to have handy at any given time.

[JShirley]

I'm curious about the 7.62x39, myself, as well as which load (commercial American? FMJ?) was used.

[St. Gunner]

Correia,

Hogs taste different dependant upon what they have been eating. Here they eat grain the difference in them and domestics is basically they have less fat.

I assume the hogs you are talking about in Southern Utah is out of the herd along the Virgin River, they are thick there already. I was out there last winter and I took a rifle along to go plink while the wife gambled. I ended up discovering Nevada has a good population, I saw 40-50 hogs per evening from overlooks headed into alfalfa fields and up to feed lots along the river. I went to the desert and found hog sign in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, all along the Virgin river bottom, I was suprised to say the least.

I'd take the .308, looks like getting close might be tough. I've used the 7.62x39 in the SAR1 platform and it is a good round, but you need to be close, something that may not happen. Buy some good bullets for the .308 and have at it, oh and don't stop shooting till it stops moving.

[JohnKSa]

And another question, how does 7.62x39 fare against them?
Most of the people (and that's not many) that I've seen post about killing hogs with 7.62x39 were doing pest control, not really hunting.

[Smoke]

I've never hunted hogs. I have never really lived in an area that had them. My gosh though, the numbers you guys use for these things make them sound like they are 200 pound jack rabbits

Good analogy. I have more hogs in my country now than jack rabbits...wasn't always so. :(



Hogs taste different dependant upon what they have been eating.

So true. Here they eat whatever they can scavenge. Acorns. Corn from deer feeders. Roadkill. grubs. etc. Hogs are omnivors and readily eat most anything. I know an hombre that catches them then feeds them for 90 days or so before slaughtering them. Says they eat much better. The few from around here I've eaten weren't fit for human consumption. But I have had some South Texas hog prepared by someone that dang sure knew what he was doing that was as good as anything I've tried.

I use dead hogs for hog bait.

As for 7.62x39: I've had very good luck with it out of an SKS on hogs up to 200# Never tried it on any biiger (they don't get much bigger here) I traded my SKS in on a Ar and sadly report that even though I like the AR better it is not as good on hogs.

Smoke

[Matt G]

I love pork, I'm assuming that these things taste like a gamey pig right? Not in my experience. In my experience, they taste like pig.

Oh.

That's right.

They ARE pig. 99+% of the genetics of the wild hogs out there comes directly from domestic hogs (read farm animals) that have gone wild. (or "feral.") They're not a different species. They're just hogs that've --er, gone wild.

All animals taste different on a different diet.

Because wild hogs are free-ranging, they work off a LOT more fat than pen-kept domestic hogs. Because they don't live and eat in their own feces like domestic hogs in a farm environment do, they're far less likely to be infected with the nasty diseases and worms that are common among farm hogs. Sure, you still need to treat it with care, as you should all pork. But it's a damn sight healthier for you. For that matter, it's a lot healthier for you than storebought chicken meat.

And so far, I haven't found one that was "too big, and thus too tough." I'm looking for the biggest hog I can find to continue to disolve this myth.

[twoblink]

While I've never hunted a hog, as someone who's grandpa is a pig butcher for 40+ years, I've seen probably more pigs skinned than all of you combined. :D

Let me tell ya, they are hard to kill. I would have to back H&H on that also; #00 buck ain't really gonna get the job done, not consistantly..

My friend in TX was having problems putting down some of the hogs out there with a shotgun...

So he moved to an 8mm mauser :neener:

I don't know about the ballistics of what is needed, but at 40 yards, it's not a mallard, you've probably just embedded a lot of buck into her and that's about it.

At first reading, I'd question shooting a mother with her young too.. But then on a second thought, if she's a pest (and indeed she is) then I personally wouldn't hesitate shooting a pairie dog mother I considered a pest, why would a hog be any different?

And hog + vegetable garden = no vegetables.. I can guarantee you that one... and oh, btw.. they EAT LIKE A PIG :evil:

[Stand_Watie]

Feral hogs don't always taste as good as farm reared pork for several reasons. The first has already been mentioned, they are leaner, and the fatter an animal is the more tender it is.

Secondly, domesticated hogs are typically castrated young, so the males do not have the taste of hormones that feral male hogs have. I've cooked and eaten old boars and they were alright to me, but some of the other people who ate it described it as 'horrible' and 'rank'. Ok, I smoked for years and years and my tastebuds aren't what they should be. I did notice it smelled disgusting when cooking. Now I only eat sows or young boars and except for being slightly tougher, they taste as good as domesticated pork.

I have heard people claim that you can overcome both these problems by trapping the boars, castrating them (how you do that to a live feral hog I don't know) and feeding them corn for a few weeks before killing them.

[Art Eatman]

The folks who hunt the Appalachicola River bottom lands around Blountstown, Florida, commonly trap the wild hogs. They'll turn the big ones loose, and keep the shoats of around 40 to 60 pounds.

Prime, very prime!

:), Art

[Stand_Watie]

Finally got my scanner!

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=850116

This guy was about 225 to 250 on the hoof. Yes, you can kill a hog with a .22, just make sure he's in sturdy trap first:D

[Stand_Watie]

See how much smaller they are after you get the skin off of them, this one was actually larger than the one above, but doesn't look very big at all once its all ready for butchering.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=850143

[DigMe]

I've found that with hogs shot placement is key just like with anything else. Personally I feel like the toughness of hog hide gets exaggerated. My Remington 870 12 gauge has taken shots at 3 hogs (1 by me, 2 by friends) and every single one has fallen either immediately or within 10 to 20 yds with no further shots. I think the difference here though is that in all 3 cases Remington magnum 000 buckshot was used and the shot was at fairly close range. There aren't many long range shots on my central texas ranch because of all the trees, cacti and mesquite scrub. Also in each case the shot was good and true. I think if you hit brain or heart within 25 yards with magnum buckshot then you're good to go...and it will indeed penetrate hog hide.

I was also with a friend of mine one day hog hunting and he was using a .22 mag. I was skeptical and offered to let him borrow something bigger but he declined. Sure enough he dropped two big hogs that day (probably 200lbs on the hoof give or take 20 lbs) with that .22 mag. He had good shot placement and he just let fly with rapid fire on each one.

My dad has no problem putting down hogs with his .223 and just recently I've taken to hunting hogs armed only with my .357 revolver. If you want you can read about my adventures/experiments in .357 hunting here. (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67391) Those .357 180gr castcores cut through hogs like a hot knife through butter. I spent a lot of time out hunting today partially because I wanted to test out some 180gr sjhp's because they're cheaper than the castcores. I only saw one fat sow though and didn't have a good shot on her and I couldn't figure out where she got off to. Oh well...I'll be out at our ranch for the next two weekends in a row though so hopefully I'll slay some more bacon then.

Anyway...you can get away with hunting hogs effectively with much less than a .45-70 or a 7mm mag. As always, placement is key.

brad cook

[DigMe]

Here are pics from our last outing 2 weeks ago. This was the first and biggest one we got. My buddy shot it with my Remington 870 3" 000 buck. The wounds you see are the exit wounds as he shot it on the pig's left side. Certainly not the biggest one we've ever bagged out there but not too bad.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=851160

brad cook

[DigMe]

Here's the second one we got. Again this friend was also borrowing my Remington 870 w/ 3" loads but this was the next day. He shot this out of a herd and I was kind of dissappointed that out of some of the bigguns in that herd he got this runt but it was his first time hunting and I think he did the new hunter thing of just shooting into the middle of the herd instead of picking one out and placing a shot.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=851174

[DigMe]

And speaking of runts...

I spooked this little gal while we were looking for the third pig so we could take a picture of it (we ran out of time though and never got the picture). She took off running and I shot her through the back with my Blackhawk. The bullet exited her stomach and possibly snapped spinal cord or broke a leg because she stopped running 25 yards away and started dragging her back legs. Meanwhile I had shot on an already fired case because my cylinder had gotten spun around somehow. I finally got to a live round and finished her with a shot to the head at ~25yds that exited her forehead. You can see both exit wounds in the photo.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=851182

brad cook