shot placement for wild hogs?

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mod700

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I have an opportunity to go hog hunting with my dad on a guy's land we know. I know they are built a little different than deer, but I've looked at some anatomy pics online. If i kill one i'll probably want to do a skull mount on him, so where is the best non-headshot option? I thought about a neck/spine shot or just a plain ole heart shot. what would drop them the fastest/kill them the quickest? I'm hunting with a 7mm .08 and a headshot is not out of the question, but i would like to preserve the skull if possible.
 
I've used .223 when hunting (more like harvesting) meat hogs on our property.
The range was pretty close (about 50-60 yards) so I always took head shot or neck shot.
One round of Federal's 60gr Nosler Partition on the head or neck puts them down quickly.
One round from 7mm-08 to the neck should do the job quickly and efficiently even on a large hog.
 
Shoot 'em IN the shoulder, not behind it. The guts go right up into the ribs under the shoulder. Pigs are a walking digestive system.

http://www.dixieslugs.com/anatwpig.htm

anathog.GIF


Anatomy of The Wild Hog

There are many wild hogs lost each year because they were gut shot! This was not because of careless shooting, but rather due to the hunter not understanding the anatomy of the wild hog. There is quite a difference in the location of the wild hogs vitals, as compared to the deer. If the deer hunter uses the classic lung shot, used on deer, he will likely gut shoot the wild hog! By looking at the above diagram it will be obvious the vitals of the wild hog are well forward in the body cavity. You should also notice the location of the shoulder blade in reference to the head and neck. The ideal shot location is in the lower part of the shoulder blade area.

There are many shooters that profess their choice of the head/ear location for their shot. While it is true any hog can be killed quickly with something as small as a .22 Rim fire Short in the ear if the muzzle is close, there are hogs lost each year that the hunter tried a head/ear shot. Yes, the hog died later from bleeding, but ran quite a distance. This happens more with high velocity rounds that fragmented on the head meat/fat, especially with rounds like the .22 Rim fire Magnum and such.

It should be noted that there is a great deal of difference in hunting from a tree stand and being on the ground. The tree stand hunter, being elevated, can place his shot more precise. In this situation, the head/ear shot may be justified. However, if the hunter is on the ground, the shoulder shot is best, as it will also break up the hog’s movement. That can be very important if the hunter is dealing with a dangerous boar hog!
Click to expand...
 
I used to hunt hogs in the Coast Range of California and you have plenty of gun there with the7mm-08. I would have to agree with both previous posts. Personally I would go for the shoulder shot (view anatomy in above post) for best results.
Have fun and carry a back-up, if you are in thick cover it can get hairy!
 
how far would a 100 or so lb hog run after a heart shot compared to a deer? about the same?

I do plan to carry a side arm too but i want to have the hog to die as close to me as possible to reduce the possibility of running up on some live ones after dark.
 
mod700,

Every animal is different and you can't predict anything when hunting. I've seen a 100 lb hog take a shot to the shoulder with a 243 and pretty much drop dead within couple seconds (their legs usually quiver even after they are dead) while one shot to the similar area with a 45-70 will run off 100 yards. Unless I'm taking a head (ear) shot from the side or to the neck I would make sure to break both shoulders so they can't run off. If you shoot and break both shoulders you'll most likely hit the heart too.

Let me add that I once had to track a 150 lb. hog that my father shot for over 300 yards after taking a shoulder shot from 45-70.
The factory 45-70 round is a joke (I guess due to lawyers) and the bullet basically went in and came out the other side with just a tiny hole with no real damage internally. Unfortunately the shot just missed both shoulders so he ran off real good. My farther ended up finishing off the hog with one round from my 357magnum to the head.
 
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"I once had to track a 150 lb. hog that my father shot for over 300 years after taking a shoulder shot from 45-70."

wow you are persistant i would have given up after a day or two...haha jk thanks for the info
 
If you hit the heart, you've likely broken a shoulder and he ain't goin' far with a broke shoulder. He'll kick around a bit and croak. Personally, I shoot above the heart. The heart is quite low in the body and doesn't give you much wiggle room for error if you pull low. Take out an aorta or just hit the lungs and break a shoulder blade on the way through and you won't have a tracking job to do, or much of one.
 
Killing hogs is an easy job if it is done right. It is all about shot placement. Have killed several hundred hogs and have seldom had one get away. One went about .5 miles into a big thicket. It got dark and I gave up. Found her lying on the road bank as we were driving out.

Saw a guy gut shoot a hog with a .300 Winchester magnum. That hog went nearly a mile. We jumped it in a thicket and he gut shot it again. It took off and went another several hundred yards before falling over dead.

I hunt hogs 12 months of the year and kill a lot of them, mostly with a .50 caliber muzzleloader. If the hog is broadside at 50 yards or less I will put the bullet either just behind the ear, just below the ear or in the ear. If the hog is broadside at longer range I will put the bullet just behind his shoulder and low.

Some of my hogs are killed from tree stands overlooking ponds. Many of my hogs are shot just behind the head from above. This is a sure bang flop shot if done right.

Often hunt on a huge place that is tightly controlled. One must use a rimfire rifle there during small game season: Muzzleloaders, center fire rifles and shot guns with slugs are not allowed. Have killed a lot of hogs on that place with a .22 LR and now a .22 Magnum. The .22 magnum is a good hog killer if one limits his shots to 50 yards or so. I use the CCI fmj round and do only head shots.

My go to center fire gun for hogs is a CZ 527 in .223. The military 55 grain M193 round is very deadly on hogs. It penetrates about 6", yaws and comes apart, shredding the lungs, heart and liver.
 
The factory 45-70 round is a joke (I guess due to lawyers) and the bullet basically went in and came out the other side with just a tiny hole with no real damage internally.
Click to expand...



Factory 45-70 is downloaded in deference to the old Trapdoor type rifles. A load that a Marlin Levergun or a Ruger No. 1 would handle easily would blow an old Trapdoor into pieces. Then the wounded shooter would sue the ammunition company.

Rest assured even if the ammo companies provided both power levels, someone somewhere would try to turn his Trapdoor into an elephant gun.

A similar situation exists with American loaded 8mm Mauser.

You really need to handload to realize the full potential of either round.
 
Neck shot has been 99% effective for dropping them DRT for me{ I kill hundreds per year, both in traps and stand shooting} Read my thread "Bring Enough Gun" to read about the 1%:D
 
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