Deer vs. Hog... & bringing enough gun

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Guys,

After reading some recent threads I'm a little confused. Which is harder to kill: an adult Whitetail deer or a grown hog?

I'm not talking hogziilla here. Just a typical adult feral boar.

Deer I know. Domestic swine I know. Wild bore I've never hunted, but in my view the pig would be a harder animal to bring down.

I'm not saying they're miles apart, and I ain't sayin' either one is that hard to kill. I just think the hog would be a little tougher.

Am I wrong?
 
Short answer yes the hog is tougher. I was deer hunting when several hogs ran into my field and i shoot one with my .270. he ran i caught up and shot again this happened two more time before he fell he was about 125lbs and still breathing till i finaly finished the job. I have also droped them in the first shot with my .270 on a properly placed shot that was not hurried.
 
If it will kill deer, it will kill hog. A 30-06 in the heavier range should do the trick.
 
gallo is right guns that are appropriate for deer are also appropriate for hogs. .223 will work for hog and deer but usually .243 is the low end.
 
I personally like a 30-30 lever action for pigs for the quick follow-up shots. I would stay away from a bolt action, if I were on foot.
 
If it will kill deer, it will kill hog
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Thats a good rule of thumb. Hogs are tougher IMHO. Especially if it's an older boar over 200 lbs. Their armor plate that covers their shoulders and ribs can be two inches thick at it's thickest point. I have found bullets of various calibers lodged in this plate that never made it to meat. Shot placement is more critical. I prefer head shots for their DRT value. Hogs can be quite vicious when wounded. Tracking a wounded one is not high on my list of things to do again.
 
I've shot several feral/wild hog 2 with BP revolvers (the large one a sow ran off due to hurried shot that hit too far back but still got both lung tips so had an almost 1/2 mile track down) and 2 with my Marlin Camp .45. one I shot with my Camp I got a head shot and blew off a sizeable chunk of skull/brain another larger one I got a neck/shoulder juncture shot and broke it's spine but it stopped a 185gr +P loaded Rem Golden Sabre in the spine/neck bones after going through the tough thick hide there of the on-side. I guess you could say the .45acp did the job, the range was about 100' for both shots but for a really large one say much over 300 lbs it's likely marginal unless really good placement. just IMO.
 
Something that can penetrate is what I'd use. I've taken the shoulders out of a large sow with her piglets and she tried to come after me (30-06 30 yds 150 grain soft point), that was intimidating, and pitiful since she couldn't change directions...

Shoot em with whatever you've got, just kill the damn things. If you're gun is on the smaller side, shoot for the ear.
 
I've taken the shoulders out of a large sow with her piglets and she tried to come after me
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This is precisely why I prefer lever rifles for pigs.
 
If it will kill deer, it will kill hog
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Novel, but I am not sure if this is about effectiveness or ethics. You can drop a deer with a .22, or a hog, but the shot has to be good, very good for it to happen quickly.

The hog is tougher to kill because of the shield it possesses which the deer does not.
Feral hogs are equipped with a tough shoulder hide, which is made of a tough scar tissue. This is formed through continuous fighting and it hardens as the animal ages and survives more fights.
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http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/nuisance/feral_hogs/#shield

Wild Boar really do have a shield. This shield is considered scar tissue or a callus which becomes harder and thicker with age. The shield covers the hog, beginning from the neck to the last rib. This shield is generally about 1 inch thick, but can be more than 3 inches thick and is found mainly on the boar. It's purpose is to protect the boar during battles with each other.
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http://www.texasboars.com/articles/facts.html

Personally, I find the .45-70 to be very effective on hogs and like my Marlin 1895 lever rifle for the job.
 
the one I shot (boar) in the neck/shoulder juncture was about 250 lbs live.
the slug expanded in the first couple inches of hide and tissue and was stopped by the neck/spine bones breaking the bones and spine then stopped. only about 7-8" of penetrate for the +P loaded 185gr jhp shot from my Camp carbine 16" bbl.
 
A friend of mine sent me these pic's this morning. I'm not sure where they were taken. They serve well to illustrate what you may run into when hog hunting. The email stated that the measurement from the ground to the bottom of the feeder spout is 44 inches. I've personally killed a couple of boars that bottomed out a 300 lb pull scale, and they weren't even close to this size.
 

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For that pig,

44.mag is enough if you have the huevos, 300Wby Mag is good if you prefer a longer range challenge.:what: Thats one large animal.
 
I would agree that anything that will kill dear will kill a hog, but I prefer to compare them to black bears rather than deer. I hunt them with an 8mm mauser loaded to full potential and a seirra game king at 220 grains. Now with that load I have had to track them for about a quarter mile once. I usually don't keep them just kill them because they are a horrible problem for a friend of mine with some land, and he wants every one of them DEAD. Them things are horrible for cattle and farmland.
 
Why were you shooting a sow with piglets in the first place?, A ******* thing to do in my opinion....unless food is neccessary, from the pig immediatly, or they are being a pest.
 
In my handgun hunting experience, bullet choice is important for boar. I want a heavy hard cast bullet that will penetrate, and I am not looking for expansion. Boar was my excuse for getting a revolver chambered for .454 Casull.
 
Why were you shooting a sow with piglets in the first place?, A ******* thing to do in my opinion
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Around here they are considered to be a "Pox" on the land. We kill them all regardless of gender, pregnancy, age, whatever. We eat what we can and the buzzards get the rest. You cant afford to be ethical with them, with the exception that I try to kill quickly and cleanly regardles of how much I may loath the animal.
 
The piglets will survive w/o the sow anyways.

I kill them all because of the destruction that they bring with them. I'll take the meat that I want and leave the rest for the other critters (its time for the coons to get their revenge)

I personally hate these things with a passion. They seem like great fun to hunt until they start over running your place, tearing it up, and running off the native wildlife.
 
typicly, if the gun has enough power for a good quick, clean kill on deer, it should be ok for a pig. but, use a heavier, heartier constructed bullet for the pig, than for the deer. if you are shooting 30 caliber for instance, and you shoot a 150 grain jacketed bullet for deer, something on the order of 180-220 grain heavily constructed or bonded bullet would be apropriate for pig. of course, the choice is yours. if you like to take chances, you could shoot him with a pelet gun. i saw a tv program, probabaly an infomercial, where they did just that. i think it is stupid, but it may be able to do. fred bear killed dangerous game in africa with a couple of sticks and a string. but i wouldn't do it!
 
Why were you shooting a sow with piglets in the first place?, A ******* thing to do in my opinion....unless food is neccessary, from the pig immediatly, or they are being a pest.
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Shephard, I worked on a pig farm for years growing up. Piglets are taken away from the sows very early. They'll be fine. Feral pigs are a pest anyways. Kind of a jerk think to say, in my opinion.

To the OP, I think any conventional deer round would be fine for pigs.
 
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