Shot placement on pigs...especially the big ones...need some advice

[catorres1]

Thanks for the replies guys. Love that graphic LRR....that's going to be great help and probably just what I need, especially the one that goes from outside view to insides.

Again, we'll see if we can get on them again. This happened once before and were convinced we had them, and then their pattern changed.

But I'm hopeful we have them at least for the next few weeks and can put 'Ivan' down.

I'll post up the details of the previous hunt on another thread.

Thanks again for the help!

[Double Naught Spy]

Particularly when it comes to hogs, expect that if you do not do significant damage to the CNS, that they will run.

Here is my scary story...The first shot was lethal, just not immediately lethal. The rest of my shots are me playing catchup and then in a panic. In total, the hog was hit four times, the last entering the neck below the head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwiFjyURA1M

So he ran in the neighborhood of 100 yards and was a goodly sized hog that scared me. My suggestion for you is that when going after large hogs in open country and not hunting from a stand or shooting him below the ear is to have a good exit strategy or sufficient ammo to cover contingencies. They don't happen often, but they sure are exciting when they do.

As for patterning hogs, the only sure pattern is that there is no pattern. We all play the pattern angle when we can and sometimes it does help, but all too often they do something different. I have shown up 4 hours early than the expected arrival to hogs coming at the exact same time for a week only to discover them already there when I arrived or showing up within minutes of my arrival. I have had hogs be several hours late as well.

[catorres1]

Particularly when it comes to hogs, expect that if you do not do significant damage to the CNS, that they will run.

Here is my scary story...The first shot was lethal, just not immediately lethal. The rest of my shots are me playing catchup and then in a panic. In total, the hog was hit four times, the last entering the neck below the head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwiFjyURA1M

So he ran in the neighborhood of 100 yards and was a goodly sized hog that scared me. My suggestion for you is that when going after large hogs in open country and not hunting from a stand or shooting him below the ear is to have a good exit strategy or sufficient ammo to cover contingencies. They don't happen often, but they sure are exciting when they do.

As for patterning hogs, the only sure pattern is that there is no pattern. We all play the pattern angle when we can and sometimes it does help, but all too often they do something different. I have shown up 4 hours early than the expected arrival to hogs coming at the exact same time for a week only to discover them already there when I arrived or showing up within minutes of my arrival. I have had hogs be several hours late as well.

Ha, was hoping you'd show up! I saw that video some time ago and showed my son. That video is partially why I posted this, I really don't want to follow up a hog in the brush, especially this size. That said, getting in close is probably not going to happen. We were lucky to get to 215 on the last set, I suspect a longer shot may be necessary on the big one. So I am hoping to hit it right (obviously). I'll also be hitting it very hard.

BTW, my son will be there running 'security'. That is, if I shoot, he will be on it either with his 556 shooting 70 grainers, or maybe with my Grendel. His instructions are if I hit, and it does not drop immediately, pour rounds into it and don't stop shooting until it stays down or you can't see it.

As for the patterning, good to know, or rather not good to know. We did 'pattern' them last year, but it got hot and they disappeared during the daytime. By the time it cooled down again and we went back, there was no sign anymore (water sources had dried up, food sources changed). So we lost them until a couple weeks ago. We hope to go back before they go somewhere else. Do you find that they tend to go to the same places and use the same routes, but time of day or night is unpredictable? Or all of the above?

The one constant appears to be this brushy creekbed that runs through the ranch. Everytime we have seen them, they are in or near it and running in and out of it. Outside of that creek, most of the ranch is open fields, so they seem to use it as a highway to get to the various fields. There is also a heavily used trail that runs from the creek, through thick stuff to a permanent tank.

We recently got lights (can't afford thermal), but thus far, the two times we have used them, they have been of no help. We can see 400 plus yards with them and identify through optics, but other than deer, skunks, cows, owls and raccoons, no luck.

[catorres1]

Oh yeah, after watching that video, I starting considering building a 458 socom for follow-up duties....because I can't afford a double rifle, ha!

[JASmith]

Your son should carry the Grendel with either Partitions, TTSX, GMX, or GSCustom bullets weighing at least 100 grains.

Theywill penetrate and he will likely be comfortable with the rifle -- especially if he gets some practice with running rabbits or squirrels!

[gltucker]

For what it's worth my buddy shot a 50 lb bore with his 50 Beowulf and I followed up with 450 BM. It still stood up lest a leg b

[SG4247]

Here is a picture. Or you can send me a PM and I will come out and help in any way I can!!! Were you hunting during the day?? I can do that and I have thermal also?? BANG BANG!!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8818[/ATTACH]

The red dot is the DRT money shot.

I wouldnt take any other shot but this, on the broad side position.

Better have your bullet trajectory and range figured as well.

Ive shot and killed them with a bow, from the ground...stalking.

Shot placement is critical.

[81police]

To second what everyone else has been saying, hogs are tough but they're not Panzer tanks. And shields on a mature boar can be thick but it's not a bullet proof vest. I'd doubt a 300WinMag would have any difficulty penetrating the body cavity and both shoulders on a big boar. Our little 6.5G's when using solids like Barnes TSX's will plow completely through the largest of hogs.

[SG4247]

Had a 375 lb bore show up in the horse pen last year. Hit him once with the 45-70 lever gun with 325 grain ftx from the house (70 yards) and he took off like a rocket.

Jumped in the truck and headed him off at the trees on the back of the property, hit him with a second round from the Marlin, and he was knocked down but got back up and was staggering.

Took another shot at the head to put him down for good.

I was shocked he was that tough.

Shot a big sow with the 270 winchester bolt at 70 yards with 130 gr partition bullets, bone and blood at the impact site, never found her. Strange, I thought it was a good shot.

Last year, I killed two with one shot at 110 yards using my supressed 16" Grendel, loaded with factory 123 SST ammo.

Go figure, the shot placement is critical, especially in heavy brushy areas.

[Les]

Particularly when it comes to hogs, expect that if you do not do significant damage to the CNS, that they will run.

Here is my scary story...The first shot was lethal, just not immediately lethal. The rest of my shots are me playing catchup and then in a panic. In total, the hog was hit four times, the last entering the neck below the head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwiFjyURA1M

So he ran in the neighborhood of 100 yards and was a goodly sized hog that scared me. My suggestion for you is that when going after large hogs in open country and not hunting from a stand or shooting him below the ear is to have a good exit strategy or sufficient ammo to cover contingencies. They don't happen often, but they sure are exciting when they do.

As for patterning hogs, the only sure pattern is that there is no pattern. We all play the pattern angle when we can and sometimes it does help, but all too often they do something different. I have shown up 4 hours early than the expected arrival to hogs coming at the exact same time for a week only to discover them already there when I arrived or showing up within minutes of my arrival. I have had hogs be several hours late as well.

Yikes, that's a little too close for comfort. Did he actually know where the shot was coming from?

[Double Naught Spy]

Yikes, that's a little too close for comfort. Did he actually know where the shot was coming from?

Do you mean to ask if he was intentionally targeting me? I won't claim to know what was in the mind of the hog. I have heard all the arguments about whether a hog is intentionally charging you or is "just running." Apparently, the only clear way to know is if the hog actually gets to you and then tries to harm you. Anything short of that is poopoo'd by naysayers. My response is, "Does it really matter?" The hog made multiple turns in order to be on final approach to my position. Whether he was actually charging me or simply going to unknowingly run through my position in blind fear wasn't a debate I was doing in my head at the time. All I knew was that I was about to be run down by a large hog and that I had to stop him. Hitting me at speed, intentional or not, would have put me on the ground and then I would have been in serious trouble.

[catorres1]

Do you mean to ask if he was intentionally targeting me? I won't claim to know what was in the mind of the hog. I have heard all the arguments about whether a hog is intentionally charging you or is "just running." Apparently, the only clear way to know is if the hog actually gets to you and then tries to harm you. Anything short of that is poopoo'd by naysayers. My response is, "Does it really matter?" The hog made multiple turns in order to be on final approach to my position. Whether he was actually charging me or simply going to unknowingly run through my position in blind fear wasn't a debate I was doing in my head at the time. All I knew was that I was about to be run down by a large hog and that I had to stop him. Hitting me at speed, intentional or not, would have put me on the ground and then I would have been in serious trouble.

On our last hunt, my son approached a boar I had hit badly that was on the ground. The boar was facing open ground in the direction that he and the sounder were running to escape us, the brush was only 10 or 20 yards away. So, in other words, he was looking at the 'approved exit', that he had been heading to and where the rest of the sounder had already escaped through.

My son approached him from behind, thinking he was down for the count. That boar jumped up, and turned 180 degrees away from the safe escape route to face my son. He kinda planted his feet and seemed to me to 'puff up' a bit (perhaps my imagination) and started to move towards my son.

To my mind, he was not in flight mode, as he turned away from the 'safe space' and turned and started to move towards the danger. My experience is extremely limited, but I'd say they are definitely 'up for it' at times.