Originally Posted by
falcon
The so called shield on big boar hogs really don't amount to much. Since October last year i've killed at least 15 boars that weighed over 200 pounds, five or six exceeded 300 pounds. Most were shot at short range while still hunting. Nearly all were killed with .54 muzzleloaders and patched round balls. Very few needed a second shot.
One of those boars was the largest one i've killed: He weighed at least 400 pounds. The ball went through the shield, destroyed the lungs and lodged in the opposite shoulder.
The area i usually hunt had a bumper crop of acorns and pecans. Almost all the hogs i've killed are very fat. The fat hinders tracking because it plugs up the holes.
The little diddy I marked in red just made my point falcon. I never said that shield was to tough to penetrate. I said that with the fat layer that your hogs have along with the shield is a "buffer", if you will, that will limit the penetration of a round ball. Hence why you need to limit your range to 50 yards and under with them on a fat winter hog. A bunch of guys and I hunt hogs year round all over the country. I know very well what will kill them and what will just pissum off. I've been stupid enough to hunt them with everything from a knife (really stupid there) to a .50cal Barret at 1000 yards for giggles so yes I know full well what it takes. While a PRB is definitely a lethal round to use, it HAS to be used within it's most effective range on a fatted up hog unless you go for neck or brain. It's just simple terminal ballistics.