flags

Have you ever looked at the bone structure on a hog? 2 inches behind the ear is mostly muscle and gristle. The reason the shot didn't put the hog down for the count was poor bullet placement and not the fault of the caliber.

A hogs ear sits on the upper part of the skull and is towards the back of the skull. If you place the bullet directly below the ear it will destroy the brain. You're trying to blame a bullet when the blame lies with the shooter. You don't have to like it when someone points it out, but that doesn't mean it isn't correct.

Tnhunter444

***"Right near the ear with any centerfre and a good bullet and they'll go down for the count."***


That happens to be the statement (your statement) I took exception to. If you're wanting to change it now, might as well just say to shoot them in the ear, I reckon. Of course sitting at the edge of a swamp, 20+ minutes after SS and shooting a large boar who's walking by at 45 yards does make the "perfect" ear shot a bit more difficult."LOL". I'm not hunting a preserve nor shooting small hogs already trapped in a pen as so many expert "hog hunting" opinions arise from.

As with my very first statement in this thread, I simply believe that a lot of opinions on what cartridge is useful & effective on hogs varies considerably when one talks an "eater" of 20-100 pounds a big sow of 250 pounds+ (which is still pretty easy to kill) or a very large boar that has a significant shield. If someone has never seen the shield that's present on a 400+ pound boar, it's difficult to explain what it's like.

flags

2 inches isn't exactly "right near the ear" in my book. Take a minute to look at a ruler and see just how far 2 inches actually is. When it comes to anatomy, it is a huge distance. Bottom line, if your first bullet had been placed properly, then this conversation wouldn't even exist. Poor bullet placement and not poor bullet performance resulted in the other 4 rounds having to be fired. No matter of spin on your part negates that simple fact. Trying to put some blame on Top when you were on the trigger is foolish.

If you think I don't know a thing about bullet placement on game, I invite you to look at the 45+ pics on my profile page. I guarantee you that a .243 bullet in the brain will kill any hog that walks the face of the earth. Biological facts do not stop just because an animal gets over 250 lbs. I didn't personally shoot any hogs that big with my .243 but I did see a buddy of mine dump a huge boar with a single round from my rifle. When that little 100 gr bullet hit that pig it just went FLOP! Bullet placement is the key to quick clean kills. Always has been. Always will be.

Tnhunter444

As a matter of fact, I have looked very closely at the "structure" of a hog's body, having been lucky(??) enough to have assisted in the caping & skinning of at least 5 different hogs of 225 pounds up to 450+. Four of those hogs were boars and we have taken numerous other hogs up to 200+/-.

If you'd reread my posts, you'll see that I did not "fault the caliber". I merely stated my experience(s) in as plain English as I can. Take them for what you want or discount them, I really do not care. I just know that in our experiences with free ranging Georgia hogs, we've learned a good deal about how and what to use to kill large hogs.

I read a lot of comments about how easy it is to kill "any" hog with a shot at/near the ear. Typically with most hogs, that is an excellent choice and will normally work just fine. However, hogs do not typically "pose" as deer will. They are normally always moving, even while eating. I would suggest that on a really big boar, you do your homework and understand what killing one might take; no more, no less. Shown are the shields of a couple of boars 225 & 260 pounds. We failed to get a picture of the thickest shield we encountered, unfortunately, and it was double the thickness of these two. Easily equal to both these together.

A sow still carries the musculature of a hog, and it can be substantial in a 250-300 pound specimen (we've killed some of those too). But whereas there is ZERO shield present in a sow, killing one is much easier to do. Not everyone who hunts/kills hogs understands that, IMHO. To be under-gunned when pursuing big hogs seems silly to me. The owner of the place where we hunt in Georgia agrees, especially when he shows you the collection of skulls from hogs ultimately found dead, that ran off after a shot that took too long to take effect.

Topgun 3006

Undergunned my rearend and if you know their structure you shouldn't/wouldn't have shot him where you did!!! I probably shot more hogs in Texas over about 20 years time on several low fence ranches, including several boars that were near 400#, than you've seen in your lifetime so don't tell me a .243 in the ear or slightly below won't kill a big hog. I also don't need to read a dissertation from you about the difference in sizes or sexes after seeing where you shot the boar, as any shot where Flags and I are talking about will do the job. The .243 Sako Forester I use is a tack driver and I used factory Sierra 100 grainers down there until I started to handload and went to the Hornady 100 grain BTSP. The last hog I shot down there in 2010 would never turn broadside and I shot him right between the eyes into his brain at 120 yards while he had his head down eating corn. He did just like Flags mentioned and flopped over dead with a couple twitches. The shot you made in that picture was not where it should have been and the bullet in the picture is an example of perfect expansion and if that bullet had been put below the ear it would have eliminated the other 4 shots you needed. This is that 2010 hog and 10 shots with that Sako!

Tnhunter444

Thanks so much for all that very useful advice you've offered. I should be a lot better hunter now.....

Ridge Runner

We've butchered them up to 600 lbs, either shot head on or in the ear with a 22 long rifle solid, shot head on the bullet was always found in one shoulder or the other.
RR

00possum

Right behind the shoulder with the leg foreword. That's the ideal shot placement, in the neck or behind the ear would be good too. Low center shoulder where you would break the leg isn't bad either.

I don't claim to be some expert on hogs, but ive messed with more than enough to know how to kill one efficiently. He asked if it would work and what shot placement would be, I'd say I answered that question fairly well now.

Sheridan

+ however many said it after Topgun !!!

flags

The above demonstrates a very common issue with many hunters. Anytime an animal doesn't go down immediately, the blame is usually placed on the bullet or the caliber and not on the shooter. To look at a pile of skulls from animals that were lost actually proves the caliber was adequate to kill the animal. If it wasn't the skull would still be attached to the beast! I'm willing to bet that more than 98% of the game that is lost is lost simply because the shooter didn't do their job right and put the bullet in the right place.

Modern bullets, for the most part, are very well made and if they are placed in the vitals the result will be a dead animal in short order. A properly placed small caliber bullet will kill an animal better than a poorly placed large caliber bullet. It is the placement of the hole that is important and not the size of the hole. Always has been, always will be.