Another Hog Down

[Henry347]

Decided I'd take out the Ruger .22lr this evening, like usual 20min at the spot and this was the first to show. Put that 40gr solid through the ear and he took a dirt nap. Its always nice to change it up every once in awhile. But for under 50 yards a .22 will do the job with the right shot placement.

[Smith]

Wow, a hog with a .22lr? And I thought 5.56 was way underpowered for hogs!

[Henry347]

26 minutes ago, Smith said:

Wow, a hog with a .22lr? And I thought 5.56 was way underpowered for hogs!

Shot placement is key with a .22lr, the only place I'll shoot one is right behind the eye in the soft spot or through the ear with a .22lr. Alot of people say between the eyes and that works if they're in a trap. But out in the open the bullets usually skim the top of the head and dont penetrate. 

Also prefer the solids over the hp on the hogs, get more penetration with the solids.

Edited August 25, 2020 by Henry347

[nightrunner]

2 hours ago, Smith said:

Wow, a hog with a .22lr? And I thought 5.56 was way underpowered for hogs!

Traditionally, hogs were killed on the farm with a 22 short from a revolver behind the ear at contact distance. With the excess range in a hunting situation, 22lr sounds reasonable. Like stated, shot placement is most important.

 

Also, from what I hear from other hog hunters, 5.56 works better than large bore, lower velocity rounds like 44 Mag or even 12 ga slug. Something about the way hogs react to the hydrostatic shock puts them down quick. Different than any other animal I’ve seen.

[Moped]

14 hours ago, nightrunner said:

Traditionally, hogs were killed on the farm with a 22 short from a revolver behind the ear at contact distance. With the excess range in a hunting situation, 22lr sounds reasonable. Like stated, shot placement is most important.

 

Also, from what I hear from other hog hunters, 5.56 works better than large bore, lower velocity rounds like 44 Mag or even 12 ga slug. Something about the way hogs react to the hydrostatic shock puts them down quick. Different than any other animal I’ve seen.

I imagine that 5.56 does a number on brain tissue.  Probably turns to a lot of it into liquid, from the hydrostatic shock.

[Henry347]

5.56 is the most common round used on hogs around here, it plain works. But like with the .22 shot placement is still key, you have more room for error with it but from the middle of the neck up it's a no track job.

Dont expect a lung or heart shot to pile one up right then with the 5.56. I've shot hogs with .450 Bushmaster, 50cal Blackpowder, 7mm-08, 6.5 Creedmoor and 300 Win Mag that would run 75 yards with behind the shoulder shots. You start getting into hogs 250lb and bigger and you'll see tough. 

Last year I was walking log roads and a big group came running across the road 50 yards in front of me. I had a 7mm-08 with 5 rounds and unloaded on them. Killed 4 hogs that morning but while tracking one; walked right up on a 250lb boar that I'd hit a little far back and at a angle. The bullet exited about 6in before the hams. That hog still had enough left in him after running 100 yards with his guts hanging out to charge me. The bigger hogs are some tough critters.

Edited August 25, 2020 by Henry347

[Dirtshooter]

Good deal, kill all of them if you have the chance. 1 critter I have no use for because of the damage to the mountains and diseases. As for a .22lr. will kill anything on this planet if put in the right spot. Several years ago when Ted Nugent was letting someone kill a Buffalo at his Michigan ranch the  fellow was shooting a 7mm magnum and at 75 or 80 yards shot one broadside, Ted said shoot him again, 1 more broadside, buffalo didn't flinch, Ted said shoot him again, on the 3rd shot you could see the steam come out and he rocked him. Later in the day I was watching another  hunting show and they were hunting buffalo out west and the guide asked the hunter if he knew where to shoot him and then said right behind the ear, he was shooting a smaller caliber .243 or 7mm-08 by the sound of it, he shot and the buffalo's lights went out. Another if you put it in the right place, dirt nap. 

[Quavodus]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 9:39 PM, Dirtshooter said:

Good deal, kill all of them if you have the chance. 1 critter I have no use for because of the damage to the mountains and diseases. As for a .22lr. will kill anything on this planet if put in the right spot. Several years ago when Ted Nugent was letting someone kill a Buffalo at his Michigan ranch the  fellow was shooting a 7mm magnum and at 75 or 80 yards shot one broadside, Ted said shoot him again, 1 more broadside, buffalo didn't flinch, Ted said shoot him again, on the 3rd shot you could see the steam come out and he rocked him. Later in the day I was watching another  hunting show and they were hunting buffalo out west and the guide asked the hunter if he knew where to shoot him and then said right behind the ear, he was shooting a smaller caliber .243 or 7mm-08 by the sound of it, he shot and the buffalo's lights went out. Another if you put it in the right place, dirt nap. 

 

I've never killed one. Never had the opportunity but, a friend at work says shoot behind the ear or behind eye like Henry347 said. He said they can take lots of punishment, especially the mature boars.

[MacGyver]

To quote @DaveS - who I hope is enjoying his retirement in Florida, “hogs aren’t particularly hard to kill.”

You should use a caliber large enough to reasonably ensure a good ethical kill commensurate with your skill and experience. For some folks, .300 win Mag wouldn’t be enough.  For others, .22LR is plenty.