Location, Location, Location!

#0005

For those who know me, you have heard me emphasize the importance of shot placement on feral hogs. Just like real estate: location, location, location. 

Your shot needs to hit the neck, the neck, the neck. 

Hunting hogs later in life after hunting deer, this is a significant paradigm shift. Deer hunters aim for the lungs, the lungs, the lungs. A shot to this area leads to maximum blood loss and a quick kill.

However, hogs ain’t deer and they aren’t built the same. Their lungs are in a different position. Also, their vitals are covered by a shield, most significantly in boars.

Please see the attached video.

This is my 250 pound boar suspended by its back legs. As you can see, I’m hitting the boar’s “vital area” with my fist. It’s like hitting the side of the house. That’s the shield, a thick layer of hard material that allows the boars to fight with a solid layer to protect them from their opponent’s tusks (which are incredibly sharp and dangerous).

Smaller caliber bullets might not penetrate it. Larger caliber bullets might penetrate, but they will have lost considerable energy before entering their insides.

The benefits of the neck shot are:
-no shield
-probably impact the vertebrae, very lethal
-it’s a fairly large target on a hog
-if you are off to the left, you get a head shot
-if you are off to the right, your bullet might enter the forward part of its chest cavity forward of the shield

One night, I only had my 17 HMR and got a good neck shot on a large boar (excess of 200 lb). It dropped in its tracks. (The 17 HMR is a 17 caliber rim fire cartridge, very small.) With proper shot placement, a small round can be effective. That small projectile would have shattered if it had hit the shield.

New subject: I have lost hogs that went down on the first shot and began the “Curley shuffle” or the “stankey leg.” Often, this is their last twitching before they expire. Recently, my thinking has changed in this context. My pride is satisfied with a one-shot-kill, a worthy goal. However, if I seek to only satisfy my pride, I may let a wounded hog escape or allow it to charge me. My recent conclusion is that it’s better to take that second shot early and preemptively rather than accept the risk of a running, wounded hog. The second shot is a small investment that can ensure a job brought to a quick and satisfactory completion. Bottom line: be ready and willing to make that second shot. (Don’t worry about saving the meat, that is only a secondary consideration.)

Porcus Hogrelius
Make Yourself a Better Hog Hunter