Here's a question for you. Based on your experience, not just what you think, when aiming behind the ear do you have to hit the spine to kill the hog? When I say "kill" I mean drop him right there [of course he'll probably kick a bit]. I'll also say we're talking about hogs in the 75 to 125 pound range.

SURVEY SAYES........

308XP

I shot 4 in the head last March. All were less than 150 pounds. Range was inside 100 yds. Exact shot placement did seem that critical with my .300 WM.

Be aware that the spinal column on a hog is very low in the neck. If you hit him at all high in the neck, he may well run off. In my experience, if you're aiming behind the ear, aim for just below the ear (brain shot) instead, or go for the boiler room. I'm sure this is minority opinion, but I don't particularly like neck shots on hogs, having lost a few to them, and having seen a few more that weren't recovered with pieces of neck vertebra (the high spines, or whatever you call them) scattered on the ground. Hopefully they died later, around here, any dead hog is a good hog.

This pictures might help

I'm with Gatogordo on this one.
If the animal is perfectly broadside it's really easy to shoot over the spine and behind the skull. If you can have the animal at a slight quartering away angle then the point of aim at the base of the ear will take you through the brain (not good for photos though ).
In general most people in most situations are best putting a bullet through the lungs immediately behind the front shoulder. Even if you're shooting a .460 Wby. you'll still just take out a rib or two on each side so the meat loss is negligible.
Pigs don't hold still real well and generally aren't the best candidates to show off fancy shooting. Head shots work great if executed perfectly but it's shocking how much area around the head is not immediately vital and it's sad to see how many pigs get away wounded with messed up head shots.

Kyler

Hey that photo is worth a thousand words. Thanks!! I've been a hugh proponant of the neck shot mainly due to the fact that there is no blood trailing into the palmettos. For those of you not living or hunting the deep South, that's where Mr. No Shoulders lives. AKA Eastern Diamond Back; AKA Cotton Mouth Moccasin; Face to face with either one of these dudes and you can be in serious trouble. All that said the neck shot prevents that situation. But we lost a hog a couple weeks ago and we're rethinking our shot placement.

308XP

I hate to dispute a photo, but I've killed and butchered quite a few hogs and their spinal column in the neck is lower that it appears in the photo overlay. Neck shots are fine IF you place them a bit lower than normal AND if you've got a gun that will cause trauma to the spinal cord even if it doesn't severe it.

If this makes sense I try to aim just a little below a line between the ear an the eye. If it doesn't hit the brain or spine it shatters enough bones to send splinters into one or the other. It's about a 3" target. They kick for awhile, but never move. 90% of the hogs I've killed are between 75-175lbs and shot there. Of course I usually have shots at multiple pigs eating corn at under 100yds. It makes those shots relatively easy. Ive also had luck with the close behind the shoulder lung shot. They usually run, but not more than 100yds. BTW I use a 308 With 150 Power Points (this is my dedicated pig gun) at factory speeds. I'm considering using 180 PP in case I decide to shoot a bigger pig.through the body. capt david

Now we're getting back to the heart of the question.....If the spine is missed will the hog go down from trauma/shock effect of the energy of the bullet? I'm sure a bullet through the throat won't work but what if it's within an inch or two? I also use a 150 grain [Sierra] bullet in a .308 Win. As to whether I hit the spine or not, I've never looked as we normally take the backstraps and 4 quarters and leave the rest in the woods. But I aim at the middle of the neck right behind the ear. So far, so good. The pig we lost was shot with a scoped .44 Mag Smith 629 using 240 grain Nosler Soft Points. We suspect a lower than normal shot[obviously missed the spine]as the range was 9 steps. As we rethink this situation we're wondering as to what may have happened had we been using a Hollow Point or even a Nosler Partition HP. The SP gives plenty of penetration but I'm sure the shock value isn't the same as a rapidly expanding HP. Any experience here?

308XP

so.....where do ya shoot this one.....1,100 pounds