quote:

I hit a 250+lb hog directly behind the shoulder where the heart is located with a .243 & 95gr bullet and he took off squealing, stopped after 40 yards, looked around, and trotted off. blood was on the ground where impact was but I'm thinking it was inadequate.

I second what Jeffe said. The heart on a pig, just like on a deer and almost any other animal we hunt is DIRECTLY behind the leg bone just above the lower body line of the pig. On a deer or a pig if you take the point of the front leg/body intersection (not counting hair) and come up about 2 to 3 inches you'll take out the heart everytime. They'll run, but you can't go far with no blood pressure. Note: this is a somewhat risky shot since you can easily be too low, ESPECIALLY if you're in a stand looking down. If you're reasonably close to a pig, and have a good rest, I'd take a head/neck shot. The above outline is somewhat deceptive, the spinal column in the neck is about a 1/3 of the way up, that is below the center line of the neck, curving up to where it connects with the cranium, below the ears, obviously.

I've shot or been around when my son (who was less than 10 at the time) when he shot several pigs with a .223 with 64grain Power point Winchester factory bullets. Sometimes with reloads, sometimes with factory ammo. With that load, which I think is a great deer cartridge for junior shooters, I always had him make a heart/lung shot or a head shot and the same for me the few times I was on a pig with a .223 as my only gun. Always resulted in a dead pig and their post shot runs were no more than with bigger calibers but none of these pigs weighed more than 200 as I recall. The .223 kills more than it's size would indicate, given decent bullets AND GOOD SHOT PLACEMENT.

ALL THAT SAID, I WOULDN'T CHOOSE A .223 FOR PIG HUNTING EXCEPT FOR VERY YOUNG SHOOTERS AND THEN THEY MUST BE ALLOWED TO SHOOT THE GUN ENOUGH PRIOR TO HUNTING TO BECOME PROFICIENT.. Same goes, except more so, for deer. If they can't hit a 3 inch bull at 50 yards off a bench everytime once they become used to shooting the rifle, then they shouldn't be allowed to hunt. Most young shooters don't have enough arm strength to allow standing shots even with .223 type rifles before they're at least about 10 years old. If you're going to spot and stalk then they must be instructed in how to use a tree or shooting sticks. Kneeling doesn't work well for them either. Sitting does, but is not too practical where there are thorns, or high grass. Sticks are something I wouldn't recommend for shooters that young unless you're standing right there assisting.

Well said Gatogordo. When my son was 10 I made him shoot a 3" group at 100 yds off the bench, 3" group at 50 yds leaning against a tree and a 3" group off hand at 25 yards. Until he could do this consistantly he could not hunt big game.His gun of choice was a Rem 600 Mohawk in a 222 rem calibre. Since then he has harvested all 5 big game animals with one shot kills.

Jeffeosso and Gatogordo-

You both make very good points. Another thing, the lungs do not range as far back as many hunters tend to believe.

I've seen far too many shots claiming lung when in fact they were lucky to even get liver (though the liver is still a very effective shot).

When our oldest was ready to hunt hogs, he was grilled repeatedly over anatomy, and he burned lots of ammo in preparation, including on life-size paper (archery) targets. What I chose for him was a 94 Mauser on which I had cut back the stock and added an effective recoil pad.

He practiced from varied shooting positions, but we mainly concentrated on sitting with the use of a Harris bipod as that year was dry and the vegetation quite low.

I loaded the Hornady 129 grainer to around 2000 fps and restricted his shooting to bow range. He could hit farther than that, but I did not want anything to go wrong on his first game animal.

When the time finally came, a nice boar was within range but would not present the broadside shot we had hoped for. The hog finally turned and faced us with its head down as it rooted amongst the pine needles. I whispered to Joey to wait for the hog to put his head down and then place the bullet at the appendage where the shoulders and neck met.

It seemed like an eternity, but when the hog was perfectly still, the little 6.5x55 barked, and the hog was history. The bullet entered just where it was supposed to, angled down to damage the lungs and then exited the bottom of the ribcage (we were above the hog somewhat).

As he grow, I upped the power of the load -- and he still shoots that old Mauser and makes sure I spend ample time at the loading bench.

As to that 64 grain Winchester Power Point, it's a good one, and Joey used it in an H&R .223 to take his first whitetail about 8 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by trashcanman:
Could a soft point or a FMJ 223 penetrate enough for a heart/lung shot? also would a 40 grain ballistic tip work with a head shot? I was thinking it might blow up on the skull!

First off, I am not a pig hunter...at least, not yet.

I saw the air gun ad a while back, where they allegedly killed a pig with one.

I suspicion the hog was tied, and that, although it can be done, maybe it shouldn't be, if a humane kill is wanted. It's a matter of respect for the animal, even a feral cat!

That said, I may graduate to Pig Hunter in August, when my daughter and son-in-law are taking my wife and I to Hawaii for our 40th anniversary.

And Hawaii is a great place to hunt them!