I got my long awaited hunt coming up in about two weeks. My gun is ready, I'm shooting fair enough and I'm going to avoid poison oak like the plague. I thought I had the placement thing down, but I want to go over this. I was talking to a guy at the range and he was saying shooting a hog in the shoulder area may not put him down as the bullet may not go trhought the shoulder bone. He was saying to place the shot farther back, which goes against what I have read here. So, if I'm shooting 180 grain core-lokts out of my 30-06, where is the best place to be aiming to get my bullet to the vitals? (he's getting mounted, so no head shots.) Thanks for your input.

Good Hunting!!

This may help:

Great pics.

What most of the guys who talk about "not penetrating the shoulder" should say is, "be sure you use a decent bullet". Big boars have a thick gristle shield on their shoulders which can stop all buck shot and many soft point bullets that are designed for thin skinned game, human type pistol bullets are a prime example.

At any rate, look at the pics above and you'll see the heart is directly behind the lower leg. That, just a bit up the body, or CLOSELY behind the front shoulder (obviously considering the angle of bullet penetration) will kill any hog that ever walked, with almost any bullet. Most times, if you shoot a hog behind the shoulder he will run about 25 to 100 yards and pile up. Unfortunately in real hog country that is sometimes a LONG ways to find one, but he'll be there. Have a great hunt.

Hey Sevens.....where are you doing your pig hunt?

Steven,

I'm doing the hunt with Tom Willoughby out of King City. My taxidermist recommended him and I've heard some good reviews about him.


Bob,

Thanks for the pictures. They help alot. Their lungs look a lot bigger than the graph I have. I think I'll go with my original idea for shot placement, since it seems like it should work. See if this sounds good, follow up the center/back of the front leg and go about 1/4 or so up into the body. If the diagrams are correct, I should hit him right in the heart/lower lungs. Thanks for the help. This will be my second big game animal, so I'm a bit skeptical that I'm aiming in the right place.