Well more bad luck, hit another pig

[huntallday]

Well got into some more pigs this weekend. Got off work early friday and figured I would leave for the weekend and try my luck at pig hunting again. Well I got to my spot shortly before dark on friday around 7pm. And not sooner than I got there I saw 4 pigs in the bottom of the field grazing where I hit the big boar last week. About 200 yds away, and there was no way to close the distance. SO I got down in the prone and figured on a head shot. Well I squeezed the trigger on my 270 Remington 130 grain core lokt soft point. And bam dropped him in his tracks. He squealed for a few seconds, and I couldnt see him to shoot again. Well 30 seconds later I caught a glimpse of him running through the thickets. Well I had plenty of day light left to look for him. Found some blood where I hit him and that was it. I looked untill dark fall and then in the morning and no pig. Man My 270 is dead on accurate, I shoot it every time before I go hunting, to check the dope. Well I thinking I need a bigger caliber. I am going to check out the 300 ultra mags by Remington.

 

[bigtusker]

Welcome to the sport of Wild Hog Hunting!

 

[Brian S]

I had the same thing happen to me on saturday morning. A big boar was running across the dirt road we were on and stopped about 150 yards away. I was in the prone with a harris bi-pod. I shot him with a 165 grain boattail out of my 30-06. It made loud wooaup sound and he hauled ass down a gorge from hell. The guide said I hit him high in the back flank. We looked for him to no avail. There was no blood trail and the dogs couldn't even track him down. I was pretty sick about it as it was the second big game animal I've lost. The first was a nice whitetail 2 years ago. I ended up connecting that night at about 25 yards. I'm working on formatting the pics and I'll post them later
Brian

 

[SDHNTR]

I dont think you need a new caliber. I gather two pieces of advice from your post. 1. Don't take 200 yard head shots. The brain on a pig is a very small target, especially at that range. If you miss the brain area you will knock the pig down just from the shock but he will be up and running shortly. Probably missing his jaw or nose. Head shots are for 100 yards or less.

2. Get heavier bullets. The 130 Coreloct is a great deer bullet, but a little weak for large pigs. If you like the Core Locts (I do) then shoot the 150 gr. They will hold together and penetrate better. The loss in trajectory over the 130 gr is insignificant and makes no difference at the ranges you are shooting. If you are dead set on usuing the 130 gr bullet, it ought to be a tough one like a Nosler Partition, Barnes X, or Winchester Failsafe. With more weight and/or tougher construction you can take the body shots with confidece. You will have no problem penetrating the cartilage armor or breaking shoulder bones. You sure don't need no .300 Ultramag.

 

[Speckmisser]

Long range head shot on a hog ...

What are the common factors on both lost hogs? 130 grain pill from a .270, shot at the two toughest parts of a boar's body (shoulder and head) from at or around 200 yards.

We all know the 130 gr .270 is enough to kill a hog. So let's eliminate that factor. You probably don't wanna go get another gun, and changing ammo will require re-zeroing your rifle (although you may want to consider stepping up to the 150 gr anyway).

That leaves the shot placement and the range... both factors that you can definitely do something about.

Why couldn't you get closer than 200 yards? This is not meant as a criticism, but an honest question. Pigs ain't got the greatest eyes, and a little ground cover is all it takes for a belly crawl. Play the wind, and you should be able to get to 100 yards or less with relative ease.

But sometimes the range simply can't be closed. That's a fact I'm willing to accept.

So that leaves shot placement.

A head shot is great from 25-50 yards ... if the conditions are perfect, you might try from 100, but I wouldn't. I'll go out on a limb and say that you should NEVER try a head shot at 200 yards. Besides the small target at that range, the shape and hardness of a hog's skull are ideal for deflecting a bullet. I know, people will say they've done it lots of times and always got their hogs. Well, you have the sad evidence to show the contrary, don't you? It's a low percentage shot at that range.

Odds are, the one you hit will survive with nothing more than a headache, unless you busted his jaw; in which case he'll starve to death over time.

The shoulder shot can be good with a good bullet/caliber combination. But a big boar's shoulder is very well protected, as we all know, and can stop a lot of impact. At 200 yards, you'll have a tricky time driving a 30-06 through the armor of a big boar, much less that little deer bullet from the .270.

At that range with a minimal round like that 130 grain .270, you need to think like an archer. Concentrate on where the bullet will go after it hits him, not where it will enter... in other words, visualize where you want the bullet to come out. Catch a good angling shot and put it behind the ribs to drive forward into the chest cavity. Don't worry about busting the heart, try to take out the lungs.

As an alternative, I'm a recent convert to the neck shot on hogs, by the way. Don't know for sure about 200 yards, but it seems reasonable. Check this thread for some discussion of the neck shot. The argument from elkron and grunthunter sold me. Halfway between ear and shoulder, and the killzone is nearly as big as the heart/lung shot. BUT, that shot requires a good target opportunity, standing broadside or slightly quartering.

Good luck on your next opportunity. Try to get close, but if not, think real hard about where you want to put that bullet. 200 yards is not too far, but use your experience as a learning opportunity.

Sounds like you have an excellent hunting location.

If you want some on-site coaching, I'll be glad to come out and see what we can do.

 

[Rick]

I've used a neck shot once, on a bull elk at only about 40 yards. Of course, it dropped on the spot. The main reason for the neck shot was that it was getting close to dark, and it was my first bull. I had heard stories of how tough they are, and didn't want to chance having to track him down. I have shot hogs with head shots twice. Once, it dropped the pig immediately. The other time, at just over 100 yards, the hog spun, then dropped and then took off. It was also just before dark, and we never found the hog and there was little blood. How badly it was hit, I will never know. They work great, but I will probably use them when the range is reasonable and the conditions are right. I've shot dozens of hogs through the heart and lungs, and never lost one hit there. But that's just my expereince.

 

[huntallday]

Thanks for all the advise guys. Man I am fairly new at pig hunting for this is only my second year. I would love to hook up with some experience pig hunter on the weekend and do some hunting. I shot a 150 pound sow this year my first pig dropped her in her tracks, and then after that I shot a big boar and another sow, but didnt manage to find them. I never realized hot tough these pig really are. I deffinetly had a learning experience these past two weeks. I am now limiting all my shots to under 100yds with my 270. I know I can shoot well up to 250 yds on paper. But I guess theres is two much that can go wrong at that distance. I will stick to 100 yds or less, and concentrate on making shot placement like I do with my bow. Thanks for the advice.

 

[One Track]

Step up to 150 gr., and go for a neck shot or slip one in behind the shoulder on a quartering away hog.

 

[New Pig Hunter]

This Forum provides great training for a new kid like me.

Keep up the great work !! I truly appreciate the knowledge gained.

Much Thanks,

Carl

 

[Live2hunt]

huntallday,
One thing you should concentrate on is the direction where your wounded pig went. If you know you hit it, even though there is no blood trail, you may be able to find tracks. Look very carefull for tracks and sometimes it will lead you to the pig. Pigs are just like other animals, when badly wounded they will run out of your site and bed down.

I took a running shot at a boar going away with the butt towards me and torn off a ham. I was shooting a Rem. 7400 in 30-06. There was good blood trail for about 100 yards. After that I couldn't find anymore blood. I started looking for his track it leads to a patch of thick brush. I busted through that patch of brush and sure enough he came out in the open trying to get up. His rear end failed to stand up so he turned his head towards me at 10 yards and I put another round in his head.


L2H

 

[Hoghunter]

huntallday,
I would seriously consider going to a 150 gr. bullet. I use a .270 alsoand I use the Remington 150gr core lock soft point
even for deer.They have more ft. pds. on impact. Even with them I have hit a few big boar that it did'nt pass throuh at less than 100 yds. Besides my rifle patterns them better. My
opinion any way.
Good Hunting Hoghunter

P.S. I will volunteer if you need a backup

 

[ekg]

excellent posts, great info...wish i had some this weekend, we went to FHL and blanked, we were bow hunting and all we saw was deer...
oh well..

where are some other good spots in paso robles..
??

beautiful area

 

[fishhead]

I have only shot one hog with a borrowed 30-06 rifle.

My brother wanted to make sure that if I hit something it didn't get up and loaded 180 grain Nozzler Partitions.

I hit a 200 lb. hog nearly broadside coming in just behind the near shoulder and lodging in the far shoulder.
The hog flipped over in the air and landed on its back, twitched once and was dead.

 

[Floatuber]

Just my

, I don't claim to be an expert by far at hog hunting, I have only been to tejon ranch twice in the past year. I shoot a 270 with 150 gr. nosler partitions and both times they dropped where they were hit. (although the first rolled 30-40 yards into one of the famed "Tejon hellholes") I'll go out on a limb and offer any field advice if you so desire

keep on floating! :JHP rocks:

 

[SDHNTR]

Note the theme here. The guys with clean kill stories use heavy-for-caliber bullet weights. The fast and fragile bullets are best for deer. I like my 180 gr Hornady 30-06 load. Hogs don't go anywhere after a hit! And you sure can't go wrong with Nosler Partitions if they shoot well in your rifle.

 

[Boar Tracks CA]

I'm sorry to hear about that,but I still think your gun cal is fine. here is a couple of hogs I shot , one shot two kills. I think that things just happen. I saw this monster hog in the field at 225 yards it was getting late so I took the shot. He took two steps and dropped like a rock, what I did'nt see was the hog right beside him,125#. He took off running for 80 yards before he dropped. I was in shock, I never saw the black hog. After skinning both out my bullet went through the monster 325# 3" of white, did not hit any bone but the liver was mush, and hit the 125# hog through both lungs and found the bullet in his rib cage. I know it was just luck.
Gun was a 300 weatherby mag 180 gr. nos

 

[Boar Tracks CA]

the pics

 

[huntallday]

Hey Boartracks do you need a hunting partner? I am alway free on the weekend. Oh yeah I am also active duty USMC, if that softens you up a little. Also capable of dragging pigs out of any area, former weightlifter, bodybuilder. Come on you need a hunting partner.

 

[Boar Tracks CA]

semper fi
I spent 14 years in the corps before I went into the army, and maybe I can get a jar head on one of my friends ranches. Anyway I have been in the Paso area for a long time and I think I know everyone in town,small town.

 

[bohunter3]

Hey, If I had a 300 short mag, Id take a 200 yard shot, Ive killed them at 150-200 with a 300 savage, but it took two shots. Ive see the 300 rem short mag hit a pig in the body, and that was it. No running