new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

I don't have too much to add except that I want to strongly "second" Graybeard's suggestions... When hunting any of the numerous kinds of "wild boar", the last thing you want is a wounded hog... Not a very good choice for hog hunting.... Dave

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

There's two kinds a folks that come this way. One is on alimited budget, has but one gun, knows how to shoot, kills about everything with it. Most of em haul a 270 or an -06, end up in Alaska, end up hunting the big bears, and end up dead.

Then, there's the other group, just plain don't know any better, ask around, get mislead, and get in trouble because they didn't ask in the right place.

There is not much I know of that takes more killin than ANY kind of hog, they just ain't big on diein.

Almost say you might be better off with a 22 mag as dumb as that sounds. Yes, the hogs there are small, understood, but they're still card carryin hogs!

I wouldn't think that Winchester gun is going to do anything impressive for accuracy with those punny little slugs, that only compounds the problem.

Myself, I'd rate the 410 slug about enough to knock off an average bunny, and at that I'd still prefer a load of 6's.

We don't reccomend you try that trick my friend. What are they teaching you guys in the Navy these days :lol:

Coug

Well.......

If at all possible, since your post states that you are purchasing, if you have not already made that purchase, let me recommend that you switch to something else. Before you leave the store with the gun, or make the final payment, opt for something atleast! in .357 mag. Preferably .44mag if a lever action rifle is what you want. I would leave the .410 to shooting birds, squirrells and rabbits. Anytime you are hog hunting those 50 -70 lbers , there is a chance that a large hog will show up. Then you have to question yourself as to whether or not you will pull the trigger.

I don't think anyone on the board is trying to belittle you or your choice of weapons, but from the vast experience with feral hogs on this forum, we are trying to give you some good advice.

If you go with the 9410, I think after a few trips to the hunting woods, you will be wishing like heck that you had listened and made another choice.

Other than that, as GB said, the neck is the spot. From the ear back to where the shoulder begins and not too low. UNfortunately you will experience acuracy problems with the 9410 and a shot between the eyes is not likely to happen unless you get really lucky enough to hit that tiny brain. Good luck ti ya'
markc

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

NO! We ain't pickin on the lad, we're tryin to save his hide!

Unless you been hit by a Russian, ain't no way you can imagine how much power they have. I call em small sherman tanks, but they move faster than the sherman.

<img src=http://216.122.80.105/webdat/janrussian.jpg>

So long as they don't pin ya, usually, they don't bust you up much. Problem comes when they got tusks. And when they do, they're RAZOR sharp. Pigs know this, that they got the cutters. You'll notice when they charge they always lower their heads. Two reasons for that. Pig noses just like bull noses are tender. They don't want to hit with thier tender parts. Top of the head is like a rock, so they hit with that. Right after they hit, they lift their snouts, the snout with the scalpels stickin out. Now you're in trouble. Usually, they'll rip ya open from just above the ankle to just below the knee. Seen as much as in the 70;s for stitches to put one guy back together.

Ya just got here buddy. We don't want to see you go so quick on account of ya went an got yerself kilt by a hog. Besides, I believe you'd get an Article 15 for that to boot!

Now ME, twould be a fittin departure for me. Kinda like to have that on my headstone. "Here lies Coug-They fianaly got em" Heck, I done in enough of them, sooner or later the pig is gonna win. It's just a numbers game. Course on my end, ifn and when they do git me, sho won't be on account a I wasn't totin enough gun :wink:

OK. so I don't play fair :lol:

Coug

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

I'd sure pick a gun larger than .410 lever shotgun to do in a hog. Now them wild hogs are tuffer than nails, regardless of weight. I'd consider the .44mag to be the minimum levergun to take to a hog hunt. Even at that, 300grain+ Hard Cast bullets would be the best choice. Not to say a 240grain soft point won't do, but the one's I've seen shot with the hard cast bullets didn't go quite as far. You rip through the gristle plate and shoulders with one of the heavy cast, and she won't go too far. The .410 is a good small game gun in the right context, but it is not what I'd pick to go after a hog with. If you are just DEAD SET on carrying the .410 hog hunting, make sure the gun has a sling on it, for it will probably spend a while on your back, while you are climbing trees to get away from ticked off hogs. Hogs are really dangerous with their tusks. They can do a nasty trick on you with these. Some folks don't know this, but a hog can't bite you unless you are on the ground. You see, a hog can't rotate his head like a dog can and bite your leg while you are standing up. It's due to their anatomy, the way their necks are made. But, he sure can tear your tail up with his tusks no matter if you are standing or down. It's always best to go with too much gun than it is to go undergunned after game that is likely to turn and start hunting you! :shock:

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

Boys, has anyone heard from hawaiihunter via e-mail or private note...?? I sure hope he is listening to the advice being given here... I, along with you guys, have hunted hogs for a long time now, and no man on earth is more wise, than the man who listens to his elders. (Elders at least in the "experience" department, if not in age.) Hawai'i is one of my favorite vacation spots, and has lots-o-hogs. Kaua'i, my favorite island is no exception. My wife and I are planning a trip to Moloka'i in a couple of years to hunt goats with some good friends who live there... I'm getting off the subject, but Hawaiihunter, if you are there, take a look at the tusks on this "fairly small" boar I just got in Tennessee... If you have never been around "wild" hogs, you can not imagine how quick they can move... THEY ARE NOTHING EVEN REMOTELY SIMILAR TO A BARN YARD PIG....and PLEASE don't try to use that .410... Dave

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

Here is the same hog as above clearly showing the "behind the shoulder" shot... BTW, this was a .30-06 using a 180 grain Sierra ProHunter Round Nose bullet. If you log onto my webpage, you can see the recovered bullet about half way down the page just below the hog pics...

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

Opps... guess I forgot to log in on that last post, but trust me, for close range work, that slower theroy of mine does work, but I did a bunch of testing, number crunching etc. before I tried it. Dave

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

hawaiipighunter,

If you use a .243, then let me advise you of two things.

1) use 100 grain bullets of stout construction.
2) shoot the hogs either between the eyes or in their ear.

Don't even THINK about shooting a hog with a 243 on their shoulder because the bullet will bounce right off.

Can't you get something bigger than a 243? I would feel more comfortable if you got at least a .308 Winchester because shooting conditions will not always be ideal and its good to have a bigger bullet just in case.

Zachary

new to pig hunting have tons of ?s

Kyle, do not make the mistake of assuming there is any corellation between ft. lbs. of energy or paper energy as I like to call it and killing power. The relationship does not exist. Also big, fat slow handgun bullets do not kill in quite the same way as super fast small bore bullets do. This doesn't mean they are any less effective killers. On the contrary they can be even MORE effective killers.

Hunting tools (I refuse to call them weapons) kill in one of two ways. First is thru damage to the Central Nervous System (CNS) which shuts down the brain. Second is thru massive tissue destruction which results in blood loss which in turn shuts down the brain. Damage to the CNS stops all motor functions immediately and results in animal falling on the spot. Massive tissue damage that doesn't shock or damage the CNS usually results in animals running a fair way before expiring from blood loss. This could be from a few feet to a few hundred yards even with hits that destroy the heart and/or lungs. Liver hits are equal to either of those in speed of bleed out as are hits to major arteries or blood vessels.

Small diameter high speed bullets depend on expansion and velocity for tissue damage and resultant blood loss. IF (great big IF) they fail to expand or if they fail to penetrate to to bullet blow up they do not kill effectively no matter how fast they are moving or how much paper energy they transfer. In other words they often fail miserably.

Slow fat large diameter bullets don't depend on velocity or bullet expansion to do the job. Matched with proper bullets (read that as heavy hard cast bullets) they ALWAYS work. They smash thru bone and other body parts and just keep on keeping on. They seldom stay inside the body. The wound path is long and if the bullet is properly constructed with a wide meplat the path is also fairly wide. The meplat does the work with these and even with small diameter high speed bullets. (That's why expansion of the little ones is so important. The expanded tip is the meplat.) This results in massive tissue destruction and rapid blood loss even if the CNS isn't hit.

So forget velocity and forget paper energy. That ain't what kills. Think of it this way. If you were hunting for elephants which would you rather use. A .220 Swift or a .44 Magnum using 325 grain hard cast bullets? The .220 Swift moves its little 50-55 grain pill near 4000 fps whereas the heavy .429" bullet is likely gonna be moving at best 1200 fps. Paper energy beng biased toward velocity gives the Swift far more paper energy. Would you hunt elephants with it? I sure wouldn't. Yet many hunters have very successfully killed all game on earth to include elephants with the .44 mag and those heavy hard cast bullets.

So more to the point of this discussion will the .243 Win. work on pigs? Yes for sure. BUT as Mark said put those little pills where they can work. In the ear or neck. The piggie will go down. Why? That's disruption of the CNS at it's closest point to the brain or in the brain. Put it thru the ribs on a quartering away shot and it still MIGHT kill the piggie but you might or might not find it as it will go aways and won't be bleeding from the tiny entrance and no exit hole. If the piggie is one of Coug's big ones you might bleed some also.

So sure use it but be selective in your bullet placement and never ever assume it better than the .44 magnum for the job. It ain't as good. Been there done that. Faye and Phil even got the t-shirts.

GB