Hog hunting

[longcruise]

Well actually what we refer to as a southern mountain rifle was commonly referred to as a hog rifle by the people who owned and used them back in the day, as that was what most people used them for. Some might even argue that was its main purpose, but they would also take bear, deer, plenty of squirrels and other small game with their hog rifles as well. The vast majority of these rifles fired a .30-.50 caliber round ball with many of them on the smaller side! But just like any other big game hunting, safety must be taken into consideration and I plan to have a large caliber back up pistol in case the need for it should arise! It’s been a while now since I’ve had feral hog bacon fresh from the smokehouse and there’s nothing like it!

I think that "hog rifle" reference was born of the practice of killing domestic hogs for slaughter where any small bore gun would do the job. The smaller the bore the less mess.

 

[Okie Hog]

Since 2000 i've shot a few hundred wild hogs, mostly using inline guns. However, i've killed about 20 using conventional muzzleloaders: Except for two or three, they were killed using patched round balls.

Hogs are not built like deer. Wild hog anatomy:

Shoot a hog standing broadside behind the crook in the front leg-heart shot. A lung shot hog will often run 200 yards. A high shoulder shot with a big round ball is good, it disables the central nervous system.

Be careful of shooting hogs behind the head. Often a hog shot behind the head will go down like poleaxed, lie there awhile, start moving around, get his feet under him and book. Few years ago i hunted with a man who had never hunted hogs, told him not to shoot a hog high behind the head. But he did it anyway, shot a 200 pound boar at about 25 yards. Hog dropped on the spot and soon started crawling. That hog was shot with a 150 grain bullet from a .270 Winchester rifle. Told him to shoot it again



i crawled up and put a round ball from my .50 in this sows ear:

This hog was facing at about 60 yards, Round ball hit his snout:

 

[Stykbow]

You can rule out Tennessee. You have to be a landowner or on their permit to shoot them.

 

[andy52]

I intend to hunt hogs later this year in southern Missouri but with a much larger rifle. I bought a .75 jaeger here on the forum that I'm looking forward to use on hogs this fall.

 

[LME]

Used to own one that was a pleasure to shoot - course it had a heavy barrel, which helped with recoil. Shot a 120 lb hog at around 100 yards with it once, found out it was a perfect heart shot and it still ran 150 yards. Point being, a 45 will kill a hog but I'd want to use hard cast round balls and load it with a heavy charge of powder. My experience with hogs is they are harder to kill than deer, and deer almost never charge you when they are shot.

I shot a hog with my recurve in the Texas hill country way back in 95 it ran 20 yards and laid down. I followed it to soon and it got up and ran again. Where the hog laid down there was a pile of pink tinged blood which indicated a lung shot? How that hog got up and ran again is amazing? They are one tough animal.

 

[SciAggie]

@Okie Hog Your pic of the hog’s anatomy takes me back to my teen years. I used to devour the Petersen’s Hunting magazines and I always studied the pics of different animals and their anatomy. You are absolutely correct with your comments and advice. I generally always look for a high shoulder shot to break shoulders and disrupt the nervous system. I’m generally never close enough for a sure shot to the brain.

 

[Rangefogger]

I think that "hog rifle" reference was born of the practice of killing domestic hogs for slaughter where any small bore gun would do the job. The smaller the bore the less mess.

In those days most people on the frontier would turn their hogs loose into the wild so that the hogs could fend for themselves until it was time to harvest them, that way they wouldn’t have to feed and take care of them. Many believe that this is actually roots of southern BBQ! After they shot a Hog (or a few hogs) They would Roast it/them over a hardwood fire, sometimes for days depending on the size, giving it that smokey BBQ flavor, a decent sized hog could feed many people as you could imagine, so these pig roasts would sometimes turn into quite the party, with fiddle music and plenty of whisky! Some of These hogs that had been turned loose (the ones that were lucky enough not to be shot), would then breed and multiply, slowly over time creating a large population of them in the areas they were released. The people who lived in these rural frontier areas took full advantage of the rising feral swine population and they would harvest them using their Hog Rifles or what we now call the southern mountain rifle.

 

[SamTex1949]

Ok, seeing the topic is "hog hunting" and what to use, please allow this video from Texas. It's all about shot placement for sure ! 18 min long but interersting !

 

[Mangonboat]

Hogs are wary, tough and their vitals are well-protected. On the first morning of my first hog hunt nearly 40 years ago, a 300 lb hog came walking -stumbling really - my way, pushed by a small but persistent dog. As it got closer I saw that it had three arrows sticking out from it side and multiple bullet entry wounds. Trailing the hog was a hunter carrying a bow and a holstered revolver. He had come from another property and explained that he had shot the hog over a mile away and was out of arrows and bullets for his #* Special. On this hunt, others in my party were carrying .50 cal BP rifles ,unmentionable handguns with magnum loads , compound bows, slugged unmentionable shotguns, and I was the designated back-up, carrying my magnanimous elk rifle with scope removed. I handed it to that bow hunter and said, 'End it'. I ended up using that same weapon twice more during that 4 day hunt for the same reason and also used it to stop -emphatically- a boar that was coming straight at me off a rock outcropping 15 feet away. I soon came to realize that, like most game, they are more easily harvested with an accurate shot to a vital area from close range when they don't know you are there. That last part really gets them wound up.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Any place where hogs have experienced even moderate hunting pressures may require you to outfit your muzzleloader with a predator light of some kind that will allow you to see your sights & the hog at night or some kind of thermal or night vision scope. Most hogs are shot over feeders from elevated blinds or tree stands in very low light or night time conditions. Check with the outfitter BEFORE you book to see what methods & hunting conditions to expect as a traditional muzzleloader may be a bad choice in some circumstances. Just food for thought.

 

[French Colonial]

I seem to be able to kill hogs with one shot from .45.

Not sure why you have so much trouble.

 

[doubleset]

Nice looking hogs. A description of the circumstances (location, distance of shots, bullet or RB, rifled used, weights of the hogs, etc.) would be valuable. Often a picture isn't really worth a thousand words -- or at least a thousand words that are especially relevant.

 

[Okie Hog]

The vast majority of my hogs are shot at ranges <75 yards. They are shot from stands overlooking trails, feeders, ponds and game plots.

With proper shot placement hogs are not hard to kill, about half my kills are bang flops.

Several years ago i waded the creek to the "island" at our lease where the big boars hang out. It's not really an island, just a bend in the creek. In about three hours i killed two boars that weighed 300 pounds or more and another that went about 250 pounds. They were dispatched with four shots from a .54 caliber inline firing patched round balls. That day i carried my .357 N frame S&W. But it was not needed.

 

[doubleset]

The vast majority of my hogs are shot at ranges <75 yards. They are shot from stands overlooking trails, feeders, ponds and game plots. ...

Was that in daylight or nighttime? Propellant? Any idea what the muzzle velocity of those balls were? What part of the country? As I recall, the hog my son shot in TX was considerably larger than the one he shot in TN -- like 100 lbs or more heavier.

 

[French Colonial]

Those were shot at Spartan Lodge in TN at probably 50 yards or so, Mitch who owns the lodge has had guys kill them with spears and knives.
Buddy I was with used a .375 H&H Magnum, mine were just as dead.

 

[Andrewmtnman]

Head shots would work best. If your Not in a stand have reliable back up. I use unmentionables because most of my hunts are at night. I would love to do a BP stalk!

 

[doubleset]

Mitch who owns the lodge has had guys kill them with spears and knives.

I'd sure like to hear the details of that. Taking on a 400+ lb boar with a spear or knife must have been pretty exciting. What do you do? Leap on it out of the tree? Jump on it out of the bushes? Trick into charging you? Well, that's probably outside the BP context, isn't it?

 

[French Colonial]

I believe he has videos on his web site

If not give him a call and I am sure he will send some to you,
I used to have some DVD’s he sent me but they have disappeared in to the black hole that is my office

 

[Rifleman1776]

what we refer to as a southern mountain rifle was commonly referred to as a hog rifle

Not wrong but misleading. The family 'hog rifle' was used to dispatch domestic hogs for butchering.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I'd sure like to hear the details of that. Taking on a 400+ lb boar with a spear or knife must have been pretty exciting. What do you do? Leap on it out of the tree? Jump on it out of the bushes? Trick into charging you? Well, that's probably outside the BP context, isn't it?

The hogs are cornered with dogs. The spears have a cross piece guard half way up the blade to keep the stuck critter from getting close to the hunter.