Hog hunting ?

[VEARL]

This hog was shot near Pursell, Okla. Wonder if a .58 Cal RB would bring it down.

 

[rodwha]

If a .50 cal PRB can take an elk I'd think he stands no chance. Many believe in the .54 PRB...

I have a .50 cal and figured if I had the chance to hunt something big like elk I'd use a conical.

 

[Vaino]

Is that "hogzilla"? Was a complete fraud.....Fred

 

[rodwha]

Basspro in San Antonio has a pic of a huge hog that took the state record weighing over 1100 lbs.

 

[crockett]

Guys in Florida hunt them with 1858 Remingtons and a 240 grain conical.

 

[rodwha]

I'd be hesitant to pull the trigger on that one with my ROA, a full charge of 3F Triple 7 behind one of those Kaido 240/255 grn conicals!

 

[smo]

Is that "hogzilla"? Was a complete fraud.....Fred

That's what it looks like... Its got more lives than a cat. He's been killed in every State in the Country. :shake: :idunno:

 

[George T.]

I have never seen one any where near that size. In most areas of Texas a 250 pound hog is considered huge. My Grandson has killed several in the 45 to 60 pound range with a Marlin 17 HMR.

Geo. T.

 

[Loxahatchee]

Hogs can indeed get to several hundred pounds. However, a real wild hog usually doesn't because its not in their genes. The "hog-zillas" are usually wild hogs with domestic pig mixed in. The domestic pig that has the genes for growing huge is what gives "hog-zillas" their size. Also, judging by the length of the cutters (tusks) of the hog in the pic, he doesn't look like he had to work too hard for food. A hogs cutters continulously grow, it's the rooting around in the ground that wears them down. A hog that was always fed and never had to root will have cutters that keep growing. I saw picture of a hog skull that had cutters that curled behind themselves, like the horns on a ram. However, those are still some impressive cutters.

Any size projectile can take down a hog if you hit it in the head. My uncle whacks hogs with his .22 He's stacked up 8 at one time that were all in a group using just his .22. A well-placed shot by a .50 RB to the vitals should work. Could it take down hogzilla? I think so. It would go through the first side, hit both lungs, and probably not exit. The shield of a boar hog (the hide along their shoulders that covers the vital-hit area) can get thick and tough. A 1 inch thick shield isn't uncommon on a full-grown boar. Folks that hunt hogs around here from atop their buggies shooting 00 buckshot have seen the shot bounce off or barely penetrate some hogs.

 

[VEARL]

After posting this, I thought well Dummie it could be a hoax.
Still I'm liking the looks of that truck. Should be able to haul out all of the deer that I will kill this year. :rotf:

 

[stinkyfeet]

Hogs can indeed get to several hundred pounds. However, a real wild hog usually doesn't because its not in their genes. The "hog-zillas" are usually wild hogs with domestic pig mixed in. The domestic pig that has the genes for growing huge is what gives "hog-zillas" their size. Also, judging by the length of the cutters (tusks) of the hog in the pic, he doesn't look like he had to work too hard for food. A hogs cutters continulously grow, it's the rooting around in the ground that wears them down. A hog that was always fed and never had to root will have cutters that keep growing. I saw picture of a hog skull that had cutters that curled behind themselves, like the horns on a ram. However, those are still some impressive cutters.

Any size projectile can take down a hog if you hit it in the head. My uncle whacks hogs with his .22 He's stacked up 8 at one time that were all in a group using just his .22. A well-placed shot by a .50 RB to the vitals should work. Could it take down hogzilla? I think so. It would go through the first side, hit both lungs, and probably not exit. The shield of a boar hog (the hide along their shoulders that covers the vital-hit area) can get thick and tough. A 1 inch thick shield isn't uncommon on a full-grown boar. Folks that hunt hogs around here from atop their buggies shooting 00 buckshot have seen the shot bounce off or barely penetrate some hogs.

I second this. I used to trap hogs on Ft benning, GA and would kill them with a single 22lr bullet from a ruger pistol. Hogs are not really all that tough on average however U have seen one go 100 yards after being hit by a 45-70 gov I think he was using around a 375 grain bullet, and that was a double lung shot. I have dropped hogs from 40- around 375/400 with a single shot from a 22lr/7mm/243/ 45-58 cal prb/ or conical dead in there tracks. Hogs are like deer I took out both front shoulders on a buck with a 12 ga slug and the deer ran 125 yards before dying, other claim they drop almost every deer in the tracks with a 45 cal prb. Each animal is different and react differently when shot.

 

[hanshi]

Yep, these monster hogs are not true wild hogs; only fat domestic porkers that will need quite a few more generations to turn from obese fatback to all muscle, and much smaller, wild (and not simply feral) swine.

 

[Supercracker]

Is that "hogzilla"? Was a complete fraud.....Fred

Yeah, turned out it was only like 600 or so pounds instead of the claimed 800+. Total kitten. lol The biggest truly verifiable (weighed one scales at a truck stop)one I know of was, IIRC, just under 1100 pounds and killed in central FL with a pistol by a farmer after it chased him back to his truck. It had been raiding his cattle feed. Did he have lots of domestic DNA, probably. Will that matter when he's hooking a cutter into you or clamping down on your leg, probably not.

While the Rhino class hogs people occasionally run into almost certainly will have some domestic DNA, that makes them no less wild. If a coyote and a stray Black Lab have a litter in the woods, are those pups going to be any less feral, wild and dangerous, because they have domesticated DNA?

I've seen, but been unable to connect with some real monsters in the woods. I saw one across a clear cut that I thought was bear! The biggest one I've actually gotten close to was as high at the back as my pants pockets. Easily 300 if he was an ounce. It killed two dogs in about 4 seconds and took off through a fence across adjoining private property before we could get ahold of him.

They get that big not just because of DNA but also because they're crazy smart. However, as a rule, I've only ever seen these bigguns in areas that are really really hard for people to get to. Which is also why they're getting big.

 

[gunmaker43]

We used M-14 or M-60 in RVN---works everytime. What no one has mentioned is that wounded, They WILL kill you. Almost got my Dad in Tennessee when I was growing up. Best kill 'em quick.

 

[Bob J]

Would a well-placed .570 ball kill it? Yes. Would it drop before it came after you and did serious bodily harm or worse? Dunno :idunno: . But I can say from experience that headshots can go horribly awry. I headshot a boar back in March in the 250 pound range - at night. .54 flinter loaded with 90 grains 2f Goex. Smoke cleared and it was on the ground, barely kicking. My friend Jerry (Geraldo on this forum) took an "insurance shot" with his .54 GPR, walked over to it and it got up! Jerry pulled his 44 mag, shoots it, the boar circles around twice getting another hit each time and then it came after us. We got up a ladderstand and the hog ran off. Couldn't find it that night or when I went back the next morning, no sign of it.

My PERSONAL opinion regarding big hogs is this: don't hunt them alone AND carry a substantial back-up gun.

 

[Lonegun1894]

My usual modern "kit gun" is either a .357 mag or .22LR, both in handguns, and I have taken quite a few hogs, usually in the 150-225# range, but a few have been in the 275-325# range, and either gun took care of them easily. The secret is placement, and I usually hunt alone. I don't worry about hunting these hogs with a ML, and usually use either a .50 or .54 when I specifically go after them, but don't hesitate to use the handguns mentioned above when I just happen to stumble on a hog. Now, there are shots I pass up on, or wait til the hog presents a betted target, but they are not a problem if you're steady enough to hold your fire until the right target presents itself, and as has been mentioned, that may mean holding your fire while being chased/charged til you have the perfect shot offered. I have had to do that, and it was more excitement than I was looking for, but the .22 did it's job at just the right time with one shot. I don't think the .58 will have any trouble on the condition that you place it right.

 

[Loxahatchee]

Yes there is the chance a headshot just pisses it off. If you don't hit it in the skull, spine, or the center of its neck, you're going to have a problem. Those are the only "vital areas" on the head/neck region, so if you miss them you're probably not going to kill it (trust me :shake: ). Only take a headshot if the room for error is almost non-existent (meaning the hog is standing still and you have a clear shot)

 

[flyfisher76544]

Body is tooooo long in the picture. Definitely a photo shop job.

 

[FishDFly]

Yep.

 

[RedFeather]

Knew a guy who went hunting hogs in Mississippi using a .54 GPR, around a 450 grain conical atop 120 or so grains Ffg. Big old hog came right out of the brush at him. He side stepped and shot it broadside through the chest, point blank. They found the hog about thirty or forty yards away. Sure impressed him.