Wild Hogs

[Matthew72]

Is Wild Hog considered Big Game?
Where can you find wild hogs near southern Illinois?







<<<ShakeRooster4X

[Brent]

No they are not considered a big game. I live in Nebraska so I can't help you out with spots to pig hunt. I know friends that have gone down to Texas and Flordia to kill some hogs.

[Matthew72]

Hey thanks man.

[farmer]

If you believe hogs aren’t big game then you probable haven’t hunted any big ones. I live in South Texas and every year we take several hogs in the 400-500lbs. range and occasionaly up to 600lbs. The big problem isn’t their weight but the fact that many of the boars have a cartilage plate covering the shoulders and running down the rib cage. It covers all of the vitals except the head and can measure over an inch thick. In top of this is the layer of skin that covers the shield which can also be over an inch thick. I have seen good 180grain 30-06 bullets stopped dead before penetrating these two layers. We have even managed to recover some of those bullets (after shooting the animals several more times and sometimes even a few weeks later) and found that they were perfectly mushroomed but had simply not been able to break through the armor.

[Matthew72]

Do you thank a 12Ga slug will be enuff to stop a 400lber? I will also have 00 Buckshot. We can hunt them here in Il without a limit to season or amount. Or that is what I was told.

[Yooper]

I believe what Brent was refering to was that hogs aren't classified as big game. Classification has nothing to do with the size of the animal.

When I was growing up, I heard horror stories about how Brown bear skulls were so thick and strong, that bullets would ricochet off without damaging the bear. This scared me like you wouldn't believe because my uncle lives in Alaska and I knew I wanted to visit but I didn't want to get eaten... Then I read a story of a guy who killed one with a .22. How was that possible? Well it has been proven that bear skulls aren't any thicker than other animal skulls. I'd say you're twelve guage would whack a pig just fine.

[Buckbuster]

I'm sorry, but I've got to throw the yellow flag on this one for exessive use of bull slinging. Like most stories, things have a way of getting a little bigger and further each time they're remembered. That applies to most of my youthful exploits. The older I get, the better I was. The shoulder plate of a hog does cover the heart, but an inch thick and 600 pound hogs? Possible, but so are alien abductions.

The plate is more like a long shoulder blade and it doesn't go very far back from the shoulder. It definitely doesn't cover all of the ribs. The thickness also tapers as it goes back.
I'm betting that these are "estimates" made by eyeballing. Estimates are about as accurate as a politician's promises prior to an election.

The average size of an adult male feral hog is 150 pounds. A really big hog would be 300 pounds. For one to gain enough weight to be four times the average would require constant access to a feed trough that was stoked with high protein food and some exceptional genetics. Sure one could be feeding on some deer hunter's feeder, but he would have to have a chain of them lined up to get to that weight. Deer feeders just don't put out that much feed on a daily basis. Like I said, possible, but highly unlikely.

Problem is a 300 pound hog is huge. It would be easy to estimate a hog way over its actual weight. Like the recent urban legend that made the rounds on the Internet, Hogzilla turned out to be a big porker, but only about 2/3 of the 12' length and half the reported weight.

Buckbuster

[Yooper]

Buckbuster... you're ruining it for me man! I was getting all excited to go after a 600 lb. Armor plated pig! All I needed to do was borrow a .50 BMG from someone and I was set!

[Brent]

I believe what Brent was refering to was that hogs aren't classified as big game. Classification has nothing to do with the size of the animal.

Thank you, that is what i meant

[Dave W]

Talking about hogs...I have never hunted wild hogs, but just from using a little bit of common sense, I agree with Buckbuster that a 600 lb. hog with a one-inch-thick skull is quite an exception, if not totally improbable. Sounds too much like those fish stories...but I digress. I have reason to believe that a wild hog is for all practical purposes very similar to domestic hogs, which means they do have thick skulls, but not as legendary as some would make it out to be. All that I am saying is, you don't need to go overboard with a huge gun. It won't take a cannon to drop a wild hog. Good luck on your hunt, Matthew72.

[Buckbuster]

I've put several hogs in the back of my truck using a .270, and one shot per at that. The problem with a hog's head is the angle more than anything, at least from the front. Their forehead slopes back almost flat. If you were to try and shoot one in the head, straight on, no doubt you'd have a good chance of the bullet glancing off. That glancing blow would probably knock a hog down, if not out, but it's not one I'd want to approach on the ground.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot one in the head from the side. It's a hog, not a monster from the horror movies. In my experience, it more about the placement than the load you're toating. A head shot doesn't mess up the hams or the bacon.

BB

[Brent]

mmmmmmmmmmm. Bacon.... I might need to take a trip to kill me a pig now :P

[Matthew72]

Come hunt with me. I will find us some wild hogs to hunt.

[farmer]

To all those that don't believe me my father and I have actually weighed many of the larger hogs that we have shot and the weights are not exagerated. There are many farms in the area in which we live that grow corn, sorgum, milo, peanuts and many other grain crops. These hogs have almost year round access to food and arn't that shy about standing in the middle of a field in broad daylight eating. As for the thickness of the sheild the first time we ever shot a hog in the shoulder and the bullets did not penitrate we used a saw to cut through the plate to see exactly what we where dealing with.

Buckbuster is right that most hogs don't get that big but when they live in a farming area like ours we often see very large examples. I should also add that many domesticated hogs have escaped from various farms over the decades and have added their genetics to the gene pool. To put it simply when the local hog population numbers in the several hundred you can expect to find examples of extreme growth.

My suggestion is to shoot for the head thats what I do now and I no longer have any problems.

[Whitecloud]

I grew up on a Hog Farm and live in Hog Country.

Most Feral Hogs are escapees and therefore, non native.

As a consequence most States consider them Non game Species without protection and Game Laws do not apply.

In other words no limited season, no bag limit, kill all ya want.

Georgia does not allow baiting or Electric lights ( at night) over 6 watts.

check out http://www.boarhuntermagazine.com/

One should try and shoot a hog where the neck meets the shoulder NOT further back, a hog's guts are stuffed up into the front a lot further than a deer.

One can shoot/break the shoulder but why waste meat ?

I have killed hogs with just about every caliber below .338 WIN Mag and never had penetration problems with TOUGH bulltes ie Nosler Partitions, Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, etc.

I will use .325 wsm this year with 220 grn Win Powerpoints.

Bullets designed for LARGE Game.

Things happen very quickly when you open up on a Hog so you may want a fast handling gun ie Lever Gun or a short Bolt Carbine or a short 12 gauge Pump (Mossberg 835, etc).

12 Gauge Slugs will work but they need to Tough ie. Brenneke.

Velocity is not a good thing here, penetration is, if you handload keep velocity lower and use tough bullets.

Good Luck !

[Matthew72]

That is some great info.

[midwest safari]

Matthew72,

If you ever find those Southern Illinois hogs, I would be glad to join you on a hunt. I have heard that there are some roaming around down there. I would think a 12 ga with a sabot or a slug would take one down.

From what I have read, hogs are not regulated in Illinois. You can hunt them without a permit and can use your choice of weapon. Your challenge will be finding them and then securing permission to hunt on the land. I am sure the farmers would want to get rid of them. The hogs tear up their farmland and might infect their livestock.

Midwest Safari

[Matthew72]

I garuntee that when I find them you will here from me.

[bigbear56]

Hey All,
I am very much interested in trying hog hunting. I hear that they are expanding in Wisconsin and am wondering if anyone has a lead on them in this state that would be interested in shareing some info. Would also be interested in central Illinois or Kentucky if there are any in the area.

Thanks, Mike

[tx.fireman1525]

I dont know where you other guys are from, but my fellow Texan is pretty accurate. It is not uncommon to see a 400 lb. hog out and about, so a 600 lb'er. would not be too unrealistic.


As for the one inch thick plates and such, i cant vouch for that cuz i aint never skined one. I can say that i have killed a 300 lb. Russian with my .30-30 shootin a 150 gr. soft point

[xtrema]

i was in south texas and saw a boar at least 450lbs a sow at least 250lbs and 3 piglets all about 20 lb each they will kill i was watching tred barta and he went to hunt hog with a knife in south texas and got a 256lb hog(with dogs) and Quote:"Everything is bigger in texas"(except deer and that prize goes to:saskatchewan canada,illinois,ohio,montana,south texas,wyoming,north dakota,and missouri...lol)
But hogs are dangerous and should never be gotten close to (boars and sows with piglets)and they hate you to get around their wallows or the holes they dig for food.Icall them the devils of south texas brushland.(they eat my favorite south texas crops)



NOT TO SCARE YOU BUT THEY ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

[BULLSEYE]

I am going hog hunting in texas this weekend. You may think i am crasey but do u think that i could use a .223 to take down one of them just wondering.

[BULLSEYE]

or should i use a .280

[airborne]

Well that all depends on if you want to eat breakfast or be breakfast.

[tx.fireman1525]

.280, unless u shoot em thru the eye hole!!( or the ear), but i would just use the 280

[lboffshore]

I know it sounds hard to believe, but there are some really huge pigs out there. I've seen a picture of an 1,100 lb boar killed with a bow in Kerr County, Texas. In Bandera County, there was a case where the government trapper had to come in and kill several nuisance pigs that were killing sheep. One of these was a boar weighing over 550 lbs.

[Rossi20]

Will a 20ga sabot or rifled slug kill a hog?

[MOhunter]

yea most normal wild hogs breed fast and deplete the food source to fast to get real big only dominant or old hogs will break 200.

check you game laws closely. during turkey season in MO you can only use arms sutibale for turkey hunting bow and shotgun with shot no bigger then #4.

[cn7mm]

[

Problem is a 300 pound hog is huge. It would be easy to estimate a hog way over its actual weight. Like the recent urban legend that made the rounds on the Internet, Hogzilla turned out to be a big porker, but only about 2/3 of the 12' length and half the reported weight.

Buckbuster[/QUOTE]

speaking of hogzilla,go look at feild and stream .com some guy just killed an 1,100 lber ( farm raised)in his neighbors back yrd i guess its been escaped from it pen since 2004 or something but its just an interesting article go check out

[cn7mm]

[If you were to try and shoot one in the head, straight on, no doubt you'd have a good chance of the bullet glancing off. That glancing blow would probably knock a hog down, if not out, but it's not one I'd want to approach on the ground.

i dont really see that possible i shot a hog right between the eyes last june with a 7mm rem mag and it completely shatterd the skull and went all the way down to the end of its ribs although it was only 150 lbr i still dont really a bullet deflecting of a 300 lbers nogin eather .just my 2 cents
cn7mm

[blkdia]

Hi matthew72, I think your slugs will do fine, but I think your 00 might get you tusked! I think most of what a person reads about hog hunting is bunk. Are they dangerous? Of course they can be, so can a buck in rut. What I'm trying to say is, your chances of being "mauled" by a boar are slim at best, unless you do something to cause it to happen, like wounding it with 00 buck. Even though pigs are not armour plated, they are much thicker skinned than deer and incase you're at kissing distance (not recommended) with your hog, I don't think you'll get the penetration you need with the 2 ought. LOL and have fun with the piggies!