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rotor wrote:So what do most use? .308 is what I thought a minimum for a mature pig. .223 in ball maybe for piglets and small pigs? 7.62x39hp with a quality AK47? .44Mag with a lever marlin? 30-30 lever Marlin? I know people drop them with 22lr but seriously what's best.
I would have wanted something more powerful than an AR-15 with a 400# hog. That thing charges and the pig would not be the only bad smell.

It all depends on shot placement. Hogs have two weak spots. The heart, which is very small, and very hard to hit. And the spinal column in the neck. Oh, and they also have a weak spot in the skull just above the eyes. A .22lr can kill them easily with a straight on shot to that spot, but it's only about the size of a penny.

I've shot them in the shoulder with a 180 gr 30.06 from 40 yds and never found the hog. I've also shot them in the neck with a .55 gr .556 and seen them drop right there. I've shot them in the head with a .357 and seen them run off when I didn't hit the soft spot. And, I've shot them in a trap just above the eyes with a .22lr and had them drop dead instantly.

I kill better than 50 hogs/yr, and I've weighed a lot of them. I ain't buying the weight number. More like 295-315. As for the taking too long to find him, that's what happens with light loads. I've dropped a lot of them with a .556, but you have to hit them in the neck and break the spine. I've also seen hogs that size killed in cold weather and handled right. Put on ice quick. And when the meat hits the skillet it stinks you out of the kitchen. I agree with others that any mature boar is not worth eating. I've tried soaking them in brine for days, and the meat still stunk when you cooked it. They get a hormone at maturity that permeates the meat.

Now a sow, or a young pig under 100 lbs, quite tasty. I haven't bought sausage at the store in years. Them little 20 pound pigs are my favorite to eat.