East Texas landowner kills 400lb hog with AR15

[The Annoyed Man]

My question is around how many rounds it took. I've dropped smaller hogs with one round and I'm curious if he was able to do the same on this one.

My question is, when did an AR15 become “a little extra firepower” when hog hunting? I guess those of us who use .308s are going to have to turn in our man cards.

A real man would use a butter knife.

Butter knives are for weenies. I use a spork. A white plastic one from a Dominoes Pizza joint.

[rotor]

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.

[pbwalker]

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.

In my opinion, as big as you have should be the minimum. I've hunted them with .30-30, .270, x39, and .223. If I was trudging through brush, I had a .44 on my hip.

[Lynyrd]

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.

[clarionite]

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 helped a friend butcher a pig. They had never done it themselves, but had put a few down. When it came time to drop it in the trap I pulled out a 22 pistol. One of the guys said, I have a .357 in the truck, it's going to take more than that. I turned around and dropped the pig. He was stunned. I told him it was all about placement, not caliber. But having grown up on a farm, and having worked in a slaughter house as a young man gave me a little more insight into putting one down quickly than he'd have had.

[anygunanywhere]

I'd like to what grain, mfg, etc. cartridge did he use.

Plus, where was his bullet placement?

How did he confirm it's weight?

Scale or guesstimate...?

Seeing as the article says 416 lbs, I would guesstimate he used a scale.....

Probably.

There is a method where you measure the chest circumference just behind the front legs and reference the attached chart to give a good estimate of weight.

[RoyGBiv]

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.

I'm hungry after reading this.

[MaduroBU]

The most prolific elephant hunter in history, JDM Bell, killed most of his elephants with a 6.5 Swedish.