Good hunt and an observation

[jmayton]

Finally got to go hunting again last night for a couple of hours.  Got the first one at about 7:00.  Good sized boar.



Then after awhile came up on a group of 5 or 6 piglets so I figured mama would be close.  They were in a grove of cedars and would have to cross a clearing no matter which way they ran out.  I shadowed them for a bit, then quietly got ahead and waited at the clearing they were heading for.  A big hog stuck its head out and looked at me and I shot it in the head.  Guess I missed the brain because that hog went wild.  Started jumping all around breaking limbs, tried to scramble up the hill, turned came back down, crossed the clearing and back into the cedars and then came back out and right for me.  Two quick shots from turned it back around and it finally fell down.  I put another one it its head but it was still snorting and kicking.  I left it to see if I could find any others and when I came back it was still breathing.  So I put on more in it with my .40.  So far it's the biggest one I've shot and got the adrenaline going more than any other.  Sorry the picture is bad, it was getting dark.




Here's my thought.  I think hogs can run even if they're dead.  I shot one a while back and it took off running but fell over after about 15 yards.  Its legs continued to run even though it was down.  It was still kicking like it was running when I got to it, but it wasn't breathing.  I guess it's just a nervous thing.  Anyone else ever seen this?

[Wynn]

Yes, I have seen it. I recently shot a boar right between the eyes from head on. The 165 gr partition went through the skull and traveled down it's spine and ended up at the base of the tail. That hog was dead instantly but it continued to make running motions while laying on it's side for a full minute. The bullet went through the brain and took out nearly every single vertebra yet it was still trying to run. That is the only partition bullet I have ever recovered but I cannot call it a bullet failure. 

[STUMPJMPR]

I have never had one run from a head shot even with a 22LR.... Maybe it just hit part of the brain that wasn't vital for the function of life...

[jmayton]

I would have to agree that all of the good head shots I've made have taken the pig down...but I've seen them run from heart/lung shots (I know, that's normal) and from neck shots and they ran and fell over...not breathing...but still running while laying there on their side apparently dead. 

As far as the big hog from Monday, I just missed the brain...simple as that.  It was from the front and I've always seemed to have a harder time actually hitting the brain from the front.  From the side, just put it in the ear.  But from the front, I think it matters more the head position the thickness of the skull.  Plus, I just miss occasionaly.

[GRIMJIM]

I'm not a hog hunter but I've seen similar reactions with deer. I shot a buck and it jumped in a river. It was floating there dead and started thrashing it's head like it was fighting another buck. Kinda creepy.

[STUMPJMPR]

its probably just the nerves twitching....Have you ever cut the head off of a duck or chicken they tend to try and run around a little bit.... i never believed it until i seen it with my own eyes...

[Land_Owner]

Are you pumping solids rounds out of that gun?  That would explain some of it.  If not, then we're back to the "muscle memory" theory.

Ever catch a pig by the back legs?  Even a small one will beat you practically to death.  With that much muscle, the "pucker factor" of survival intrinsic in the nerve fibers keeps it alive and healthy hour by hour in the woods ( something you and I have lost in our "domestication" from cave men to modern men...but what makes the hair on the back of the neck stand on end when something is just not right...we have not lost it, we just don't use it a lot). 

When the pig's "shock and awe" adrenalin pump squirts a stiff shot into the proverbial rotary occillator the short but extremely strong legs start jumping in fight or flight response.  "Instantaneously" killing it will not recall the adrenalin.  Pretty amazing how fast some body chemistry works...practically lightning.

The nerves are still reacting to the adrenalin jolt and while the beast is dead-dead-dead, the still "live" muscle tissue is responding to a chemical soup of apocalyptical proportion.  Heady stuff.

[jmayton]

Good analysis LandOwner.  "chemical soup of apocalyptical proportions...."  lol.

As for the bullets: 55 Sierra Soft Point GameKings.  They'll stop a hog with authority with a well placed shot.

[rickt300]

Actually the so called "solids" in the form of the 55 grain bullet used in military ammo of old and by far the easiest to find 223 ammo may be fully metal jacketed but it definitly breaks up and kills game well. I have some Federal M193 ammo that I have used on cull hunts and on feral hogs that works far out of proportion to what you would think, this stuff penetrates bone or whatever for three inches or so, tumbles and starts to break in half at the cannelure. The Winchester "White Box" ammo is loaded with the same bullet though it is not loaded as hot as the military ammo. It still works prey good as well.  This all said my intentionally loaded for deer/feral hogs bullet is the 60 grain Hornady HP pushed to a bit over 3000 fps out of my AR15A1 styled rifle.

[BUTCHER45]

     Hit'em in the brain and they wil go nowhere but DOWN!  Not just a headshot; a BRAINSHOT.  Their brains are real small.

     These four hogs were all shot in the brain, dropped where they stood immediately, and didn't make a peep.  Most twitched just a bit.  Mine didn't start "riding the bike" with his hind leg until I had walked up on him, and that lasted about 10 seconds. I doubt ANY of his brain was left intact.

     Starting with mine, and the shot placement.  Followed by the rest of the group and their hogs.  All shot with .45 caliber airguns.

     One shot kills, of course!

[mechanic]

I used to be called on to help at "hog killin" time.  I had watched my uncle pop them in the forehead with a 22 many times and they never moved.  I shot a big sow with the bore of the rifle almost against her skull.  She went berserk!  Had to grab an axe and whack her with the back of it to kill her.

When we skinned that hog out, I found the bullet entered just above the eyes, never penetrated the skull but ran along it and exited the back.  I said then if I ever use a gun for a hog again it will be big enough to break bone.  No rimfires for me!

[cattleskinner]

I used to work at a meat plant and killed literally thousands of hogs.  What you're seeing with the leg thing is normal.  I always noticed that they would fall stiff for about 10 seconds, and then act like they were "riding a bike" as you call it for sometimes up to a minute or two.  Seemed like every time you tried to shackle them after knocking them down would cause the kicking to increase....lots of memories and busted knuckles. 

~Amos