Dropping a wild hog????

[qajaq59]

If anyone in here has ever dropped a wild hog with a cast bullet I could use their expertise.

Will a 170 gr, #2 lead, cast bullet going 1200 FPS drop a good sized hog at less then 50 yards with a head shot? I seriously doubt that it would make it through the shoulder blade, but I'm not sure how thick the skull is.  Any comments welcome....

[stuffit]

[rvtrav]

qajaq,

  Good shot placement is more the key than anything, a 170 gr bullet should do the deed. A swaged lead .22 lr has killed more animals than we'll ever know.

  Some of my cast bullet and hog encounters have been;

 A chest shot (charging) 350 pound Russian boar with a .35 whelen, using a RCBS 200 gr FN at around 1700/1800 fps.

 A running broadside ferral pig with a .30/30 with a 170gr FN at 1800 fps

 A 450+ pound russian/domestic mix with a .44 mag with a RCBS SWC at around 900fps.

 a ferral pig with a .45 colt, a 255gr swc at around 850/900fps.

 I have also been present with folks using the same or similar loads, All of which worked well.

  You haven't mentioned what caliber you are using. There are several charts and formulas that factor in bullet face diameter and sectional density as well as weight and velocity into their equasions for "knockout" power or energy.

  I'm interested in what tactics/ methods you plan to use, ( spot and stalk, bait etc.)and what caliber you are working with.  What kind of shot you expect to encounter, and what distances you expect to shoot at, they are as important or more important than what weight and velocity you are getting.

 I hope this gives you some information to go on, Rvtrav

[rvtrav]

qajaq,

   Yes I think that head shot at 50 yards with a 170 gr cast bullet at 1200 fps will easily do the trick.

[rvtrav]

qajaq,

   Yes I think that head shot at 50 yards with a 170 gr cast bullet at 1200 fps will easily do the trick.

[qajaq59]

Rv Trav, thanks for the input. Apparently if I can put it exactly where it should go, it will penetrate the skull. I was mainly concerned that a shot that hit a shoulder blade might be deflected. There is no rush to get one so I can afford to wait for the exactly the right shot.
 
I will be using a 30-30 with a William's peep sight. I'll be sitting still, and likely have some kind of rest to shoot from. And that load, while very light, is quite accurate. Plus it has been my practice load at 50 yards for months now and I know exactly where it is going to go.
I had not planned to use it for hunting but I like to shoot at least a hundred rounds when I go to the range and that load is extra easy on the ears and shoulder, so I use it all the time.
Recently however, I just happened to be biking on some state hunting land and found lots of hog sign. But because the season is almost over there isn't enough time to work up a better load. So long as a head shot will drop one I'll use it, but I don't want to just wound him. If I can't drop him like a stone then I'd rather wait until next season when I can load something  better.
 
By the way we are full time RV'ers....  qajaq59@yahoo.com is the address  if you care to send a note.