Got an opportunity to go hog hunting on an island on a local river here in the panhandle of Florida. The hogs average about 150 pounds, with big ones going over 200 pounds. All I have is a 7/30 Waters with cartridges loaded for deer hunting with 130 gr Sierra ssp bullets. Reckon thats enough medicine for these hogs?

it should be fine,i took a 250 lb deer with that bullet,just DONT TRY TO HIT THE SHOULDER aim just be hind it so the slug enters the lungs.pick your shot and uderstand that the bullet is not designed to bust bone.good luck rick

i think it would easily take a hog like that.

Hey Gman,
Let me know how the light stuff works on hogs. I;m going to Texas next month and I've been thinking about trying my 240 Weatherby with 115gr Barnes originals. That might work. I'd like to know how the Waters did, considering the light for hog bullets and all. Just might work though. Good Luck on the hunt.

Just my opinion but it may be better placing that shot in the neck .Most of the guys around here say a lung shot is not the best place on a hog.I have seen a few hogs lost with heart and lung shots.I read on a forum yesterday that one guy always used 22 hornet with shots behind the ear in the neck but you read alot of stories on the www.

On my lease in Florida we generally go for head/neck. Had too many run a good ways through thick brush that were hard to find shooting for lung/heart.

I've done my time in the palmetto and know exactly what you are talking about!

Ive shot a lot of hogs in thick brush. If you use something light, go for a shot in the ear, and drop them where they stand. Otherwise use a hard heavy bullet and break both front shoulders. Hogs are the hardest animal in North America to drop, and they always find deep dark cover to get into. Do all you can to anchor them. my .02cents worth

Go to http://www.texasboars.com/anatomy.html and study up on anatomy. pigs are not hard to kill, they are just built differently than everything else you hunt. The "heart and lung" shot that causes people to loose hogs is really paunch and liver shot. The shoulder blade pretty much covers the entire lung zone, any bullet behind the shoulder is to far back. As for neck shooting, you have to hit spine for the oinker to drop, on a 150 pounder that is a two inch target inside a tube of meat about 40 inches in circumference. The spine of a pig is also lower in the neck than it is with deer/elk/whatever the top half of their necks are entirely muscle for rooting and fighting, it also makes a delicious roast and is kinda wasteful to slam a bullet through. Your best bet is quartering away in my opinion, and have the bullet enter a little forward of where you would place it on a white tail. The heart is near directly under the front leg and you Will have to break bone to get to it with a broadside shot. However with 200 lb porker 7 or 8 inches of penetration means a cloud of swirling bone shards and lead comfortably ruining the heart with a little room to spare. Head shots work like a charm provided you don't get to far forward on the snout. I typically like the line from the ear on one side to the eye on the other. That path is all brain matter. Direct forward brain shots should be avoided because the skull is thickest there plus the angle of the bone doesn't lend itself to penetration. Your 7-30 waters is plenty of gun with plenty of pep for 95% OF ALL THE HOGS YOU ARE LIKELY TO SEE IN YOUR LIFETIME. And it will broadside head shot drop the other 5% if you can keep your heart rate low enough to do your part. Yes pigs are tough, no they aren't bullet proof. My personal pig death toll is in the mid 300's most of that with a .22 and a trap, but i have killed them with a dozen other cartridges from every angle imaginable. My advice is to study up on anatomy and play on the range a little more than normal. And most importantly have fun on your upcoming hunt!

I kill quite a few hogs every year. I know their anatomy, and I can say with certainty that they can absorb a lot of lead, even when hit well. Doesn't happen that often, but I have witnessed them eating an inordinate amount of lead before conceding defeat. Even a deer will run when hit well and lethally, and they are not built even remotely as densely. CNS hits are obviously going to produce the lights-out effect on virtually every animal, but not always an easy shot on hogs because they are perpetual motion machines. A .22 LR at point-blank range is not a good comparison, IMO.

Now, all of this said, every animal is a law unto itself and even if "dead," the message doesn't always quickly reach the brain.

JMHO.

True enough on the "every animal is a law unto itself" statement!

Gman,I witnessed a very large boar taken with the 7-30 but using the 120gr factory ammo that blew out a basballl size pocket in the side of the boar witout hitting anything vital. However, with you using the ssp bullet I feel you will get better results as long as you stay away from the shoulder. Good luck and good huntin.....

Shoot them like you would with a bow. Quartering away and tight to the armpit. Never had a hog go very far with that shot placement.

Here is some good info on hog shot placement.

http://www.texasboars.com/anatomy.html