I am taking my daughter on a hog hunt this weekend. I am wanting her to take a shot other than a head shot since she is relatively new to hunting and a hog head moves quickly...therefore not giving her as much time to pull the trigger.

I think that a hog's vitals are a little more foward than a deer? So, should she aim right in the middle of the shoulder on a broadside shot? She will be shooting a 100grain .243. Thanks!

behind the ear is almost as big a target as the vitals, you might want to just let her try

Pop that shoulder. Too many talk about the ear, but in reality, that's asking a little much from a first timer. If she is confident enough, let her take the shot. But, the shoulder will do just as well, even if you have to track it a little.

If you go with a shoulder shot you will likely be doing some tracking and maybe not recovering the hog. With a head shot it will likely be DRT. Even if she is off a little and hits the neck it will still put it down. If you want her first hunt to be a successfull and positive one have her go for the head. JMO

front leg not shoulder, vitals are real low

aim for the red area or put it in the ear

I would tell her middle of shoulder, it gives the biggest margin for error

even if she hit up, down, left or right of where she is aiming she will make a lethal shot and if she hit the shoulder blade....they its not only a kill shot but you send bone fragments flying through the vital organs and best of all you have limited the animals mobility.

watch my videos... every shot ive taken the hogs are DRT. Aim right behind and below the ear. There is a guy on the texasboars website that hunts exclusively with a .243 and has the same results I do. No tracking.

slightly quartering away...and pinwheel the lower 1/3.

i have good luck aiming at the "red" on the illustration. knock out the "elbows" i say, knocks them down & hit the heart or most of it. or a good neck shot if you dont want a head shot.

text book shot

earhole it or put it in the neck if she is able. If not put it behind the shoulder just a little low

good luck

How do we watch your videos? Any of them bow shots? Not trying to take over post, but I am trying to kill one with my bow and find it after the shot.

I have shot many a hog in the shoulder with a .243. Some dropped...some never to be found again.

It is all what she is comfortable with.

Aim for the front shoulder, if she misses left or right you still probably have a dead hog, and if not better luck next time! Hogs=target practice.

Just let her shoot the hog, and coach her on where to aim, and if it drops great, and if runs off that's fine also.

Just tell her she will get another chance and not to get frustrated.

She won't have to wait long to redeem herself if she misses.

I HAVE 4 KIDS, THE 2 OLDEST HAVE KILLED HOGS WITH A .223 WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER. I THINK THAT THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS RUIN HER CONFIDENCE BY ASKING HER TO TAKE A SHOT THAT SHE'S NOT LIKELY TO MAKE, SHE'LL BE ALL EXCITED AND A HEAD SHOT IS ASKING TOO MUCH IN MY OPINION. THE LOWER 1/2 OF THE PIG JUST BEHIND THE SHOULDER IS A KILL, NORMALLY WITH A VERY GOOD BLOOD TRAIL EVEN WITH A 55GR .223 HOPE FOR A 100LB PIG AND YOU WON'T HAVE MUCH TO TRACK. EVEN WITH A BIG ONE THOUGH THEY WON'T GO MORE THAN 100YDS. WORST CASE YOU DON'T FIND THE HOG, BUT YOU FIND BLOOD, SHE AT LEAST KNOWS SHE HIT IT AND WILL BE BETTER AND MORE CONFIDENT NEXT TIME. GOOD LUCK AND KEEP US POSTED!

I don't think it will ruin their confidence by explaining to them and have them try to make a behind the ear shot.

You actually have a lot of margin for error if you are off a tad.

It's all about teaching them the proper shot placement, and if they are old enough to attempt to shoot an animal they are old enough to make the shot.

When I first started hunting my dad always believed in a neck shot having lived through the great depression, and that's where I learned to shoot the deer also.

It was a few years later that I realized that it was alright to shoot them in the heart lungs area, but I still prefer to shoot the neck to not waste the meat.

I agree with Jimbo on this one.Teach them right the first time.Bullet placement is a must for good clean kill.And practice,practice,practice till they are confident they can make the shot then take them hunting.Pays off for you both.

I might add that it's easier for a kid to figure out what you are talking about when you tell them, "see the ear?" "Just aim at the ear or just below it!"

Now if you tell them to shoot the shoulder or just up from the front leg, the kid is going to not have a clue what you are talking about while looking at a black spot trying to figure out what he's aiming at.

Give him that ear description and he'll identify with that right off the bat!

With the weapon you intend to let her hunt with (or just about any other rifle round), I would recommend behind and below the ear. It's really a big target, and you don't have to worry about the bullet exploding on the shield. I can't tell you how many hogs we've killed that have bullets that are stopped by either bone or the shield on the shoulder. I even pulled a Foster style 12 gauge slug out of a shield of one I killed with my .308. I would not believe it if I had not pulled it out myself. To me, the worst thing would be if she shot the hog, wounded it, and then could not find it, which would more than likely be a major disappointment for her. Put that .243 behind that ear and she'll more than likely see the hog fall where it is standing. This is not like telling someone to neck shoot a deer....the target is much larger.

Shoulder shot

The neck and head are as large as any other portion of a hog and usually they aren't moving much when you take a shot, if the hog is running she'll need to lead it (shoot in front of the shoulder) any way.

Have faith... she can do it!

A lot depends on where you hunt. I've had a 100 pound hog I hit through the heart with a 270 run over 60 yards into some thick stuff. Don't want to put your daughter in that position. Never had one run off with a decent head shot. They may kick a bit, but they aren't going anywhere.

All the issues we've had recovering hogs at the ranch are with guys who tried to play it safe and take a shoulder shot. I say bust 'em in the head and watch em drop right there.

If you don't take the head-shot advice, be careful taking the 'behind the shoulder' shot. Like you said, the vitals are further forward in a hog. Bust the shoulder, fairly low, not behind it. A little far 'behind' in a kid's view, and you've got a gut-shot hog running off you'll never recover.

Good luck and enjoy...

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Ooops, just reread and realized you hunted this past weekend, so I was too slow on the draw. Any luck on your trip???

One thing I will say about the head shot, is if you hit the hog right, it will go down and stay down. If you are off, then the chances are you just saved yourself a long tracking job, because if the hog runs off you can pretty much be assured that he is long gone and still running somewhere.

You won't find much blood, whereas with a shoulder shot you may have a dead hog, because he will more than likely run off, usually even with a good shot or bad, and he may or may not bleed much depending on how fat the hog is.
So then you are stuck with the delema of the unknown.

Do you keep looking when all I found is just a little or no blood at all, was it a lethal shot or was it a flesh wound, so I still have to look as if it were?

With the head shot they are down or gone, and if gone chances are they will live to eat and breed another day, and you aren't going to catch up with them.

Example: I shot a huge boar with my .223 a couple years ago, and put the crosshair behind the ear. Pulled the trigger, and the hog goes down, just as many others had done before.

It's kicking and then lies still, and I head toward the hog with the thought, "well now the work starts" and just about then, the hog jumps up and takes off.

I looked for that hog for several hours and didn't find a drop of blood, and only broken branches where he ran.

Watched for buzzards the next day and several days later still didn't see any sign if it died or not!

South Texas brush country, what doesn't stick you will usually have fangs and bite you, so the ear shot is the only option!