I have been wondering for a long time. I know if you shoot an elk in the back leg it can't get up so you can go up to it and shoot it. Since a hog is worthless if you pick up by its back legs will a hog be the same way as an elk if you shoot it in the back leg?

Never heard of that....seems like a waste of meat and a harder shot than just making a kill shot in the first place....

A hog will just drag itself off....regular kill shots....head and chest area....

Two weeks ago I shot a big boar on the run. First shot shattered it back leg and it didnt lose a step! Second shot landed him a dirt nap!

What makes a hog worthless ?

I guess the right world is powerless.

Nope. I've seen a 3-legged hog missing a rear leg. Heard of others. Like SnakeWrangler says, just make the kill shot and be done with it.

I see , a hog will run with a leg bone shot in half ,doesn't matter which leg it is
Best shot is to drop it first shot ,,,,,,,head or neck , ,,, or heart ,lung shot, the later probably
Going to run about 50 yards

just get a bullet in them....

Shot a boar a few years ago on the run by our tank first shot was quartering too me hit on front shoulder and angled back into guts. Second shot was a fleeting attempt to stop him before brush line I shot for texas heart shot on a running hog... it didn't anchor him. Little bit later tracked him and the second shot took his back right foot off at the hock and it didn't slow him down a bit and that was after a 150 grain 270 through the boiler room.

This image shows two of the first three shots on a hog, all quartering away. He is already dead at this point, but does not know it. He was knocked down and got back up.


This shows one of the first three shots (likely shot #3) where it exited the hind leg after ruining the tibia. The other 3 shots are quartering away shots after it changed direction and tried to get away. He got about 40 yards with a broken hind leg, during which time he was knocked down a second time and got back up.

Head/neck... Why wound any animal?

Shoot it at the base of the ear. If you ca t make that shot then go for heart/lungs

Here you go.

Inhumane: without compassion for misery or suffering. Cruel.
If done accidently, that's different. Have respect for whatever animal your hunting. Kill it quickly.

I have shot 2 three legged pigs. One actually still had the front leg, but it was tucked up under him. The other was missing the rear leg at the knee. There is another that I have seen only once, his day is coming.

Head. High shoulder maybe. Hogs are tough. Seen some of them takes shot and act like they weren't even hit. Crazy stuff.

Here's diagram of a hog's innards that might be of some help in figuring out where to put your shot:

I've had the best DRT results with neck shots.
Taken plenty with heart/lung shots when I can't get a clean neck shot.

The lung on that diagram seems a bit big, extends too far back. Never saw one with a lung extending back to mid body...

One of my problems with "vitals" (heart/lung) shots is that more often than not they run for a bit, making them difficult to find. In the vast majority of cases a head or neck shot presents itself somewhere during the encounter. Head/neck shots generally take the animal down instantly.

No offense, mikei, but this is one of the most terrible hog anatomy images out there. Many of the features are shown wrong and improperly labeled. If you look carefully, you will see that the right front leg has 2 humeri connected end to end, the lower one replacing the radius and ulna. The thoracic vertebrae are labelled "Neck Vertebrae" which would be the cervical vertebrae and the thoracic are the chest/thoracic cavity vertebrae. "Main artery" and "Main Vein" are interesting names, but not correct and the main vein is shown as a loop. The lungs are impossibly large. The pelvis is all wonky and it would appear that in place of the tibia, they have put another humerus.

I was being nice, but yes, it is pretty bad... And no offense mikei....

When I use to hunt South Texas, we had plenty of hogs. We always tried for head or neck shot. You'd get hazed some if you brought one in shot anywhere else...LOL If you missed at a feeder, just wait a few minutes & they'd usually be back. We always looked for "eaters", which were sows between 60 & 120 lbs. We had an undocumented ranch hand that would skin & quarter it for $5, but he'd keep the neck if it wasn't blown up too bad. Some great BBQ ribs slow cooked over those mesquite coals!

In the face.

Why would one shoot an elk in the back leg?