bob harbison

I must agree that shot placement is very important. I have dropped hogs in their tracks with a 22 LR. I have had them run on a 300 Winchester mag., a 7 mm Remington mag., and a few even on my 45/70 (very few)! Often that 'perfect shot' is not always available. Here is where the more powerful weapons come into play. Shoot a big boar in the heart lung area with a .223 & there is a good chance he will run. The same shot with a 300 mag, 44 mag, 45/70, or, the most popular hunting round in the world, the 308, and there is a much better chance of dropping him in his tracks.
As far as, "many people would say my choice is overkill," can't help but wonder how many of these 'many people' would change their minds after being chased a few times?

the blur

I like the idea of the .243. Do they exit ? I took a deer this season, and the .243 left a massive 3" exit wound.

doubleA

That question isn't easily answered as there are variables to be considered such as bullet construction, size of hog, shot placement etc. So it's dependent on them. Will 243 Win kill a hog? Sure it will within reason.


I recently took a 100lb boar with a 243 Win using a Hornady 105 gr Amax at just over 400 yards. The bullet entered the pig's shoulder directly inline with the leg, blew up the heart and lungs and came to rest under the skin on the offside. The bullet dumped all it's energy into it and it traveled maybe 20 yards and piled up. Thinking distance and the lack of enough velocity was the reason it wasn't a pass through. Muzzle velocity is 3050fps with that load.

Here's the recovered bullet, thinking it weighed 46ish grains.