Thread: Backcountry Hunting Podcast - interview with Kiwi Nathan Foster

Originally Posted by No.3

You're right, but on it's day, the humble pig would be one of the toughest we have on NZ. As a young fella sat morning job I worked with my cousin doing farm kill, the only animals I saw where the bullet did not penetrate the skull between the eyes (.22LR point blank) were pigs. The majority dropped instantly, but the only animals where it didn't were pigs. The odd concrete skull...

Came across a crash one morning heading to a farm to start the days killing, the car was rooted front pushed right in bonnet up, engine down usual good front end thud with the addition of some black fluff. Driver was sore and pretty angry, we asked what happened and he said a pig jumped out and crossed in front of him and no chance to avoid it. So where is the pig (being farm kill processors the cousin was looking to make a buck off newly tenderised pork). From the damage to the car we were expecting to find it dead at the side of the road but couldn't see it anywhere...

Driver said it didn't even stop running long enough to look back at what got it, boom car stuffed written off pig bounced and straight back on it's feet and gone. Normally horses and cows you break legs and drop them if you hit them, not that pig. They aren't all like that, but on their day pigs can be surprisingly tough.

I've seen a sheep head deflect a 300BLK sub. Knocked it out cold before it woke up once we threw in in the ute tray and its throat was cut. Had a scar running along its skull where the bullet had grazed it. Id say no penetration is more due to the fact pigs skulls are shaped like a ramp (as well as being pretty solid).

In terms of other anecdotal incidents. Just like people I believe there are just animals that have more will to live than others but they die just the same they might just travel further.

If pigs are in anyway able to stop a bullet reaching the vitals from a broadside shot I would be happy to be proven wrong. I can tell you that 64 Grain Speer gold dots exit quite readily from pigs through both shoulders. The biggest boar I've shot had a 147 ELD Match exit the offside shoulder and thats a piddly weak match bullet.