I always try to go for a lung shot, basically at the lower end of the ribcage right behind the shoulder about two inches above the sternum. This almost always results in both lungs being mouse meat. There is a pencil eraser sized entry hole and maybe a broken rib and a half dollar sized exit wound on the other side with maybe two broken ribs. That way, when you dress them out, no blood at all until you cut the diaphragm.....plus 9 out of 10 times the animal drops in its tracks and is DOA by the time I walk up to them, no hog, even the huge ones, has made it more than 50-75 feet from POI.
Their heart is right in front of the lung but behind (underneath) their shoulder scapula. That is also a great shot to anchor them and send a shower of bullet and bone fragments into their thoracic and cardiac cavities, but it produces too much meat loss and damage for me. I have shot one or two like that though by accident when I was aiming for a lung shot and missed due to their moving.
I've also taken a couple of good head shots when available, either right between the eyes head on or right behind the eye from the side. This also results in instant kills and minimal meat loss.
90% of my shots are 75-125 yards but some have been out to 250 yards, so far no problem with the mortality rate at any range, they all die quickly.
I usually carry either my SIG 229 .357SIG or Browning-Hi Power 9mm as a backup gun but have never had to use them.
