The only thing I can say for certain about hunting is that there are NO certainties.
Anecdotal evidence based on my own experience suggests that JHP, especially pushed hard may not get sufficient penetration. I've not hunted hogs though I have several friends in Texas that dedicate a good deal of effort to eradicate them. My sample would be limited to Deer, Black Bear and Elk, the later two being able to absorb an impressive amount of punishment before giving up the ghost. In one such instance a friend shot a Blacktail Deer-not big as you know- perfect hit. Unfortunately the (recovered) bullet expanded to about double the caliber - just as advertised - and failed to completely penetrate even one lung. He went far and was difficult to find. This was not the first time but it was the last either of us has ever used them on game again.
My own strategy boils down to this. 1) Find or develop an accurate load with whatever you choose to hunt with, too many guys don't shoot enough, buy a box of whatever and discover that it prints no where near where they expect. 2) Use a projectile that will fully penetrate the critter. Exsanguination is the goal. Two holes bleed out faster than one. I do NOT buy the energy/shock/knock down formulas. I've seen critters absorb solid hits with little reaction, requiring a long track that during the subsequent autopsy (field dressing) amazed me that a critter could go that far with what was left of the vitals.
Two of the three fastest kills I've seen were with arrows. One on a Bear, was NOT a CNS shot but hit him right the offiswitch. The landing gear came up and he fell straight down and never moved again.
Another was when a dear friend and gentleman drew an Elk cow tag. He was well along in years, on his last Elk hunt of his life and knew he'd need help if successful. I was honored that he would share the experience with me. I was however disappointed in his choice of weapons. A 45-70 Sharps, using blackpowder as a propellant for maybe 1250 fps. At the time I was at the peak of my more velocity is better phase. I grew up in the heyday of WunderMags and believed Weatherby to be a divinely inspired man. Anyway, he was successful on the second day, she fell in her shadow. NO tracking required. We were close to camp. I still can't believe how perfectly it all went. It was the beginning of my conversion and from then on I started questioning conventional wisdom and believing what I was seeing with my own eyes.
I could go on and on but will spare you. These are things folks need to experience themselves. Hunting, for me at least, is a primal experience. Rarely has it gone according to any imagined script - a few Grouse and maybe one Deer, perhaps 1% or less of the time. Typically it is 'I was just about to give up' or suddenly, there he was, or... I can't remember a time I had a perfect shot or rest almost always offhand. I've passed on way more shots than I've taken for more reasons than I could possibly list. It's just how hunting plays out.
#3- It is easier to find a wife than it is a good hunting partner.
