Until recently, I've hunted hogs exclusively with 30.06.
I now use it only as my daylight rifle – but if the recoil wasn't an issue, I would definitely use it with my night vision scope instead of my .270. (The vast majority of my shots are between 70 and 110 yards, so I don't worry about bullet drop).
In my personal experience, the 180 grain soft point does a good job, but can be insufficient for a instant drop - as can any round in any rifle - depending upon the hog and placement.
And a little bit of luck.
To that end, I now exclusively use 220 grain cartridges. And will do so until they start making a 221...
It will also give the opportunity to overpenetrate into another hog if they're close together. And that's rarely a bad thing.
In my mind, recoil is not an issue – when you've finally got fur in your scope, you won't even feel it. Probably not even next day unless you fire about 10 rounds - which is a helluva night of hog hunting with a bolt action rifle.
Here's a previous post describing one particular experience I had with the 220 grain.
Using a hog to dig for mushrooms... | Lone Star Boars
Regardless of the size of the anvil you're throwing down stream, the boyz are absolutely correct about the importance of shot placement.
I find low to center neck to be optimal - even if you're slightly off, you'll damage the spine or trachea.
Good hunting!
