Will the new .17 WSM hit hard enough at 50-75 yards to take down a 50-80 lb hog? 25 grain at 2600 fps. Head shot of course.

Should be plenty, I shootem in da face with a .22 wmr & .17 rem frequintly.

Yes sir!

I shoot alot of pigs and so does my father with the 17 hmr, that should be plenty of gun. My boy shot one in the belly at 70 yards with my 17hmr and it ram 100 yards and piled up.

I figured it would be enough. I am taking a friend and his son hog hunting next week. Just didn't want his son to have to shoot my heavy LR308. Thanks

It'll take down bigger pigs than that. The WSM has the same energy at 150 yrds as the HMR does at 50 yrds, or so they say. I'm trying to get my hands on a WSM as we speak, been using the HMR for years on pigs & yotes. Fun little round....

I picked one up a few weeks ago and really have been impressed with it.

Have the kids read this link on an airgun forum. The author depicts the anatomy of a pigs skull. Even has a depiction of where best to place the shot with a small caliber weapon.
Nomadic Pirates pig post

Nice cross section of the skull. I am glad people are doing this. It shows conclusively that most of the bone of the pig's skull is not thick. Not shown is that it isn't particular hard. It is just normal bone. You have a thin outer table of the skull and a thin inner table that surround the brain. There is soft tissue in between the tables, but nothing magical.

It will, but, I would imagine it is not very forgiving. Yes, shot placement is important, but with a larger caliber, a chest shot gives a much easier target for a young boy to hit. You don't want the boy to have to shoot your 308 because the rifle is large and unwieldy? or because of recoil? If it is because of recoil, get some low recoil loads. Just my opinion.