these are the sort of idiots that give hunters a bad name
Care to elaborate on why you think he's an idiot?

I'm curious to know how many who have commented have actually hunted or even fired such a large handgun.
A .50 cal. handgun is massive, the largest production handgun made. I've never fired one, but I have fired a .44 magnum and it kicks like a mule. Big game guides use them as an emergency backup gun when hunting in Grizzly Bear country, so I believe the .50 cal would be quite adequate for a wild boar.
Unless one is very close, head shots are not recommended simply because it's a smaller target than the heart/lung area of the chest. The caliber is not as important as shot placement. Most big game animals are extremely tenacious. Even when mortally wounded they can run for hundreds of yards before going down unless you hit the spine or head.
The point of hunting is to kill with the first shot, so that the animal dies instantly and without pain.

I thought every hunter knew that if you're not going to kill with first shot, you don't shoot.
Yes, in a perfect world that is the ideal. However, even the best shots can miss the "bullseye" and wound an animal. This was an 11 year old boy, probably the first time he ever fired a gun at a big game animal, and this just wasn't any ordinary boar; this one was massive. Anyone familiar with the term Buck Fever-*nervous excitement of an inexperienced hunter*. Anyone who has ever hunted should be quite familiar with the condition.

It disgusts me. If you aren't sure of your kill you don't shoot. The meat will also be near useless, apart from the internal bleeding and a possibly ruptured stomach the muscle will be all tough from the adrenalin and the three hours anerobic resperation.
On the contrary, kudos to this group for tenaciously tracking this wounded animal till they bagged it, instead of letting it go to waste. Proper and prompt field dressing would salvage most of the meat. Wild boar is naturally somewhat tough and gamy (they have to work for their food) when compared to farm raised pork. Proper preparation, aging and smoking, grinding into sausage make them quite palatable.

The wild boar in that area of the country are breeding with escaped domestic hogs and are their population is exploding like rabbits. They have no natural predators to keep them in check, except hunting by humans. They are causing serious damage to area farmers crops and fields. They use their snouts to roto-till the crop fields and can ruin a farmer's lively-hood almost overnight. They mainly feed at night and are very intelligent.