.357 load for wild hog hunting?

[tgd31968]

Not to sidetrack this discussion, but I am very interested since we have been talking about going to Ga and hog hunting with my nephew who moved there.

I was thinking of picking up a model 29 for this. (I have always wanted one, so this is just the excuse). Sounds like it is enough gun if properly loaded.

My question, though, is the meat worth eating or is particularly gamey? If you do eat them, do you typically smoke the bacon, hams etc or eat it as is?

TD

 

[Skip Sackett]

TD,
The meat taste is area specific. Just like our deer here in Northern Indiana. They are grain fed and there is no gamey taste at all. Go into the backwoods of Northern Minnesota, different story.

We have harvested several and I will tell you this, the wilder they are, the more they eat naturally from the woods, the gamier they taste. From the ones in Oklahoma, which were on a feeding system and ate mostly corn, to the ones in Tennessee, that ate grubs and acorns and such, there was a world of difference in taste.

To be honest, we have them all ground up into sausage with a mild seasoning and everything is good. Never smoked the bacon or hams.

It will depend on what you want from your hogs though. You can have it made into anything you want.

Have fun though!

Don't believe what you hear about them though. They are smart, can see well and have a nose like a blood hound. Working them on the stalk can be a ton of fun!

Be safe though! Have fun!

 

[parabarbarian]

A revolver w/4" bbl would be adequate but not ideal.

The first feral pig I ever shot took two hits from a 308 to stay down permanently. Kind of made me skittish and the next time I wondered if I needed a bigger rifle . Fortunately, about two years later a friend convinced me to try feral pig with a Marlin in 357 magnum. I had a blast and went out afterwards and bought an 1894C. I hunted pigs with that Marlin until California went soft on the condor. After I figure out a good load for the 140 gr Barnes, I'll probably use it again.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I feel a .357 or .44 Magnum levergun is the perfect cure for a hog/pig hunt. It's fast on running game, holds a lot of rounds and it's short for in the woods. What's not to like?

 

[David Sinko]

I killed my one and only hog earlier this year. I used a 240 gr. SWC with a stiff charge of 2400 in my Mountain Gun (the Elmer Keith load). A friend used his Guide Gun with my .45-70 heavy handloads and a .45 Colt Blackhawk with my heavy LBT handloads. All bullets completely penetrated the 300 lb. hogs. Another party was using Winchester 12 gauge 3" magnum slugs which failed to completely penetrate the head and neck with two shots (the slugs were too soft for the velocity) but did get the job done. The most instant kill was actually with an AK-47 using heavy steel jacketed Russian softpoints which I suspect were not so soft after all. One round behind the shoulder completely penetrated and dropped it instantly. If you can put a good .357 bullet where it needs to go, it will get the job done.

Dave Sinko

 

[Paul5388]

I was really thinking about switching from buckshot to a .50 BMG Barrett. Got to have something that will penetrate the armor plated hogs you know.

 

[38-44HD45]

I've not killed many hogs, but I can tell you that they are not all that hard to kill, assuming good bullet placement. A .357 may not be optimum, but it will kill them. About a year ago, I worked up a .357 load for my Marlin 1894 carbine, using WW296 powder (same as H110) and 187gr. gas check hardcast bullet from Cast Performance. My load runs 1914 fps. from the carbine, and 1542 fps. from a 6" Ruger Security Six. It is a handful to shoot from a handgun, but it will poke holes through hogs efficiently. I would NOT recommend shooting this load from a K-frame, but L and N frames and Rugers should be fine. Keep in mind, a cast bullet can be run faster than a jacketed bullet of the same weight without getting excessive pressure.

 

[LC '92]

Honestly, some of you guys spend too much time behind a keyboard and not enough time hunting hogs. We shoot them here with whatever is at hand. Shot a nice sow with a .17 HMR while squirrel hunting. One shot to the ear flap and she was doing the Curley Shuffle. We hunt squirrels here with a .22 magnum or the .17 so if a hog walks by we can ear hole him.

The problem most folks have is they shoot them behind the shoulder. Nothing back there but a little lung and lots of guts. Hogs should be head shot anyplace from the ear to the base of their neck.

First wild hog I ever killed I shot with a .40 S&W Glock 23. One shot at about 35 yards and it was over. Some cheapy FMJ practice ammo if I remember correctly. Hit him where his neck meets his shoulders. I usually carry a .44 Special, but a good .357 would be fine. Any load, they are not hard to kill if head shot. I'd shoot one with my Super .38 if I came across one while carrying it. Sometimes I carry my Marlin Camp Nine in 9mm and don't feel undergunned at close range.

I guess if I was wanting to choose a specific load for the .357 to hog hunt with, I'd load 158 XTP's over a honking charge of H-110 or 2400 and try that. I just bought some 124 gr. HP/XTP's to load in my Super for the upcoming deer season. We usually kill lots of hogs while deer hunting and this is what I think I'm going to try.

 

[Skip Sackett]

This is the exit wound from a 240gr XTP from a Marlin 1894 @ about 1800fps (give or take 50fps) fired from about 50 yards away. The entrance hole was, and I say, was, the right eye.

This one didn't move except to do the "curly shuffle" as well.
I understand there is a hog problem in Texas. I understand that folks just want to kill them, they don't care how or how humane. Okay, and I'm not a tree hugger or anything like that but, still, I want to have a clean kill. I think that is what hunters are all about. Being humane while taking game. I want enough gun/bullet/velocity to make that happen.

If you go below this line, you are going to see blood and gore. Just wanted to warn you!

These were a bit bigger. Still, my sow was taken with a Marlin 1894 too, it just wasn't mine! I borrowed this one then bought my own!
This time though, the hog was running right to left @ 40 yards, I shot offhand and the projectile was a 250gr H&G #503 powered by a healthy charge of WC820, a military surplus powder, still about 1800fps. It hit right behind the shoulder, where their kill zone is, and it dropped, dead right there. Son #2, in the photograph too, shot his with a .30-06 and it dropped right there too.
Shot in about 30ft from one another.

Here:

FWIW

 

[Paul5388]

Maybe there's a need for some hog anatomy? WILD BOAR ANATOMY, HUNTING WILD BOAR TEXAS, TEXAS HOG HUNTING HEART LUNG SHOT PLACEMNET

 

[Skip Sackett]

Are you trying to tell me that none of the shots administered by us in the pictures above were really "kill" shots? Them puppies are in the freezer Paul! (Well, they used to be anyway! )

 

[Paul5388]

It is widely understood or rather misunderstood that a wild boar is some sort of super armored beast that is almost impossible to kill. Amazing campfire stories are told and repeated of how well placed shots on the beast fail to bring them down. It's not that the animals are so tough, rather, the kill zone is so small! ... SO PLACING A SHOT BEHIND THE SHOULDER INTO THE RIB CAGE WILL NOT HIT THE HEART LUNG AREA (PUMP STATION)! SHOTS MUST BE PLACED INTO THE MID SHOULDER REGION OR NECK (neck shot is only for high powered rifles.

That's just to ensure you get your humane kill. I'm still just for extermination, so wherever it's hit is good!

 

[BearBio]

As a biologist who partially paid for grad school by guiding on California pigs (seen over 100 shot, maybe 200)., let me throw out some biology and experience:
1. Pigs and boars are the same animals with 36, 37, or 38 chromosomes. The difference is caused by a long chromosome breaking and the "sticky ends" (an actual biological term) staying together.
2. Pigs and bears are not closely related. This is based on molar shape. Pig and bear molars have 4 cusps (bucodont)==same as humans do. Evolved to handle an omnivorous diet.
3. Pigs will develop traits of boars within 2 generations but not in "months". Traits include gristle shield around the shoulders, striped young, "razor-back".

4. A pig's heart and lungs are lower in the body than a deer. A normal heart shot MAY hit the vessels above the heart. Also, muscle and fat above the spine may be misleading as will the ridge of hair that they develop.

Experience:
Have seen pigs shot with everything from 22 rimfire to 45-70 and .458. The 45-70 got away (see #4 above-bullet hit the top pf a process on the spine, stunning the animal for about 15 minutes).

The only animal I wounded and ever lost was a sow about 150-175 pounds. Got her in the liver (left a 4" square piece on the ground) with a 300 Win mag. My only excuse was it was a 300 yd running shot and I was comfortable making those at that time. She was in the open. We tracked her 1/2 mile (finding a piece of intestine and lots of blood) through heavy brush and then the trail stop.

Saw a boar with both front legs shot off by a poacher and healed. Saw another with a poacher's arrow in his liver. Watched him stumble across a barley field. Rancher watched him for several weeks. He lived. We've cleaned two with old bullets in their legs that broke the bone and one with a healed broadhead in it (all wrapped up in cartilage). So, not all are poor shots. They are tough. We listened to one fight off a pack of wild dogs one night.

Guns: I recommended a 270 or better=maybe a 25-06 if I knew the hunter was a good shot and we expected to catch the hogs in the open. GOOD QUALITY bullets that retain weight-I used 180 gr Noslers in my 300. Good old 30-06 can't be beat.

Handguns: Having killed maybe 2 dozen, excluding "mercy shots" with handguns: here's my recommendation: .41 magnum, solid, hard cast lead (the 41 seems to penetrate better than a 44). I would probably use a Blackhawk 45 Colt with heavy (300 gr) hardcast, myself. Stay away from hollow points unless hunting for the larder (100 pounds or so). I've twice seen 44 mag 240gr hollow points bounce off a pig's skull. As I write this I have a 180 gr 45 acp load that looks unfired except for rifling grooves and hair stuck in the tip. I shot that one and it went almost completely through a 180 pounder that then tried to eat me. A hardball to the skull dropped him.

Personal use of 357 magnum. I used it on two hogs.The first was a 120 pound boar. My biggest sow, the second, was shot once with a 300 mag (She pivoted as I fired and we took the left rear leg almost completely off), one in the gut with a 357, I then put 5 from the 357 just behind her ear (left a major bruise under the skin). She turned to go after me and as she ran by, my buddy put a 300 mag in her ear. All shots except the first were at under 10 feet. She weighed out at 260 pounds on a cattle scale. I was using a Ruger GP-100 with a 4" barrel and 180 grain handloads with silhouette bullets (exposed, crimped lead at the tip).

Conversely my two largest hogs (a 235 lb 3.5" tusker and a 180 lb, with 4.25" tusks both dropped to one shot=a 180 Nosler through the lungs).

There's my 2 cents for what's it worth==take it or leave it.

Incidentally, I originally wanted to do my MS thesis on wild pig social structure.

 

[What the]

I hunt them from tree stands and shoot them in the head with a .357 loaded with 180 grain hard cast gas checked slugs and they drop in their tracks. We keep the backstraps and grind the rest. They really have become a nuisance in some states.

If you grew up on a farm like I did you know that a .22 can kill anything that you butcher for meat, nothing complicated about it, like LC 92 pointed out, "ear shots" with just about any caliber gun will put em down, usually without even the curly shuffle.....

 

[Paul5388]

Since we're discussing Texas hogs, it might be good to look at this thread on Texas Boars TEXASBOARS.COM :: View topic - VIDEO - HYPER-VELOCITY ROUNDS - WHAT LOAD TO CHOOSE The videos, a pretty good ways down on the page, may help dispel some of the myths of bullets for hog hunting. They do seem to prefer rifles, with some using .300 Win Mags.

 

[Skip Sackett]

This may be a rhetorical question but, why would anyone want to kill an animal inhumanely? I get the extermination part but even a rabbit deserves to go quickly or a Texas hare for that matter.

Ever used a 12ga with #9 shot for mouse?


Even rabid dogs deserve to go quickly in my opinion and it gives the firearms junky a reason to get another gun!

 

[Paul5388]

Yep, I always try for a direct humane hit on roaches, that's why I use Black Flag Insecticide (This stuff just kills me!)

 

[off road]

One has to take this all with a grain of salt! For instance, a 300 mag is fine if you are in wide open country and your shots are long, but if you are shooting at close range it would be ridiculous.

For me, if I hunt anything at all, I want to do it with a handgun. If it's out of handgun range....well then I had better work on my stalking skills!

 

[Will Carry]

I have never shot at a hog but this is a very interesting thread. It would seem that a hog is some kind of armored pig and you really need an anti-tank gun to kill one. Yet other posters say a 22LR inside the ear canal will work. I'm confused, but this sure is entertaining! I carry a GP-100 as a woods gun with 125gr JHPs from Black Hills, but it's not for hunting. It just seems that if a .357 will go through a drivers side door, then through a passenger side door but won't go through a hog??? It makes my head hurt thinking about it.

 

[Paul5388]

There were a lot of buffalo killed with .45-70s. I don't think a hog is anywhere close to the same category and I don't think there will any shortage of hogs in the near future (unless the now legal helicopter hunts do it).