Backup Pistol for Hog Hunting

[Dave2]

A few friends and I are planning on going hog hunting in Dec (anyone know of any good hog hunting grounds within a few hours of DFW?). I'm a complete newb at this... I think the only thing I've ever hunted for in my whole life is a place where I can get shakes in the drive-through at 3am*, so I really have no clue what's going on here...

I was thinking that it might be a good idea to carry a pistol as well as my rifle/carbine, so that if something bad happens and a clan of angry tusky animals decides to chase me, I won't have to untangle my long gun from the brush (or fumble around trying to reload its fixed magazine from a stripper clip) to defend myself. I've heard 9mm is inadequate for defense against hogs, and I want a 10mm pistol anyway, so this seemed like the perfect excuse to go pick one up. At one LGS, the guy said that the Glock 20 wouldn't have enough power, and that I should get a .357 Mag or .44 Mag revolver. Then I went to another LGS, told the guy the same thing, and he immediately said that he recommends whatever high-capacity .40 S&W pistol makes you happy, and then went on to talk about how many millions of hogs one of his coworkers had killed with his .40 S&W. Oh, and that 9mm is too weak, .45 ACP is too slow for the diameter of the bullet, and .357 Sig might work great but he's not sure.

So one "expert" is telling me that 10mm is too wussy for hogs (even though full-bore 10mm loads are supposed to be around a .41 Mag -- more powerful than the .357 Mag he recommends), and the other "expert" is telling me that 10mm is overkill, 10mm guns are hard to find, 10mm ammo is even harder to find than the gun, and that the ideal round is less powerful than one already deemed inadequate by the other "expert".

What do y'all think? Are these hot 10mm loads that I keep hearing about sufficient for dispatching angry, potentially wounded hogs? Should I skip the side-arm all together and just bring a large knife or bayonet? Perhaps a boom-box so that I can soothe away their anger with the power of music? I really don't know. (It's probably not the boom-box, though.)

* It's been a hunt that's lasted nearly four years... I'm about to give up and accept the fact that I might have to stop at IHOP or Denny's and actually get out of my car and talk to people who are entirely too cheerful if I want to meet my post-work liquid frozen dairy needs.

[Pug]

Aw, c'mon! Give the hogs a sporting chance and load up on .22 rat shot.


Otherwise, 10mm is plenty of power as a backup. DoubleTap has the 200g XTP and has worked great for me (finishing touch to a couple of boars on my father-in-law's place).

Edit: Check out http://brasstard.com/2010/01/11/in-revi ... doubletap/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[rusty86]

10 mm is plenty of round for a hog. I would agree with the general statement that it's not readily available, but that's more from a long-term standpoint and has nothing to do with shooting hogs.

I would also agree with the "high-capacity" point. If you find yourself in a situation where a hog is charging you, I'll take 14 rounds with a .40 over 7 rounds with a .45 any day. I haven't been charged by one but I've seen them close enough to realize they are a mean and intimidating creature. I think he had that viewpoint due to the fact that there are more high capacity .40's out there than .45, 10mm, etc.

[AEA]

I agree with the .357 mag or the .44 mag revolver.

[atxtj]

A .357 with corbon 200gr. hard cast lead rounds makes a great hog stopper! (and hand killer! )

[G.A. Heath]

10mm or .41 mag as a minimum. I know that a .40 will stun a good sized hog, and kill them with excellent shot placement. But if you find yourself needing a backup gun while hog hunting then excellent shot placement will be hurried at best and unlikely due to time constraints. I personally use my Ruger Super Black Hawk (SBH) .44 mag with a 7.5 inch barrel or my Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter in .44 mag as a Backup hog gun. Hardcast full power loads are my personal recommendation, most off the shelf 10mm isn't full power so either load your own or buy from a manufacturer who loads to full power.

[chuckybrown]

Guys, let me assure you, and anyone else here.....a .40 or above will do the trick. "A .40 stunning a hog"??????????? Brother, I can share with you or anyone else first hand, a .40 will kill one cold flat. Every time. If they're small enough, a 9mm will do the trick as well.

Now....from 50 yards? A different story. But as a backup weapon, strap a .40 on, and be confident. I'm a lifelong hog eradicator, and can vouch first person....

[The Annoyed Man]

Whenever my friend traps a hog in his pecan orchard, he uses a .38 special revolver to dispatch it. Here is video of a 250 lb boar being shot dead with a .17 caliber air rifle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugyO7dcF1n8.

[G.A. Heath]

Guys, let me assure you, and anyone else here.....a .40 or above will do the trick. "A .40 stunning a hog"??????????? Brother, I can share with you or anyone else first hand, a .40 will kill one cold flat. Every time. If they're small enough, a 9mm will do the trick as well.

Now....from 50 yards? A different story. But as a backup weapon, strap a .40 on, and be confident. I'm a lifelong hog eradicator, and can vouch first person....

I like, own, and shoot a number of firearms chambered in .40. However I don't drink the .40 S&W koolaid so I don't think it is a death ray. To make an accurate statement of my views regarding the .40 S&W: I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.

I have done a bit of hog hunting and seen hogs stunned to various levels, even with rifles, shot placement is key when using any commonly used firearm. A couple of real good friends loaded a hog they had taken into the back of the truck and while they were driving down the road when the driver checks his rear view mirror to see the "dead" hog looking into the cab. That hog had taken a .40S&W to the head (supposedly at 25 yards) so either it was stunned (very thoroughly) or undead. An sks solved the problem, I saw the hog when we met up with them shortly afterwards. I have personally seen hogs shake off hits, stumble, and even ignore hits, I have seen one stop shots of hogs with everything ranging from a .22magnum on upto module trucks (its used during the cotton harvest, and the truck is usually finished for the season after getting the hog). As an ethical hunter I want to use a tool that will do the job as humanely as possible, so to me a "Backup Pistol" is more for use if your getting attacked and you need to stop the hog now close in. A pistol that can do the job of hunting the animal in its own right is better than something that might or might not stop the hog in a pinch. I would not go hunting a hog with a .40 S&W because it is less likely to do a humane job and it might not do the job at all.

When planning for self defense against humans a .40S&W is less likely to stop them than a .44 mag, but we don't typically see a .44 mag used for self defense due to a number of reasons including recoil and the risk of liability from over penetration. A hog will continue to tick like a human will, even with fatal wounds so more damage is better when trying to stop one quickly when it is intent on harming you.

[rusty86]

Guys, let me assure you, and anyone else here.....a .40 or above will do the trick. "A .40 stunning a hog"??????????? Brother, I can share with you or anyone else first hand, a .40 will kill one cold flat. Every time. If they're small enough, a 9mm will do the trick as well.

Now....from 50 yards? A different story. But as a backup weapon, strap a .40 on, and be confident. I'm a lifelong hog eradicator, and can vouch first person....

agree 100%

[Dave2]

Hmm... Maybe I'll go with a .40 S&W then... I got a chance to handle a G35 a bit today; while the grip angle is still wrong, I did actually like it.

Of course, if Glock would just get on with releasing the Gen4 G20, my decision would probably be made... The only other one that I'm really considering in the "well below $1k" category is the EAA Witness Match, and I'm not sure I trust the company.

[chuckybrown]

Wow, the hate that abounds for the .40! My post wasn't necessarily an endorsement of the .40 being the "only" thing to consider carrying, but rather that you don't have to carry a hip cannon to shoot pigs. The stories of their armor and survivability are GREATLY exaggerated. AND...they just don't attack like all the STORIES you hear lead you to believe. And I speak first hand, as we run an active hog hunting operation on our lease once deer season ends. I've seen hundreds if not thousands of pigs harvested in my lifetime.

To TAM's point: if they're in a trap, I'll shoot 'em behind the ear with a .22, and they go down.

........shot placement is key when using any commonly used firearm.

Well, your point is appreciated, but isn't that true with any game animal?

To each their own. My point is this: hogs are not mystical creatures that deflect shoulder fired missiles. You clearly want to use a rifle as your first choice, or a big bore pistol for controlled close quarters hunting, i.e. 25-50 yards. But if you hit them in the vitals with almost any high power center fired round, they're allergic to lead just like all the other creatures out there, GIVEN that you take distance/bullet weight into consideration. The bigger ones can be tough skinned critters, and that can prevent the kind of physiological reaction you most often see from a bullet with alot of velocity that bounces around in a rib cage.

If you wan't my .02 cents, a .40, a .45, will do fine as a defensive/backup sidearm for piggies.

Why all the .40 hating? Come shoot my customized XDm, you'll be amazed....all my Kimber buddies say "damn, that shoots sweet! From all the forum posts I read, I was expecting the recoil to knock me out, give me amnesia, and prevent me from ever reproducing!"

[G.A. Heath]

Like I said, I don't hate the .40, but I don't drink the .40 koolaid either. To me the .40S&W is just another caliber, not a magic death ray, not a one stop shot, and definitely not something to be hated. Shot placement is key with any creature with any commonly used firearm (it's less critical with hand grenades, but their not commonly used for hog hunting ) A larger more powerful cartridge is going to do a better job stopping an animal quickly (faster is better, especially if you need to) and humanely (which you should always do).

My experience is that once hogs start running they usually keep going that direction unless there is an object in their way they can not go over, some times they they will charge a threat. Its no common but it does happen. I have seen hogs take a hit that should have dropped them immediately, but they waited till after they got over the berm to die. People will do the same thing, in a life and death struggle. Just because you get a good solid hit in the vitals doesn't mean your not going to have to go track down an animal, it means that your probably going to have less tracking to do. Hog hunting let me see how well a creature can ignore a fatal wound in the short term when the adrenaline is pumping, and this directly applies to people in a fight for their lives as well. In all honesty I really think a hardcast or jacketed .40S&W is an acceptable gun for that application, but it is not preferable and I wouldn't take one for that purpose.

[G.A. Heath]

Why all the .40 hating? Come shoot my customized XDm, you'll be amazed....all my Kimber buddies say "darn, that shoots sweet! From all the forum posts I read, I was expecting the recoil to knock me out, give me amnesia, and prevent me from ever reproducing!"

And for the XDm, I happen to have my own customized "m", in .45 ACP and I happen to have one of the first 5000 "m" pistols made, which happens to make it a .40.