Handgunning Hawgs

[TSadler]

With a Ruger 44, how close should you get to a hawg to kill it? Is 20 yards too far?

[Builder45]

Depends on your bullet and load. With correct bullet placement and a fullhouse load I would feel comfortable any where up to 50 yds but that is just with my experience. A veteran handgunner may say more or less but that is what I consider myself capable.

[HogginHank]

Hey Tracy. I use my Ruger 357 Mag with 158 grain bullets out to about 23 yards where my feeders are placed. I have knocked down 3 hogs and 4 deer with my 357mag. As you know I just purchased a Ruger 44 mag but I'm not sure what kind if distance I would have compared to the 357mag . My buddy that does a lot of hog hunting with pistols says he shoots them out to 40 yards with 200 grain 44 mag rounds . He home loads so he is pushing a pretty good amount of powder. I would probably feel safe out to 30 yards with a 44 mag but I'm just guessing..

[TSadler]

Ok, great! So Steve and sit with me and shoot hogs with his pistol and I'll get them with my bow!

[8X56MS]

Reminds me of a hog hunt in Baker County FL, many years ago. I was after a big tusker, that had eluded me for years. Hunting in a swamp near the St Mary's River, I followed that darn hog deeper and deeper into the swamp, wading from hammock to hammock.
Finally, pulling myself up out of the water by climbing up a dangling limb, I found myself face to face with that dratted hog.
He charged, I shot. The 240 grain Sp from the 7 1/2 inch Flat Top Ruger took out the back of his skull. He landed on me at full speed, knocking me into the water, and pushing me below. I finally got untangled, and my head above water.
The hog was dead, I lost the darn Ruger for a bit in the water, and had to cut the thing up to get it the two miles back to the road.
Range was about 8 inches, so I guess a .44 mag is pretty effective at that distance :)
Personally, I recommend a little more distance between the hog and the hunter.

[TSadler]

Holy cow, 8!

that's some story! I'll try to keep them a little further away. :D

[Varmint Hunter]

I saw two hogs that weighed 300+ shot with the 44mag. One was shot with the Federal premium 300gr castcore bullet and the other was shot with a handloaded 240gr XTP. Both of them kicked the crap out of those beasts. The XTP left some nasty holes. Range was 30-45yds. 44mag will do the job.

I shot a 325lb boar with my 454 Casull. A handloaded 300gr Swift A-Frame bullet was shot through the thickest part of his grizzle plate. Distance was 43 yards. Not only did the bullet easily penetrate the plate, it blasted right out through the opposite side. Boar left a 3 foot wide blood trail for about 40yards. Ol' porky makes for a nasty mount in my office.:D

http://www.hunt101.com/img/062248.jpg

[rick savage]

we normally use knives or tie but i do carry a 45 long colt for bad boys. never shot long distance with the pistol, but up close it;s nasty

[Riposte1]

I have shot and seen a few hogs shot(Russian Boar mostly but some mixed breeds) in TN. We hunt exclusively with handguns, rifles are sort of "cheating" (not really, we are probably just stupid :-) ).

Range, depends on the shooter and the type of hunting. If you hunt from a stand and have a rest (I dont), you can shoot farther with confidence than if you are chasing a boar through the woods and shooting on the move (Been There Done That but didn't intend to do it that way).

The .44 works as good as anything else (but not better) above .40 caliber. A .357 will probaly even work but most of the guides I have talked to sort of shun it and the one my partner took was an "adventure" in which he actually had to use his speed loader (yet all his bullets hit the heart).

The last 4 hogs I have seen killed were with a .45 Auto. Except for one where I fiddled around with light bullets, they worked just fine with one shot each.

My rule of thumb is to take a paper plate to the range and shoot offhand at it with the gun/sight you plan to use. Find the range at which you stop hitting it 100% of the time and then cut that range by 1/3 or 1/2 (due to the dynamics of hunting live critters) and that is your maximum range.

Happy Trails.
Riposte

"Adventure is the result of poor preparation" - Mark Twain