How Much Pistol For Pig?

[Stonepointer]

I don't know how many of you have ever hunted pig with a handgun, but I have been very curious as to how big a sidearm should be used at taking down a decent sized meat pig between 100 to 150 pounds?

Having seen an episode of Pigman awhile back I watched the star of this show empty almost an entire clip from an autopistol on a charging pig that was at least certainly dangerous (becuase it was charging) but seemed to be about an average size porker for meat in regards to weight. It did not drop until it was about 3 to 5 feet from the host; that is just way too close.

Probably, I know most will say .44 Remington Magnum for serious handgun hog hunters.

I currently can only hunt pigs in the shadow of the bird, limiting my choices to copper-only rounds. I bought some 200 grain XPBs; they seem a little light on weight and would prefer about 220 to 240 grains, but the velocity is good enough for the powder charge given at about a little over 1400 fps.

I would like the barrel on this sidearm to be a bit longer to at least give some more safety in distance from the pig.

So if you are a handgun hog hunter, what do you feel comfortable hunting them with?

 

[hks95134]

Hunting with a pistol requires at least a 44 Rem magnum. The next bigger is the 454 Casull. Then they get really big after that like the 500 S&W and the 45-70 Govt. Don't let anyone kid you that a 357 works for pig or else you will end up as pig fodder.

The need for a long barrel of at least 8 inches is to add weight to the revolver for controlling recoil, although it coincidentally also gives you greater accuracy.

 

[Stonepointer]

Thanks hks95134.

So would you think the 200 grain coppers are too light?

I am inclined to think that they are myself, but they were the only ones they had in stock at the time for my sidearm. Like I said I would prefer to throw some extra weight from 220 grains to 240.

 

[boarcrz]

I think its more of bullet design than caliber assuming you are to avoid frontal shot. I wouldn't shoot at pigs coming directly towards me. I would wait for side/around ear hole shot. I've shot pigs with .357, 44 mag and .40 s&w with much success.
I have a buddy who's also on this board only shoots .454 casul when he uses handgun and he can chime in to attest why he would only shoot .454 or better. IMHO, I would go bigger especially with copper bullet. Most of those pigs I shot with copper bullets took few more steps before they pile up compare to leaded. Hope this helps.

 

[Stonepointer]

I would want to avoid a frontal shot by all means and would prefer a side shot with some amount quartering away for an lower opposite shoulder shot. If this is not the right shot to opt for, please let me know.

Looking at the .44 mag data for this pistol bullet fired from a Contender it gave about 1430 fps at the low end and up to almost 1600fps at the max load.

Kinetic Energy on the lower loads for the 200 grain bullet was fine at closer ranges, but down range it dropped about over 200 pounds from 900 FPE to 650 FPE at 60 yards at least on computer ballistic calculation, of course real life will certainly bring different results.

The big brag on this round is it's expansion but it will have to get in there first.

 

[hntboar]

I personally hunt with a .454 Casull. Only reason I upped to this caliber was be due to a hunt I had at ligget 20 plus years ago. I tracked a huge boar into the brush and got within 15 yards of it as it was hiding under a brush patch and laying motionless. He laid there as I moved though the tunnels I spotted it and looked like it was dead. I moved a little closer and I cracked a twig and I saw the ear twitch. Scared the you know what out of me! I pulled back the hammer on my Dan Wesson .44 mag and let it fly. Hit it broad side and the boar got up and parted the thick brush like it was the Red Sea? A few of my friends tried to get a few shots at it as it ran though the hills and canyon. We ended up tracking it for about 3 miles that day and then came back the next day and tracked it for another mile where we found it had bedded down for the night. A pile of blood but no boar. Lost the tracks after that and never ended up finding it. Estimated to be close to 300 lbs. on the hoof with about 3 inches of tusks exposed at the jaw. Since then I put away my .44 and use the Casull. Not to say that pigs can't be killed with a lesser caliber, it is about bullet placement and in the brush you don't always get the best opportunity and many times they are headed right for you in the brush as well. So when I shoot I want to put the biggest hole in the pig as possible. Hopefully drop it or at least be able to track it or scare it the other way if I miss! LOL! Hope this helps.

 

[mike_cook82]

It's all shot placement. Jihadists have been put down at a charge with a mere 9mm. A 44 mag will do just fine. You will get more penetration out of a 9mm than you will a .45. No offense but if you want to shoot pigs with your secondary, look up the ballistics charts for your ammo. And not the FPS, you want to see the ballistic Coefficient. That's essentially the energy transfer of the bullet. That's your true damage.

 

[inchr48]

Stonepointer, some data through my chrony for your reference. My Contender is a 10" barrel. I've not shot the Copper (Barnes DPX) through the chrony. They won't stabilize with the slow twist in the Marlin. Now I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter (7.5" barrel) to add to the mix.

240 XTP
Contender: Avg. 1598 Spread 20
Marlin 1894: Avg. 1815 Spread 50

225 FTX
Contender: Avg. 1506 Spread 20
Marlin 1894: Avg. 1727 Spread 9 (Tightest group also)

 

[Stonepointer]

Thanks for the info everybody.

Anyways, I really would prefer to use some of my 300 grain copper encased Busters, but they are lead core and AFAIK not allowed for use in the condor zone, but they have a fairly good coefficient. I would be much more confident in taking down a pig or almost anything else with this round.

The coefficient on these 200 grain XPB coppers are given by the manufacturer at what I believe to be at .138 and would probably change according to elevation, so the initial manufacturer's coefficient is what I used to determine the remaining kinetic energy down range from the muzzle of the data from this article:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/copper_manual/44_Rem_Mag_Pistol.pdf

In the article he is using a Contender with a 14 inch barrel, which essentially to me seems like a small rifle on a pistol platform.

I don't have a Contender or a Blackhawk, but rather a SAA Cattleman built for .44 Rem Mag, so it does not have a long barrel like the one used in this article or even near equivalent to Inchr48's 10" barreled Contender.

Real world results I would hope might be similar to Inchr48's Ruger BH, but my barrel is a little bit shorter, so I wouldn't know for sure. I have already had to replace the firing pin on it once from running rounds at higher than average velocities.

So I would not be able to tell what kind of performance it would be capable of unless I can find my old Chrony (somewhere unknown in my garage and I sure hope I took the battery out) and see what this will do from my Cattleman.

I took a look at Pigman's video again this time on Youtube and he said he was using a Taurus 9mm, but had to empty the entire clip into this charging wounded pig head-on where it did not drop until it was very close him. The hog was a little bigger than I first recalled, so it must have been a pretty hairy event.

 

[hks95134]

Thanks for the info everybody.

Anyways, I really would prefer to use some of my 300 grain copper encased Busters, but they are lead core and AFAIK not allowed for use in the condor zone, but they have a fairly good coefficient. I would be much more confident in taking down a pig or almost anything else with this round.

The coefficient on these 200 grain XPB coppers are given by the manufacturer at what I believe to be at .138 and would probably change according to elevation, so the initial manufacturer's coefficient is what I used to determine the remaining kinetic energy down range from the muzzle of the data from this article:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/copper_manual/44_Rem_Mag_Pistol.pdf

In the article he is using a Contender with a 14 inch barrel, which essentially to me seems like a small rifle on a pistol platform.

I don't have a Contender or a Blackhawk, but rather a SAA Cattleman built for .44 Rem Mag, so it does not have a long barrel like the one used in this article or even near equivalent to Inchr48's 10" barreled Contender.

Real world results I would hope might be similar to Inchr48's Ruger BH, but my barrel is a little bit shorter, so I wouldn't know for sure. I have already had to replace the firing pin on it once from running rounds at higher than average velocities.

So I would not be able to tell what kind of performance it would be capable of unless I can find my old Chrony (somewhere unknown in my garage and I sure hope I took the battery out) and see what this will do from my Cattleman.

I took a look at Pigman's video again this time on Youtube and he said he was using a Taurus 9mm, but had to empty the entire clip into this charging wounded pig head-on where it did not drop until it was very close him. The hog was a little bigger than I first recalled, so it must have been a pretty hairy event.

Your 44 rem mag should be just fine.

Anyone hunting pigs with a 9mm is suicidal.

 

[hks95134]

I personally hunt with a .454 Casull. Only reason I upped to this caliber was be due to a hunt I had at ligget 20 plus years ago. I tracked a huge boar into the brush and got within 15 yards of it as it was hiding under a brush patch and laying motionless. He laid there as I moved though the tunnels I spotted it and looked like it was dead. I moved a little closer and I cracked a twig and I saw the ear twitch. Scared the you know what out of me! I pulled back the hammer on my Dan Wesson .44 mag and let it fly. Hit it broad side and the boar got up and parted the thick brush like it was the Red Sea? A few of my friends tried to get a few shots at it as it ran though the hills and canyon. We ended up tracking it for about 3 miles that day and then came back the next day and tracked it for another mile where we found it had bedded down for the night. A pile of blood but no boar. Lost the tracks after that and never ended up finding it. Estimated to be close to 300 lbs. on the hoof with about 3 inches of tusks exposed at the jaw. Since then I put away my .44 and use the Casull. Not to say that pigs can't be killed with a lesser caliber, it is about bullet placement and in the brush you don't always get the best opportunity and many times they are headed right for you in the brush as well. So when I shoot I want to put the biggest hole in the pig as possible. Hopefully drop it or at least be able to track it or scare it the other way if I miss! LOL! Hope this helps.

Great story !!!

I only used my 44 rem mag as a backup. Have since gotten rid of it though.

My 300 rum mag rifle does all the work now.

 

[hntboar]

Great story !!!

I only used my 44 rem mag as a backup. Have since gotten rid of it though.

My 300 rum mag rifle does all the work now.

Thanks HKS! Love the 300 mag! Great caliber for hogs !

 

[Deleted member 33033]

Just use a bow...they are less likely to hear where you are.

 

[hntboar]

Just use a bow...they are less likely to hear where you are.

That works too Bruce!

 

[tpuig]

under perfect conditions, most pistol rounds would probably be fine IF the perfect shot was possible. Like on a perfectly still pig, behind the ear, at close range. But I wouldn't want to be the test subject. ;-)

Although I didn't end up using them, I bought some Corbon lead free for my Ruger .44 carbine. Also had them in my 4" S&W 629. Pretty unlikely I'd ever use the revolver, but it was an excuse to lug around a heavy chunk of metal on my hip. I'd use my Ruger .44 Blackhawk with Buffalo Bore ammo if for some reason I were actually intending on hunting pig with a handgun.

 

[Stonepointer]

Well, here is a clip of the video. This was a depredation or pest clearance hunt somewhere in Texas. This pig was shot with 2 arrows to begin with so it was mortally wounded as far as I could tell.

The host had a Taurus 9mm as a back-up but as can be seen the entire magazine was emptied before the pig dropped. It could have been real close and he is lucky he did not get ripped by the hog.

Somewhere a few seconds over 2 minutes into the video is where he pops into the pig.

[YOUTUBE]watch?v=fe3WdDb44Fo[/YOUTUBE]

I must admit, I do get a kick out of watching hog charge videos, but would not want to really be in one myself.