Carry Enough Gun

H

hoji

New member
Quick version of something that happened about 3 weeks ago.

Neck shot a 275+ Russian hybrid at about 125 yardswith a 150 gr core-lokt. Watched him flop twice and squealed for about 15 seconds then stopped. Watched him lay un moving for about 2 minutes.

Walked toward the kill site and the path to it is obscured by a clump of cedars. About 25 yards from the drop site, a 275+ neck shot pig charges through the cedars at me.{ I am glad I peed earlier} I dropped{and by dropped I mean tossed to the side} the .22 handgun I was holding to finish him off if he needed it and went straight to the LR308 and pumped two more into him from about 15 yards in his shoulder/rib area. DRT for real this time.

None of 150gr Core-lokt rounds exited.The neck shot turned in and got a lung, and the other two hit vitals and stopped.{ no it was not the "shield" just a very dense, thick pig}

Something to think about when "handgunning" hogs.

The best part of this is{ other than not getting neutered as a hogs last defiant act} is my lovely wife suggested that I get a more appropiate handgun to carry in the woods. I have a .44mag with a 3 inch barrel, but will be getting a Super Redhawk in 454 Casull with a 7.5 inch barrel{looked at a .44 but held the SRHand made the decision} She also sagely suggested that I leave the .22 for trapped hogs, advice I will take to heart.
 
Something to think about when "handgunning" hogs.

Good you made it out there!

I admire your bravory, tracking a wounded hog with a .22!

We do that with our rifles (7x57 = 7mm Mauser; .308; 7x64; 270; .30-06). Why downgrade your firepower when you get into kissing distance with the beast?
So IMHO my handgun is only a backup even while tracking. If I should drop my rifle while trackin or "tossing" like you did, I could still draw my handgun and pump the beast with all my handguns capacity. So - especuially with hogs - the handgun is a self defense tool, nothing more. Always.

A story: Friend of mine tracked a hog. Another little piggy, only 88# charged at him comeing out of nowhere. My friend, big tall strong man and very experienced hunter, was so shocked that he dropped his rifle and jumped hugging the tree right beside him. But being a big guy, he couldn't gain any height on that tree while the piggy went bananas, trying to get a piece of his legs or lower back. My friend screamed like a pig himself until another buddy put an end to brave piggy with a .30-06. Since I am the handgun-freak in this circle of guys, he turned to me for a solution. I connected him with another friend who was about to sell a .44 Mag 4" SW 629 and the clicked. He carries it as a backup on any hunt now.

Bottom line: As a backup!

If you were to get a gun especially for that purpose, get the Ultralite Taurus .44 Mag. You might never use it, but always carry it while hunting, so the ultralight will be perfect:

444MULTI.jpg

http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=204&category=Revolver


IMHO a Glock 19 with a 19rds magazine should do as good if you are able to hit at short distance in rapid fire. 19 well placed rounds of 9x19mm stop the hog (if you use heavy bullets).
 
I shot a 70kg boar last year with my .300 win mag. It was a handload 180gr Accubond with 76gr of RE-19 doing about 3000fps. It was a clean broadside shot bullet exited on far shoulder leaving a hole about the size of a tennis ball.

The pig dropped on the spot. Distance was about 150yd, to my amazement it got up and ran 100yds before dropping again this time for good.

They are tough buggers.......
 
G'day. I have had that feeling, no pistol though. My hunt was early morning, one large sow and two big suckers. Dropped the sow with a .270, from about 20 yards then cleaned up the two suckers as they tried to disappear into the thick scrub. I just stood my ground for maybe a minute to see what was around as the farmers cattle dog ran around looking for more pigs. I had enough time to top up the magazine on the Ruger M77. Suddenly the dog went nuts, it was harassing the sow that was now about 10-15 yards from me. I pointed the rifle (from the hip) in the direction of the pig and hit the touch pad of the red dot laser. I saw the dot on the hind quarter of the pig, adjusted the POI to the front and let rip again. That was my first pig experience.
 
when hog hunt'n i carry a 9mm as back up. never had to use it as a back up on a hog though. every shot i have made on a hog with a rifle has been through and throughs with a quick kill. i have used the 9mm before to shoot a hog that was on the right side of me while i was in a treestand. i didn't want to shoot it left handed with a rifle, so i popped it in the head with the 9mm and he was drt.

with the exception of shooting a hog during deer season while rifle hunting, i generaly hog hunt with my .50 muzzle loader or a .22lr.
 
I wouldn't argue with a man's (or woman's) choice of a handy lever gun in 30-30, but I'll stick with my .356 or .358 for handy close-range work. But that's exactly what keeps the gun and ammo manufacturers happy, different strokes, for different folks!:D
 
First, it was down and not moving or making any noise for about 2-3 minutes{ watched through scope}

I am not new to killing pigs{big part of my job, on average I kill hundreds per year}

Second, the .22 pistol is my primary weapon for dispatching them in traps and it is a good choice if they are laying on the ground and still breathing{ does not happen very often, but is is clean and effective, and does not send big gobs of brain all over the place} but now in hindsight, might not be the best choice{ hence the SRH in 454 Casull I will be picking up in April}

When carrying a backup gun while hunting potentially dangerous game, you need a gun that will STOP THE ANIMAL RIGHT NOW. There are plenty of calibers that will kill it{eventually anyway} The .308 to the neck was a fatal shot, the boar just did not do what it was supposed to do after being neck shot:) The important thing is to have enough gun in your hand to stop the threat if needed, not enough gun to eventually kill it.

For that I seriously recommend something that will penetrate through the side and punch the vitals. Yes a .22 will drop one DRT if you hit it right between the eyes, but if it is running at you, it is a tougher shot than you think{ and I am very,very good.}
 
Yes, they can be tough to put down.saw dad shoot one with a 270 perfect broadside chest shot.It ran 200 yards if it took a step.lungs were schreaded and the top of the heart was gone.
My brother shot one quartering toward him.Hit it in the chest bullet loged in the rear hip front to back right.he said it barely flinched turned around casual like walked 20 yards and fell over dead.this was a 300gr 45/70 @2100fps:eek:
 
Will someone PLEASE send some hogs to Washington state? I want a sudden and massive population explosion... That way I won't just have to read about it!
 
Inspector.... Come for a hunt down under. The top of Australia has the best results. Queensland and Northern Territory, Skulls will verify that.

New South Wales produces good pigs too. My mates have hauled as many as 30-40 pigs in a 4 day hunt, with dogs though.

I only hunt by shooting usually get around the 6.

I fly some to washington state..... Air fares are cheap enough at the moment
 
Air fare may be cheap enough but I'm in a wonderful new job. I won't have vacation until September. On top of that I owe some taxes this year. Best not to think of vacation trips right now... I would love to head your way some day though.
 
In the years I have been hunting, I have learned many things. One of those things is that there is no such thing as enough gun.

There are only two factors that matter:

1. Making a good shot. (The usual, clean kill.)
2. The animal knowing it is supposed to die to that good shot.


Factor #2 seems to be a hard one for some people (if it causes a bad experience), and, even for good hunters, sometimes leads to magnumitis.
 
I have a buddy who for years regularly fired at least 50 rounds of .44 mag each week. He bought a Taurus Raging Bull in .454. Brought it out to my place. He's good enough for IPSC-style double-taps with 260-grain max loads at ten yards.

The recoil was about the same as my Redhawk with 240-grain max loads.

It does bring a whole new meaning to LOUD!

It's pretty flat-shooting with that load. Sighted for 100, he was hitting my 185-yard hanging steel plate with great regularity.

But I don't think I'd go for lightweight. It's a controllability thing, in case the first shot at a charging hog is off the mark.

I guess the bottom line is that no matter what brand of .454 you get, make sure it's ported.
 
I want a light recoil pistol if it were for hogs... My butt is gonna be at "full buck sprint" and I will just be shooting behind me as I run for a tree... I don't have to the fastest guy in the woods... just faster than the guy with a bullet hole in his foot....:D:eek:
Brent
 
Art,

You really think I should get one that is ported? I have mixed feelings on porting. You do lose some velocity{ I am not sure it is enough to matter} but cleaning the ports is a pain:D

I regularly shoot a S&W Trail Boss{ .44 mag with a 3 inch Magna-Ported barrel} and do not find the recoil all that bad. Granted I generally do not put 100 rounds per session with it downrange, but will shoot 25-50.

I would think the longer barrel of the SRH would take a bunch of the percieved recoil.

Oh, and what did you think of the Raging Bull? I am considering one of those as well{half the price so more money for dies and components}
 
Reminds me of a funny story i heard a while back told by a Deaf mute with a little help from his hunting buddy.
Evidently the deaf mute was dove hunting one day and found a sleeping 400 pound boar under a oak tree.
The guy had a double barrel 20 gauge with 8 shot. He put the barrel right up against that boars head and let her rip.
Needless to say , it was a long run to the truck while being chased from a very damned mad hog. The hog beat the hell out of the truck door before its head wound finally got the best of him.
The stuttering and grunting from the guy really mad it funnier as he couldnt really talk well.
 
Yeah, and I won't fight anything that lives for longer than 1 second after a shotgun to the head! Must have been cleaning his shorts out!
 
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