Hog hunting rifle

A

AZ Mark

Inactive
I have never hunted anything but squirrels and that was with a shotgun. I would like to try hog hunting and I'd like to get a rifle for that. I have a Blackhawk in .45 Colt and thought maybe trying a lever action in that caliber so I can use the same ammo in both. How would the .45 work on hogs? I've read some things on this and another forum saying that large caliber heavy bullets don't really work well on hogs.
 
I found some Double Tap that runs 1775 according to the company and uses a 255 gr hardcast bullet that looks like a Keith bullet. That looks promising.

Double Tap costs less than Buffalo Bore and Cor-Bon.
 
I've read some things on this and another forum saying that large caliber heavy bullets don't really work well on hogs.
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LOL.

The last one I shot with my 45/70 would disagree with that, if he still could.

If you already had a 45 Colt rifle and wanted to know if it would work on hogs I'd say get some warm loads for it and go hunting.

But if you're starting from scratch and are going to buy your first centerfire rifle, I'd advise a rifle chambered in a rifle round such as 308. It will work even better, give you a much longer reach and would be much more versatile.
 
I second the motion for a .308, and, although pricey my preference would be a semi auto. Vepr .308 semi autos can be had for a little more than a good bolt gun, $700-900. Other more expensive options are .308 ARs and M1As. Another low cost option is an SKS in 7.62x39, I've heard of plenty of people taking hogs with them and my brother took his first deer with one.
 
Ah, but the problem is that he doesn't have a revolver chambered in .308 to match. He has a .45 Colt and wants to know if the caliber will work for hogs and it will work just fine and be good a bit beyond 200 yards, which is further than most people hunt hogs with any regularity.
 
200 yards with any 45 Colt load is a real stretch even from a rifle.

The idea of using the same ammo in rifle and pistol is appealing, but not enough to offset the very real advantages of a real rifle round.
 
Even if you were to use the same .45 Colt caliber, you might want to consider loading the ones for the rifle differently than the ones for the handgun. With a longer barrel, a slower powder might be more appropriate. On the other hand, with some of the single shot rifles, you could even load the rounds quite a bit longer than the maximum OAL for that particular caliber.

Of course, if you don't handload, this does not apply to you and you'll just have to compromise with whatever the commercial ammunition manufacturers think is right for you.

Being that you are in AZ, you might encounter longer shots that those of us who hunt hogs in SE Texas. There's places where I hunt that a hog could be 30 yds away from me and I would not see it. Some of the river bottom land has pretty thick brush.
 
200 yards with any 45 Colt load is a real stretch even from a rifle.
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A 240 gr. bullet at 1800 fps will hit at 200 yards with more energy than what a lot of the pistol hunters are getting at the muzzle for hunting hogs. So it all depends on your perspective.
 
It's not a question of energy, it a question of trajectory. A 250 grain Hornady hollow point @1800 fps will drop 17.3" at 200 when zeroed at 100. Worse, it's dropping fast because it was 11" at 180 yards. So misjudge the distance by only 20 yards and you'll be 6" off.

Yes, I know you can use a rangefinder and holdover, but why not just use a 308, aim and fire?
 
A 45 Colt with a hard cast bullet would work. How do I know? Because I know how well they work on elk and moose as well as a few bear and buffalo.

I have never hunted hogs. (I feel so deprived)
But I have to guess that anything that works on bear and elk would be fine for hogs. I also think a 308 or a 7.63X39 might be "better" but the object of the hunt needs to be defined.
If the object of the hunt is primarily to enjoy it you should use any weapon that brings you the most pleasure to carry and use.

If the primary objective is to kill hogs for control or for meat I'd have to say an auto-loading military rifle is going to beat all others.

I know some avid hog hunters in Oklahoma and one in S. Carolina thay tell say the "new standard" has become the AK-47 for most of the hunters that need to kill hogs to thin them out. 30-30 like ballistics in a rifle that has almost no kick, and is utterly reliable.

There are many others options.

As long as you can get a good wound channel clear through the piggy I doubt it would matter much.
 
.45 LC would be fine for limited distances of an iron sighted lever gun. Make sure it will digest your Blackhawk "Ruger Only" loads.

Another option is a .454 Casull lever gun which would also shoot your .45LC, but has room to grow for really big stuff.
 
It's not a question of energy, it a question of trajectory. A 250 grain Hornady hollow point @1800 fps will drop 17.3" at 200 when zeroed at 100. Worse, it's dropping fast because it was 11" at 180 yards. So misjudge the distance by only 20 yards and you'll be 6" off.

Yes, I know you can use a rangefinder and holdover, but why not just use a 308, aim and fire?
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If energy isn't a problem, then the claim that it would be a real stretch (as you noted above) to shoot that far isn't a problem either.

So the guy doesn't get point blank ballistics out to 200 yards. He may not even be shooting 200 yards, LOL.

Why not use a .308? Simple and as already stated. He doesn't have a pistol in .308. If he wanted to ask about what was a better caliber for hunting hogs, then a .308 might have been a better suggestion, but that wasn't what he was asking. Of course, there are much better calibers than .308 for hogs, depending on your perspective.

He wants to hunt old school and wanted to know if .45 Colt would work for hogs. The bottom line is that yes it can.

You gotta let people hunt their own hunts, LOL.
 
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If energy isn't a problem, then the claim that it would be a real stretch (as you noted above) to shoot that far isn't a problem either.

So the guy doesn't get point blank ballistics out to 200 yards. He may not even be shooting 200 yards, LOL.

Why not use a .308? Simple and as already stated. He doesn't have a pistol in .308.

He wants to hunt old school and wanted to know if it would work for hogs. The bottom line is that yes it can.
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If the OP is willing to keep the distances short, the 45 Colt will work fine. I was responding to a poster who said the 45 Colt was good out to 200 yards. Sure the bullet will go that far and be deadly when it gets there, but actually hitting anything with a bullet that drops 6" between 180 to 200 yards IS a problem.

I realize the OP wants to keep the ammo the same with his pistol and that's fine, but he should realize he's giving up a lot of versatility in his ONLY hunting rifle to get ammo compatibility. IMO, that's a bad trade. His opinion (and yours) may vary.
 
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Let your pistol be a pistol. Let your rifle be a rifle. Why limit yourself just because you want to only stock a single cartridge. I see the appeal, but why? A box of 45 Colt cost you nearly the same as a box 30-06 or 308. And the rifles will be cheaper. And the Buffalo Bore ammo, while easy shooting in the rifle, will be a beast in the revolver. That's assuming your revolver is good for the high pressure ammo.

Anyway, even with that said, your Buffalo bore ammo, (as mentioned) doing 1800 fps from the rifle (as mentioned), zeroed 2 inch high at 50 yards should be 2 inches low at 150 yards and still pushing a heap of energy at that distance. It'll be just fine for hunting. Make sure you get the right barrel length. With pistol carts, longer isn't always better. Especially with big bore bullets. For instance, I find the 357 is starting to choke at about 20 inches of barrel (depending on the load). My 444 Marlin isn't really giving me much more from 22 inches as it does from 18.5 inches. I'm guessing the 45 lc rifle might be really good at 16 to 18 inches. But you should ask somebody who knows and do your research before you buy.
 
I know alot of folks that go to East Tn in the Smokies and foot hils to Hog hunt and one of the more common firearms you will see is Mini14's and Mini30's . Hogs there are as big as any but Laws have changed and you have to own the land or be helping extermanate them because there is no longer a season the land owner must want rid of them .
 
Well, I have been reading the debate about a rifle and revolver with the same cartridge for hog hunting.

Though I believe you would have no problem with your 45LC with some hotter loads in both the revolver and lever gun.

I would through this idea out there....

Buy the new BFR in 308 and a semi auto rifle in 308. Problem solved.

I have a 94 in 44 mag and a Redhawk and like that combo, but for big hogs I want to get a 45/70 lever gun to match up with my BFR 45/70.

Mel
 
A rifle in 45 Colt with appropriate ammo will work fine.
I don't know what kind of land you'll be hunting but here a 100 yards is a long shot and 50 yards is the norm.
 
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