smallest handgun that reliably penetration a boar skull or other large animaL?

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sbaker10

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assuming you can make an accurate shot but not get right up to line up a ear hole or base of the skull shot what will reliably penetrate the thick part of a boar or deer skull?

Just kind of curious because Ive read about 40sw bouncing off a deer's head from point blank range, a 44 mag not penetrating a boars head and then read about a 380 right between the eyes dropping them dead.

Anyone have any real world experience?
 
For hunting, I wouldn't use anythling less powerful than a 357 Mag
For just slaughter, a 22 LR will drop them in their tracks

Whoever "bounced" a 40 off a skull simply missed
 
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When I was working in the slaughter house I would dispatch large bovines with a 22 short. Drops then dead instantly.
 
The smallest I can think of is a .38spl snub loaded with either the Gold Dot 135g + P short barrel load or the 158g FBI load.
 
Bullet construction and placement are more important than caliber. For years the worlds record Grizzly was held by a native indian woman in Canada who killed one with a 22 rimfire.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1736370/pg1

Whoever "bounced" a 40 off a skull simply missed
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Animals like boar and bear have sloping skulls that may at times deflect even the most powerful bullets unless they hit at just the right angle. It is like skipping a stone off water. If the angle is right lots of stuff will deflect.
 
As JMR 40 says, A .40 S&W will bounce off a skull. I have both seen it happen and seen the SWAT training film and photos of when it happened.

A deer was hit by a car and laying in the road kicking. I shot it in the head with a SXT from .40 S@W and it hit and bounced.

A SWAT team in Ga shot a woman in the forehead with a .40 fired from a sub-gun and it bounced off.

Big slow bullets do funny things when they strike hard objects at just the proper angle.
 
"When I was working in the slaughter house I would dispatch large bovines with a 22 short. Drops then dead instantly"

My experience is that the animal is only stunned and blood loss from cutting the throat is what actually causes death.
 
Deja vu said:
When I was working in the slaughter house I would dispatch large bovines with a 22 short. Drops then dead instantly.
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Was it a perfectly aimed shot behind the ear or a shot to the forehead type shot? I know you can kill a bear with a .22 short but I sure wouldn't count on it to do more than annoy it the other 99%
 
sbaker10 said:
Was it a perfectly aimed shot behind the ear or a shot to the forehead type shot? I know you can kill a bear with a .22 short but I sure wouldn't count on it to do more than annoy it the other 99%
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I,m asking more along the lines of a charging pig assuming you actually hit the head or a wounded animal that is not running around but may still be dangerous to get right up next to
 
A deer was hit by a car and laying in the road kicking. I shot it in the head with a SXT from .40 S@W and it hit and bounced.

A SWAT team in Ga shot a woman in the forehead with a .40 fired from a sub-gun and it bounced off.
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A good hit would never bounce off
They simply missed and grazed them

The laws of physics won't let it happen
 
The laws of physics won't let it happen
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Someone needs to go back to school.

The front of military tanks have been designed with sloping armor since WW-2 in order to deflect shells. It works, and has been working for decades. When a bear or boar is coming directly at you the front of their skull is sloped in the same way. You simply don't aim for the head because there is a very good chance that the bullet could deflect unless you are good enough, or lucky enough, to hit the sinus cavity or an eye socket..

Now if you can get the bear to stop and give you a broadside shot into the side of his head you will probably get the penetration you want. Same reason why it is easier to take out a tank with a shot into the side rather than the front.
 
Originally posted bySYNper:

A good hit would never bounce off
They simply missed and grazed them

The laws of physics won't let it happen
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Since the OP was talking about this, the odds of a poor shot are much greater than those of a making a good shot.

Originally posted bysbaker 10:


I,m asking more along the lines of a charging pig assuming you actually hit the head or a wounded animal that is not running around but may still be dangerous to get right up next to
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In the case of the charging pig, I'd tend to go for the largest caliber I could accurately shoot, not the smallest caliber that might work. In the case of any animals that are wounded while hunting and need to be put down. Use your damn primary weapon....sheesh.
 
Whoever "bounced" a 40 off a skull simply missed
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I bounced a 357 off a buffalos head, I didn't miss. Second shot was 2 in lower and 1 inch to the right, killed it.

I've had to put down a lot of moose with a 357 in my APD days. A shot below the base of the skull, where the brain and spine connect is more effective then a front on skull shot.
 
I once went to a dump where someone had left the head of a hog neatly sawed off.It was pretty fresh and invited little ballistic experimentation.

I leaned it against a piece of of plywood and fired a wheel from my 44 mag Super Blackhawk into the forehead of the hog.

I am not sure which bullet it was,but I know it was a 240grjacketed expanding bullet.I suspect it was a Remington with the thin scalloped jacket.

It was interesting that there was a pile of bullet fragments on the ground in front of the plywood.Nothing penetrated the plywood.

That is not complaint,the bullet was made to expand.Probably would perform great going through ribs ito a chest cavity.

But for hog stopping it would be a poor choice.

Had I fired a hard cast Keith 240 gr I believe every bullet would have penetrated the plywood and then some.

For your purpose,most expanding jacketed bullets will compromise penetration.
 
Mobuck is correct. To get good quality meat the animal is only knocked out with the bullet and the animal 'bled out ' .Otherwise you get edible but not palatable meat.
 
Snyper, the deer was not grazed. it was hit and hit good.
I believe your understanding of physics is in error.
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You can think that if you like.
I still call it a miss if you don't hit it well enough to penetrate
 
A miss if it does not hit well to penetrate?

At first it seemed you did not understand physics but now it appears you are mistaking one term for another.

Glancing (adjective)
1 striking someone or something at an angle rather than directly and with full force
2 hit something at an angle and bounce off obliquely


Miss (verb)
1 fail to hit, reach, or come into contact with (something aimed at)
2 pass by without touching


I recall reading a story a TFL member posted about a .30-30 round glancing off the skull of a large sow.

image borrowed from THR
Skull3.jpg
 
When butchering critters (have done hogs, sheep, and beef), the angle of the shot make all the difference, I've killed them with .22 LR pistol, .22 WMR, and .45 ACP, all did just fine from a few feet a way shooting at a downward angle, and the bullet placed correctly. None of that applies to a hog in charge mode. I wuld personally choose at a minimum a .357 and 158 gr. bullet, maybe a hard cast bullet, up to .44 Mag or larger PROVIDED you can shoot it well. A well placed 158 gr. bullet from a .357 is many times better than a miss from a .500 S&W.
 
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