Would you use a 9mm to hunt hogs?

G

gadgetguy1288

New member
As long as its a reasonable distance.

I bought a Hi-point 995 and did a little "upgrading" (see pics in next post), and when i was hunting back in FL(before i joined the CG and moved to AK) I carried a 9mm as a backup when i was hunting, but luckily never had to use it.

What type of ammo would you use? I would think FMJ would get the best penetration but may require multiple hit, which wouldn't be exactly "ethical".

I was just thinking, and figured I'd ask here. Im going to try and get a southern station next,mainly because i want to get back to hog hunting, and try my hand at yotes. :D

Thanks for the info.
 
Pic (as promised)

heres a pic of my 995 as it sits curently( I'm not finished with it yet)
vacation-newgun042-1.jpg
 
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Personally, I wouldn't trust a 9mm for hogs; especially large hogs.

Not that it can't kill a hog, because I'm very sure it's possible; I'd want something with a bit more punch, penetration, and some expansion.

I remember shooting a few cottontails with 9mm FMJ's back in my teen years, and there's no way I'd use them on a hog.

If you do so, I hope you'll report back and let us know how it works out for you.

After all, there's nothing like first hand experience.

Daryl
 
Picture did not post...........?

That aside, I would say that under MOST situations a 9MM would not be a proper round to shoot hogs with. Sure it will kill them. And for sure it will drop them in their tracks with proper shot placement. Still it is somewhat on the light side IMHO.

I think by the way you put your question you already have that feeling........ Better to use a little more gun and not leave one wounded in the woods. Even though some would say "it's just a hog" still seems to me that it's due some sort of ethical consideration......

Besides that there is hardly better eating so why not make a little more sure that when you get the chance you put bar-b-cue on the table?

And I am not suggesting big ugly magnums, just a small upgrade. Something with a heavier bullet and a little more umph. Start with a 30-30 class round or a 44 mag and work up. They are readly available in light rifles and will do a much better job.
 
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sorry about the pic, I fixed it now.

and ya I hear what your saying and kinda figured the same thing, I just figured I'd ask around :D

ya if I do end up getting somewhere south(I'm hoping for Texas or Louisiana) I plan on getting something bigger for hogs (I'm thinking the New FN AR, or Kel-Tec RFB) but just figured I might have another use for my 995 besides just a range toy, haha(the boss didn't like just that use for a gun lol)
 
9mm for hunting?

No way in my opinion!
Sorry gadgetguy, but the 9mm just doesn't have the ballistics enough to be the primary hunting gun, (even out of your High Point). It really is not fair to the animals you hunt. Sure it could kill a deer, etc. but it would have the be the most perfect of shots (or the deer could end up in bad shape for sometime before it expired, if at all). That sometimes happens even with high powered hunting with rifles (if we make a poor placement shots). Having a 9mm as a back up carry gun would be okay but I don't belive it should be your primary weapon. Good luck.
 
If I didn't have a Gamo 1,000 fps pellet rifle or a .22LR, I would use a 9mm to dispatch hogs but not to hunt them. Just far too limited in usable range. I would use a 20 or 12 gauge slug as my minimum range round with range limited to 80-100 yards in my hands. I would use a .30-30 as a minimal rifle round but would much prefer a .308 or .30-06 in rifle calibers...
Brent
 
I have killed a lot of hogs, with a patched round ball with my TC Hawken, and, mostly, with a 30-06.
One day, I went hiking through the swamp, looking for hogs. I had only a 1911 Colt ACP in a holster. I was using military hardball ammo.
I saw a 140 pound boar rooting around.
I walked up until I was 30 yards away.
I tried for a lung shot and fired once.
The bullet went high and clipped the spine.
The hog dropped. His hind legs were out, he was spinning around on his front legs.
I went right up and shot him twice in the lungs, lights out.

I am sure that a 9mm would work, on smaller hogs and at close range.
I would use a round that would expand, maybe a hollow point, and go for the lung shot.
 
I'm with hogdogs...
I have had the unfortunte experience of shooting a charging sow in the face with my 30-30. It stopped its charge, but ran away.
I stood there dumbfounded.
A wild ~200Lb sow, 10 feet in front of me, shot in the head with a 30-30, and she ran away.
For a few seconds I thought I must've missed her. Then I found the "worms" in the mesquites. It was strips of flesh, not worms.
LeveRevolution's.

Even if it was a full auto 9mm. I wouldn't rely on any appreciable penetration to stop a charger.
 
I stood there dumbfounded.
A wild ~200Lb sow, 10 feet in front of me, shot in the head with a 30-30, and she ran away.

You made a bad shot.
Hit a 200 pound hog right with a 30-30, and you will be smoking a ham tomorrow.

Much of the legend of the wild hog is built upon bad shots.
 
Simon, I agree! But the part of the legend you did not expound on is that all the "vital zone" areas are reduced in size. The "brainer" area of a hog is surrounded by what looks to be vital skull when it is really just "tissue". The torso vital zone is highly compromised if you wish to avoid the shield area. I describe it as being in a triangle created by the belly as bottom, front leg muscle as forward and equilateral for rearward line of the triangle. The heart lies nearly at the bottom of torso. If you are tennisball accurate I suggest a heart shot on a good hog with a shield. A hog just doesn't offer the same target zones as a deer... In the cage I can "brain" any hog with a pellet gun or can "bleed" any hog with a 3.75 inch Buck 110 right to the heart/lungs/arteries any time...
Unless you are a routine hog hunter and willing to admit the differences I listed, please don't advise folks on the right gun for hog huntin'...
I can post links to some very graphic yet helpful pics of the hog anatomy as it pertains to shooters. None of the vital organs are easy pickins'
Brent
 
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9mm for hogs

with a 9mm I would definitely feel under gunned. My favourite weapons for pig hunting is either of my two Rossi lever actions,one is in 357 magnum and the other is in 44 magnum. The biggest pig taken so far was a 150 pound boar and a 180 pound sow, however we do use dogs and most of the time shots are less than 3 yards. I have found that jacketed hollow points work just fine.
 
I believe that hunting should be ethical and kills should be as quick as possible. The 9mm gives you no margin of error. A 223 is significantly more powerful than a 9mm and that is also not ideal...not to say I haven't hunted them with it before.

Having said that, I wouldn't go looking for hogs with a 9mm, but I think if the opportunity strikes you should shoot them with whatever you have handy...even a 22lr. They are a pest and overrunning many parts of the country. The only good hog is a dead hog.
 
First off, I'm in agreement with the naysayers. However, I have a "however". :D

I guess I'm more of a sneaky-snake than most folks when it comes to traipsing around in the boonies. I regularly find critters fairly much up close and personal before they know I'm there.

So at ten to twenty yards and a good little eating-size shoat of some 40-ish pounds, I'd be likely to use most anything bigger than a .22.

But that's not really the same thing as "hog huntin'".
 
Actually, Art, That is huntin'... gettin close. And yes I agree for them tasty little ones it don't take much punch.
Brent
 
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