EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

In your opinion what is it?

I have always carried a kimber 1911 or my s&w .357 revolver but after numerous aquatic experiences  with both i decided i wanted a specific gun just for hog hunting. 90% of the shots Will be no more 5-10ft but i would like a gun that would have enough power to knock a hog silly at 25-30yds. I prefer semi-auto due to mag capacity but i do like revolvers also. Id like to spend no more than 600. Which gun would you buy and why?


I don't always kill animals with my assassin, but when I do I use BLOODRUNNERS!

I'd go with a 10mm.  Glock model 20 is chambered in 10mm but there is also a few 1911's made for it.  Ballistic wise it is hard to beat in a pistol caliber.

4i.magmum revolver. durable,weatherproof and knockdown.

I gota springfield armory xd .45 n it has been in all types of weather n still functions without a jam or misfire. A lil gun oil every now n then to cut down on rusting

Been baying and shooting with my Ruger Blackhawk in .357 the past 4 yrs. Paid like $300 or $350 for the gun. Prior to that I used a model 94 30-30 but got tired of packing it thru the woods.

 big ol ruger single six 22 lr  for the up close an personal touch . corse thats if somebody's huntin with me that can carry a gun  ;D

Puma model 92 lever action in .357. No it's not a pistol but it's easy to handle, carry, and shoot. Hard to beat for less than $500 NIB. I've seen hogs dispatched with em while running through a field almost 100 yards away. I've seen the same rifle poked down into a brush pile and held to a hogs head before squeezing the trigger. That sucker was burrowed in like a beaver in it's dam! 
Those little lever actions in the .357 mag are just plain handy. Get a sling for it and they are less cumbersome to carry than a big bore pistol in my opinion.

For a postal I will only carry my Super Redhawk 44. I've planted hogs out to about 40 yards with it but have missed them at closer range. I don't even consider myself an average shot with it or any pistol for that matter though.
If you look long and hard, you may be able to find a good used one at that price or cheaper.
Good luck on your choice.

The only pistol I will carry is a revolver while hunting. Have yet to ever have one jam when wet and dirty. Can't say that about a semi. I would get a 41 or 44 mag. If you don't like those a 45LC with full house loads would work. Not the cowboy loads.

no fire arms for me just a good old fasion tooth pic

i carry a knife          if i carried a gun , just like s j kennels  said..... revolver in 41 or 44 mag

7.62 x 25 mm is the pistoli i use. 169 bucks and has more penetration than pretty much any hand gun. i wouldnt want to shoot a little pig with it with dogs around but why would you need to....i bought three of them at this price and 1000 rounds for 99 bucks. if i loose one it wont make me cry unlike most hand guns.

I know a guy who said the same thing to me once. I told him one of these days he would meet up with the hog that made him wish he had a gun to save his dogs. Not three weeks later he called looking for more dogs, and when asked what happened. He said he met that hog LOL. In the time I have been doing this I have only had to pull my pistol twice. Both times it was me and a hog by our self. No dogs or anybody around. Once in a creek with steep banks, the other time was when he hog had killed the only proven catchdog there. The curs were trying to catch him and getting whipped. The other so called catchdogs were no where to be found at the time(truck hiding) so we had to shoot him. If we did not have a pistol then it could have been us without any dogs left.

44Mag, Cant go wrong with this one!

I bet you drink premium whiskey from a solo cup and eat steak off a paper plate! Lol

if you hunt long enough a rifle or pistol will be needed at some point...I have a 357 mag and a 22 mag semi auto but like my 22 mag best...the shot placement has to be right and is more challenging which makes it more fun...also have to use the solid bullets because the hollow points do not penetrate the skull on a boar...

because my 22 mag is semi auto it has the potential to jam if dropped in the mud etc. etc...also more gadgets to mess with when needing to shoot in a hurry...I am going to buy another 22 mag but it will need to be a double action revolver...

S&W 500 if you want a large revolver. I have never seen anything walk away after being shot with one round. The other nice thing about it is if all else fails you can beat the hog with it. :) For a more manageable handgun, I would say a .357 magnum. For semi auto you can't beat the .357 Sig, it is just a necked down .40.

i vote  for the large Caliber doesnt have to be magnum velocity tho.a hard cast at around 7 to 900 fps.wont blow upon impact and plenty of penetration without passthru.most shots are gonna be close so you dont need the range and the recoil of the magnum velocity.JMHO

I completely agree, id imagine that most of the guys that dont carry just havent needed one yet, i didnt carry anything but a knife for a couple years til we met "that hog" one night and he whipped our dogs up pretty bad......thats when i decided i was carrying from then on out, i want to help my dogs any chance and can and if it means shootin a pig then so be it.

Seems to me the general concencus is revolver. I have a .357 s&w but it is my daily concealed carry.......always wanted a .44

Anyone had any info on the taurus tracker .44? The good the bad?


Thanks for all the responses


I don't always kill animals with my assassin, but when I do I use BLOODRUNNERS!

I liked you better when you were not getting on here! ;D and yes i squeek when i walk...

X1000
Mine is a cz 52. Iv had it wet more times than I can count, I never clean or oil it, and I have never had it jam... It aint pretty, and it feels like a brick in my hand, but it always shoots ;D

I carry a 357 mag but like a 30 carbine also. some other good ones are 41, 44, I love the shorter rifle version with an 16 inch barrel.

               x2.

 ;D That is the same pistol I have. I love it so far and it is by far the most true shooting semi auto I have shot to date. I would trade any other pistol i own for another one in a heart beat. If they can hold up to all the wars they have been in i think they can plug a hog too. great pistol for the money and the ballistics are almost the same as a .357 sig but just faster and flatter shooting. This is one of the only pistol rounds that requires a 5 layer kevlar vest if you look at the vest charts. and did i mention the price? LOL ;D

It's not so much the pistol but the round itself. I hunted Alligators for 30 years. I experimented with all sorts of calibers and loads. One day I came across an article by Chuck Hawks on The Stopping Power of Hand Guns. He said and I quote " The famous Federal 125 gr.
Jacketed Hollow Point Round, Federal part no. 357B is the most effective one shot stopper of All hand gun loads, not just the 357."

 After reading the article I went an purchased a box and began shooting all gators with this round. It was especially impressive on the big gators ( gators larger than 9 ft.). One shot, that was it. No twitching, no moving, no waiting, no nothing. It was good night Irene on ALL of them. Now they were all on a gator line and shot at 3 to 5 yds. but this round has stopping power.

i just got a rossi ranch hand in .357 and love it.

I haven't met "that hog" yet and haven't carried a gun either but have been thinking about starting. I have had to shoot one only because I didn't have a big enough knife to get through his shield. Luckily I had a rifle on the 4 wheeler. They were caught in a creek and I was by myself. It could have been really bad.

Well if Chuck Hawk says it then it's a done deal. Lol. Actually I find it hard to disagree with his practical and experienced advice and opinions. That is one Internet guru that makes since to me.
I've read his right ups on long range shooting and shotguns but I haven't seen anything on pistol and pistol rounds.
If it's handy forward me the link. Thanks.

Boar Ninja, I think this is the article. It was a long time ago that I read it and I wrote the info down in a note book.
 
             http://www.chuckhawks.com/beginners_stopping_power.htm

I carry a Glock 27, and did carry a Glock 23 for years. Personally, I like the 23 better. To me, anything 40 caliber or bigger is trustworthy to stop a hog. It's all about shot placement. The polymer style guns work great in the swamps, and they are super easy to clean when you decide to. I've swam ponds, came up the bank, and shot snakes with my Glock dripping. Never had it not fire. Just saying.  popo

Cutter,  I have a stainless steel 357 revolver that has been dripping wet also and has never failed to fire. How ever I have only used it to shoot alligators out of a boat. Now that my son has started hog hunting I would like something more compact and lighter in weight. Every
type of hunting we do is out of a boat in the swamps and marshes so it is a given it will get wet. I looked at a glock at a local store but it didn't fit my hand good. I need to find and go to a large gun shop to see if I can find a Glock model that fits good.

My biggest concern with large calibers is shooting through a hog and hitting a dog. I'll stay with my 22 Mag and solid bullets.

x2...

I love a 22mag. Keltec makes a pmr30 its 30 rounds of semi auto 22 mag....cant wait to get one!

good article on stopping power...this has been a big topic my brothers and I have discussed many times...

this is how I see it for a most centerfire rifle.. More speed and weight contributes to more energy...If there is an exit wound then the deer, animal, or object did not absorb all the energy. if there is no exit wound then all that energy was absorbed which contributes to killing power and this had to of created quite a bit of damage but there must be penetration to consistently have killing power...penetration ensures that the vital organs have been penetrated and destroyed. there are other variables involved, but this is it in a nutshell... and it works best when the cartridge is matched to the game that is hunted...

an exit wound is ok if the majority of the bullet has broken off in fragments as well as expanded as it travels through the cavity...the bullets entry, path thru the cavity, as well as the exit should resemble two funnels attached together with the small ends facing outward.

on the 22 mag the only way to penetrate the skull on a big hog is to use solid bullets and penetration is what kills with this caliber when talking big hogs and not so much about expansion...it's a challenge but makes it a little more exciting...and the dogs are at a lower risk of getting shot as well and the gunfire noise is a lot less compared to that of a larger caliber hand gun... my 2 cents worth :)

Look at the Glock generation 4's. They come with different grips to fit a wider range of hand sizes. I also really like the Springfield XDM's. Try those out to see how they fit. Either brand will be a great addition to your arsenal.

I always carry a pistol when hunting. Either a single action 22mag, or single action 45LC. If I am expecting to shoot bayed hogs I take the 22 mag loaded with solids. Very accurate and very effective for head shots. If I am hunting by myself and the gun is for protecting myself and my dogs I carry the 45LC loaded with 225 gr FTX lever evolution rounds.

I have shot quite a few big boars that were breaking a bay and running at me in a tight spot with the 45LC and I will never hesitate to shoot a boar to protect my dogs. Dog safety comes first for me.

I like the single action. It is dependable and the slower rate of fire cuts down on the possibility of spraying bullets at a hog and hitting a dog by accident.

Until I saw Silverton Boar Dogs reply I thought I was the only one carrying a .45 Colt. I generally use 250-270gr cast lead and have had good results but must try the FTX since it should be less apt to pass through. My hand loads are only < 900fps but have done the job every time I got into a tight spot and like the feel of the Colt clone in my hand. Low recoil and accurate. The highest powered round made is not magic and will only piss of an animal if you can not put the round where it does the best good. In other words if you don't practice regularly don't count on any specific caliber to work.     John

What's the deal with 22mag rds not penetrateing the skull of a big boar unless you use solids? I personally have taken many big hogs with a 17hmr with vmax ammo at 50+ yds with skull shots. No problems just dead pigs. I know a 17vmax is gonna expand way quicker than a 22mag with hollow or soft points.

I have shot plenty of hogs with solid 22 LR without a problem...I also used to hunt without a bulldog and when I swapped to a 22 mag I bought the cci in hollow point. I shot at a 200 pound boar at point blank range in the forehead and none penetrated...shot him 5 or 6 times and he flinched but didn't go down. I got right on him and shot at him and I saw where the hide was split and I could see the skull and I saw where the bullet turned downward and the split was at least 1.5 inches...
I went home and checked all three types of cartidges offered for the 22 mag and the solid bullet penetrated the most by far. One well place bullet and the hog drops in his tracks...

Where are you guys getting the hand guns for $169?  I'd be interested in gettin one!