Best 44 Mag bullet for medium hogs

[tacotime]

Talking about usually the 100 to 200 pound variety, sometimes 250, but not hogzilla.

Redhawk now carried on patrol, more for fun than necessity. Anyway...

Currently using the 240 XTP HP. Medium loaded, no monster load.

I also originally carried some hard cast 24 BHN 240 SWC rounds. But I figure those would punch right through, since I have fired them into a hard soil dam before and found them later hardly even distorted.

No shots fired on game yet.

What's my best bullet choice, say, out to 75 yards? Is that HP going to open up too soon? Do I need a JSP?

 

[98Redline]

You are going to find lots....and lots of opinions on this.

My personal favorite is a 300gr WFN hard cast. The wide meplat creates a great wound channel and penetrates deep (more like a complete pass through). I have yet to recover one in any hog I have shot, including shots that have gone through the shoulder.

While the 300+ gr slugs are probably more than what is actually needed, I find that they give be better accuracy than 280s on down. I run mine around 1300 because that happens to be where H110 likes to run and where it gave me the best consistency and accuracy. That being said I would think that 1100 or there about would work just fine.

 

[Lee Martin]

I agree with 98Redline. While they may not be required for a 200 lb pig, the 300 - 320 grain LBTs (either profile) are hard to beat. Terminal performance aside, they're extremely accurate in all of my 44 Magnums.

 

[BearBio]

200 pounders, if they have some Russian in them, will have a pretty good gristle plate. I've seen 240 grainers flatten on "hybrid" feral pigs on at least 2 occasions.
Go a good soft point or a hardcast. Based on seeing 100+ hogs shot.

 

[WESHOOT2]

255g lead from Beartooth; anything heavier.
Heavier bullets will allow for lessened launch velocity.

 

[Nowata]

250-300gr. WFNGC hard cast, whatever is most accurate

 

[Cracker-American]

When you throw that handgun on in the morning you never know what you might run into throughout the day. Hogs are built different just like people. Some are just tougher or maybe have a bigger shield than the next one.

I guess what I am saying is I carry a load in my .41 or .45 LC that will kill the biggest pig I am likely to encounter. I have killed hogs with hollow points and that has helped shape my own personal policy that sp or hard cast are my first choice.

 

[chris_]

I would say just about anything heavy and hard cast.

 

[RKBA4CA]

If the feral hogs are just as aggressive and short tempered as wild boar, than you would want a mushrooming heavy bullet.
Where I grew up, the boars were hunted almost exclusively with 12ga slugs from 1 to 1 1/8 oz launched from a sxs or ou. No one wanted to risk being charged by an angry wounded boar.
If the feral hogs are shy and flee, then still mushrooming heavy bullet would make more sense from the perspective of wasting an hour tracking a mortally wounded ham that ran half a mile and hid.

 

[Lee Martin]

Hopefully Max Prasac will chime in because he's killed a lot of hogs by way of handgun. The last was with a 500 Maximum. A 525 WFN going 1,300+ fps dropped it in it's tracks. I'm not saying you need that much gun, but big, heavy, wide meplat cast slugs are proven killers.

 

[bigboredad]

I agree with Lee and the others on the wide heavy for caliber lead bullets. For me it makes sense to start out with something that is already wide instead of hoping that it hits and then gets wide. In a perfect world I go hollow point but since it is not a perfect world I like wide heavy lead another point is you are not limited to the perfect angle when using lead and it is even more beneficial if you have to go thru a shoulder or hip to get to the vitals again that is my preference

 

[Lee Martin]

As Ross Seyfried used to say, why not start with a pre-expanded bullet?

 

[Old Judge Creek]

I've used a stoutly loaded 240 grain hard cast bullet, with a wide meplat, in both carbine and sixgun for the last 35 years with success on the California pigs - and those being of the Russian strain can get HUGE.

These days I've switched to 45-70 lever rifles and hard cast 405 grain bullets - but I still carry a Ruger stoked with 240s as a side arm when pig hunting.

I think any kind of hollow point bullet is a mistake because it retards penetration.

 

[JesterGrin_1]

The Lee 310Gr is also a good bullet to use. It has a large frontal area and is pretty darn accurate of which does not hurt.

 

[bigboredad]

As Ross Seyfried used to say, why not start with a pre-expanded bullet?

I grew up reading Ross and I think he is to blame for my love of the big six gun. Lucky for me you and MaxP aren't helping me kick the affliction any :lol:

 

[MaxP]

I have used a 320 grain WFN with some success, that I like very much. If you really want jacketed bullets, I have used Hornady's factory ammo with 300 grain XTPs before and they worked well. Not sure they expanded much if at all, but I personally prefer cast flat-nosed bullets. The hog below was shot with Double Tap's 320 grain WFN load. She weighed in right around 225-lbs.

 

[rugerbh73]

I finished off a wounded 100#ish sow last week with a 45 cal 270 grain SWC (leadhead). 45 colt with HS-6 to about 1100fps or so. The pig had been shot by another hunter through the hindquarters with a rifle and was trying to get away on her two front legs. The 45 entered through the shoulder and exited around the neck area. That shut her down decisively. I may not always make the shot, but I always will try to break one or both shoulders on a pig and I always want an exit wound. I believe that a good blood trail comes from the exit.
I've never shot a pig with a 44 but I've had good luck with 240grain 44 soft points on whitetail.

I will not shoot game of any kind with a hollow point. I'll take an exit wound over the extra energy transfer every time.

 

[SweetWilliam]

Speer's 300gr. flatpoints hold together pretty good.
20gr. Of H110

 

[Larry from Bend]

No Hogs around here; but for Bear protection I use Beartooth's BNH 21-22, 280 grain WFNGC @ 1235 fps using H110 out of a 5" barrel. Very accurate.

When I worry exclusively about NE Oregon Black Bears, I use a 255 grain Beartooth WFNGC in a 44 Special ---- 1060 fps out of a 4 5/8" barrel. Also, BNH 21-22. Also, very accurate.

 

[Boxhead]

Not sure if it best but a 275 gr WFN at a puny 1100 fps is all my 44 SBH needed. Accurate, easy to shoot and in and out and dead in seconds.

 

[tacotime]

I thought those looked like some Texas oaks before I saw your location.

Nice shooting. Who was the bullet maker?

Did your Ruger require oversized bullets? Does it lead the bore?

 

[JesterGrin_1]

I thought those looked like some Texas oaks before I saw your location.

Nice shooting. Who was the bullet maker?

Did your Ruger require oversized bullets? Does it lead the bore?

His pistol may not be the same as yours. So the best way to go about it would be to slug your barrel to find out exactly what it is. Then get a bullet sized 1 to 2 thousands over that. Or to say Over Bore Diameter.

Next I would check your cylinder throughts to make sure they are over bore diameter. If so use a bullet that will just go through the cylinder throught with some finger pressure. And you are there.

 

[tacotime]

Actually I'm in that process already but just wondered what luck he was having with his setup.