Hog Hunting with a Handgun

[kobudo]

I've heard recommended recently that hog hunting with a handgun, in particular your carry pistol, was a great way to get better at shooting while under stress. Does anyone here do this and if so what hunting methods do you use and if there's any seasoned hog hunters here do you feel it's something you got better at with experience?

[texasaggie2005]

I've heard recommended recently that hog hunting with a handgun, in particular your carry pistol, was a great way to get better at shooting while under stress. Does anyone here do this and if so what hunting methods do you use and if there's any seasoned hog hunters here do you feel it's something you got better at with experience?

Eh. I'm sure the act of hunting hogs with a handgun will cause some elevates stress levels. (I've hunted hogs with pitbulls and Bowie knives, carried a pistol as backup) But frankly, this is only being propagated because most people don't care if you wound a bunch of hogs.

[okie john]

http://www.texasboars.com/hunting/huntingtips.html

Lots of good info here.


Okie John

[John Hearne]

Foot stalk to your reliable pistol shot range. FWIW, when placed properly, 45 ACP works just fine. I've used standard pressure and +P Ranger Bonded with good results.

[Dave Williams]

There is a great Viking Tactics video on YouTube of Kyle Lamb shooting a wild boar with a pistol.

[Frank R]

I hunted boar for many years in N.C., TN. & GA.. I used a .44 Mag. and dogs, not the type of dogs that attack the boar.

I would not recommend using the typical carry guns in 9mm and .45 acp. Could they do the job? Yes, if the shot placement is spot-on but in the heat of the moment that's not usually the case. Boars are tough animals and don't have a very good sense of humor when wounded. Best to use enough gun.

[czech6]

The term "hog" covers a pretty wide range of animals. I've used a 9mm on smaller feral pigs, the sub 100lb pigs that are abundant, without an issue and I don't think that I'm at much risk of being gored by a shot pig. I don't think I would try that on the Eurasian and hybrid hogs, in any size, that are becoming more common around here.

[dbateman]

When I was growing up in the Northern Territory hand gun hunting was legal.

I used to walk creeks flushing pigs out as I went, my favourite two guns for hunting pigs were a 1911 chambered in 38Super and S&W 38spl shooting 158gr +p.
I had access to 45acp and 44mag but seemed to like the super the most.

It can be a very exciting way to hunt. I recommend it.

[Hambo]

I've killed feral hogs from 35-250 pounds, mostly at night. Head shots: a friend took a head shot with a muzzleloader and apparently it didn't penetrate the skull because it became a major problem. Another acquaintance took an initial head shot with a .40 on a big hog (over 300#) in daylight. It took two more, one at about six feet to put it down for the count. That hog had just killed a pit bull. Head shots with a rifle are DRT. Body shots: aim over the front leg as the heart is farther forward than you think and you need a bullet that can get to the heart.

Because there's a lot of hunting pressure here, stalking is not easy. I've gotten to within 30 yards or so with the wind right. Over bait we've hunted as close as 25 yards, but usually about 30-35 yards minimum. At those ranges I wouldn't count on a service pistol. White light at night send them running, and green light is pretty tough to shoot by.

[Wayne Dobbs]

If a service pistol won't reliably work on a hog, it won't work worth crap on a bad guy. Just sayin'.

And if you look at some data regarding mid-range performance of the popular service pistol ammo, it doesn't give up much velocity (especially if it starts at a subsonic velocity) at the mid ranges (50-75 yards). Feral hogs are not that hard to kill, unless you're telling sea stories about them. Make sure your gun is zeroed and that you are too and get out there and get some field experience.

[John Hearne]

If a service pistol won't reliably work on a hog, it won't work worth crap on a bad guy. Just sayin'.

If you wouldn't shoot a 250 lb hog with it, why would you shoot a 250 lb hog rider with it?


Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

[Mike Pipes]

I ride a hog John why you got to shoot me?

[BJJ]

If you wouldn't shoot a 250 lb hog with it, why would you shoot a 250 lb hog rider with it?


Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Makes sense when you put it that way.

I have generally been under the impression that animals are tougher than humans, pound for pound. Not sure where I got that idea from so it seems like it's ripe for questioning. Maybe I was thinking of the fact that humans are domesticated and probably not as tough as wild animals.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Feral hogs don't do coke and meth...

[GJM]

There is a difference between hunting an animal and defending against an animal attack. Hunting, you need to kill the animal, and ideally without the animal running off for miles. To defend against an animal attack, you just need to make the animal leave you alone. That might range from a warning shot, to any hit, to actually having to either hit the upper CNS or break down the animal's ability to ambulate.

Over the longest running study of bear attacks, handguns do even slightly better than long guns in repelling a bear attack. This underscores the difference between stopping an attack and killing the animal, because we know handguns are not ideal bear killing firearms.

[JV_]

Over the longest running study of bear attacks, handguns do even slightly better than long guns in repelling a bear attack. This underscores the difference between stopping an attack and killing the animal, because we know handguns are not ideal bear killing firearms.Very interesting. Thanks for that tidbit.

[GJM]

Very interesting. Thanks for that tidbit.

What I find even more interesting, is the handguns used are not .44 magnum/.454 class handguns, but .357, .45, .40, 9mm and a bunch of calibers I don't associate with bear defense. Now, if the requirement was to KILL the bear, right there, the statistics would look a lot different for handguns (and long guns), and there would be much worse odds of surviving a bear attack regardless of handgun, rifle or shotgun choice.

[LittleLebowski]

What I find even more interesting, is the handguns used are not .44 magnum/.454 class handguns, but .357, .45, .40, 9mm and a bunch of calibers I don't associate with bear defense. Now, if the requirement was to KILL the bear, right there, the statistics would look a lot different for handguns (and long guns), and there would be much worse odds of surviving a bear attack regardless of handgun, rifle or shotgun choice.

Do you think it's shot placement with the handguns that accounts for the slight edge?

[GJM]

Do you think it's shot placement with the handguns that accounts for the slight edge?

Not at all. Handguns make shot placement harder, compared to a long gun.

I am just heading out flying, but later I will try to post the link to the study for folks to read and form their own conclusions. My take is bears don't like to be shot, and a bear that doesn't like to be shot doesn't differentiate between a little bullets and big bullets. Also, handguns are easier to deploy when you are rolling around, and often are easier to fire quick follow-up shots compared to bolt action rifles and pump shotguns.

[41magfan]

All thus fuss about calibers and bullets ..... get you some bear spray and call it good.

http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/sites/default/files/efficacy_of_firearms_for_bear_deterrence_in_alaska _2014_01_29_15_23_07_utc.pdf

[Hambo]

Feral hogs don't do coke and meth...

If I knew I was going to be encountering a 250# hog rider jacked on meth, my 9mm wouldn't be my first choice in firearms. If I knew a 250 hog would stand on his hind legs and let me shoot at his sternum and not his shoulder, I might be more inclined to use my 9mm.

Seriously, when I hunt anything my objective is to put an animal down for the count as quickly as possible, not punch a hole or two and track it all over the county.

[GJM]

Not at all. Handguns make shot placement harder, compared to a long gun.

I am just heading out flying, but later I will try to post the link to the study for folks to read and form their own conclusions. My take is bears don't like to be shot, and a bear that doesn't like to be shot doesn't differentiate between a little bullets and big bullets. Also, handguns are easier to deploy when you are rolling around, and often are easier to fire quick follow-up shots compared to bolt action rifles and pump shotguns.

Here is the link:

http://www.arcticwild.com/blog/efficacy-of-firearms-for-bear-deterrence-in-Alaska.pdf

ABSTRACT We compiled, summarized, and reviewed 269 incidents of bear–human conflict involving firearms that occurred in Alaska during 1883–2009. Encounters involving brown bears (Ursus arctos; 218 incidents, 81%), black bears (Ursus americanus; 30 incidents, 11%), polar bears (Ursus maritimus; 6 incidents, 2%), and 15 (6%) unidentified species provided insight into firearms success and failure. A total of 444 people and at least 367 bears were involved in these incidents. We found no significant difference in success rates (i.e., success being when the bear was stopped in its aggressive behavior) associated with long guns (76%) and handguns (84%). Moreover, firearm bearers suffered the same injury rates in close encounters with bears whether they used their firearms or not. Bears were killed in 61% (n 1⁄4 162) of bear–firearms incidents. Additionally, we identified multiple reasons for firearms failing to stop an aggressive bear. Using logistic regression, the best model for predicting a successful outcome for firearm users included species and cohort of bear, human activity at time of encounter, whether or not the bear charged, and if fish or game meat was present. Firearm variables (e.g., type of gun, number of shots) were not useful in predicting outcomes in bear–firearms incidents. Although firearms have failed to protect some users, they are the only deterrent that can lethally stop an aggressive bear. Where firearms have failed to protect people, we identified contributing causes. Our findings suggest that only those proficient in firearms use should rely on them for protection in bear country. " 2012 The Wildlife Society.

[John Hearne]

Seriously, when I hunt anything my objective is to put an animal down for the count as quickly as possible, not punch a hole or two and track it all over the county.

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly hogs went down with well placed 45 ACP. I once shot a sow that was around 150# and she made it less than 25 yards before she piled up. It was also my experience that pigs don't bleed a lot when shot. The fat really plugs up the holes - even 12 gauge slug holes.

[Chuck Haggard]

Feral hogs don't do coke and meth...


Yes, however, they might steal beer from campers, get drunk, then pick a fight with a cow.

http://gadling.com/2013/09/10/australian-pig-steals-beer/


Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[dustyvarmint]

I've taken a number of hogs and javelina with archery equipment and in 2014 converted to firearms.

Waterman, GJM and Hambo all make good points (my collective paraphrases of them) about hitting the animal with something that will put them down sooner rather than later (versus stopping a threat). That may not be a service caliber pistol. In south Texas the brush can be rough, thick and very close (story point coming later).

Someone else mentioned shot placement under stress - I personally witnessed a wounded 150 lb boar bump the outfitter up onto a horizontal tree branch with the outfitter shooting a Browning Hi-Power in 9mm directly downwards at its head. I forget exactly, now, as it was 2009, but 2 shots went in the jowel and 1 in the ear or vice-versa -nothing fatal. The hog then just fell over from the severe loss of blood it had already encountered from a broadhead to the carotid. The outfitter now carries a 12-gauge with buck as a primary....

Someone mentioned head shots - I'd only take head shots with a service caliber pistol from the side behind the ear or behind the eye - between the eye and the ear would be perfect. Take a look at a skull and see where the bone is the thickest (front, between the eyes) and where the brain box is. A 14 yard shot with a 30-30 just under the eye put a nice 150 lb boar DRT for me earlier this year, but I would aim behind the eye in the future. I very much want to take one with my G17, but it'll be head shots, as described, only, due to the tracking conditions there.

This year my buddy wounded a decent javi (30-40 lb older female) and being the large, gangly, arthritic dude he is the outfitter and I went into the brush on our hands and knees with pistols after it. I had my G17 and he had his XDm in .45. When we found it we pumped at least two .45 slugs into it and two 9mm slugs at 5-7 yards in it before it went down.

So, given the perfect opportunity I absolutely want to take a hog or javi with my G17, but anything marginal is being thumped with the 30-30.

happy hunting & shooting,

[Seven_Sicks_Two]

On a recent hog hunt, we performed a couple coups de grace on wounded hogs with 135gr. 9mm +P Critical Duty out of my Glock 34. It seemed to work pretty well. On the same hunt, an acquaintance dropped a 150# hog with two rounds of 9mm FMJ from a Beretta 92 at 20-25 feet. The first round was poorly placed, but the second must have clipped something important as the pig dropped immediately. On the next trip, I'll still bring a long gun, but I'll be trying to take a hog with my 34.