Would you use a 9mm to hunt hogs?

gadgetguy1288 · May 31, 2009, 01:27 PM

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.

Thanks for the info.

gadgetguy1288 · May 31, 2009, 01:49 PM

heres a pic of my 995 as it sits curently( I'm not finished with it yet)

Daryl · May 31, 2009, 02:16 PM

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

bswiv · May 31, 2009, 02:18 PM

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.

gadgetguy1288 · May 31, 2009, 03:16 PM

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

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)

charlie-6 · May 31, 2009, 03:17 PM

NO

skydiver3346 · May 31, 2009, 03:27 PM

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.

gadgetguy1288 · May 31, 2009, 03:31 PM

thanks again guys, like I said, I didn't really plan on it, I just figured I'd ask and see what you guys thought about it.

hogdogs · May 31, 2009, 03:31 PM

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

simonkenton · May 31, 2009, 03:49 PM

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.

Yithian · May 31, 2009, 04:34 PM

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.

simonkenton · May 31, 2009, 08:28 PM

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.

hogdogs · May 31, 2009, 08:54 PM

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

GeauxTide · May 31, 2009, 09:15 PM

Sure, a 9.3x62!

fisherman66 · May 31, 2009, 10:01 PM

or even the 9.3x74r

9mm Luger? yer gonna need stitches and new britches.

kiwi56 · May 31, 2009, 10:14 PM

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.

stinger · May 31, 2009, 10:18 PM

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.

RangerHAAF · June 1, 2009, 07:05 AM

No, I wouldn't try it.

Art Eatman · June 1, 2009, 10:07 AM

First off, I'm in agreement with the naysayers. However, I have a "however".

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'".

hogdogs · June 1, 2009, 10:27 AM

Actually, Art, That is huntin'... gettin close. And yes I agree for them tasty little ones it don't take much punch.
Brent

simonkenton · June 1, 2009, 11:11 AM

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 never had any trouble making a lung shot on a hog with a rifle, and every time, the hog dropped within 50 yards.
If you don't like my advice, then don't take it, and you can keep the condescending remarks to yourself.

You are the "expert" who was saying how good the meat is on a 400 pound boar.

publius · June 1, 2009, 11:48 AM

If you are a very experienced hunter and are very familiar with the anatomy of a hog you could do it with well placed shots from a tree stand. Certainly not ut thmy choice of weapon, but then I have shot them with some weird calibers (6.5 JAP., .22LR pistol.)

hogdogs · June 1, 2009, 12:31 PM

Quote:

You are the "expert" who was saying how good the meat is on a 400 pound boar.

I may have to look for that... I may have said would be edible or even said it would make sausage... I have never seen a 400 pound feral hog.
From this link...
http://www.ventanawild.org/news/se02/pigs.html
This is written...

Quote:

The biggest boar we ever killed on the ranch, when hung, measured 9 ft. from tip to tip. The skin on his neck was three inches thick; eleven bullets were found which over the years had been embedded in the fat.

I have seen a broadhead embedded in the shield similar to this one...

Brent

Huntergirl · June 1, 2009, 12:49 PM

9mm, ah, no. For you lucky guys who get to go hog hunting, be humane and use enough gun, please.

Yithian · June 2, 2009, 12:20 AM

I hit the forehead of the pig that charged me, and it was looking at me. Not my legs, but me.
I literally removed flesh from face and head, and the strip remains ended up in the tree behind it.
I simply hit it at a bad angle.
I also didn't think that the 30-30 could hit at that range from a bad angle.
It had the same effect as slanted armor on a tank. Energy deflection.

We stalked up on a large sound of who knows how many. ATTT saw them first 15 yards on our left, and opened fire. All I saw was the backs of ten or twelve adults, like whale's in the ocean, scatter in all directions. Thru the tall grass, one sow found me and charged me. I waited for the shot until it got in the open onto my path. I was afraid the LeveRevolution would splinter on the grass if I shot earlier.
Boom! She screamed and turned off to my right, and ran a hundred yards before she stopped screaming. Then just kept running.

A 9mm pistol round of any size less than 357Mag or 38+P is not something I would take on a pig hunt.
The opening shot isn't the worry (a 22LR will kill an adult pig). It is the actions of any pigs afterwards that scares me.

May 31, 2009, 01:27 PM	#1
gadgetguy1288 Member Join Date: January 30, 2008 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 89	Would you use a 9mm to hunt hogs? 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. Thanks for the info. __________________ Randy "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government, or in the case of a zombie outbreak."

May 31, 2009, 01:49 PM	#2
gadgetguy1288 Member Join Date: January 30, 2008 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 89	Pic (as promised) heres a pic of my 995 as it sits curently( I'm not finished with it yet) __________________ Randy "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government, or in the case of a zombie outbreak." Last edited by gadgetguy1288; May 31, 2009 at 03:06 PM.

May 31, 2009, 02:18 PM	#4
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	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. Last edited by bswiv; May 31, 2009 at 02:21 PM. Reason: More information........

May 31, 2009, 03:16 PM	#5
gadgetguy1288 Member Join Date: January 30, 2008 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 89	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 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) __________________ Randy "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government, or in the case of a zombie outbreak."

May 31, 2009, 03:27 PM	#7
skydiver3346 Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,222	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.

May 31, 2009, 02:16 PM	#3
Daryl Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2008 Posts: 2,350	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

May 31, 2009, 03:17 PM	#6
charlie-6 Member Join Date: November 15, 2006 Location: texas Posts: 29	NO

May 31, 2009, 03:31 PM	#8
gadgetguy1288 Member Join Date: January 30, 2008 Location: Elizabeth City, NC Posts: 89	thanks again guys, like I said, I didn't really plan on it, I just figured I'd ask and see what you guys thought about it. __________________ Randy "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government, or in the case of a zombie outbreak."

May 31, 2009, 03:31 PM	#9
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	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

May 31, 2009, 03:49 PM	#10
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	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.

May 31, 2009, 04:34 PM	#11
Yithian Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 719	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. __________________ Pondering the differences, terminally, between the V-Max and the A-Max.

May 31, 2009, 08:28 PM	#12
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	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.

May 31, 2009, 08:54 PM	#13
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	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 Last edited by hogdogs; May 31, 2009 at 09:02 PM.

May 31, 2009, 09:15 PM	#14
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,423	Sure, a 9.3x62!

May 31, 2009, 10:01 PM	#15
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,679	or even the 9.3x74r 9mm Luger? yer gonna need stitches and new britches. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

May 31, 2009, 10:14 PM	#16
kiwi56 Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2009 Location: Auckland NewZealand Posts: 350	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.

May 31, 2009, 10:18 PM	#17
stinger Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Location: west texas Posts: 772	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.

June 1, 2009, 07:05 AM	#18
RangerHAAF Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2007 Location: Decatur, GA Posts: 269	No, I wouldn't try it.

June 1, 2009, 10:07 AM	#19
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	First off, I'm in agreement with the naysayers. However, I have a "however". 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'".

June 1, 2009, 10:27 AM	#20
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Actually, Art, That is huntin'... gettin close. And yes I agree for them tasty little ones it don't take much punch. Brent

June 1, 2009, 11:11 AM	#21
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	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 never had any trouble making a lung shot on a hog with a rifle, and every time, the hog dropped within 50 yards. If you don't like my advice, then don't take it, and you can keep the condescending remarks to yourself. You are the "expert" who was saying how good the meat is on a 400 pound boar.

June 1, 2009, 11:48 AM	#22
publius Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2005 Location: Mississippi/Texas Posts: 2,505	If you are a very experienced hunter and are very familiar with the anatomy of a hog you could do it with well placed shots from a tree stand. Certainly not ut thmy choice of weapon, but then I have shot them with some weird calibers (6.5 JAP., .22LR pistol.) __________________ "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress, but I repeat myself." Mark Twain

June 1, 2009, 12:49 PM	#24
Huntergirl Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2005 Location: Wyoming Posts: 907	9mm, ah, no. For you lucky guys who get to go hog hunting, be humane and use enough gun, please. Last edited by Huntergirl; June 2, 2009 at 11:44 AM.

June 2, 2009, 12:20 AM	#25
Yithian Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 719	I hit the forehead of the pig that charged me, and it was looking at me. Not my legs, but me. I literally removed flesh from face and head, and the strip remains ended up in the tree behind it. I simply hit it at a bad angle. I also didn't think that the 30-30 could hit at that range from a bad angle. It had the same effect as slanted armor on a tank. Energy deflection. We stalked up on a large sound of who knows how many. ATTT saw them first 15 yards on our left, and opened fire. All I saw was the backs of ten or twelve adults, like whale's in the ocean, scatter in all directions. Thru the tall grass, one sow found me and charged me. I waited for the shot until it got in the open onto my path. I was afraid the LeveRevolution would splinter on the grass if I shot earlier. Boom! She screamed and turned off to my right, and ran a hundred yards before she stopped screaming. Then just kept running. A 9mm pistol round of any size less than 357Mag or 38+P is not something I would take on a pig hunt. The opening shot isn't the worry (a 22LR will kill an adult pig). It is the actions of any pigs afterwards that scares me. __________________ Pondering the differences, terminally, between the V-Max and the A-Max.