Allright whos going to man up...

[CobrayCommando]

And use a .45 to hunt hogs and post pictures and an after hunt report?!

I'm too lazy to hunt, what with all the sitting and such, and remembering the results of the last hog hunt with a 9mm, I'm itching to see if a .45 does any better.

For those of you who didn't catch it, the hunter made a good shot but the 9mm deflected off of the tanklike shoulder bone. I didn't expect that, I don't think anyone did LOL

[Dirty_Harry]

Well if I lived somewhere where I could hunt hogs regularly I would try it, but for now I am still waiting for that one chance to get one with my .450.....that counts as a .45 doesn't it ?

[zeisloft]

230 gn lead TC bullets moving around 950fps and 1/4ing away on hog of about 175 or less has worked well for me. That and right behind the ear have put about 2 dozen or so down for me. This is not a recomendation for the average pistol shooter to rely on a .45 as a primary weapon, but you asked. The 1/4ing away will not lay them down where they stand, but a low shot will knock out the pump, and they lay inside 35-40yds.
~z

[whiskey]

I am going this weekend. I will have my .45 and I will try to take a pig with it.

I am not going to shoot it in the body. I will shoot it in the ear and will take pictures if I get one. I am not worried about shooting a pig in the body, I just don't like to track them and a head shot cures me having to crawl through the pig runs and swim the swamp to get a wounded pig.

I am probably going to take a 100 pound or less pig, cause I need a smaller pig for an upcoming pig picking party.

[Rich Lucibella]

Sigh-
Here we go again.

Guys-
If you're hunting over feeders with hogs familiar to Man; do what you will. But I defy anyone here to put one "right behind the ear" in any Real hog hunt. I've already made that challenge and it's already been answered; the results were quite negatory.

Someone wanna step up and take the TFL Hog Challenge, Part Deux? It's gonna require a $$$ bet. Our bet: We'll get you on hogs; Your bet: you'll kill one with a .45. No feeders; no posing; just a real hunt.
Step up or stifle yourselves. People are watching!
Rich

[Ledbetter]

It got so quiet.

[12-34hom]

Rich, instead of a 45 would a 10mm suffice. if so i'd be game.

12-34hom.

[whiskey]

Rich, we live close enough. I would like to hunt somewhere else.

Yes, I was planning on hunting a feeder, but I was unaware of the other requirements/posts/challenges.

I would love to hunt non-feeder hogs and be able to get within 25 yards. I know that some herds of hogs are too weary to get within 25 yards except with the most perfect conditions/set-up. However, I have hunted hogs on management land that were not feeder hogs and have gotten much closer than 25 yards. I think that any handgun hunter worth his salt should be able to kill a hog with a head shot at less than 25 yards with a .45 auto.

I have not done it with a .45 but it should not be any more difficult to hit a pig with a .45 than with any other handgun. If this is true, then the only question is will the .45auto kill the pig, right? I have no doubt that the .45 auto loaded correctly will kill any pig with a head shot. It will kill most with a body shot.

I think the challenge is in getting close enough to use an open sighted pistol on a pig, not that a .45 will do the job. Do you agree?

I will try to stalk a pig this weekend. I will try to get close enough to use my 45auto and I will let everyone know how it went. I enjoy hunting. I enjoy challenges. I will enjoy trying to complete this. However, I don't think being able to do this will prove anything to me. I don't think it means that I am a better hunter than anyone else. I am just not clear what the hard part is here.

edited to add:

I do not claim to be able to get within handgun range everytime I hunt pigs, but I have done it enough to make it my perfered method of hunting. Yes I hunt over feeders sometimes, but I stalk too. I use the same gun.

[Capt. Charlie]

Here's the prior thread that was mentioned. Lots of good info, and lots o' laughs.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...=185104&page=4

[20cows]

I don't know about a .45 acp on a feral hog, but the javalina I shot with mine (230 gr Golden Sabre) had time to run off before he died. It was a behind the shoulder lung shot at 20 yards. There was no exit wound and no blood trail. He was found a couple of weeks later by the smell.

Needless to say, it was kinda' dissappointing. (The .38-55 did a much better job.)

[H&H,hunter]

Reality check!

Of the hundreds and hundreds of hogs we've killed over the years I can only think of one or two intentional head shots.

Ashley hunts them with a pistol and kills them all the time. .44Mag .500Linebaugh, .475 Linebaugh ETC.

A head shot with a rifle is an extremely low percentage shot on real life wild hog. If you've ever seen a hog skull you'd know why. It is darn near impossible with a pistol under real life wild hunting conditions.

Here's the other little dark secret, shoot one with a proper handgun load say a 330 gr Garret .44 Mag and even with a nearly prefect body hit in the lungs you will more often than not have a blood tracking job ahead of you.

Arguing the merits of a .45ACP over a 9MM on wild hogs is like having a heated argument over which was the better drag car, the Pinto or the Gremlin.

[Rich Lucibella]

Arguing the merits of a .45 AP over a 9MM on wild hogs is like having a heated argument over which was the better drag car, the Pinto or the Gremlin.

ROTFLMAO!

Guys-
Just for background, H&H is one of my Texas hunting pards. He knows from whence he speaks and has hunted hogs longer and far more often than I.

12-34hom-
For my money, you are on the right track, Charlie. I think that a hot loaded 10mm (Buffalo Bore, for instance) is probably the minimum handgun caliber for the job. Best bet would be a broadside lung shot, behind the shoulder. I have real doubts about getting to the heart on a shoulder shot. In any case, a hog is not a "dead" hog unless the kill is confirmed....agreed?

Well, absent a real good tracking dog, I'll give you about a 30% chance of finding that 10mm lung shot hog.

Whiskey-
Chances are, we'll get you to within 25 yards. But let me understand something here: are you claiming ability to hit a 3 inch target with a handgun at 25 yards? Offhand? Under field conditions? Consistently?

If so, not only are your skills world class, but you stand to make a LOT of money. I'll give you 3:1 odds. I'll pick up all travel and camp expenses; fly you out personally; and if we don't get you to within 25 yards, lasered, the bet is off.

Once you pull the trigger, you can shoot as many times as you wish. A dead hog is defined as one we get pictures of with you sitting behind it with your .45. No do-overs; no "let's look for another one".

How fair is that? Let's start talking dates and the wager. Go.
Rich

[H&H,hunter]

Rich,

Blood tracking dog is in progress. "Good" blood tracking dog is going to take some time.

However, the way I've been shooting lately the dog is going to get some serious practice here in the next couple of months.

So if our hunter miffs the shot inside of 25 yards does he get to pay all of your travel expenses?

Now that puts some pressure on!

[whiskey]

I shoot hogs in the head, I guess I am being liberal by saying the head, because I also include the "neck" behind the ear. Usually it is really the head and the brains are removed in the process. Usually it is with a .44mag with a 300gr XTP out of a Ruger Super Blackhawk.

I guess where we hunt ain't the real world and the pigs we are shooting aren't really "real world" wild hogs.

I have seen pigs run off from a 12ga slug to the vitals and I have seen them fall over dead from a .357mag to the heart. I have seen them go feet up from an arrow to the vitals. I have seen them run off without bleeding enough to trail from all sorts of firearms. I have never seen one run off from a head shot.

This is just the way I do it. It may not be right or best, but it works well for me.

Rich, No I am not saying I can hit the first hog I see within 25 yards. I wouldn't, just as I am sure you wouldn't, take a bad shot just to prove something. If the conditions were right, if the shot was good and I had a clean shot under 25 yards, then yes I would shoot.

I don't want you to pay for a hunt or bet money. You are welcome to come hunt with me for free. No cost to you but the gas from your house. We will walk around in the woods and if we see a pig on the trail within distance, I will shoot it with a .45 or you can shoot it with whatever you like.

I enjoy hunting and I like to do it ethically. I don't think a .45 to the head is unethical if the shot is good. I don't "hunt" with a .45, but I do know it will kill a hog.

[H&H,hunter]

Whiskey,

"Real world" in my book is no feeders no baits no spot lights.

These hogs are purely wild never been fenced and hunted hard. I find them to be about as weary as your average mountain grizzly.

And much like a bear they can be approached to close range while feeding or sleeping but also like a bear that requires them to be spotted first. Not an easy trick in the terrain which encompases this ranch.

So a lot of the shots we get tend to be jump shots as they break cover at close range.

This tends to be quite a bit more challenging than hunted from a stand over a bait.

[whiskey]

According to the guys over at texasboars.com, this is the best kill zone on a hog.

[whiskey]

I have stalked pigs in Florida swamps and palmetto flats that are free range and never been to a feeder. Usually they are management area pigs and are hunted hard. I know what you mean about hard to get an easy shot. However, I didn't claim to be good enough to hit a running pig with any handgun, although I may be? I don't usually shot at running game. I would rather wait and get a better shot. I have killed pigs from the ground, away from feeders with a handgun. I am not saying it is a piece of cake, just that doing it with a .45 is no harder than doing it with any other handgun.

[H&H,hunter]

Whiskey,

Sounds like you're our man.

The offer is on the table. Your move.

[whiskey]

OK after reading the previous post I better understand why Rich is in a tizzy about this talk of shooting pigs with a 9mm or 45 auto. I don't think I would like to hunt pigs in the style that Rich and gang hunted in Texas with a pistol at all. I have hunted "swamp buggy" style down around Okeechobee. We used shotguns, camp rule, with buck shot. It worked ok, but we had to use dogs to track usually and often had to use catch dogs to hold the wounded pig for the knife guy (not me).

I don't want anyone to think that I am claiming to be able to hit any running animal with a .45 or that I think the .45 is the best choice. I hunt differently. I walk quietly in known hog havens and get lucky enough to have them cross trails close enough for a shot.

Anyone who has been in the woods with hogs know that they do not sneak through the palmettos. You can hear them feeding and moving. It is not impossible to get ahead of the pigs and set up for a good close shot when they hit a clearing. This is the way I do it.

I will take a pig with a .45 and report the results. I just want to see the hole it makes in the pig.

[FirstFreedom]

C'mon whiskey - do it like Harley Quinn did! A free hunt is a free hunt! Fun for all involved even if not successful. Plus you'll eat like a king with Chef Rich (maybe he'll sing a song for you like Chef on Southpark). And, you can cheat with a .45 super - I'll loan you my Springfield longslide 6" in Super if you like. It's a ".45". Can't wait to read another thread on a pistol hog hunt - what a hoot. Too bad pigs don't stop when you grunt or whistle like deer.... I'm starting to think I was crazy for even asking this question:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=196591

And here's the *original* thread that got the whole great hog hunt 4 page thread started:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=184571

[Art Eatman]

I've never hunted with a pistol, but I've often gotten close enough to deer and hogs that I'd feel confident in taking a shot at that five or ten yards. Even so, I'd prefer a .44 Mag or .45 Colt over the ACP.

Ruark said, "Use enough gun." Well, yeah, but a little bit more than just enough ain't a bad thing...

, Art

[CobrayCommando]

Well I think I might have cost Rich alot of money here!

Sorry man!

[impact]

Yah I'm thinking the same thing as Art. I've shot many .......... Piglets with a 45.........Colt!

I love my mini 30 for close range. The last two hogs I shot I could have shot with a 45 acp. But drop them dead in there tracks? I don't know? One was a feeder hog and the other I chased through the woods.

[impact]

Well I think I might have cost Rich alot of money here!

Sorry man!

I think we should all get together and hunt hogs and see what we can do. Lets go have fun!

[Rich Lucibella]

Whiskey-
First off, I'm honestly not calling you out. In a tizzie about people hunting hog with .45? Perhaps. Same with .22 LR Coyote Assassins. I consider it inefficient, non-productive and, yes (despite your claims to the contrary), unethical.

I've hunted FL hogs as I live here too. Now don't get me wrong. Florida has hogs every bit as feral as Texas. However, as you know, our most concentrated hunting here are areas where humans are hardly an "event" for them.

Yes, I, too, believe that, under the right conditions, I could take a feral hog with a .45. Hell, under the "right" conditions, I could take one with a pen knife. But hunting, true hunting, never allows us to pick the conditions. That's why we call it "hunting", no?

So, if I'm challenging you, it's for one claim only. The claim that you can ace a hog (I couldn't care if it's feet were buried in cement) with a brain shot from a .45 at 25 yards. Once again, that is a 3 inch target....one and one half inches square....take a skull and measure it. I don't care how many you've hit with a .44 Mag where "the brains are removed in the process". We are talking a 3" hit on a truly feral hog, at 25 yards...with a 45 ACP...from offhand...under field conditions...on demand...consistently. No matter how you spin it, that is World Class Shooting.

Know what really gets me "tizzied" about it? It tells those just starting out that this is acceptable, if you know you're a "good" shot. The result? Lots of wounded hogs; lots of stories about how "I just know he ran off and died"; lots of jaw breaks....every thing's fun and games until someone "puts an eye out".

So, I'll give you the next shot at The Challenge. You tell us what rules are acceptable and we'll see if we can't accommodate to allow you to prove to everyone else here that the 45 ACP is an appropriate, chosen weapon for killing feral hogs.
Rich