Feral Hog pistol in .357 magnum

[fdf]

"I know they're nocturnal, but why not hunt them in the day? They have to go somewhere. I figure that's where the hunting part comes in.
Good point about how smart they are, and possibly adaptive. That might be the biggest wrench in the works of all."


In all honesty folks shoot them when they see them. I do see them during the daylight and shoot them then.

If I am going to clean one I would rather do it during daylight. I do not like trailing hogs in the dark by myself. Once you hunt them hard enough, they do go nocturnal.

If you find a sow with piglets and shoot one of the piglets, the sow will never return to that place.

I had 3 small pigs running with my cows last year. You could call the cows and the pigs would come with them. The wife thought that was cute and they were cute. You could feed the cows and the pigs would eat with them. It was not worth discussing removing them.

[SansSouci]

The problem with big bore handguns is accurate follow-up shots. I have never, ever met anyone who could rapid fire a .44 Rem Mag with any degree of accuracy. I am sure there are people who can do it, but they are the exception and not the rule. I'd guess that fewer than 10% of handgun shooters could put 6 .44 Mag rounds in the black at 25 yards in 5 seconds. The reality is it's assuredly less than 10% of all handgun shooters.

I have shot a Freedom Arms .454 Casull exactly three times. I put that gun down and never looked at it again. In my opinion, the .454 Casull is more of a novelty than a gun of utility.

I bought a 4" GP-100 for black bear defense. Where we fish, black bear grow huge. I have seen 400 pounders in the Eastern Sierra. Every once-in-a-while there are reports of blackies going over 500 lbs.

I use 180 grain Partitions and a maximum powder charge.

Longer barreled handguns are probably better for hunting, but they are no more accurate that 4" barreled guns, and they are not trail guns. I think that as far as revolvers go, 4" is maximum length, which is why S&W Mountain Guns come with only 4" barrels. Were a bear charging me, I need my gun out and in battery yesterday. And I need to hit a bear with .357 Mag bullets as opposed to missing it with .44 Mag bullets. Therefore, were one to ask me, if the gun were for only self-defense against hogs or anything else for that matter, .357 Mag is the biggest I'd go, with nothing larger tan a 4" barrel, and with stout 180 grain bullets.

It's one thing to talk big bore handguns, it's a whole other thing to shoot them. As for me, I shot my last big bore handgun when I shot my friend's .454 Casull. And I used to own a 6" Model 629, with heavy emphasis on, "...used to own." I sold that boat anchor after owning it for about five years. I have never, ever felt a tinge of seller's remorse.

[aarondhgraham]

A 4" barrel .357 Mag revolver will certainly kill any hog,,,
But you will need to hit it in a small kill zone.

A 6" barrel will give you a better sight radius,,,
That will make it easier to aim the revolver.

I would have to get way too close to a hog,,,
To have a chance to make that shot with my 4" revolver.

With my 6" revolver I might be able to do it at 35 yards.

Yes, it can be done.

No, I wouldn't recommend it at all.

But that's just me.

Aarond

.

[Model12Win]

I'd recommend the Coonan .357 magnum automatic.

More firepower than a revolver and more stopping power as well. Since there is no barrel/cylinder gap the Coonan has higher velocities and more power.

Look them up, they're a 1911 style gun scaled up to take the .357 magnum. Sort of like a practical Desert Eagle.

[fdf]

More fire power, sounds like spray and pray hog removal, accuracy not needed only more shells.

[SansSouci]

Model12Win,

I have read a lot of positive stuff about the .357 Coonan. It definitely would deserve consideration.

The .460 Rowland/ A 260 grain bullet at 1100+ FPS out of a 5" 1911A1-type gun would be pretty darn good medicine: http://www.realguns.com/loads/460Rowland.htm

Here's more info: http://460rowland.com/

Maybe next year I'll work on buying a suitable gun that can be converted to a .460 Rowland.

[BuckRub]

I read where you wrote you don't like target shooting. Well to make a good clean kill maybe you need to rethink your target shooting befor you actually start hunting. Lol

[LOLBELL]

I read where you wrote you don't like target shooting. Well to make a good clean kill maybe you need to rethink your target shooting befor you actually start hunting. Lol

I'm pretty sure he was referring to shooting hogs over bait as the "target shooting". Some folks don't call that hunting. I almost never carry a long gun hunting any more. My gun of choice is a 41 mag with a 180 LFP home cast bullet at around 900-1000 fps. I've not had anything I've shot to get away with that combo. I don't think there is anything in the Southeast that a well placed 357 won't do the job. The challenge is putting it in the right place. I can't put it in the black at all off handed, as it has been said here, but at 100 yards I can put all six in a 6" circle. My eyes are no good so I use a scope on a Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter and limit my shots to 50-60 yards. As Dirty Harry would say, A man's gotta know his limitations