I'm hoping to do some hog hunting in March which I have never done before. I'm also hoping to use a revolver which will be a new experience. I've got a Ruger Redhawk that I'm shooting well and it is what I plan to use.

I've played with loads up to 300 grains at around 1400 fps but it seems that many people are completely happy with 255 grain hard cast bullets at 1200 fps as a general purpose big game load. Is there any reason to go heavier or faster for hog hunting?

255 at 1200 should EASILY do the job.

Will VERY easily do the job. I kill hogs regularly with a SAA loaded with 255 grain hard-cast bullets at 1000 fps.

The same bullet at 200 fps more will do anything you could want and produce less wear and tear on the revolver.....and more importantly....on the shooter. The "full bore" loadings with heavy bullets at "magnum" velosity just aren't nessisary.

I can hardly wait until the little piggies become a bigger problem in Ohio!
Just a few more years and we'll be blastin them too
and havin some sweet BarB que's

Speaking of barbeque, how would people rate Texas pigs as table fare?

I'm going to be flying from Canada to Wichita Falls to visit a friend (who isn't a hunter) and hopefully get in a little side trip to hunt if I can get that worked out. If things go well I wouldn't mind flying back with a cooler full and the rest in his freezer.

I've shot everything from mild to wild out of my Ruger Bisley, and killed hogs with all of them. These days I tend to run a 280 to 300 gr. load around 1050 fps. It will shoot through a hog lengthwise. You should have no worries. Good luck hunting!

I agree, 255 to 300 gr boolits are ideal but you don't need super velocity. I use the LBT 335 gr a lot at 1160 fps and nothing much will stop it. I shot that boolit through a 16" diameter tree so it should work if you line up a few pigs!

Under 300Lbs thery are very good and easy to cook.

Just slow cook over a grill or smoke.

Over 300Lbs (boar) it will take some skill.


Snake

I agree that hogs are fine table fare......even the huge 400-500# boars eat pretty good as long as they aren't breeding (rutting?) actively or stirred up by dogs or wounding before being killed.

However......just how much pork can you eat?? ColsPaul, be very careful what you wish for as far as wanting more hogs. For several years we actually trapped and hauled hogs INTO our hunting club. We THOUGHT that's what we wanted. Then they "took" and within three years we were trying everything possible to get rid of them (unsuccessfuly I might add).

Hogs are unbelievably destructive and prolific. Once established they will out breed and out eat all other wildlife and be the ruin of your hunting area. If you could have just a "few" hogs around to hunt, that would be nice. Unfortunately hogs don't work that way......it's either none or too many.

If you want proof of that just look for any story about wild pigs in NZ in the forties. Before WWII the pig population was kept in check by hunters, while the men were away at war the population exploded. There were quite a few farmers forced off their land due to the damage pigs did, they went from one or two pigs to mobs of hundreds that would move like a swarm of locusts destroying everything.
Once they got like that they were pretty much good for nothing, they started to get really lousy and you could hardly find a fat pig or one with enough meat on its bones to eat.

That is the situation you guys could easily face in the not too distant future.

Absolutely. I've been through the whole "gotta have a 45 Colt Magnum" phase, and while it was fun while it lasted, I'm much happier totin' and shootin' 255-265 gr bullets at 1000-1100 fps.

Haven't killed a lot of pigs in Texas -- yet -- but I've killed tonnage of them elsewhere... for something over three decades.

On the basis of that considerable experience, I would suggest that there can be a profound difference between trophy and tasty. For table fare, I've always targeted boars under 150 or sows of any size.

Yep, but there is another level of power that clearly is in the "Ruger Only" range but isn't hard on the gun or the shooter, and that is the 300 grain bullet between 1000 and 1100 fps. Or even up to 1200 fps. That's a far cry from the fire breathing 325 gr. 1300 to 1400 fps load that a lot of people think of when they think of "45 Magnum" loads. And then there is the real powerhouse loads developed for 5 shot cylinders only. It's easy to significantly upgrade the 45 Colt without going overboard.

Landrum

Ahhhhh........on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best....I'd rate them a 1 or 2. We typically leave them lay if it's okay with the farmer....or drag them out to the turnrows to let the coyotes feast. Take the backstraps if anything.

Well, my overall impression is that I will bring the Redhawk to Texas with me and I'm going to load it with hard cast 255 grainers with enough HS-6 to give me 1200fps or maybe a bit less depending on accuracy. I am also going to bring a couple coolers.

Good plan Fraser. That load should be easy on the shooter and very effective on the biggest of hogs.

Might want to bring more than a "couple" of ice chests though. If the hogs are thick you can kill as many as you want and a 200+ pound hog yields a LOT of meat.

Don't let those who say hogs are not good on the table fool you. Even VERY big bores can be good as long as they aren't stired up before shooting, are killed clean, and the meat taken care of. They WILL have a more distinctive flavor than veal, but if you like wild game, you'll like the hogs too.

Most who tell you they are no good and leave 'em where they fall......don't really like the taste of any wild game and give away the deer they might kill.

A pleasant shooting 275 gr WFN at 1050 fps out of a 44 Mag drilled this guy. No need for speed.

Not me. Love deer, quail, dove, any kind of fish. I'm even one of those that will go to the trouble to make goose and crane jerky (and make it taste good, by the way). I've cut the straps out of a few wild hogs and didn't really care for it. I may try a very young one some day....or maybe not??

Texas Rick, while I would enjoy shooting more than a couple that is likely all it will be. One for the friend that I'm visiting and one that I will bring as much as possible back in a cooler on the plane.

Tony, I don't see the hog arguing if it was enough gun or not so I'm inclinced to agree with you.

On the topic of whether or not it is good eating, I figure if I didn't care for it as it is, I would be making a huge batch of sausge. With enough seasoning it would be good I'd bet.