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I'm leaving for a feral hog hunt in SE Georgia next week. I've got some last-minute trepidations.

I'm planning on taking a few rifles, so I have a choice. One of them will be a Ruger Model 44 in 44 Mag, for the tighter venues where I'll be hunting them over bait and the range will be 40 yards or so. My question is in regards to this rifle and the loads I've currently got for it.

I'm currently shooting 240 grain Hornady XTP's over H110. These did well on deer. I drilled a nice buck with it a couple of weeks ago. However, a couple of times I've mentioned this load folks have turned up their noses-- bullet not strong enough, etc.

My question to y'all is this, do you see any problem launching 240 grain Hornady XTP's at the hogs? Do you see any problem with any particular shot, i.e. in the ear, between the eyes, or in the boiler room?

It will work fine. I routinely kill them with 40-77gr bullets in 223 with chest shots.

This one succumbed to a 25gr Hornady out of the 17 Rem last week. Hog “shields” and double plated skulls are largely bullschit.

I lived on a farm growing up we killed hundreds with a .22 LR in the ear or make an x between ears and eyes..crack/plop go stick them.

No problem at all. Hogs don't take much killing. My favorite aiming point is in the neck area in front of the shoulder and slightly behind and under the ear. Pretty big target and they normally just drop and paddle. Looks from the picture up above from The Kid that he shot that one where I normally try to shoot them. Their lungs sit a little further towards the front than a deer so if you are going to shoot them behind the shoulder make sure it is up very tight behind the shoulder.

You’ll have no issues at all with that setup. Head, neck, or chest will end with a dead hog. Like others have mentioned a forward shoulder shot is devastating. I’ve used the 240gr xtp with great results out of my S&W 629.

I've killed more hogs with my 30-30 than any other rifle I got. Shoot'em in the head and just about any rifle will do.

It will be fine! We kill them with most any thing. 223 to 338 Win mag

If it already works for you don't sweat it. Just shoot as precisely as you can. Good luck and Be Well. Rustyzipper.

No matter what you take, have fun on your trip.

Cool. Thanks y'all. I just needed a quick reality check.

I doubt the fellows that poo-poohed the XTP had any kind of experience with hogs.

I don't kill as many pigs as some, but it generally exceeds 30 per year. I almost exclusively use a 7x57, but I've killed them with my .444, .30-30, a .30-06, .308, .270, .260, and probably a few more that I can't remember. I haven't shot any with a .44, although I've often thought how the 77/44 is probably as close to the perfect pig setup for shots within 125 yards as you can get. As has been said, just make sure you're careful about shot placement. No cartridge or caliber will compensate for a poorly placed shot, especially if you're going to be hunting terrain in which a wounded animal can disappear within fifteen or twenty feet of being hit. I mostly use a CNS shot or break the shoulders. Both will result in the classic drop-and-paddle.

Good hunting!

RM

Will a .404 Jeffery with 400 grain Woodleigh soft points be adequate for hogs?

Asking for a friend.

Nope, it will bounce off the shoulder shield. You'll need a solid, for sure.

Thanks Rev,I'll let the person know!

shaman,

shot placement and penetration, not power, is the key to success. Anything with a TTSX works well. A .260 with a 100 gr TTSX, .308 with 130 TTSX, or .308 with 175 SMK are what I use most often and all work well.

The .243 with an 80 TTSX has worked well enough, but is the only Barnes bullet that has failed to exit.

The .44 Mag tends not to penetrate consistently on the larger pigs from personal experience.

What are your other options?

If you can reliably make the shot, aim for the base of ear, otherwise go for the base of the neck down 1/3 to 1/2 from the top of the back.

I dunno..Ive killed a couple dozen with a .223...only one with a .44

I think its cause I only used the .44 on one...

Earhole em. DRT

358 Win does a good job on pigs.

What he said. Or between the eyes about 1" high if they're looking your way.

Don't sweat it. Shouldn't be an issue. Ive used all kinds of stuff before...lost some with some big bore stuff, dropped some in track with 22lr sub-sonics. All about shot placement. Slay them all!!

I've killed a lot of hogs over the years, with everything from a .22 LR to .300 Win Mag. I LIKE .300 Savage for hogs, but my favorite hog gun is a suppressed .44 "mag", shooting sub sonic 300-330gr hardcast lead bullets. I like shoulder shots, for a few reasons.

Mike Holmes

I kill the trapped pigs with a suppressed 308 load. 11 grain of trailboss with a 170 grain Nosler Partition made for a 30-30. Makes short work of piggies.

Me too. Remington Corlokt 150gr. Have used .22 magnum ( with solids) .44 mag Marlin carbine, 35 Whelen AI, .280 Remington, 22-250AI, .224 TTH. Head or base of skull ( head/neck junction)

A .223 AR is a great weapon for pig hunting when loaded with 62 grain Barnes bullets!

Same here. I’ve shot more with a 22lr than anything else. Always got an exIt with a 240g in a .44 special so don’t see why a 44mag wouldn’t be more of the same

I used the plain old Federal blue box 308 150 gr sp in an R25 and Steyr Scout. No escapees. Did finish one of the ten with my 45 ACP concealed carry as he was still alive as I walked up. Sprayed blood and gray matter everywhere. He still tasted good. Good luck and Be Well, Rustyzipper.

The 150 GameKing in a 308 does a fine job too.

I just now buttoned up the rifle cases for the trip. We're leaving Monday after I get off shift.

The final:

Ruger Model 44 Carbine w. 44 Mag 240 grain Hornady XTP
Ruger Super Blackhawk (same ammo as above)
Savage 99 in 308 Win w. 165 grain Hornady Interlock
Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06 w. 165 grain Hornady Interlock

I'll keep the Hawkeye in reserve as a backup, preferring to give the others a good airing.


Back in the early 80's, I did my first boar hunting trip with my buddy Jerry. Bob, the prior owner of my Model 44, was not feeling well and didn't go. Jerry picked a Super Blackhawk and his Model 44 for backup. I was a complete newbie. Jerry sold me a Rem 742 in 30-06 that I took on the trip.

Long story short: Jerry decided he didn't trust the scope on the 44 carbine and pulled it off the night before the hunt. He forgot to test the irons. Next morning, Jerry tried to take a boar with the pistol and forgot to put a lead on the trotting animal-- managed to shoot it in the ass. He now had a 3-legged boar trying to kill both him and the guide. Jerry put the pistol away and brought up his carbine. It took a few shots for him to realize the irons were shooting high and to the right by a foot.

Just before he ran out of ammo, Jerry managed to subdue the pig with a shot to the heart. Meanwhile, I was already out at the truck, listening to the firefight from a safe distance. Jerry and the guide came out a half-hour later amid pouring rain. Jerry was pale. The guide's poncho was shredded from where he'd made contact with the pig.

My hope is to take at least one animal with the Model 44 Carbine as both a tribute to Bob, and to prove to myself I can kill a hog with fewer shots than it took Jerry. The Super Blackhawk is Jerry's. I bought it off him the next year. I want bragging rights when I see him again. He died in '92.

Kill'em all!

Have fun doing it!

I've killed a bunch with factory Win 180 grain .30-06 Power Points. Your choices look fine to me.
Bob

Imagine, killing porkers with CB shorts. Your 44 ought'a work. Put the bullet where it counts, and best of luck to you. KILL 'EM ALL!

Dan,
what distance were those shot?
what is the maximum distance that you think a .22 will penetrate a large hog skull with 100% reliability?

I hope you kill a bunch of damn pigs.

Dan what make and model red dot is that?

That's the combo I like, .30-06 and 180 bullets. My favorite is the Speer Hot-Cor, but Sometimes I use my deer load, a 180 SST. When we are out exterminating hogs the 180 in a .30-06 will reliably kill if you take a Texas heart shot with your aim point being the opening directly under the tail.

Hard not to like a 30-06.

That is a Millett SP-1 on the short shooter. Longest shot I've taken was 38 yards, measured after the fact. Broadside through the neck and vertebrae with exit on the offside. Pig was about 75# as I recall.

I still hunt. Most shots have been between 15-25 yards. The boar pictured previously was the only one out of 125+ that required two shots. 1st was behind the ear and did not penetrate the skull. He hardly reacted to it, but after a few moments looked my way and caught one in the forehead. The bullet was found about 6" deep in neck muscle behind the skull.

I don't shoot them thru the neck when they get up much over 125#, at least not with shorts. I dunno what max range with a RF might be. I would be OK out to 50-60 yds I guess. The important thing is to wait for them to drop their snout to minimize the angle at impact.

I strongly suggest one not do this with HP rounds. Their terminal performance sucks when crashing thru heavy bone.

A minor followup on point of where to shoot 'em and where not.

Series of pics follow with intention of clarifying the experience related above on the big porker.

Shot #1: The upper aft quarter of a pig's skull has an exterior and interior structure. In this case the bullet penetrated two layers of bone and lightly fractured the boar's inner skull plate. He looked up, seeming somewhat puzzled and went back to rooting around.


Shot #2: Three views that are self explanatory.






The bullet after it's journey:


Pig anatomy 101:
:

bit of XTP users here. 180 xtp in 10mm Glocks. Have yet to have a deer or pig not die from them. Only been shooting em a few years but really impressed. Everything we shoot with 180 xtps dies and quickly usually.

So much so I've bought them in lots of other calibers since.

Pigs are not hard to kill. Just like deer. Put the bullet where it belongs, dead animal.

I once tested the damage of a 10mm on the heads of two dead hogs. Both were big, domesticated hogs my SIL & friend shot. I just went along for the trip. Both shots were with the hog on its side. First was 230gr HC Doubletap. Complete penetration, lost it in the hard ground. Second was the Doubletap 155 Barnes TAC-X. I found it just hanging in the offside ( one of the "x" petals had grabbed on. The entire skull was shattered inside! Glock 29 factory length aftermarket barrel. Nice!

More pig anatomy...shot with a .222...that spot between eye and ear is a perfect brain shot...




Though I have shot a couple at the base of the ear and that seemed to work too...

Neck good also!

Between the ear and eye is the sugar when stunt shooting. I’ve pulled it off with 22 LR and Mag, 17rem, 222, 223, and 22-250. With a 44 magnum the sweet spot is pretty much the front half of the pig.

That is why you carry the big knife.
You run up and slit their throat.
Or in Hawaii you crawl up to them and either slit the throat or stick with a spear.
whelennut

Ingwe,
Sweet rifle!

Do you all eat the hogs you kill??

Most but not all. A lot of it depends on size and/or sex.

We eat a few, coyotes eat a lot!

Backstraps and hams off the smaller boars, and about the same off the sows. After a sow has about her third litter there's not enough meat on her to fool with. But yeah, the coyotes eat well. As a matter of fact, a couple of us are thinking about sitting at the gut-pile some evening just to shoot the coyotes when they come in. When I was a kid reading the outdoor magazine, coyotes were something that lived out west. Now they're everywhere around here...just like the pigs.

Never tested on dead pigs. We use live ones all the time. LOL

They have to pass the smell test for us when we walk up. If they pass we use all the meat. If not, they get dumped. Sex and size and age have not mattered. It has not failed us yet.

On our lease, a lot of that would depend on where they are. There's one spot that is bounded by "wallers" and 100% of the pigs there are going to smell rank for the simple fact that they're laying in their own urine. After a rinse there's generally no smell.

A 45 will kill them easy. I trap a lot of them. I shoot them with 40 S&w. 9mms too

A full auto Tommy gun would be fun!

I've hunted with a 44 combo similar to yours.

Be not afraid, you'll smak them down nicely with that.

I"ve posted this before.

My hunting bud can kill a pen full of hogs about as slick as any I've seen. He uses his cheap, scoped .17 HMR rifle with FMJ ammo. He slips up on the hogs and while they're looking at him, before they go bonkers, he picks out one, lines up the head between wires, hits a spot between the eyes, an inch up from midline.

Hog goes down, eye's popped out on a stem. No racket, no blood. He lines up the next one and Zap...

It takes a few minutes but is about the slickest and quietest way to clear a pen without a lot of fuss..

DF

It is fun to drive up on a pen full of piggies, shoot hell out of them!

I’ve saw several thousand meet gezzus. With a 223 and a 64 grain bullet. Shoot them thru the lungs