[kennygarza]

Is the .357 mag out of a carbine enough for hogs? I'm in the market for a hunting/plinker carbine.
Thanks.
KG

[Nathanael_Greene]

I use a .30-06 myself, but lots of guys hunt pigs with a .357 carbine.

[Ohen Cepel]

I took a 300lb wild boar with a Glock 10mm so the .357 should be fine out of a carbine. As always, take a careful shot and it should be effective.

[MCgunner]

Use a heavy bullet. There are these Buffalo Bore carbine loads that have great advertized numbers, right up there with .30-30, but I haven't tested 'em and have a "show me" attitude until I do. I have a 158 grain SWC handload and a 180 grain handload I'd think would do the job just fine. Really BIG hogs with big grissle plates, though, I really would want more penetration I think, but if a 10mm from a handgun does it, a .357 with a proper bullet from a carbine would. My 158 grain load is stepping out near 1900 fps from my 20" Rossi M92. I know it ain't found a deer that was immune and I rather doubt I'd have a problem with a hog. Game needs to be inside 100 yards, though.

[loadedround]

Unless you are an excellent offhand shot, I believe that your .357 mag would be a little too light and Boars have big tusks you know.

['Card]

If it were me, and I had a choice, I'd want a legitimate rifle cartridge (and a fairly hard-hitting one at that) for hogs.

But I'm not gonna lie to you. If a .357mag carbine is all I had? Hell, I'd try it. It'd be a long way from being the dumbest thing I've ever done.

[High Planes Drifter]

I think I'd look into something a bit more powerfull if I were still shopping. There are better choices than the .357 for hogs.

[Matt G]

It can be made to make do, but there are far better choices out there.

[Thin Black Line]

Do yourself and the hog a favor and use something bigger....much bigger....

[kennygarza]

Thanks guys. I may just stick with my .30-06 until I find either a .44 or .45-70. I was just thinking of something a little more compact than the big long gun.
KG

[mbt2001]

.357 Magnum Carbine is a great hog rifle...

The only problem that I have, and I have said this before, but I think that ballistic charts are wacky... For instance, the .357 can launch a similar sized bullet as a 30-30 at about the same velocity and it doesn't hit as hard????

Doesn't make sense to me at all.

In the old days they used 44-40's to take just about everything and it worked... But for some reason in the current age we need a .375 H&H to hunt squirell....

Use it. The .38 specials shot out of it make a great small to intermediate game round. Go for head and neck shots.

[Gohon]

the .357 can launch a similar sized bullet as a 30-30 at about the same velocity and it doesn't hit as hard????

That’s because you really can't launch a .357 at the speed of the 30-30. The best 158 grain store bought loads in .357 are doing maybe 1500-1600 fps while the 150 grain 30-30 is pushing 2200-2300 fpe. Even hand loads won't reach the 30-30 velocities. Having said that I've taken a couple hogs with my 357 Marlin, but I hand load 180 grain hard cast bullets with gas checks. These average about 1700 fpe and they penetrate deep. I have some Hornady 158 XTP's that are pushing a little over 1800 fps and these might hold up well for hogs but I use them on deer at short ranges. If I were buying a rifle just for hogs the 357 wouldn't be my choice and neither would the 44 mag. But, if you have one already or you want one because they are a fun gun to shoot, and they are just that, then you can make do with the proper loads. I believe Winchester loads a 180 grain partition in .357 that just may well work on hogs also.

[Crosshair]

Anyone make a modern lever gun in 357 Maximum? Extra power and you can still use regular .357 Mag in it.:)

[Matt G]

The only problem that I have, and I have said this before, but I think that ballistic charts are wacky... For instance, the .357 can launch a similar sized bullet as a 30-30 at about the same velocity and it doesn't hit as hard????
Not only does the .357 not get nearly as fast as the .30-30 for a given bullet weight, but the .30-30 bullets generally have much greater sectional density, equating to better penetration.

If I were taking a .357 for hog, I would start with the hot 180g loads that are sometimes found, and take very careful shots.

Please understand, I think that .357 carbines are really fun! I just don't really know what it is that they do best. They tend to be a "make do" gun. They are handy, but then so is a .30-30 trapper. (And for all this talk of .30-30s as superior to the .357 Mag, I don't consider the .30-30 to be any great giant-killer, itsself. But its penetration and performance on hogs should be improved with the 170 loadings. [I took a shoat with a .30-30 trapper with a 150g Silvertip, few years back.])

[P. Plainsman]

The best 158 grain store bought loads in .357 are doing maybe 1500-1600 fps
http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#357

"5. 18.5 inch Marlin 1894

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard Cast = 1851 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC = 1860 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Speer Uni Core = 2153 fps"

[mbt2001]

You guys are looking at handgun charts for rifles. The sectional density point is well taken, but go get a .357 carbine and shoot a hog with it. It does pretty well.

I would really like to see a 10mm carbine. That would be the ultimate utility gun.

[115grfmj]

As far as power goes, I've chronied my favorite store bought round
S&B 158gr sp at over 1800 fps (Spread 1825-1875) from my 18.5 "
barrel. BTW it's my favorite round because it's 11 bucks a box, meaning I
can shoot more:evil: . My balistic software tells me that at 50 yards will give
1000 fpe, and 800 still by 100 yds. Granted not a long range cartridge but
out to 100 yards with this load will give you excellent terminal performance on
deer, and hog. With the hot rodded loads like Buff Bore (which Iv'e tried to great sucess 275lb hog 80 yards DRT) you can launch a 158 grain pill at 2200 fps (Ive chronied). You extend your range to 150 yards to drop below the all important 800 fpe. This load is only a gnats fart away from the performance of a 30-30, and with heavier wider diameter bullet. It also doesnt drop to handgun energy levels until it passes the 200 yd mark.

In short the longer barrel carbine gives exponential increases to the 357. Anything you feel comfortable taking with a 30-30 you can take with a .357 rifle.
Heres mine.
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=24784&d=1116506991

[High Planes Drifter]

Still hunting or dog hunting?

My Dad killed a 225 pound sow last Saturday with his Makarov. The dogs ran it down; and pretty as you please, my old man delivered one round right to the ear. Hog was down in an instant, you'd have thought it had a brain anurism. You know what? Its far from the first he's killed with it. Heck, you can hog tie a pig once dogs have it on the ground, and it wont take more than a sharp knife , or a .22 to do it in. Still hunting is a different story, but with dogs, a .357 carbine is more than enough. All I carry is my Sig. I've only popped one with it (small, about 120#), but it didnt move an inch either. If still hunting go with something offering more penetration as you wont be able to just walk up to the pig and put a round in its ear. Or better yet, GO GET SOME HOG DOGS !!!!:cuss: