Wowser!
Excellent question here, and there seem to be a lot of people contributing who have a better background of experience than I have with either 10mm or .41 magnum.
Also, I seem to be reading some "there ain't nothing better than a .44 magnum for ... almost anything."
I have this brochure published by Winchester which shows factory load stats for both both calibers. The 10mm Winchester seems to be hotter in terms of muzzle velocity than the .41 magnum, so I'm willing to accept for the sake of dicussion that the 10mm is at least comparable to the .41 magnum.
This may not be a convincincing arguement in favor of the 10mm, which is the point I would like to make in terms of pure ballistics. But I remember shooting the .41 magnum ( which I consider a definitive caliber, compared to the .44 magnum, if only in terms of 'shootability' ) and I recall shooting 18 grains of Red Dot behind a 200gr Lead Bullet with a gas check. The darned Ruger Blackhawk insisted on recoiling to a vertical position. I never considered this a desireable reaction to a hunting load, even if you got a first-shot hit.
I have loaded the .41 magnum with 18 grains of Red-Dot, behing a 210 cast=lead bullet, and it was ear-splitting. Also, essentialy unmaneagible.
As a contrast, the 10mm factory full-power loads (I of course don't know the powder or amount of powder) behind a 200gr FMJ is a heavy load ... but the recoil is entirely manageable.
I love the .41 magnum, but if I was after game which might reasonably be expected to require a make-up shot regardless of the caliber, I would prefer to use a round which fits in a gun with a 20-round magazine capacity, quick return to battery/sight-picture, and a reasonable transfer of energy on the first-round hit. The 10mm in a semi-automatic (in my experience, the STI Edge which features a full dust-cover) more nearly meets this criterea than does the Ruger Blackhawk in .41 magnum.
Both calibers feature a case design which is extremely robust, which suggests that you can load them very 'hot' without risking structural failure of the case ... which would render either action hors de combat.
Personally, I give the edge to the 10mm, in a proper frame (again, I am very impressed by the STI Edge) in the semi-auto family.)
It probably comes down to a few criterea:
BULLET WEIGHT AND CONFIGURATION: Both seem to max out at about 200-210 grains, and I haven't found HP bullets in either caliber ... which is significantly superior. The HP may be better, but for this game animal a solid slug might be preferable, and Montana Gold Bullets makes an excellent 200gr Truncated Round Nose bullet which is extermely reliable in the semi-auto.
Both frames are commonly built on robust frames, which can probably take almost any load you care to shoot. I'm a fan of the faster, flatter load; which explains my preference for the .41 magnum over the .44 magnum. If nothing else, the ballistics are in favor of the .41 magnum rather than the .44 magnum. (And in direct comparison, the .44 is a bugger to shoot!)
Ballistically, the .10mm in semi-auto is at least directly comparable to the .41 magnum. And the semi-auto would seem to be much more comfortable when confronted to feral hogs, or other dangerous game, than the big-recoil revolver rounds.
Of course, it is absurd to campare the easy-to-reload the 20-round 10mm magazine with the single-action .41 magnum capacity of the Ruger Blackhawk. Reload time on the pistol is obviously advantageious when compared with the single-action revolver.
Maybe it's just me, but when comparing the semi-auto pistol advantages of the 10mm pistol with the .41 Magnum single-action revolver, the convenience of reloading and second-shot capability of the pistol seem obviously greater than the exquisite capabilities of a bigbore single-action revolver.
Of coures, if you have access to the Israeli pistol in .41 magnum, that changes the equation dramatically.
Bottom line:
Those tuskers have significant tactical advantages over the pitiful human biological defense mechanisms. I would choose a very short 'brush-gun' rifle with appropriate sights (a C-more or Ghost Ring), depending on your personal preferences, for feral hogs. Listen to Jeff Cooper when chosing your brush-gun, and only choose to hunt the feral hog with a pistol if you are determined to prove something to somebody.
My personal choices would be (in order) an M-14 with a 20-round magazine, an M60 with a 200-round belt, or a BAR (in .30-06) with a 20-round magazine.
Those porkers scare the 'scaramange' out of me.
Jerry the Easily frightened, but OLD by virtue of caution) Geek
LJ if you do use the 200 grainers as a first choice followed by the 180 grains unless you have some magsafe ammo or try the rbcd ammo.
