Pistol caliber for feral pig kill

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dweis

dweis

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I’m a healthy, active 80 year old who hikes 3 seasons of the year. I served in the a Corps where I became rifle and pistol proficient. Years ago I owned rifles and hunted. In 200o and in 2012 ii wrecked rotator cuffs that can not be repaired. I only shoot pistols.

I am in PA and I hike state forests, parks, and game lands except for Dec through Feb. I am getting to be a wimp. I carry my 9mm with Underwood Extreme Penetrator +P and bear spray when I hike. I have had to speak a couple bears recently. It worked great

My question is about shooting feral pigs and Eastern Coyotes. I just learned that it is mostly open season on the in PA, with a few partial exceptions. I see both animals when I hike, but only after learning of the hunting regs did I become interested in hunting them. So I am asking about hunting the feral pig with a pm loaded as I specified above. I know I can take out a coyote with that ammo. I had to shoot a 90 pound pit bull with that load a few years ago. It devastated its shoulders and lungs. But what about a big feral hog. Will a 9mm extreme penetrator in a +p or +p+ round do the deed at say 20 yards? Can I get that close? What pistol caliber do you recommend? I am not a revolver guy.
 
A pitbull is one thing, a big hog is another. That heavy cap on their shoulders is serious.
Thank you for your service!
Considering your age and military background I'm guessing you were used to carrying and shooting a 1911. It would be my opinion a 1911 in 45 Auto with a 185gr bullet would be a great choice for both critters you speak of. Up here in Northeast PA I have not seen any hogs on game lands or park lands but I know you have them down there.

I think a 1911 would be the perfect handgun and if you feel.the need you can add a red dot or laser sight to aid in hitting just right. (if your 1911 will accept one, mine won't)
 
ArchAngelCD said:
A pitbull is one thing, a big hog is another. That heavy cap on their shoulders is serious.
Thank you for your service!
Considering your age and military background I'm guessing you were used to carrying and shooting a 1911. It would be my opinion a 1911 in 45 Auto with a 185gr bullet would be a great choice for both critters you speak of. Up here in Northeast PA I have not seen any hogs on game lands or park lands but I know you have them down there.

I think a 1911 would be the perfect handgun and if you feel.the need you can add a red dot or laser sight to aid in hitting just right. (if your 1911 will accept one, mine won't)
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I read you. As a combat photographer in Nam my primary weapon was a 1911. I became very proficient with one. A 1911 was my home and business defense weapon for decades before I went to 9mm as my hands weakened. I could manage a 45 for the purpose. Although it would be too hard for my hands as an EDC. I think on it. Thanks
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
Or 10MM 1911. 180 grain hard cast loaded at 1300 FPS will pack a punch and shatter the shoulders. I have not come across any hogs either in my neck of the woods.
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There are non in my neighborhood either. I see the as I hike state parks in central PA and north central PA. A 10MM would certainly do. I am it sure whether my arthritic hands can hand that caliber for training. I’ll rent one and try it,.
 
dweis said:
I read you. As a combat photographer in Nam my primary weapon was a 1911. I became very proficient with one. A 1911 was my home and business defense weapon for decades before I went to 9mm as my hands weakened. I could manage a 45 for the purpose. Although it would be too hard for my hands as an EDC. I think on it. Thanks
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One thing you probably know but just in case, you must have a hunting license to take hogs even though the Game Commission says they are unregulated. You can kill them 365 days a year.

Coyotes are a different story. I just looked in the PA Hunting & Trapping Digest and Yotes are regulated. They are considered furbearers and do have rules. There are no limits and no closed season but during big-game seasons there are. You can hunt them day and night but not during regular Deer hunting season. You can't hunt them during the legal hours for Spring Gobbler hunting season either.
 
The shooting you are talking about would be classified as either self-defense or hunting. If self-defense, you will need to file an incident report with the Game Commission for each shooting. If you are hunting, you'll need to conform to the game laws. They change frequently, so keep up on them. You'll need to have a valid hunting license on your person (carried in your wallet is fine), for coyotes you don't need to wear orange and can use a semi-automatic. I do not know about hogs, you may not be permitted to use a semi-automatic, and you might need to wear orange. You must also be aware of restrictions due to other hunting seasons and requirements they might entail. I'd check with the Game Commission, especially about the hogs. It would be foolish to be mostly legal and intending to act within the law, and end up getting fines for an oversight of a technicality.
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
Id love to see some hogs come our way too. One of these days they will.
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Jimbo80 said:
Be careful what you wish for.
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My thoughts exactly. I know people who enjoy hunting, shooting, and eating them...but nobody that enjoys having them around.

Biased here, because 1911's are what I enjoy shooting most and I'd be leaning toward 10mm as well. I wouldn't feel undergunned with my 38 Super and 147gr XTP's in the 1300fps range or my daily carry 45ACP with 230gr SIG VCrown ammo if I needed to protect myself. If I was intending to shoot one, 10mm would be the preference.
 
dweis said:
Will a 9mm extreme penetrator in a +p or +p+ round do the deed at say 20 yards? Can I get that close?
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If you are basically hiking public land, I doubt very much if there will be a lot of instances where one could walk right up on one while it remained calm and let you shoot it. They are too smart for that in areas where there is hunting pressure. Using bait.......maybe, but even then the chances would be slim.

Howland937 said:
My thoughts exactly. I know people who enjoy hunting, shooting, and eating them...but nobody that enjoys having them around.
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Be careful of what you wish for. Feral hogs are terribly destructive to the habitat and will drive off and out compete native game for food.
 
"Feral swine are protected mammals in Pennsylvania and, thus, are under the authority of the Game Commission. However, the agency has removed protection statewide, except in counties where official eradication trapping operations are occurring. Contact a Game Commission region office for a list of protected counties. It is illegal to interfere with any official eradication trapping efforts. In any county where protection has been removed, however, licensed hunters and trappers may take feral swine. Takings of feral swine must be reported to the appropriate Game Commission region office within 24 hours. It is illegal to release any animal that is a member of the Family Suidae into the wild."

Quoted from: https://www.pgc.pa.gov/HuntTrap/Hunting/Documents/Stop Feral Swine.pdf
 
CoalCrackerAl said:
I was not aware they drive out local game.
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Everything from destroying habitat and food supplies to preying on nests and the young game animals. They are cannibalistic for crying out loud.
buck460XVR said:
Be careful of what you wish for. Feral hogs are terribly destructive to the habitat and will drive off and out compete native game for food.
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Yep. The folks that are stuck with them have my sympathy...but not enough to want any feral hogs here in OH.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
I wonder when the hogs will make it up our way? (mmmmmm bacon, chops and roasts)
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Dunno, they are kind of gamey, and on the "awful" side of gamey, in unpredictable ways. This, no doubt, reflects their omnivorous diet in the wild.

CoalCrackerAl said:
Id love to see some hogs come our way too.
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Be careful what you wish for.
The Feral pig census is hotly debated in Texas, and doubly so by our Wildlife agencies (who insist o splitting out "wild" and "russian" boars, from "intrusive ferals." Low end numbers for Texas are around 20 million, upper end numbers are running to 26-28 million. Or nearly as many pigs as Texans.

And, that's separate from the various naturally-occurring peccaries and javelina (neither of which is likely to be seen in PA).
 
Oh, and while I'd be comfortable with a 10mm auto, my first inclination for selectively culling pigs would be a .357 or a .44, fo the wide variety of good hunting rounds available.

Now, the 10mm auto would be better if surprised by a troop of pigs, who can be very protective/aggressive if moving their young too.
 
The biggest pistol you can operate.

Shots through the ears put them down quickly.
Shoulders are tough, though.

A Desert Eagle .357 or .44, if you can hold that large grip.
1911 loaded with hard cast, 200 - 230 gr

A 9mm +P or +P+ penetrator would be my minimum.

Hogs are vermin, very destructive and impossible to eradicate, once established.
 
...I'd be comfortable with a 10mm auto, my first inclination for selectively culling pigs would be a .357 or a 44...
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If you look at what's available out there in terms of commercial loadings, the 10mm and the .357 are so similar that making a decision between the two based on terminal performance is really not possible.

Find a hunting load you like in one caliber and you will be able to find a load in the other caliber that essentially duplicates the performance.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
@CoalCrackerAl,
We live about 60 miles apart. I'm up north of you, Scranton/Wilkes Barre area.
I wonder when the hogs will make it up our way? (mmmmmm bacon, chops and roasts)
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We don’t see feral hogs down here that much. The ones I see while hiking are in the central area of PA and more to the north. But they are spreading out in all directions according to Penn State Extension.
 
I have a friend that has hogs on his place sometimes. I encountered one when I deer hunted there. I had seen it earlier but lost sight of it before I could get a shot on it. I sat the rest of the afternoon, then decided I would ease out before dark because I didn't want to encounter it in the dark. I no sooner climbed down from the stand & took about 2 steps than it popped up in front of me about 20 yards away. I shouldered my rifle & was trying to find it in the scope. It put a tree between us & skedaddled. They are fast. When I went back after that I replaced the .40 I usually carried with a .357 I had. Open sights on the rifle would have been better (faster).
My friends said if they have young with them they will try to attack you. They also said they tried to hunt them out off their place but they couldn't kill them fast enough. The only way to eradicate them is trapping. I haven't had the meat but I have had multiple people tell me if you want to eat them it is best to catch them alive, feed them for a while to clean them out, then slaughter them as a pig will eat anything.

They are an invasive species that tears up people's property & wildlife habitat.
 
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