.357 Magnum load for pigs?

[Jubjub]

I'm going for a long weekend squirrel hunting next month, down in southern Missouri. The gentleman who owns the land where we will hunt says that some feral pigs have been seen in the area, and that we should shoot any we see. Somehow I don't think that a subsonic hollow point from a 10/22 is going to be the ideal choice, so I thought I'd pack a revolver in case of the unlikely event that I run across one.

I have a Smith 586 with a 6" barrel that shoots pretty well for me. I'm wondering if just plain old full power 158 grain hollow points would be suitable. I have a couple of boxes on hand of ammo loaded with Speer 158 hollow points (not the Gold Dot) over nearly a max charge of 2400.

I'm just wondering if the hollow point would penetrate enough. Maybe a hard cast SWC or a soft point would be better? I'm sure that these aren't Hogzilla sized creatures, but still I'm thinking a deeper hole would be better.

Like I said, it's pretty unlikely that I'll get a shot at one, so I'm not going to go out and spend $2.50 a round on Buffalo Bore ammo or something like that, but I could certainly pick up a box of different bullets to load up.

 

[bad_aim_billy]

I would go with 180gr hardcast.

 

[Fumbler]

I agree, go with the 180gr hardcast. Even a small pig shot in the wrong spot with most JHP will run away.

I'd pick a wide flat nose design if I were you.
Just make sure the bullets will chamber. I had problems with a few 180gr wide flat nose bullets in my GP-100. I think the problem was they were not perfectly concentric when they were sized (they came from a friend who cast them, I'm sure good commercial companies would have better quality control).

I like Lil'Gun for my heavy 357 loads.

 

[Gunfighter123]

I would go with a hardcast ---- but I think even a soft-point would be better then a hollow-point for hogs.

 

[kmrcstintn]

Federal Cast Core 180gr hard cast leadheads or something like a 158gr lswc hardened leadhead as loaded by www.mastercast.net; http://www.mastercast.net/amo.htm

despite increased fouling I achieve mopre control and better accuracy with his 158gr lswc .357 mag loads than 158gr jsp factory loads from my 4" Ruger GP100 and 6" S&W 686; they are downloaded a bit, but the hardened lead should allow deep penetration

 

[Quoheleth]

A friend said a stiff dose of AA#9 topped off with Hornady XTP 180 grain is just the ticket for bacon-on-the-hoof in Southeast Texas. I've been looking for some locally, but haven't found any yet. Course, I haven't looked all THAT hard yet.

Q

 

[GP100man]

Good lswc in the 150-160 range will stay in the optimum power range of the 357
IMO, if more power is needed theres other calibers !

for feral pigs the 158 hp you have will give em a hard time !!

 

[wheelgunslinger]

That load you have will be fine. If you can't kill a hog with that, you need to spend more time learning how to shoot.

I use the Rem. Core-Lokt hunting ammo for hogs. It's a similar load without the max charge behind the projectile.

Hogs aren't made of kevlar and cast iron. If you can shoot, they'll drop like a sack of potatoes from that round.

 

[Water-Man]

158gr. JSP does the job nicely.

 

[Guillermo]

hard cast is the way to go.

 

[Steve C]

In an article a couple years ago the author was trying some of the SXT "Black Talon" .357 loads from Winchester that where "new" at the time. He reported that they completely penetrated from side to side of the hogs he was shooting, leaving a much larger exit wound than entry. I believe the old .357 mag Black Talons where 180gr.

I'm sure any 158gr or heavier soft point or JHP will kill a pig just fine as long as you hit it in a vital area. There are realy no magic bullets though some seem to anchor game a lot quicker. If you are a hand loader you have a wide variety of bullets to select if you need to buy factory then Winchester loades a 180gr partition gold bullet for hunting in the .357 mag along with either 158gr Super X JSP or JHP oferings. Most of the other manufacturers have similar choices.

 

[MCgunner]

There are few pigs that can walk away from a proper hit with a 158-180 grain solid cast SWC from the .357. I've killed several with 'em in handloads. 2400 works fine for me, but Lil' Gun works better if I'm using the rifle. Stuff is impressive. I also have had good luck with AA#9 and know that WW296 is excellent. There are a lot of good powders for the heavy bullet magnum loads.

 

[kanook]

It's funny you mention the "Black Talon". I still hunt hog with that. It is the most devastating round I have used from the factory. I shot the hog from 30yds, between the eyes (a little to the left eye), from a Security Six 2 3/4" barrel. The bullet penatrated approx. 18" thru the piggy.

Over the years, not paying attention I have lost that bullet. When I purchased the ammo it was still cheap ($12 a box) and I see no need to collect the ammo when I can eat the pig.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Interesting, Kanook.

I'm kind of the opposite. I find no reason to use black talons on something that will drop to mundane ammo. I have some b/t rounds in .45 ACP and .357. I save them for more dire situations like personal defense.

But, different strokes for different folks.

 

[kennjen]

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