Hog hunting: Backup sidearm.

[AKElroy]

I see no need for a back-up pistol in hog hunting. First, if the animal needs a follow-up, I am NOT walking up on it, so the rifle gets to place a second shot. Ditto for deer, as I view them equally dangerous when down but not out. (try to find examples of hunters killed by hogs, and it is largely a waist of google time; try it for deer, and you get lots of results). Second, if the cover is so heavy that I can't easily swing my .30-30 into action, I'M NOT GOING IN THERE. Getting carved up by mesquite and briar thorns is not my favorite activity. I have killed dozens of pigs in the last three years, had to shoot only one of them a second time, and have yet to take a charge. Of course, they will have a difficult time getting into my truck, the side window of which is my near exclusive shooting rest. I don't hide in the truck out of fear, just laziness. When I do occasionally venture out on foot, I have walked up on many bedded piggies, and so far they have all bolted in the opposite direction. The notion that they are ravenous killing machines is ridiculously overblown.

 

[der Teufel]

I reckon that if a hog 'charges' my direction, there's no way I'm going to be able to drop my rifle and pull out a pistol in time to do any good. Besides, I now hunt with an AR-10 so if I need a fast follow-up shot, I'm ready. But I usually carry a 9mm anyway.

I developed the habit of hauling the 9mm along because I used to hunt with a bolt-action, and sometimes I'd shoot one that would run into some thick brush. In places it was difficult to get through the brush while carrying a rifle, so I started just taking a pistol to track them. That works pretty well -- I'm not talking about going after a slightly wounded, angry animal that's thrashing around, it's more like a dying but not quite dead hog that I simply need to finish off before I drag it out. A 9mm FMJ to the head at a range of two feet usually does the job, and the ammo is cheap.
--

 

[Loosedhorse]

Back-up gun

In hunting, we can choose whether or not to take the shot. If the distance, or the presentation, or the lighting, or intervening obstacles, or anything else about the shot make us believe that wounding is more likely than killing, we don't take the shot.

Back-up is different. Back-up is like self-defense: I didn't ask to be here, with a wounded, angry boar charging at me through underbrush, but there he is.

The rule for SD is carry the most powerful gun you can shoot well, quickly. If that's a .357, that's fine. If that's a .500, better--but fewer can do that.

Up to you. Of your choices, I guess I'd go heavy: .45 hardball.

 

[tahunua001]

and of you three will work. one time we bought a little pig to butcher and my brother brought his 22lr to put it down, at point blank range right between the eyes all this thing did was knock the poor beast unconscious for a couple seconds and then it would hop up again and start squealing. we had a heckuva time putting the poor beast down but we finally just held it down nd slit it's throat.

about a month later we had an offer to butcher the things mother and we could keep half the meat for the trouble. not wanting to turn up a 200 pounds of free pork my brother borrowed a buddies 38sp and tried another between the eyes shot. he bullet went all the way through the skull and imbedded in the top of the neck near the base of the skull. if a 38sp will do it a 45ACP definitely will

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Let's see if I got this right: Rifle/shotgun backed up by a pistol. Pistol backed up by a knife. Knife backed up by what...a baseball bat maybe? Seems like we are are going kind of counter evolution here. What kind of back up do African big game hunters use?

Based on the videos, they are backed up by guides and others in the hunting party, all armed with various long guns and when they have to shoot to protect the hunter, there is all sorts of racket made, missed shots, and a lot of poor muzzle discipline.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CNgwZgoKFc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O85siV8DnIA
http://trophyroom.com/video/BIkAidNXYP

 

[buckshoteer]

I carry a concealed .357 snubnose. It's not that hard to pull out even with a coat on. I use a standard 158 grain bullet.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I had a buddy that took after a Russian Boar with a hot loaded 45 Colt.

Damn thing soaked up six rounds. I don't know if it was shot placement, bullet design, or just one mad boar. But it kept on going well past when everyone thought it was done for.


I carry a 44 mag as a back up gun for all my big game hunting, but understanding a really BIG pig might take a few shots.

 

[alsaqr]

i don't do backup guns. Much of my hunting is on federal property where the carry of a sidearm is prohibited; besides i've got too much junk to carry now. Most of my wild hog hunting is done with a muzzleloader. If a hog is wounded i reload and go after it ASAP: After i put on my kevlar chainsaw pants.

Had hogs come after me four times: Two were wounded boars, one big boar answered the distress call of a sow i wounded and a sow came after me when i got between her and her pigs. The big boar that answered the sows distress call came close to hitting me but died for his trouble.

 

[FLAvalanche]

You shouldn't need a backup firearm for hog hunting. I do carry my 1911 with me but the only time I use it is if I feel like shooting them with that instead of my rifle.

As for .45 not penetrating a hog...tell that to the picture.

 

[CMC]

I have killed them with bow , muzzleloader rifle and shotgun.
The only time I had to track one in the dark by myself was one I shot with the bow and I found myself sorrounded by a lot of pigs with only a 45, I gave up finding that one.
Nowadays If I shoot a hog with the bow and have to chase it I go back to my truck and get my shotgun and my sidearm is a fullsize 10 mm or a 454 Casull.
One year I shot two of them with the Muzzle loader and when I went to drag them out there were a lot of them around , one shot from my 454 scattered them around and never came back.

 

[03Shadowbob]

My back up is whatever I happen to be carrying that day in general. Might be my 38snub, 357 or 1911. I've never needed a back up gun when hunting.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

Man someone dug DEEP in the archives to find this thread!

Having raised LOTS of hogs as a kid and having hunted them for most of my life, I can tell you that they have crappy eyesight and likely most of the "charges" you read about on the internet were more a poor hog running in the wrong direction instead of attacking. That's probably what happened here:

"When we cuaght this a BIG boar rushed us, got lucky because he changed his mind at like 6 feet."

I 'spect the boar realized he'd run the wrong direction and simply reversed course.....who knows.

I worry more about sows with little ones than boars. When we used to clip the needle teeth and notch the ears on our piglets, the sows would go berserk at the sqealing.

^^ sometimes true but not always. I've seen my share of boars that have just flat out had enough and turn around to "edumuhcate" the person trying to harm them. Every now and again you will get one that will turn on a pack of dogs as well even before being cornered or bayed up. They are sometimes VERY unpredictable. Yes they do have crappy eyesight but it's not as poor as some tend to believe. They are smarter than dogs (and a LOT of humans I know) and will fool you. It's always better to be safe and not sorry.

Grew up hunting the Russian strain and feral in Tennessee long before there was a serious problem. Boars are mean, nasty, unpredictable, and most of all intelligent. Sow's are another story entirely. In many cases I have seen the mean streak more from them than in boars. You just don't mess with "MAMMY" I carry anything from a .357 Colt Python, .44mag Super Redhawk, or a .500 S&W. I am much more accurate with any of those 3 than I am with my 1911's. I guess it is a mental thing knowing that I will not have near as fast of a followup shot if needed. I don't typically need a backup as I am pretty quick with my levers that I generally hog hunt with. But I do hunt some with a TC pro hunter in 7mm.08 and feel a bit more comfortable with one of my "hog legs" on my thigh just in case I didn't do my part as well as I should with that single shot.

 

[DammitBoy]

I've hunted boar successfully with .223, .22, .45 colt, .243, 12 ga slugs and buckshot.

These days, I hunt them with my Ruger Blackhawk in 45 colt...

 

[tx_pistolero]

For the most part, a pistol for "protection" against hogs is just not necessary. The chances of one coming at you while you are walking to or from your hunting blind are too slim to even try to calculate. If you drop one but it is still moving, shoot him with your rifle again.

The exception to this are a few specific situations, if you are hunting with dogs (you usually use a knife, but sometimes the crap hits the fan) or spot and stalk bow hunting, or something along these lines.

By and large, a hog is going to leave the country without delay when he gets a whiff/sight of you. Really, the only time they will get you is if they can get you with a minimum of detour off their escape path, OR if you are standing where they intended to run anyway.

Another rare exception to this is a sow with pigs. Again, you would have to sneak up on them and surprise them. She will come out of her way to get you, should you get in the middle of them. Not going to happen unless you are stalking through their bedding areas or creeks where they are laying. Again, 1,000 to one chance of you coming on this situation walking to your average blind.

Bottom line, the chances of actually needing a pistol for protection hog hunting is SLIM. BUT, it does make a good excuse to buy guns
So I won't tell if you don't
haha

 

[DammitBoy]

I've had at least a dozen boar charge me over the years, it happens. It doesn't happen a lot, but don't think that it won't...

 

[tx_pistolero]

A dozen boar charges? You'll have to explain that. I have taken well over a thousand hogs, many of them big boars and I can count on one hand the times I have been charged. So outside of the scenarios/exceptions I named, how does one go about getting charged constantly by boar? It seems WAY outside the norms of what my experiences has shown.

P.S. I realize that a 1,000 hogs seems like a ridiculously high number, but I live in south texas and have worked as a hunting guide/and or doing feral hog control for the last 15 years. I can back this up if required.

 

[DammitBoy]

A dozen charges over 25 years of hawg hunting doesn't seem high or unusual to me. I wouldn't call that "constantly" either. I've averaged about 10 hogs/boar a year so my 250+/- doesn't come near your level of experience, but we live in vastly different areas.

I hunt boar in deep pine river bottom country in Alabama. You can surprise a hog at close distance pretty easily here. We also have a lot of russian boar and arkansas razorback mixed in with our local feral hogs. I don't know if that makes a difference, I'm no expert.

As an example, my ex-wife's family has a cotton farm and they get a pest control permit every year to cut down on the deer population out of season to protect their crops. We will take 4-5 guys in a pick-up truck and night shoot with lights and .22's - usually we take about 20 does and 10-15 pigs on a good night.

One such night, I spotted what was either a hog laying down or a huge dirt mound rutted up by the pigs about 30 feet from our truck. Just to check if it was a hog, I shot the highest point of the dirt mounds ridge. When my .22 hit the 'mound' it turned out to be a very angry 300lbs sow. She reared up squeeling and charged the truck incredibly fast. Several of us got off shots before she slammed into the truck and expired.

It happens now and then.

 

[03Shadowbob]

Damnitboy,
You are supposed to spray the estrus on the ground and trees not yourself. Maybe that's why you keep getting charged.
Just kidding!!

 

[tx_pistolero]

DammitBoy, it definitely sounds like into the category of 'exceptions' I made. Sounds like you do a lot of spot and stalking, in creek bottoms and such. Like I said in my post, that is an exception, because that is a good way to surprise them up close, and you never know what will happen in that case. Sounds like your method is sound, if it hasn't gotten you hurt in 25 years of hunting.

I think most hunters, especially in Texas are hunting from box blinds and stands from 35+ yards away, and the hog never knows they are there. That is how 90% + of the folks hunt around here, I would say.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

tx_pistolero, Texas hog hunting is actually the exception. Most all other southern states, where hogs are prevalent, are swampy or heavily wooded. Most either spot and stalk or hunt hogs with dogs in most other places. In Texas, you are correct. Most hunt from blinds and stands over feeders or in known hog fields (which in Texas is pretty much any field).

As I said earlier, I have been hog hunting for 40+ years. They started hogs in Catoosa hunting preserve over 50 years ago. I cut my eye teeth on hog hunting and know the animals nature very well. They are a very ornery animal and have a very nasty mean streak. Of course if someone is out trying to kill me I guess I would have a mean streak as well. I too have been chased up a number of trees from surprising a hog or not sticking one well enough with an arrow. 2 really good things came out of those cases. 1, I learned better arrow placement, 2, I got REALLY good with a pistol A 250 pound ball of pissed off with teeth is a great teacher

 

[buckshoteer]

A .357 2 inch is good for me.

 

[tx_pistolero]

Freedom_fighter_in_IL, funny you mention that, I hunt with dogs, as do a lot of people down here in south texas. People been doing it that way for generations down here as in the rest of the south. On a related note, the tradition of hunting deer with dogs has never caught on down here, for whatever reason. Not really a part of our culture. Always thought that was kind of odd.

Anyways, I have hunted hogs everywhere from the calcasieu river bottoms in Lousianna, to central florida - I still feel like by and large the vast majority are doing medium to long range shooting, and are worrying too much about needing a hog defense pistol...lol.

Bowhunters like you, again, fall into the exception categories I listed. Again, in my experience. When you stick a hog from 10 yards away, if he sees you, things can get hairy in a hurry! haha

 

[DammitBoy]

tx - you are correct, mostly stalking in deep heavy woods and creek bottoms and sloughs - usually in hip waders. Our brush is so heavy, 10 yards would be a long shot.

It does get hairy in a hurry for sure! That what I enjoy about it, it's the closest thing to lion country safari we have in the southeast.

Nothing like facing a charging angry 275lbs boar intent on doing you harm, knowing you better make that first shot count. Even more so with my 7.5" Ruger Blackhawk in .45 colt.

I used to use my Remington 1100, but that seemed like an unfair advantage...

 

[hiker44]

I carry my .357 revolver, but with two of the chambers loaded with CCI snake shot, just in case I encounter an uninvited rattler in the brush. Otherwise, it is seldom , if ever, necessary. If the snake appears, it's easy enough to rotate the cylinder and dispatch it. To make that easier, I paint the casings of the CCI aluminum ammo with a red Sharpie, so I can easily tell which chambers they're in. Just don't forget which direction the cylinder turns. It would be pointless to shoot a hog in the face with #12 shot, since it would just make it mad.

 

[tx_pistolero]

Hiker, keep in mind a .357 from a pistol, from what I have seen has a pretty good chance of pissing them off too. Out of a rifle, it is a different story, I guess the extra power makes a difference, or maybe it is the fact that rifle tends to give you a little better accuracy.

Don't get me wrong, a .357 pistol is damn sure better than throwing rocks, but if you are in one of those high risk scenarios (stalking/still hunting in bedding areas or creekbottoms, or bowhunting) it would be worth it getting some more power. If you are not in one of those what I am calling 'high risk' scenarios for back of better words, you'll probably be fine. You can drop a good boar with a .357 if all the stars align, and you get the right angle, but when they are coming at you fast not so much.