Hogs with .357 - thoughts on bullets?

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Quoheleth

Quoheleth

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Not sure if I have the right forum...if not, please move to appropriate place.

Have an opportunity to go hog hunting in the next couple weeks. Friend's deer lease is torn to heck and while he repairs his stuff he said I could go along. Hogs are all over the place - most in the <200 lb range.

I have a 6" Ruger GP100 that I plan to use.

Questions about ammo choices:

I'm thinking that since I don't do much hunting, just buy a box of commercial ammo for this. I'm thinking Buffalo Bore's 180grain LFNGC (http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#357). It's about $25 or so for 20 rounds. Anyone know if this is available in Houston without having to order it?

Because, if not, by the time I pay S&H and all that jazz, I could almost go down to Carters and pay for a jar of 2400 powder, a box of Hornady 180gr CL-SIL (their heavy, silhouette bullet) or their XTP bullet and a pkg of magnum primers and make my own (total, about $50). Per round this is a more economical prospect, but that's also a $50 outlay for stuff I might not use again for a long time.

In my reloading gear at home, I have Missouri Bullet's 158 grain .357 LSWC bullet, but I only seem to be able to drive it to about 1100 fps without leading after a couple rounds. I don't cast, so that's not an option.

True "hunting" ammo is hard to find in the .357. Lots of personal defense. Fellow at Carters suggested a particular Remington round (I think its a 180gr soft point), but of course he was out. Academy only has their Monarch 158gr HP (they also have Blazer aluminum 158hp, but I think the Monarch is a little hotter).

Thoughts or recommendations for which direction - commercial or home-made???
 
185gr beartooth bullet (LBT style) over 15.8gr of H110 & WSP for 1200 fps from a 5" barrel. The overall length is 1.60" so you'd need to make sure you have the chamber length for this round.

Earlier this year I took a 200# sow at 50 yards and there was a wisp of dust that was kicked up on the other side of the porker...through and through penetration.
 
.357 hogs

20 rds. isn't much ammo when you consider that you really need to sight in for this load as it will shoot quite a bit different than your other ammo and anyone who owns a .357 can find a use for additional ammo, primers and 2400. Just going out without re-zeroing your revolver is a good way to wind up chasing cripples all day. :banghead:
 
180 Hornady XTP over a healthy charge of AA#9. A 158 SWC will do, though. It needs to penetrate, heavies only. I'm pushing that 180 to 1406 fps out of a 6.5" Blackhawk. Shoots pretty flat, too.

2400 works. Put 14.5 grains of it behind a good 158 SWC. Great do all load that's easy on the gun and it clocks 1470 or so from my Blackhawk. It has taken 3 deer so far for me. Haven't poked a hog with it, but should be fine on a normal 200 lber.
 
A 158 HCSWC over 14-15 grains of 2400 would be fine. 15 is at or above most current maximums, so be careful. I have shot 15.2 of 2400 under a 158 HCSWC(using laser-cast slugs) through a half dozen or so GPs just fine. No leading to speak of and very accurate. That's my standard full-snort magnum load. It is a bit stiff for anything of a weaker design than a blackhawk or GP100 however.

The 180 XTP with a max charge of 296/H110 would be a bit better than that.

Possible best option, IMO: Some of the heavies from cast preformance over 296/H110, 2400, N110, or maybe AA#9 would be an excellent option as well. Most likely the best in the penetration dept.
 
Sounds like making my own is the recommendation...

I don't want to invest the back 40 to do this hunting expedition. Honestly, I'm going mostly to help do the work in getting the stand rebuilt, feeder reset, and trails cleaned up so a 4-wheeler can get back in. If Porky Pig sticks his snout out, we'll see what happens...

So, while I certainly COULD order a box of hard-cast lead from one of the great places named (Beartooth, et. al.), I'm thinking I'll just get a box of Hornady at Carters. They have two 180-grain offerings - their XTP and one labelled CL-SIL, a silhouette bullet - what does that mean? I wouldn't think it a FMJ design...is it a soft-point?

Q

Edit: I just called Hornady. The XTP, of course, is the hollow point for rapid, yet controlled expansion. The SIL is a flat-point bullet with a minimal hollow point whose jacket is wrapped almost to the edge of the flat-face meplat. It's designed for silhouette shooters with lower risk of richochet. He said that for hunting hogs, either would be a good choice - the SIL being more of a bone-crusher and extra deep penetrating bullet than the XTP.

Would the 180XTP be adequate for small whitetail, if I had the opportunity to go for one of them as well next month?

Q
 
Quoheleth, have you looked at the 180 and 200 gr. .357 offerings from DoubleTap Ammunition?

180 gr.

200 gr.

At $35 a box for 50, plus shipping and handling, they are pretty reasonably priced. What are the Hornady ones going for?
 
The 158 gold dot is a super tough, bonded bullet. Plenty of sectional density for penetration and your 6" will get it moving plenty fast enough for expansion. A 158-180 gr. HP is what I'd go with. Maybe a 180 HC for bear protection but not for hunting hog IMO.
 
First off, check with Collectors on ammo. Secondly, shoot the biggest, hardest, fastest bullet you can and get as close as possible when you pull the trigger. I've seen hogs killed with a .22 and also seen a .270 bounce off their heads. If you can get one around 100 lbs. they make great bar-b-que.
 
Man! That's a lot of energy. Is that within provided specs?
Click to expand...

It pushes the envelope, but I got the load out of am magazine article. It shows no signs of pressure in my Blackhawk, but I hesitate to shoot it in lesser strength guns much. The Blackhawk will last forever with this load, though, built for much heavier pressures in bigger calibers. In the Blackhawk, recoil is a non-issue, also. Now, I've fired this load in an SP101, no pressure signs there, either, but it was a handful, put it that way, LOL. It produces 785 ft lbs from the Blackhawk, but get this, out of the SP101 I was getting 1302 fps/662 ft lbs (IIRC) from a 2.25" barrel. For folks with a 3" SP101 that they carry in black bear country, this would be a pretty awesome load.

AA#9 is a wonderful powder for .357 magnum. It burns clean (2400 is dirty as hell), suitable for heavy loads with heavy bullets, and it's a ball type powder which meters well in volume type measures. The one downer with the powder is that it's a little faster than 2400/296, and such, and isn't real efficient in my 20" Rossi carbine. I get about 1600 fps in that rifle with it and the 180 XTP, which is decent, but I prefer 2400 in the rifle. I'm getting close to 1900 fps with the 158SWC/14.5 grains 2400 load in the carbine.
 
A 158-180 gr. HP is what I'd go with.
Click to expand...
A HP is the last thing I would use. Hogs are tough and old boars are almost armor plated. Punching through the chest or shoulder takes a stout bullet and the skull is like an anvil. A hard cast or FMJ with a decent size metplat should do the job
 
Hornady's bullets (not ammunition, mind you) are about $22/100. So my investment would be:
Bullets: $22 (CL-SIL and XTP are same price)
Powder: $22 (+/- a little)
Magnum primers: $4
Total: About $50 w/tax

Just to clarify, McGunner, you wrote:
XTP bullts defy that logic.
Click to expand...
You mean as far as not using a hollow point, right? In other words, XTPs would be a good choice for Mr. P.E. Pig?

Collectors is a good place to shop, huh? Too bad they're on the way other side of town from where I am...

Need to run for now...thanks for the advice here...

Q
 
XTP bullts defy that logic.
Click to expand...
The Hornady is fine on thin skin animals but a scarred up grizzled ol boar is a different critter. His shoulders and chest are tough. That's why you see so many recommendations for hard cast bullets.
 
IMO going to a jacketed hollowpoint/hollow cone from a heavy cast bullet is a mistake for this application. Everything that came after "I'm thinking Buffalo Bore's 180grain LFNGC" was downhill, as far as I am concerned.
 
Do you have a Sportsmans Warehouse near you. The one here has a load from Corbon thats a 180 grn hardcast SWC IIRC. Now that I think about it, I kinda remember it being a 200 grn. Do they make that weight in .357??

That should have some good penetration.
 
No SW near here.

I'm going to call Collectors today and see what they have. Might call Carters North store as well...they seem to have more selection than the other 3 stores.

Any other suggestions in Houston area who might have:
A) Double Tap's 180gr load
B) Cast Performance or Beartooth 180 gr. WFNGC (components) or
C) another suitable heavy-duty bullet?

Q
 
I have never seen the 170 grain Speer Gold Dot Soft Point in .357 magnum mentioned for hogs, or deer, or .... Is this not a good hunting bullet ?
 
Quote:
XTP bullts defy that logic.


The Hornady is fine on thin skin animals but a scarred up grizzled ol boar is a different critter. His shoulders and chest are tough. That's why you see so many recommendations for hard cast bullets.
Click to expand...

Hornady 180s offer enough penetration at 1400 fps for a 300 lb hog, trust me. I've shot a few pigs in my day, have 'em all over my place. Hornady bullets are known for penetration with expansion and the 180s is heavy constructed for heavy game. I've only tested it on trapped hogs so far of the 250 lb class, but penetration was impressive, through the shoulders and out, with a good exit wound which impressed me.

Now, then, I don't normally shoot the big boars anyway, but trust that the 180 would perform just as good as my cast 158 grain load. And, 50 bucks for a hundred beats 25 bucks for 20 rounds of Buffalo Bore. :rolleyes: The big boars are tough and get gamey and are a PITA to skin. Too, when it's wet down there, I can't drive in. Only way I can get out what I shoot is via dirt bike, so a 300 lb hog would be a pain. I could probably drag it out, though, have a 230 lber. I prefer my pigs under 200 lbs. I eat 'em. There is no such thing to me as a "trophy hog". I mean, is there a boone and crocket on these things? LOL! Yeah, they're tougher than a whitetail, but they ain't German Tiger tanks, ya know. There's a small population of the things down here in Texas. Ranchers and farmers hate 'em, don't care if they suffer for 3 days, as long as they're dead. But, I've not found the .357 lacking on 'em. I'd rather slap 'em with my Hornady 300 grain .45 colt at 1200 fps or my 12" Contender .30-30 140 Barnes at 2200 fps, but the .357 kills 'em just as dead out to 50 yards. I ain't lost one, yet.

The heavy 158 or 180 cast bullets work fine, though. Just don't worry if you want a jacketed 180. The Hornady will do the job just fine. I've yet to see one bounce off a hog. Any of you nay-sayers ever actually SHOT a hog with an XTP 180 or is this internet wisdom?
 
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