Which bullet for hogs?

[Lon371]

 I may have a chance to exterminate some hogs. Want to use my H&R in the 357 maximum or 445 super magnum. Wondering what bullet would you all recommend. Not sure of hunting area, but would guess it is small woods and open fields. I do plan on taking my Blackhawk 44 as a back up. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Lonny

[rickt300]

Are you hunting over a feeder or bait pile? At night? What loads do you have on hand?

[geezer56]

I used cast to take 2 pretty large hogs this season.  Used a 444 marlin Handi rifle on both.  Truthfully, I shot one and my son shot one, both with the same ammo.  It is hard to beat a heavy for caliber cast bullet.  Mine were the Lee C-430-310 flat nose variety.  We had one with an inch dia entrance wound, could have put my fist in the exit hole.  The other one was shot straight on, no exit but a bang flop and flounder.  That one should work fine in your 445.  The 357 Max would be great with a 180 gr FN gas check bullet, or up to 200 gr.  The Hornady SSP 180's might be a bit fragile for pigs. 

[Lon371]

Are you hunting over a feeder or bait pile? At night? What loads do you have on hand?

 At the moment still waiting on the call. But most of the area is field farms, with patches of woods. Not going to use a feeder. May try bait piles. At first will be daylight hunting. Maybe night later on.
Thanks
 
Lonny

[Land_Owner]

It is hard to beat a heavy for caliber cast bullet. 

Good advice as well as, whatever rounds YOU shoot confidently and which are tuned to your guns.  I say again, shot placement is as critical a component of every hunt as is the gun, caliber, powder, and projectile.  Whenever possible, use a steady rest. 

I do not mind retelling that I have killed boars to 200#'s from 25 yards, in the "X" between the ears and eyes, from a steady rest with a stainless steel bolt action Ruger 77/22 LR x 36 grain lead HP rimfire and you should also hear that the World Record Grizzly Bear from 1953 until 1972 was killed with a single shot in that same caliber.  Would I go bear hunting with a 22 rinfire?  Heck no!  But it has the capacity under the right circumstances.  Just saying...use what you use with great confidence.

[Lon371]

Land Owner
 
  You will not catch me messing with a .22 looking for hogs. Unless they are in a crate and there head sticking out
 
Lonny

[Land_Owner]

Let me give you the set-up for contextural purpose...Public and Professional rifle and pistol range within 1/2 mile with shooting there from dawn to dusk every day, 25 yards from shooter to feeder, steady tree stand rest, route of escape is under the tree stand, wait for them to congregate under the feeder, pick one in the 4X scope, wait for it, wait for it, squeeze the trigger rearward, shoot the middle of the "X" between the ears and eyes, light's out, DRT, and the others will mill around a bit and return to feeding right next to their dead buddy...so shoot another one, and again until they get "wise" and depart, or there are not others to shoot.  Works GREAT!

Would I go to a place I do not know and ONLY take a 22 LR with me?  Depends!  Not if it was illegal or the host told me otherwise.  Not if I had something equal to or bigger than a .223 to use instead.  Not if I had intentions of shooting a massive hog.  Just saying though, it can be done, although it isn't recommended.  I just do this at my place because I KNOW it works.

[RevJim]

 I used a .22 magnum with MaxiMag 40gr fmj on bookoo hogs back when. I preferred the head shot/ear bole shot. It was my BIL's Win 94/22mag we used. Heck he often shot them through the shoulders (being sure to miss the bones) and he always got his hog. In fact, when that little Winchester 94/22mag came out, it was "the" rifle for woods bumming/hog killing/deer poaching for many in SE Texas! We only used the 40gr HP on crows/varmints,etc. That fmj was the ticket on game.

[mcwoodduck]

Pigs are like deer, yes there are some super hogs out there but your average porker is going ot be 100 to 200 pounds.
Any cast or heavy for caliber jacketed soft point bullet in the super pistol calibers will work. 
You are hunting, and shooting one will have them run.  Yes, you can get charged, but I have been charged by a shot deer.  Keep your head, make the shot you know you need to put the hog down on your first shot.  You will have no problems and wild hog can be great to hunt and eat.
Good luck.

[GH1]

I like cast bullets, you can eat right up to the hole.
GH1

[rickt300]

I just got a 357 magnum bull barrel for my contender and will use it for night hog hunting. We have feeders with solar powered motion detector lights on them. As soon as I get the load worked up which will be the RCBS 200 grain bullet designed for the 35 Remington or some Speer 180 gr. flat noses  pushed as fast as is reasonable which is somewhere around 1200 fps the testing will begin on hogs.  Just looking at some load data and it appears that getting near 1400 fps with a 200 gr. bullet is possible. Should do just fine. The 357 Maximum easily gets another 200 fps so it will work even better.  If you put a bait pile out use a full bag of corn and put it in one pile, pour a couple of the 1 ounce packages of strawberry jello over it then a quart or so of used cooking oil. This gets em and you will know exactly where the hogs are going to be.