Ruger GP 100 okay for entry-level hog killing?

[navyredneck]

Currently I spend a lot of time hunting hogs but once hunting season ends I plan on trapping hogs.  I'd like to be able to carry a handgun to dispatch them from a few yards away with the pen between me and them.

I've looked and it looks like a Ruger GP 100 357 magnum with SS and adjustable sights can be had for under $400.  Are there any other guns I should be looking at instead?  I'd prefer a longer barrel as that always seems the easiest for me to shoot accurately.

I really only plan on using the gun for this and maybe later as a carry gun when I'm hunting hogs.  Money is a huge factor but I want a gun that will last forever and work when I need it.

[Lloyd Smale]

it would probably work but pigs can get mean and when your up close can get on you in a second. Id consider something a little bigger. A good .44 super blackhawk can be bought for that price and loaded with heavy cast will do a much better job.

[safetysheriff]

i heartily second Lloyd's posting.

other than a .44 mag in SBH i'd get a little bit cheaper .41 in standard BlackHawk or Stainless.

good luck to you,

ss'   

[navyredneck]

The super blackhawk would be single action, right?  I had hoped to go with double action for ease of reloading but if you think I need a 44 magnum then that is probably more important...  I've got a single action ruger 22lr/magnum that I really enjoy.  It's just a bit of a pain to reload.

I've had a wounded hog charge me already.  Fortunately I was ready with my pump shotgun    Not too much can be done with two rounds of buckshot beween the eyes.

[dougk]

If your looking at a 44 mag in double action for a reasonable price you should check out the Ruger Redhawk or the Dan Wesson.  I traded a Redhawk for the Dan Wesson and never looked back. 

[Graybeard]

For the chore of dispatching trapped hogs IN THE TRAP that rimfire you have now is perfect to be brutally honest. Back when we raised hogs the only thing ever used to kill them was a single shot rifle using .22 shorts. One shot between the eyes from a few feet never failed to do the trick. That's not hunting and as long as they are contained in the trap they aren't gonna get to you.

Now for hunting that's a whole nother ballgame. You can't control the shot angle so well and for sure aren't gonna be so close. For that I prefer a .44 mag or .45 or larger bore handgun and heavy for caliber cast bullets with wide meplat. For me the .357 magnum would be very marginal as a hunting gun but really more than needed for just finishing off a trapped hog where a shot at 10' between the eyes from a rimfire is all that's required.

[dougk]

Navy
where do you live? I am looking for some hog hunting, but must be on the only property in the Texas Hill country that does not have wild hogs...
Doug

[navyredneck]

I'm in Charleston, SC.  I'm in the military so I hunt on the military base here.  I've killed 8 hogs so far (one tonight even).  I'm also organizing a hunt for my office to go up to the WMA about 45 minutes from my house.  They also have a pretty severe hog problem. 

I give a good bit of the meat away but hog hunting is pretty exciting.  All of my shots have been 40 yards or less.  They have a great sense of smell and unlike deer, you're pretty much guaranteed to see something every day.  In my last 10 times in the woods, I've seen animals (deer and hogs) that I could shoot 8 times.  The meat is also really tasty.

[dougk]

SC is alittle too far from Tx... 

Let us know what you purchase.

[dougk]

For the chore of dispatching trapped hogs IN THE TRAP

I now use dispatching exclusively.  It is a great word and sounds must better than Kill and less esoteric than Euthanize.

Also, I know of some gents in north Florida that hunt wild hogs with dogs and use a .22 to dispatch the hog.  Occasionally the hog will go on to lands where firearms can not be used, when this occurs they use a knife to dispatch the hog...

[Dee]

I live in the middle of feral hog country. Not to start an arguement but hogs are not that hard to kill. Once you get past the myth, I hunt them most of the time with an M4 and shoot a 52 grain match hollow point. If you can get a neck shot they go down instantly almost 100 % of the time. Other than that, the ribbs on a 350lb hog are no harder to get thru than a whitetail deer.I see these guys coming down here to hunt and they use everything from a 4570 to a 300 win mag. It's funny. I shot one with a 4570 once and the kill was spectular to say the least but the calibur is not necessary. The 357mag is more than enough to dispatch pened hogs. In fact 38 special is cheaper, and like Graybeard said, a 22 long rifle will do it as well. If your hunting in the brush with ranges that can be too close for comfort, there is nothing like a 3030 carbine, or an auto shotgun with slugs.
When I was a kid back in the early 50s my Grandfather had a single barrel shotgun and a leveraction winchester 22. He didn't know he needed anything else. Hogs were killed every fall with it.

[navyredneck]

Well, the money set aside for the 44 went to a timing belt for the wife's car.  The good news is that the hogs don't know a difference.  Caught my first group today, a sow and 3 piglets.  I haven't worked up the courage to kill a big hog like the 110 lb sow with a 22 so I used a shotgun for the sow and the 22 magnum single six for the rest. 

I'm gonna have to work up to carrying only a 22 magnum revolver when I have hogs in and out of the trap.  For instance today I had at least 2 hogs outside the trap.  They were little and didn't cause me any problems but if I get a sow outside the trap my 22 is not gonna be enough...

I've got a friend who only uses a 9mm but it's an semi-automatic and he's gone through a couple of clips to kill a charging sow before.  Best bet is probably gonna be to always carry a shotgun on my back just in case.  There's something real comforting about having a pump shotgun at the ready! 

[cattleskinner]

Now you are talking about something I know about!  If you are just using it to kill them in a trap, use your single six with the mag cylinder in it.  Out of all the ones I've killed in the meat plant, which were done at 3-4 foot in a knock box (like your trap), most didn't fall to a 22lr out of a pistol with a single shot, but with a mag shell, they did.  I don't know how your set up is with traps, but a .22 rifle will work wonders, as it has much better penetration than most would think.  I've found the bullet out of a rifle in a foot into a steer's neck when cutting them up(about 18-20ish inches penetration).  Will a .357 work on a trapped hog?....why hell yes it will, but if it was me, I would use a .22 rifle, or your single six using mag shells, and don't forget to bring the ear plugs.

~~~Amos

[Dusty Miller]

And I thought I was hot stuff when I killed one with a 200 gr. Speer Grand Slam fired from a 30-06!!  Shoot, next time I'm take'n my fly swatter.   BTW, isen't "entry level hog killing" kinda like be'n a little bit pregnant?