Florida Hogs and pistol regs questions

[rich56]

I'd like to hunt hogs on private land in Fla with pistol,. Can anyone help with the regs concerning this? Caliber, barrel length? Does anybody use a .357 or a .45 ACP? I have no ability to download PDFs or I'd go to the Florida DWC website, Thanks, Rich56

[Graybeard]

Anyone can down load PDFs all you have to do is load the completely free and safe software to do so onto your computer. EVERY site that has PDFs for down loads offers the link to down load it.

[Oldtimer]

To follow up on what Graybeard said, you will need a PDF reader.  Adobe is free, and there are smaller ones that are quicker, though some are a bit buggy.  Enter "PDF reader freeware" in a search engine and you should find a world of stuff to work with.

[clum sum]

 In Fl hogs on private land are considered  feral and there are no regs. I know of a few people who hunt hogs with a spear.

[RangerRiz]

Heck I have watched a grown man get drug across a flag pond behind a 300lb hog using just a small rope. But he did get him. Welcome to Graybeard old man.

[Land_Owner]

I 2nd "clum sum".  I used my 7" bbl Ruger Super Blackhawk in 45 LC once with a 230 SWC over 10.5 gr. of Unique (recipe is only for RUGER Super Blackhawk).  I was impressed with the bullet penetration through both shoulders from 22 yards into a puddle, sending a shower of spray beyond the hog, which dropped in its tracks, that I didn't see or get a shot off at the much larger hog that was shielded behind some palmetto and took off at the shot.

I have no doubt that a close stalk and good shot placement from either 45 ACP or 357 would be sufficient.  If you can routinely hit an 8" paper plate at 25 yards with a 2" snubby, then you're Good to Go.

[efremtags]

I've taken several hogs with a SW 629 44mag, two with 240Gr keith hardcasts, 1 with WFN 275Gr.

Small hogs are easy to kill with good placement, bigger hogs are a little tougher, especially males with the shoulder plate.

A 357 is good with 158 or 180gr hunting hollowpoints (XTP or similar).

I would shy away from the 4ACP. Not that it wouldn't work, but most ammo is made for self defense or target, not hunting, so bullet performance will not be as dsireable (either not enough penetration or too much blood shot meat).

[Swampman]

Personally I wouldn't use hollowpoints.

[SwampThing762]

I use standard 44 mag 240 gr JSPs and have not had a problem yet.    Aim a little low on hogs for a heart-lung shot.  The heart of a pig is not in the same place as the heart of a deer.

ST762

[clum sum]

Most of the hogs I have killed have been with a 22lr ( mini mag ) and a one eyed dog. Of corse we had a permit for a light and gun. If you get close enough it dosen't matter what you use , My grand son just came in and told Me about catching four hogs up to 200 lbs by hand with the help of a few dogs.

[45-70.gov]

last  year  all  you needed  was permission from  the land owner


need  any  help    i  am  in jacksonville with  no where to  hunt

[Land_Owner]

Yes I do and the hogs are rooting up my 20 acres looking for acorns.

PM me and we can work out some hunts.  It is a short 2.0 hour drive from Jax.

[qajaq59]

PM me and we can work out some hunts.  It is a short 2.0 hour drive from Jax.

Rich56, that's an offer you are rarely ever going to get.... Grab it!

[45-70.gov]

pm sent    gas tank  full   brass reloaded  [oops  better  sharpen   my  knife]

[gstewart44]

I have not used 357 on hogs but I have shot a lot with 45 acp in my SW1917 revolver.   In this caliber stay away from anything that resembles military ball or self defense loads.   Hogs are not people and do not respond like people unless you brain shoot them.  The ball doesn't have the impact as a swc and the SD loads expand so much that I frequently got very poor penetration. 

I now use swc cast bullets.  my favorite is a 255 gr swc designed for the 45 lc.   it performs nicely at 875 fps and packs a punch.    I have used 200 gr swc/800 fps on occasion for smaller pigs and I can still get pass thru on chest shots and pigs up to 100 lbs. 

[Default]

  I will chime in on the defensive hollow point loads ..
  I have loved taking my Uberti Golden Boy 45 lc lever action with me for hog hunting , Its what i killed my very first pig with ..
  Has 4 pigs to its credit all have been in the 150 and less range using the Speer Gold Dot 250 gr loading since the winnie 225 gr defense dropped like a stone past 40 yards out of this rifle
  my conclusion was the powder was burning to fast and it was achieving peek pressure long before the muzzle.. Other enemic 45lc loads are what they are.. I now reload so ammo choice isnt a problem any more .
 
  The Speers cycled great and that classic flying astray was spot on for the irons at 100 yrds ..
  So i go out to OK. with my heart set on waiting out for a real wall hanger (keep in mind i had never seen a good wall hanger at that point ) and ended up stalking a game trail came around a fat low hanging cedar to spy 3 hogs noses in the dirt , The biggest  I'll guess um 200 +  was a unique looking tusker with a silver back.. 30 maybe 40 yrds tops , Hammer back and iron on..
  BANG  flop and then back up and off to the races , Needless to say i was deffinately in a " What The F* " state of awe .. No blood .... None , Now I'm pretty much a two legged injun version of a blood hound and i dont give up with in reason.
 It took me 30 minutes to find the first blood from this animal roughly 80 to 90 yards from the point of impact through briars galore ..The next 2 to 3 1/2 hours (on my hands and knees most of the time through God knows what) was dedicated to tracking this animal , Wasnt till the blood ran out  that i broke the track and starting scowering a 100 yard area of my last blood with dark coming on that i gave up ...
  Now what i learned  is this.
 #1 There was only blood coming from the entrance side of the animal .. So no exit . Pigs dont like to bleed real well as a rule , well this one was no exception..
 #2 Pigs live in some God aweful stuff and i dont recommend crawling through it
 #3 Use a soft point or as a number have mentioned here a RNFP(round nose flat point) or SWC (Semi-Wadcutter) hard cast lead bullet to take the animal .. I think this would be a good choice for your 357 mag in the 158gr and up range , leave your 45 to back up duties .. If you are dedicated to using a hollow point like the win. supreme 180 or that like .. Stay to the neck or head , That will give you your best chances at success  .. and keep you from a day of tracking to no avail .

   This is just my thoughts and experiences on it ..Good luck and safe hunting ,

   Default

     P.S. I now save those Speer Gold Dots for home defense purposes and tequila shots 

[rickt300]

I have taken some pretty big pigs with my 1911 45acp using +p 230 grain FMJ round nose bullets.  Some ran a ways and some went down riht where hit. The bullets start out going around 925 fps and I keep my shots under 40 yards. Good hits make for dead pigs.