I would choose the 500 first if a good load wasn't found the 45-70 would be second close choice.
I have shot my share of hogs. My preference is to do so with a pistol. But I shot a brace of them with my H&R shorty 12Ga a bunch of years back. I mentioned there was a story in the "HOGS PICS" post in hog hunting forums.
My wife was just getting started hunting and I thought a canned hunt would be a good place for her to gain some experience hunting game. I found a place in upstate NY that was set up so your party was the ONLY hunting party hunting. That’s one thing I didn’t like about most canned hunting places, too many yahoos shooting in all directions. Heck I feel safer on public land on opening day... at least those guys went thru a hunters safety course!! LOL Anyhow, boars where the target and momma was the shooter. I took my H&R and a handful of slugs just as a back up to have something with me. As it turned out the weekend was very cold with sleet and snow all week end. Momma only went out for half a day.
A couple of the guys where friends of friends and at dinner Saturday night we got to know each other over beers. Well weather it was a story or not I’ll never now. But they had a couple big, ornery boars that charged hunter all the time. They where enough of a problem that they avoided the thick swamp where they liked to stay. Not that Sunday... We walked thru the thick stuff hollering to the pigs so we wouldn’t get too close. My wife and my buddies wife where back at came laughing at us as they could just hear us across the valley. Anyhow, I had that H&R and Rem slugger slugs, three of them. We didn’t get far when the guide stopped me with a hand on my shoulder and pointed over my shoulder to a tuft of grass saying there is “Bart”. (Yes, they even named these two troubled Bruisers.) Well I couldn’t see him, the guide wouldn’t make one more step closer. This swampy area was more like lo lands or wet lands with nothing but slash, some logs and tree stumps everywhere. Only small trees standing, but LOTS of them. Nothing bigger than 2” diameter, so there was nothing to climb up to avoid the charge. I made about 3-4 steps when Bart stood up and snorted, staring straight at me defiantly. He then began a charge. He closed to about 20 yards and jumped a log at about 10 yards I put a 1 ¼ oz slug thru his skull. He skidded to a halt at less then ten yards. I looked around and My buddy and I was standing there alone! Both guides where running in the opposite direction. I turned to look at my friend when the second pig jumped from the “bed”. He looked really mad.. Instantly charged, but stopped about twenty yards out. I could have shot, but you $$ for what you kill and my friend was gonna shoot this one. The pig turned to leave, went about ten yards and looked back at us. As if to say, “You still there!?!?” Spun and again charged… My buddy hollering no shot, no shot, me hollering I have shot, I have a shot. Then him “Ill pay” BOOM… I killed the second pig as he jumped his fallen companion with a second 1 ¼ oz Remington slugger thru his cranium. They lay there like cord wood steaming as the guides returned. Lots of back slapping and hand shaking. I had killed the problem boars that chased hunters most of that season. These guys thought I was the best, calmest, coolest headed man they ever met. At the time I wore a white straw cowboy hat and was a might larger then I am today.
They all wanted to see that little gun…
Here is the pigs and then the shorty.
CW
