hog bullet in .44 mag

30 December 2015, 17:30

df06

I have never hunted hogs but will in January.
Is a Hornady 240 XTP an adequate for hogs up to 150 pounds. This would be shot from a 6" 44 mag at about 1300 fps.

Thanks

30 December 2015, 18:06

K Evans

I imagine it will work fine, I've shot quite a few with my S&W 29, a few with factory 240 gr but mostly with 200 gr or 240 gr hard cast...all worked as advertised.

30 December 2015, 20:09

DesertRam

Assuming you place it appropriately, that bullet/cartridge combo will work just fine. Have fun on your first hog hunt!

30 December 2015, 20:47

mete

No pigs permitted here in NY State but premium 44 bullets that work very well on deer and would work on pigs also are Barnes all copper and one of the Swift A-frame. Accurate and effective !

31 December 2015, 02:26

p dog shooter

Should kill them dead.

31 December 2015, 04:22

mete

I forgot , but the loads I used were factory loads ! Not the highest pressure [for the sake of my older M29] Speer loads them a bit hotter.
That's another option for those who don't handload .

31 December 2015, 04:30

Whitworth

They should work fine. I prefer the 300 grain XTP -- better if you happen upon a mature boar.

01 January 2016, 07:01

A7drvr

The Hornady 240 gr. is exactly the load I use on them out of a S&W 629 and a Ruger M77/44. Works Goot! Just sold the M77/44 a couple months ago so totally dependent on the 629 and a .22 Mag rifle!

02 January 2016, 05:45

youp50

I do not have a 44, I do have a 41. I hunt black bears and not pigs. I would never again use any jacketed hollow point on a bear. Should I ever hunt a pig, my load would be a maximum charge under a hard cast, flat metplate bullet. Same as a bear.

02 January 2016, 20:41

Whitworth

quote:
Originally posted by youp50:
I do not have a 44, I do have a 41. I hunt black bears and not pigs. I would never again use any jacketed hollow point on a bear. Should I ever hunt a pig, my load would be a maximum charge under a hard cast, flat metplate bullet. Same as a bear.

Whiteatail is pretty much the only game I use hollow-points on with revolvers anymore, even then, only sometimes. Hardcast nearly always gets the nod for me as well.

04 January 2016, 16:28

p dog shooter

quote:
Hardcast nearly always gets the nod for me as well.

I have shot a few over 300lb hogs with 315gr WFN hard cast works very well.

04 January 2016, 18:37

Dale

The 240 gr. XTP from the .44 Magnum should work fine. While I lived in Texas I shot a few with a 240 gr. Sierra JHP from a Ruger .45 Colt Blackhawk with a maximum load of IMR-4227. It killed the hogs easily, but the bullet did not appear to be expanding much. I think the XTPs work better, but they were not around when I was hunting hogs. I shot a lot more with a 7x57 and 139 gr. Hornady bullets. I killed about 30 hogs and they seemed to not take a lot to kill, even the big ones.

05 January 2016, 02:17

Atkinson

About any bullet within reason from a 44 mag will kill a hog..The reputation of hogs being tough to kill has not been my experience, they don't have armour plate over the shoulders as some profess..I have killed many of them with a 22 L.R. hollow point, and many with a .222, 45 colt, 357 mag. and other pistol cartridges..Your right on track.

05 January 2016, 08:58

Bobby Tomek

That bullet should do fine for what you describe. My favorite in the .44 was the 320 grain Cast Performance WFN LBT-style slug with the wide, flat meplat. My next favorite was the 250 grain Partition. I killed them with others in the .44 Mag but switched to the Cast Performance projectiles after I saw a 300 grain XTP separate on the shoulder of a 175 pound fallow buck, stunning him but far from dispatching him. (I put another through the lungs to finish him off).

Ray is right in that hogs may not be all that difficult to kill or wear "armour," but anyone who's killed and processed plenty of them will understand that the cartiligous shield can be formidable for an improper bullet. Plus, big boars are stoutly constructed.

Check out the body structure on this boar (and notice the caked-on mud):

In the photos below, you can actually see the outline of the "shield" under the hide of the medium-sized boar. The white layer in the other photo (from same boar) is what is sometimes referred to as "gristle" or the "shield" but is actually heavy cartilage. It is not soft like fatty tissue and can certainly test the mettle of an inappropriate projectile.

05 January 2016, 19:02

df06

great pics and thanks for all the advice guys

07 January 2016, 21:03

Whitworth

quote:
Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
That bullet should do fine for what you describe. My favorite in the .44 was the 320 grain Cast Performance WFN LBT-style slug with the wide, flat meplat. My next favorite was the 250 grain Partition. I killed them with others in the .44 Mag but switched to the Cast Performance projectiles after I saw a 300 grain XTP separate on the shoulder of a 175 pound fallow buck, stunning him but far from dispatching him. (I put another through the lungs to finish him off).

Ray is right in that hogs may not be all that difficult to kill or wear "armour," but anyone who's killed and processed plenty of them will understand that the cartiligous shield can be formidable for an improper bullet. Plus, big boars are stoutly constructed.

Check out the body structure on this boar (and notice the caked-on mud):

In the photos below, you can actually see the outline of the "shield" under the hide of the medium-sized boar. The white layer in the other photo (from same boar) is what is sometimes referred to as "gristle" or the "shield" but is actually heavy cartilage. It is not soft like fatty tissue and can certainly test the mettle of an inappropriate projectile.

Yup. This is why I try to always make the distinction between mature boars and all others. They certainly can be tough on bullets. I don't use 240 bullets often in the .44 Mag because it does a whole lot better with 300 + grainers.