Newsgroups: rec.guns
From: Ed.Harris@p0.f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Ed Harris)
Subject: Re: Boar hunting
Keywords: hunting, boar, handgun, rifle
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 90 17:10:02 GMT

In article <1990Jun11.164155.14390@ism.isc.com> joseph@smosjc.UUCP
(Joseph Crunk) writes:

>A friend of mine is interested in buying a handgun that would by used
>primarily for boar hunting, with a minor emphasis on self-protection.

I have hunted boar in NC, TN, PA and NH with handguns, and in Spain and
Germany with rifles, having killed something over a dozen of them. I
have seen killed several dozen more, and have witnessed some notable
failures, so I think I can give you some good advice. Do not even
consider a handgun lesser in caliber than a .44 Mag. with full power
loads. I had a scary experience with a .45 Colt in an S&W Model 25-5
once where a spine shot from 8 ft. failed to disable the critter, and a
followup shot down his ear hole from 3 ft., while it knocked him down
and out, it did not kill him! When I got the knife in he was all ready
to fight again and my companion nailed him with a single round from his
Ruger Redhawk. I sold the .45 and bought a Redhawk as soon as I got
back. Excellent choice. The 5-1/2" barrel is alot more handy, and the
difference in veloicity is neglible. On boar a 25 yd. shot is a long
one, so you do not need the long barrel. A scope is also a handicap
for fast shooting, and you DO want a revolver so you can fire a second
quick shot without having to reload. I prefer a heavy Keith-type cast
bullet, such as the #429421 and 21 grs. of #2400, or the 270-gr. NEI
bullet and 18 grs. of #2400. The 265-gr. Hornady SP is also a good
choice, as would be the newer 300-gr. Sierras - though I have not used
them. I would stay away from JHP bullets as they will break up on the
shoulder. When I was at Ruger I shot alot of small pigs for camp meat
with factory JHP loads and they often failed to exit on broadside
shots. As for European experience on the bigger boar over 100 Kg I
would follow European tradition and use a 12-ga. shotgun with Brenneke
slugs. If you use a rifle any .30-'06 class rifle with a stiffly
jacketed bullet, like the Nosler will work well. I used the RWS TUG
bullets in .30-'06 with fine results. Used them on stag also. Many of
the rifle hunters in PA like the .35 Remington in the Marlin, and that
makes a fine rig for fast, close shooting. The Marlin 1895 .45-70 is
also a fine brush rifle, but the 405-gr. loads would probably work
better than the 300-gr. JHPs.

--

	Ed Harris at The Black Cat's Shack (Fidonet 1:109/401)
	Internet:  Ed.Harris@p0.f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org
	UUCP:      ...!uunet!blkcat!417.0!Ed.Harris

From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Pistol Projectiles for Pigs
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

hollombe@polymath.tti.com (The Polymath) writes:

#}Question is, any experience out there with .357 magnum on pigs. ...

##From what I've heard and read of others' experience .357 magnum is
#dangerously inadequate for hunting wild pig.

A full boat .357 mag is just fine for wild Russian boar as is found
in the Southeastern mountains.  My brother used to hunt with a bunch
of crazy men whose idea of fun was to have their dogs chase a hog
until it got tired enough to quit running, to turn and fight.  They'd
then jump the hog and kill it with a knife.  I've tagged along - at a
distance - on a couple of these hunts.  My brother killed a 375 lb boar with
a knife in the mid 70s, a record from that area (tellico plains, TN).
Their backup weapons were .357 mag pistols, usually Colt Pythons.
I've never seen a single shot to a vital area fail to stop.

John

From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Wild Boar Hunting
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

cc100dr@oit.gatech.edu (David Re) writes:

#In article <316hn6$5bn@xring.cs.umd.edu> gary@ke4zv.atl.ga.us (Gary Coffman) writes:
##I can't comment on what's legal, or where to hunt in California,
##but here in Georgia I'd recomend a short 12 gauge repeater (pump
##or semi) with 00 buck and a .44 Mag or .454 as a backup gun. The
##.308 Win will certainly drop a boar, but here most shots will be
##at very short range, in heavy brush, as the boar does his best to

#     Gary, how about a lever action carbine in .45-70??? Good heavy bullet,
#in a relatively short rifle. The cartridge shouldn't have any problems at
#those short ranges. I've thought about that combo myself, actually, with
#maybe an LAR Grizzly in .45 Win Mag as backup :)

C'mon guys.  You're making boar out to be as hard to kill as a bear.  A
boar ain't nuthin but a pig with big teeth and a nasty temper.  My
brother hunts wild boar with a knife.  Let the dogs distract the pig,
jump on his back, cut his throat.  He has the head of an almost 400 lb
boar hanging in his dental office.  His backup/alternate weapon is a
Colt Python in .357 mag., 6 inch barrel.  He tells me that he's never
had to use more than one shot.  Hand cannons not required.

John

From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Wild Boar Hunting
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

enders@warp6.cs.misu.NoDak.edu (Todd Enders A262 857-3018) writes:

#C96@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de writes:

#     Bravo!!!  I tip my hat to you, sir!  That the above statement is
#absolutely correct should be beyond question.  The responsible hunter
#will chose the cartridge/calibre/weapon which will dispatch the game in
#the most humane way under the conditions he expects to encounter.  Being
#"sufficient" is *NOT* good enough!!!

Well hell, man.  Let's all just shoulder up our Barrett Light 50s and
go slay some boar'n'bambi.  Guess it doesn't matter to the responsible
(sic) hunter that you have to pick the hamhocks out of the trees after
you "dispatch" the game.  After all, a vaporized boar doesn't
feel a thing, right?

#     If *I* were after wild boar, and had my choice of rifle, I'd go with
#either the 9.3x62, 9.3x74R, or the .375 H&H.  Other good choices would
#be the .35 Whelen, .358 Norma Mag, .350 Rigby, etc., etc.  Basically any
#medium bore with enough oomph to put them down with authority.


You're kidding, right?  .375 H&H?  Any of those other .35 cal rounds?
Jeezus man, I'd hate to be in the same woods with you.  We're talking
about a friggin' pig, ferchristsake!  Yeah, it has more fur and some
damned impressive teeth but it's still a hog.  A .30-30 will
break both shoulders and rip out the lungs, as will a 12 ga slug if you
happen to be that bad a shot.  I've been there for the field dressing
and seen what a .357 mag out of a pistol will do.  More than enough.
Save the artillery for dangerous game that require it.  Wild boar
don't.

John

From: John De Armond
Subject: Re: Wild Boar Hunting
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

"Mahlon G. Kelly" <mgk@darwin.clas.virginia.edu> writes:

[multiple article quotations deleted]

#I think that you should learn the difference between a feral
#razorback and a Russian boar. Although they are both of the
#same species, the difference is about that between a grizzly
#and a brown bear. The Russian is one h... of a lot more
#dangerous, especially since it is usually hunted as driven
#game.  Perhaps you shouldn't flame someone before you know if
#you are both talking about the same animal.

When one hunts wild boar in this area, one IS hunting russian boar.
They were imported here a hundred years or so ago and have become
indigenous to the area.  I'm talking about the kind of hog that can
dispatch a pit bull with a snap of the head, cutting the dog from
stem to stern.  I'm talking about the kind of hog that amputated the
leg of a friend of my father's a few years ago.  How mean or how
agressive an animal is has little to do with how TOUGH he is.
Russian boar are about the most agressive animal I've ever been around
but they also drop like a rock when hit with anything reasonable.
I'm sorry, but in my book, "reasonable" does NOT include .375 H&H mags.

And no, I'm not speaking of the russian boar bred down with domestic
hogs and offered in pens for the shooting to the city slickers who pay
big bux for that "hunting experience".

John