My buddy bought one of those heritage 22 revolvers from Academy. He wants to use it as his sidearm for hog hunting. I didnt really say anything to him but thought that wasnt really alot of gun if you get mixed up with a pissed-off hog. What do ya'll think? I guess any gun is beter than nothing. What's the smallest caliber you feel safe with as your sidearm?

Min: 357.
Much better 44.
22: bad idea

I carry a .45 because it's my favorite carry and I'm proficient with it but would use a .357 magnum or any of the big calibers.

If he has the luxury of aiming well then a .22 mag will put a hog down no problem. The problem is when you need to use your sidearm it's because you are being charged close quarters or you're hanging by one hand from a tree limb and trying to use the other hand to shoot the angry hog below.

Those occasions are rare since a hog's first instinct is going to be to flee but if you get a cranky or wounded one that wants to fight, I'd rather have something with some "thump" to it.

You're right, something is better than nothing. Tell him to practice his speed loading!

Or his speed stitching. Get him a skin stapler for Christmas.

+100

Tell him to file off the front sight,and make it nice and smooth.That way it wont hurt so bad,when the hog shoves it up his backside.

Wouldn't go with anything less than 9mm with self defense loads.

It will probably do just as well as others. Shooting a hog on the run, if you hit it in the head then both big and little will stop it. If you hit it in the body probably wont matter what you are using. Alot of hogs will run off after beeing hit with a 270 308 or 30-06... and thats when they are not even mad yet. You think a 45 is gonna have more punch than the rifles?

I think it just makes people feel better, but makes little difference.

matt

Yes, I think a 240gr hard cast semi-wadcutter into the face of a charging hog, will put it down faster than a 270/'06 behind the shoulder shot from 100 yards.

A 22 bullet behind the ear will drop him in his tracks. But getting said bullet behind the ear of an angry hog coming straight at you would be problematic.

If you are going into the brush after a wounded hog with a 22 pistol...I'm waiting in the truck

Actually, I like it better when they do run off in to the brush after being shot my my 270. That way I don't have to drag their stinkin', flea bitten carcase out of the road.

+1.. this type of work is why God gave us .357 mags. Only use .22's to dispatch trapped hogs. Any other circumstance is foolish.

I hunt hogs all the time it's my business. 10+ years and hundreds of hogs later I've never seen one charge.

I've walked up on them and shot them with bow (simple broadhead) they run off and die within 60-80 yards everytime.

I've walked up on them with .22, AR-15(.223), 6mm, .270, .40 S&W, 38splc.

They always drop if you shoot them in any vitals i.e. Spine/neck/head/heart/lungs

I think the "hog charging" thing is put WAY out of perspective. Yes they can be dangerous but its so rare it's not anymore to be concerned with than a buck in rut. I'll even go further to say, I've seen deer act aggressive more often than hogs.

Just my $.02

-Matt

http://youtu.be/mizAHTt-iBk So rare in fact,it never happens

+1 on this, only been charged once and I deserved it as he was badly wounded. I have prob shot 50 hogs and cant say I was ever really worried about it. Killed plenty with .22 rimfire. However, if you are really worried about it than the bigger the round the better!

those are great , i killed a 230 pound hog from 75 to 100 yards with just 22 lr , no joke , the 22 mag will for dang sure drop one ,
i have never had a shot hog charge me either , hit it in the head an you anit gotta worry ,

i think bout the only hog that will charge is a sow if u shoot a baby pig an it is squealing an flopping around shes gonna be hot ,
i read all the time about people haveing hogs run off like there are some un stop able beast , i think more people need to learn how to shoot , between the eyes , behind the ear , or side of the head above bottom jaw bone an they gonna lay it down for sure
i have shot pleanty from over 100 yards with 22 rifle one shot one kill , the one I shot with revolver i shot behind shoulder because i had one dog baying him an couldnt get closer an he ran 30 or so yards an layed down
alot of people are saying a bigger gun but if you are that close an still cant put a good shot on him even if u hit it with .45 or anything a bad placed shot anit gonna stop him

ID tell him to go for it, If a hog is really charging you ( doubtful that it would happen) you run don't try to pull your gun and shoot just get the heck out of the way. also if its a side arm then your main firearm should be big enough to handle the task, where a 22mag as a side arm would be fine to dispatch a dying wounded pig.

that said I dont enter the scary woods full of hogs without a bfr in 45/70.....

i was charged by pretty good sized sow. granted she probably only thought that she was chasing my dog until she cleared the brush and saw me. the dog ran and stood behind me for safety. by then the pig was in full trot and not stopping for anything. i hit her 3 times with 00buck before she died. the last shot was only feet away. the way she was comin at me i dont think any hand gun woulda done anything

And even if a hog did charge you, the rifle in your hand is a much better tool than a pistol. I hunt hogs all the time, and I usually carry a .22 to plink or shoot squirrels with. If I carry a major caliber pistol it's because I want to shoot a hog with it, not because I think I'll need it to fight my way back to the truck. Might as well carry a Bowie knife and a tomahawk too, never know when you might need them...

A 22 lr would have stoped her.. if you could have hit the right spot on a running pig with it. If the first of those 00's would have been middle of the head she would have fallen over on the spot.

obviously pellets missed her brain on the first 2 shots or she would have died right there. but they were definitely head shots.each of the first 2 shots knocked her down for a second but only breifly. the last one was in her right shoulder at about 10ft. notice the wound. all pellets went into circle about 2in. im not doubting a .22. i have seen em taken with a .17hmr. i think the question was, is a 22mag a good enough side arm for fending off a pig. i only have one experience in my life where i needed to fend off a pig and it took 3 00buck at close range. that was my experience that all im tryin to say. so, for me i would say no.

I always think of my sidearm as insurance if you know what hits the fan. So during archery season I carry my Ruger 44mag alaskan as my CHL gun. Just walking around the ranch I carry my Ruger GP100 357mag. But if I am hog hunting I carry either my Ruger 454 Casull or BFR 45-70. I have seen a charging boar take 4 45-70 shots and run another 30 yds. Granted shots were not placed in the ideal areas, but with 300lbs running straight at ya everyones marksmanship declines.

Large caliber doesn't make up for poor marksmanship, unless you have exploding boolits. If you can't kill it with a .44 Mag, you aren't going to kill it with a .45-70. Just because a hog can continue charging after being shot in the leg and arse 4 times with a .45-70 doesn't mean that going to a .50 BMG would have put it down.

Y'all must have genetically altered hogs. All of mine are wimps that just run away when I shoot their friends. I even grabbed a few piglets and held them while they squealed loudly on a few different occasions and momma didn't charge me, she just kept running.

Hogs aren't dinosaurs. They're hogs. The same thing ham, sausage, and bacon are made of. You don't hear of hog farmers dying from chargers with any regularity...

I agree whole heartedly that large bullets don't make up for poor marksmanship. Again I am not talking about a hunting situation. I have taken hogs with my Gamo 22cal air rifle with a shot in the ear; however I would not want it if I was toe to toe with one.

The context of this thread is my friend bought a 22WMR pistol to take hog hunting. Is this a good choice? In my opinion, No. Will a 22WMR kill a hog? Most definitely, Yes. Will an arrow with just a field point kill a hog? Yes. Would I suggest it? No.

I always carry a sidearm and my choice of weapon is always to cover the worst possible situation (large hog charging). I carry either a BFR 45-70 with hiviz sights or a Ruger Super Redhawk 454 with a Burris Fastfire. Note both are sighted for very quick target acquisition. Would I suggest this to someone else? NO. 95% of hunters would not be able to accurately handle the recoil (the 45-70 actually has less recoil than the 454).

357 is the minimum I would suggest, if that is all you have or you cannot handle more recoil. In my opinion the best hog sidearm for the money is the old Ruger Vaquero in 44mag. The fixed sights acquire the target quickly and after Wolff springs and a little trigger work it is one smooth operator.

Hunting with a pistol is in my opinion a whole other topic. I have a scoped BFR in 22 hornet, that I would not hesitate to shoot a hog with if I limit myself to a head or neck shot. However if the hog was not DRT, I would holster the hornet and have the 454 ready during the recovery.

I also think comparing domesticated hog to wild ones is not a fair comparison. It is like comparing my herd of black angus to the running of the bulls in Spain. Different animals with different temperaments. Yes being charged is not the norm but I feel better prepared in JMO.

You can see at sow most likey had pigs an your dog made her mad an the dog shoulda caught her lol but I I never seen one that a 22 wouldn't stop , that goes for about any animal in Texas head shot with 22 game over dead even better if it's come towRrds you at close range

i retract my statement that no hand gun woulda done anything to her. i agree a .22mag is plenty big enough and im with KC, they are just pigs. if i can get down wind i sneak up pretty close before i shoot they just run away and if they bust me while im stalking they just run away. this one had something else on her mind. maybe if i woulda stood my ground and yelled and waved my arms she mighta stopped and turned around but i wasnt about to find out. it all happened so quick. i was glad i had a shotgun and not a pistol. i dont think i woulda had the time to draw and the nerve to stand still to take aim. i shoot a uberti replica 1873 in 45lc single action. im no gun slinger. in that situation i dont think i coulda pulled it off.

I have the same gun and LOVE IT. There is a diffrence between a .22mag and .22lr

I have killed hogs with mine (.22mag) in a trap. Nothing wrong with it.