Hog hunting: choosing between two bullets

[Philintheblanks]

I finally found two loads which shoot accurately in my Henry .44 magnum rifle. But, never having hunted hogs, I'm struggling to choose between the two bullets I have on hand. Both are 240 gn. I have Zero jacketed soft points and Missouri coated swc. Of these two, which would you choose, assuming the same velocity. I'd like to use a heavier bullet (300 gn would be ideal) but they simply won't feed and chamber in the rifle. I do have a 300 gn load but only shoot it in my Super Redhawk. I'm not good enough with a handgun to be confident of an ethical kill, otherwise I'd go with that.

I'll appreciate any feedback!

Phil

[M1A4ME]

Hollow points are supposed to expand and limit penetration by "growing" larger in diameter as they travel through the target/media.

Hard cast semi-wadcutters are supposed to penetrate deeply with little bullet deformation.

How deep does your bullet need to go to get the job done?

How much will the increase in velocity from the rifle affect the hollow point expansion?  Penetration?

If no one else has experience with those two bullets, from a rifle length barrel, you might look up some you tube videos to see if someone has done some penetration/expansion testing of the same (or similar) bullets.

I can tell you, using bundles of water soaked catalogs/magazines tied together with bailing twine, a 240 grain lead semi wadcutter (Winchester brand) will penetrate way more than a 240 grain Remington hollow point from a Super Blackhawk revolver (7.5" barrel).   That's the only soft media testing I ever did.  Everything else was cars, apllances, rocks, etc. with a .44 magnum.

[Philintheblanks]

Thanks for your reply! I should have clarified...the Zero bullets are not hollow point. They are flat nose soft point. But I expect they will expand to a certain degree. The swc bullets are18 BHN hardcast and will likely penetrate more at the expense of expansion. That's my conundrum: expansion vs. penetration. Hogs seem to be in a category of their own...

Neither of these are not likely the optimal choices, but they are what I have at this time. I've watched so many videos and read so many opinions, ost of which contradict each other, that I decided to turn to the only forum I trust. That's why I appreciate your input. Constructive rather than condescending.

Phil

[crosstimbers]

I had a 44 mag rifle a few years ago, but sold it. I only killed one hog with it. But strictly speaking, soft points are probably the best thing for the purpose. If you are into cast bullet loading, and know what you're doing, Ive heard good things about cast lead bullets. Otherwise, soft points all the way- for my two cents.

[M1A4ME]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fWuJoSDUp4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKnmMN167PA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-QZG07npn4

Maybe some helpful info.

[Wobbly]

Hard cast semi-wadcutters are supposed to penetrate deeply with little bullet deformation.

SWC main purpose is to make a neat hole in paper targets for maximum scoring. The "semi-" is because they are not pure Wad Cutters; their conical tip helps with feeding, as opposed to a revolver which has no feed issues.

You want something with a hollow point. Your other 2 bullets will only expand if they hit bone. A HP expands by 'hydraulic jacking'. That is, the liquid in the soft tissue forces the speeding bullet tip to expand. Thus, faster bullets will expand faster/better.

[Joe A.]

Take a look at Hornady’s XTP. One year I killed 3 deer using my in my 5” barreled 629. Worked great. I’ve read a lot of good comments about them.

Also, lots of people swears by a heavy hardcast swc.

[cracker57]

I second the hornady XTP, I have taken a deer and a heavy hog with the 240 grain XTP. I don't think hogs are as tough as most people are lead to believe. just hit em right..

[Philintheblanks]

My understanding of hog physiology, such as it is, is that their skin is tougher than a deer, for instance. This seems to indicate that hollow points would expand too soon and lose too much velocity to insure an ethical kill. Hogs also have a sort of 'cartilage shield" surrounding some of the vital organs, I'm not exactly sure of how that works, but it suggests that penetration could be more important than expansion. Shot placement is the most important factor, in any case.

I'm right around 1600 fps with both loads. They group about equally at 100 yds which is the maximum distance I expect to shoot. 50-75 yds would be ideal but that would require negotiations with the hog in question ahead of time.

I'm leaning in favor the jsp bullet. I think I can expect some expansion from the broad lead meplat while, hopefully retaning enough velocity to penetrate the hog's biological barriers. It may be some months before I have the opportunity to hunt.

Thank you all for input!

Phil

[crosstimbers]

Okay two more cents. I hunt pigs a lot, in my experience the best shot is a quartering away head shot with point of aim being behind the ear. The gristle plate youre talking about is a feature found in mature boars (male), Ive never seen it stop a bullet but that isnt the best place to be placing a shot to begin with. A pig's vital area is actually a bit more forward than a deer, so your dealing with possible bullet deflection off a legbone. So- just my opinion, but head shots have served me better. Have I ever had one fail? Yes. Im sure the pig died later but ran far enough off that I never found it. It was a frontal shot, the hog simply wouldnt cooperate.

That being said, I'll share this with you. A man I know shot a medium sized hog several times with his 30-30 and it was still moving. It was in a trap (not a box trap, a lot trap about ten yards square) he was shooting across a creek, perhaps 30 yards away. His theory was that some of his bullets must have deflected on the hog panels that trap was made from. My theory was that he simply missed. When we got the beast back across the creek- which was no small task I might add, we found we were both wrong. He had hit the thing multiple times, just not where it would do much good.

[RSR]

Okay two more cents. I hunt pigs a lot, in my experience the best shot is a quartering away head shot with point of aim being behind the ear. The gristle plate youre talking about is a feature found in mature boars (male), Ive never seen it stop a bullet but that isnt the best place to be placing a shot to begin with. A pig's vital area is actually a bit more forward than a deer, so your dealing with possible bullet deflection off a legbone. So- just my opinion, but head shots have served me better. Have I ever had one fail? Yes. Im sure the pig died later but ran far enough off that I never found it. It was a frontal shot, the hog simply wouldnt cooperate.

That being said, I'll share this with you. A man I know shot a medium sized hog several times with his 30-30 and it was still moving. It was in a trap (not a box trap, a lot trap about ten yards square) he was shooting across a creek, perhaps 30 yards away. His theory was that some of his bullets must have deflected on the hog panels that trap was made from. My theory was that he simply missed. When we got the beast back across the creek- which was no small task I might add, we found we were both wrong. He had hit the thing multiple times, just not where it would do much good.

Sage advice here.

Wadcutters if you have pinpoint precision to place your bullets where they need to go, as they're better at penetrating intermediate barriers of body or environs before striking vitals.

Soft points otherwise.

This is of course contingent on the size of hog you're hunting. 

That said, at 240gr, you should be relatively set provided you don't hit a structural bone in the process (i.e., a legbone or a shoulder, not a rib bone)...

[solidmatter]

I’m tuning my Father in Law’s savage 10 .300 WM With a heavy barrel, Burris XTR ii, and a JP brake.

So far I’m just getting the scope dialed and making brass with 150gr bullets.

It’s ALL about the brake and a heavy gun. If you don’t have an aggressive brake on a not light rifle, you’re going to hate it.

If you’ve got to get to a mile or you need power for elk/moose, .300 for the win. Otherwise 240 is a much better option.

[warriorgeez]

My standard load for My 44 mag Ruger Redhawk is a 240gr XTP on top of 24.5gr of H110 (same as W296). I’ve gone as low as 23gr, but have found the best accuracy at either 24 or 24.5Gr.

[Slikshot22]

of the 2 bullets I would try the Missouri coated first for better penetration

[cracker57]

My standard load for My 44 mag Ruger Redhawk is a 240gr XTP on top of 24.5gr of H110 (same as W296). I’ve gone as low as 23gr, but have found the best accuracy at either 24 or 24.5Gr.

I just loaded 100 240gr XTP over 24 gr of H110, my 8 inch raging bull loves this load...