Hog hunting

Hello, new member here. First time post. Been away from hunting, reloading, and shooting for 20 yrs. life and the job got in the way. It?s time to renew the passion.
My question.... will a 240 grain Keith style SWC handloaded to 1200 FPS out of a 7.5 inch Ruger SBH be a good load for hogs? I would like to practice with my hunting load, and it would be a plus to keep my ammo costs down. If this load would not be a good idea, what would you recommend?
Thanx

Welcome! Yes, I'd think that load will more than suffice.

Welcome aboard, Gsj.

What caliber?

Welcome, looks like you have it covered!

A 240gr SWC @ 1,200 FPS IN 44 OR 45 SHUD WORK ALL DAY LONG ON HOGS AND NOT WEAR YOU OR THE GUN OUT.

Welcome. I agree with 45MAN, in a 44 mag the 240 grain bullets are my favorite. They work great on whitetails and hogs. Still shot placement is key.

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The key word here I see is handloaded. First off welcome to the forum, and it sounds like you are using a 44 mag. That load will work as long as you do your part. I like to see you discussing practice. Practice with a little lighter load can be very beneficial. and since you are handloading: Another load that is handy for a lot of things is the 250 gr cast with 10grs of Unique. It will be a little more friendly in the recoil department and possibly make things a little cheaper. Going up to the heavyweight 310gr Lee and the RCBS 300gr SWC are both cast, and good bullets. If you need help finding these (already cast) PM me.
Shot placement is paramount so good luck with the practice.

Welcome to the forum. As the others have said, this load should get the job done on hogs if you do your part and place it through the vitals. There is a wealth of information on this site in the pages of forum threads and articles. Glad you joined us!

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Yes I will be using a 44 mag. Practice is everything, and the plan is to shoot 50-75 full power loads a week at an 8 inch steel gong. Went today and had a fun day, first time shooting in a very long time. I?ve always practiced with cast bullets , and hunted with jacketed ones. Have looked hard at the load of 10 hrs of unique , thank you, but was a little worried about trajectory. I plan to practice out to 100 yards, but didn?t think the unique load. Would not be flat enough shooting for that range. Would a heavy 300 grain cast bullet be a better choice? I want one load, to make things simple. Once I?m sighted in, it?s done..... reload ammo, shoot, and repeat. Any thoughts on that idea?
Thanx again for the feedback.

Actually, that 10gr Unique load will be pretty close to a 300gr load at 100 yds. A 300gr loaded to 1100-1300 fps definitely carrys a lot of energy at 100 yds. I don't know if recoil becomes a factor for you but, the Unique and a 250 cast is a bit easier on the hand.

WHAT KIND OF HOGS ARE YOPU GOING TO BE HUNTING? PRESERVE HOGS CAN GET REAL BIG. IN TEXAS YOU WOULD MOSTLY BE SHOOTING FERAL HOGS THAT USUALLY WILL BE 150lbs AND UNDER, AND MAYBE MOSTLY UNDER 100lbs.

WITH OPEN SIGHTS I LIKE TO KEEP MY SHOTS AT 50 YARDS AND UNDER. WHEN YOU PRACTICE YOU MAY SEE YOUR PERCENTAGE OF HITS ON THE GONG START DROPPING AS YOU GO BEYOND 50 YARDS.

WELCOME BACK TO HANDGUN HUNTING.

GSI the 10grs of Unique and the 250gr cast is plenty flat enough for shooting to 100 yds. With your 7.5 barrel you should be getting 1200FPS or little more.

Use the adjustable sights on your gun to dial in to the yardage you want to shoot at. OR,, Yes you can set up the gun to be "ON" at 50yds and then play, or move to 100yds, or farther.
You stated Practice with CAST and Hunt with JACKETED ? OK then most likely there will be a slight change in adjustment in sights. I wonder what choice of bullet for hunting?

Now, I did not want to go here, but I will for the sake of information.
Shooting a lighter load with less recoil is much more beneficial to the shooter than shooting Full house loads all the time.
I don't remember who it was, that said to shoot the amount of ammo at the same given yardage. In other words:
25yds 25 rounds 50yds 50 rounds 100 yds 100 rounds.
You got the picture, and you even stated that you would like to shoot 50-75 rounds each session. Excellent !!!
But may I suggest that you do this with a load light enough that it will not tire you out or cause your hands to hurt. You do not want your ability to wane or to put it another way,,, You will see your performance drop off after shooting full house loads continuously in a 50-75 round session.
Let me stop here and point out, that when I say, cause your hands to hurt, I do not necessarily mean that immediate pain. The next day or a day after is when your wrist or hand may hurt. I doubt it with the loads discussed, but you also have not been shooting for awhile, and I do not know, what physical condition you are in. LET'S DON'T QUESTION AND ANSWER THIS HERE. Ask yourself, and determine it offline.


So with that in mind you could consider or even use 8.0 grs of unique w/240-250gr cast, and still get 1000FPS more or less depending upon your barrel. I will gladly take that load and shoot at 100yds 200yds and even 300yds. TARGETS only NO GAME!
Practice with those milder loads then step up to the hunting loads when season comes around.

I want to know about the cast bullet you are shooting? Flat base, Gas checked, SWC, LBT style, etc etc.... Mold number or Maker would be nice too.

Very good advice cherokeetracker.... I?m all about constructive advice from those who have more experience then I do. I?m in a hurry now(at work),and will give you some answers latter this evening.

As the others have said don't over do it. Shooting 10 to 15 GOOD shots a day, where you can concentrate on each and every shot is a lot better than overdoing it and trying to shoot large volumes. Recoil is cumulative and wears on you in long sessions causing bad habits to sneak in,[they are damn hard to break] so keep your sessions short for a while. Start close and work out as you progress. A CONSISTENT REPEATABLE GRIP, crisp sight picture, proper trigger control, AND A CONSISTENT REPEATABLE GRIP, yes the grip IS that important will get you there. Welcome back.

Sounds like I didn?t explain myself well. I plan on using one load for all my shooting and hunting, and that load will probably be a 240 swc. I have been looking at bullets from Missouri bullet Co. They make a Keith style with a brindle hardness of 18. Not sure if this is a good bullet or not, but it?s a place to start.
I?m aware that you can sight in a revolver to hit a 200 hrs target, but that would mean using Kentucky. Windage, or large amounts of holdover. Not my plan. Looking for maximum point blank range, in other words,one sight picture for 10 , 25, 50, or 100 yards. For this , the bullet must have a adequate velocity. That?s what I?m not sure of, what that velocity is. I?m thinking 1200 FPS would be close. 1 to 1.5 inches high at 50 yards, 3-4 inches low at 100...... am I close?
As for my range... I?m sure I can shoot to 50 yards, with iron sights, 75 yards.... maybe.... 100.. doubt it. Now with a 2X scope.... 100 yards is a real possibility.
With a SBH hunter with quick release scope rings , I can use one gun, and match the sighting system to the conditions.
Reduced loads make a lot of sense, but at some point, I will have to move to a stronger load, of for nothing more than trajectory. This will be my 4th 44 mag, so I?m familiar with the recoil I will be dealing with. Practice is the key, as are shot placement, and bullet performance. Trying to cover all my bases.

I have not had much luck with removing and replacing a scope without having to sight back in each time.

Let me relate this story to you. I got a 475 Linebaugh to hunt with and shot probably 800 rounds of light loads before working up hunting loads. It got close to hunting season and I did not have much trigger time on the heavier loads and they were shot mostly from the bench. I went hunting and got set up in the woods. Almost 270 degrees around me I could rest the gun, Perfect I thought. I stood up to stretch my legs and here comes a buck from behind and to my right. No chance for a rest. I grabbed the revolver and went into offhand mode. What a mistake, on the shot the gun recoiled and hit me in the nose and forehead. Blood everywhere! OUCH! I did get the buck. I now practice a lot more with hunting loads.

I feel your pain! Different circumstances, but same result from 45/70 Govt. RPM.

As far as skills development. I find that well aimed shots on small targets with a pellet gun or a 22 rimfire do me as much good as center fire rounds do. I like to warm up with my rimfire and then shoot 5 to 20 shots with my hunting gun. I also recommend dry firing with your hunting gun concentrating on sight alignment, trigger squeeze and follow through. Frequent small sessions will help you more than the occasional marathon.

hunting hog in texas need to choose a fifle to use whats the best caliber,,,,

There are many good choices. It might be easier if tell us what you already own.

Oh and how are you going to hunt them. In a blind over corn from 200 yards away? Spot and stalk? Tree stand? Etc.

Another question,,,, Bolt ? AR? or Lever ? I have used all and like Randy said there are many good choices.

MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT YOU GET A GOOD HANDGUN AND FORGET THE RIFLE.

Yea, what 45Man said.

What's a rifle?

It all depends upon where you are hunting hogs. If you are along the Texas Oklahoma border near deleware bend you would need a big bore rifle and/or handgun. Two massive hogs have been taken from this area, 567 and 622 pounds respectively. I hunt alone and never go below 45-70 stoked with high pressure rounds. 375 would be fine but so would 416 or 458.

I am late to this party but to answer your original question, the 240 gr bullet will work great. However, I would recommend going with a 300 plus gr cast bullet with a wide meplate loaded to 1000-1200 fps. It will go through any hog at any angle and to me recoil is less than the 240 gr.

+1 on that! Shot placement will trump all else though. I would hate to tell you how many hogs I have killed with the Mighty .22 Mag off my mudboat or out the window of the truck, and fairly large ones too, 250+ lbs! A shot to the neck or under the ear and they were lights out. With a good heavy wide meplate hardcast you don't have to be a surgeon. As jamautry said. . .you can shoot them from any angle!

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