hog hunting with 10mm pistol: 180gr or 200gr?

[ghostrider]

for those who hunt hogs (or deer, or bear) with a 10mm pistol, just curious if you choose 180gr or 200gr?

also, for those who handload, what bullets do you load?

and for those who cast your own, what mold do you use?

[KLB]

Have you done this successfully? When I first caught hogs in a trap, I thought a .45 round to the head would be an efficient and merciful way to dispatch them. Not so. A .45 round won't penetrate a hog's skull. A round in the side will no doubt ultimately kill them, but not right away. They stay on their feet in the trap.

I shifted to 12 gauge 00 buck. That puts them down.

[mrvmax]

I know guys that have used 22 mag to kill them, shot placement is obviously key. I just shot one last week with Speer Gold Dots and until I hit it in the right place it didn’t kill it. Buffalo Bore makes a hard cast bullet that should work well. I intended on using those in my 10mm AR but it didn’t function well with those due to the high pressure.

[ghostrider]

Have you done this successfully?

I'm only getting into 10mm just now, so no, but many others have:

https://www.scoutlookweather.com/huntin ... hy-handgun
https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/10mm- ... g.1377305/
http://mikestexashunt-fish.com/handgun- ... re-pistol/

and there are some purpose build 10mm hunting handguns:
https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunit ... resurgence
https://ontargetmagazine.com/2015/11/to ... pistols/2/
https://www.wilsoncombat.com/hunter/
https://www.remington.com/handguns/mode ... 0mm-hunter
https://danwessonfirearms.com/product/bruin/

[kbarrick]

A friend uses .22 LR between the eyes to kill hogs in his trap. Has killed a lot that way.
Keith

[WTR]

A friend uses .22 LR between the eyes to kill hogs in his trap. Has killed a lot that way.
Keith

I agree.

[jason812]

Ghostrider, are you hunting them in the open or shooting them in a trap? Big difference between the 2.

[ghostrider]

Ghostrider, are you hunting them in the open or shooting them in a trap? Big difference between the 2.

most likely hunting from a blind or in the open.

[jason812]

Me personally I would run 200gr FMJ for penetration but I have no 10mm nor pistol hunt but I have shot pigs and I would take penetration over expansion with a pistol round.

[AJSully421]

Have you done this successfully? When I first caught hogs in a trap, I thought a .45 round to the head would be an efficient and merciful way to dispatch them. Not so. A .45 round won't penetrate a hog's skull. A round in the side will no doubt ultimately kill them, but not right away. They stay on their feet in the trap.

I shifted to 12 gauge 00 buck. That puts them down.

Are you being even remotely serious? I shoot 200 pounders right between the eyes with 9mm 115 grain FMJ Winchester white box cheap practice ammo and they have all folded up like a cheap lawn chair. I have also shot them with WWB 230 grain .45 and never, EVER, have I had anything that might remotely resemble a slug that did not penetrate a hog skull. Same with a .40 180 grain. A .45 won’t penetrate a hog skull?!???! Surely you jest...

As far as the question, unless you are at a distance, you will notice no difference in performance between the two weights, given adequate shot placement. The 200 grain might punch through a shoulder blade a little better, but if you are hitting shoulder blade, you have hit too high anyway.

[KLB]

Are you being even remotely serious?

Yes, I'm serious. I can't account for our different experiences, except my head shots weren't so much between the eyes as above the eyes in the relatively flat part of their foreheads. Whether that has anything to do with it, I can't say, and the issue is unlikely to arise again. The hogs have been too wise to the trap for several years, though I intend to try again soon.

[powerboatr]

we use a 115 gr 9mm or 185 gr or a 230 gr .45 acp while they are in the trap to be quick and humane so they dont suffer.

they dont hop around, just pass away as peaceful as possible while being mad at us for catching them.

[LeonCarr]

I have found no difference in effectiveness between the 180 Grain Hornady XTP and the 200 Grain Hornady XTP on hogs, with the 180 doing about 1250 fps and the 200 doing about 1150 fps. The tree behind the hog might be deader with the 200 than the 180, but both of them exited on hogs up to 250 pounds.

For handloading I use the above bullets with Accurate #7 at the above velocities.

For cast bullets I use the Lee 180 Grain Truncated Cone with an alloy of clip on wheel weights and 2% Tin, then water drop them. A good hard bullet for 10mm velocities without being brittle. I have not shot them at an animal yet.

Please follow all safe reloading practices.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[Lynyrd]

I can't stop laughing at this post. All the hog killer experts are offering various and sundry opinions.

I've killed over 1,000 hogs in the last 15 years. About 50/50 as to whether or not they were in a trap.

As far as killing them in a trap goes, I've seen a boar take three .357 magnum rounds to the head and still be on his feet. I've seen hogs soak up .45 acp rounds to the chest like they were mosquitoes and hit the trap fence with everything they had. And I've killed my share with a .22 magnum with one shot. The kill spot for that shot is not "right between the eyes, but a little above that. Draw an imaginary X from each eye across to the other ear hole. Where the lines cross they are very vulnerable. I've also chased down little ones and popped them in the head with a hammer, of course that was after all the big ones were dead.

When shooting them at distance, my favorite spot is in the neck. Preferably about two thirds of the way up the neck from the bottom and closer to the head than the shoulder. The spine is weak in this area and they will drop like a rock if you hit them there. Even right behind the ear hole works if you are close enough to make that shot. I've never tried to shoot one in the neck at a distance with ANY kind of handgun, and I never will. Miss just a little, and all you have is a bleeding mad hog.

But all you guys keep on killing hogs. I don't care how, just kill them all!

[K-Texas]

There is this thing known as sectional density that is more telling than caliber alone. Obviously a 10mm 200 gr. bullet has a higher sectional density than a 180, but that doesn't mean a 180 doesn't have enough. A 200 gr. 10mm also has greater sectional density than a 230 gr. .451" bullet.

The next thing I'd look at is momentum. Higher velocity with a 180 may give higher momentum. If you know the velocity of the loads, the momentum calculation is BW / 225218 x velocity = Momentum in Lb-seconds.

I'll toss out a couple of examples. 1225 FPS is the top velocity Lyman shows in the P&R III for the 180 gr. Sierra JHC (SD .161). The data may be a bit milder than some at or below 30,000 CUP, but they used a JHP for both 180 and 200 gr. weights. Stats for the 180 are .9791 Lb-second of momentum with a muzzle energy of 600 Ft'lbs. Highest velocity for the 200 gr. XTP (SD.179) is 1148 FPS. Stats are 1.0195 Lb-seconds with 585 Ft/lbs. The energy of the two is pretty comparable with only 15 Ft/lbs of difference. Momentum however is a bit higher for the 200 gr. XTP. I can also tell you that XTPs are very well constructed as far as hollowpoints go.

But while I have the Lyman manual open I'll mention another option, the Sierra 190 gr. FPJ (SD .170). It is a flat nose bullet that has most of the lead at the nose exposed. They are not exactly designed to expand, but they can deform, while they're likely to penetrate greater than either of the 2 JHPs. Lyman shows the highest velocity for it at 1189 FPS. 1.0030 Lb-seconds of Momentum with 596 Ft/lbs of ME. It's what I'd choose in this case.