went hunting boar on the Neuse river this past weekend with my Brother and shot a 459lb boar with a Colt trooper .357 magnum 6" bull barrel.. Guess what i put up this week...
Questions- How was the performance of the .357 against such a large animal? What was the load was used? Where was shot placement? I am about to score a nice Model 19 and I think it would be a nice gun to carry for hunting. Of course, the Javelina we have here in AZ aren't anywhere close to 400#. I am also considering carrying same handgun to FL for a pig hunt with slightly larger game. Nice hunting BTW.
I used a hand loaded 158 JSP 7 grains of green dot with mag primers... shot transversly through both lungs and nicked the lower part of the heart at 30-35 yards (i didn't measure it) 2 steps and it went down... I was in a tree stand 15 feet up with a good view of several large oaks... The 19 is a sweet shooting gun i think you'll like it...
Very cool! I think 158s are perfect for most "up to medium" sized game in .357. I acquired a handfull of 158 Speer hollowpoints that I plan on loading before Javelina season. Your experience indicates I am going in the right direction. I think the Model 19 will fit me well. The one I am looking at has a 4" barrel. For a dedicated hunting handgun, I prefer about a 6" barrel, but I think 4" will do nicely for the javelina I want to hunt with it. I have a .44 that I could use for game where I expect longer shots. I've had no problem hunting small game with a 5" barrel. Anyways.... I am starting to ramble. Again, excellent shooting!
i've been on javilina hunt before and they can be nasty buggers... i'm thinking .357 with a 12 gague or better backup the the hands of a friend... or a nice climable tree....
I've heard that's one of the preferred places to hit because the hog is exsanguinated, pooling the blood into the thoracic cavity. Supposed to make for "easy" cleanup :^) BTW - do you think you could post a bigger picture? Also, that was great shooting!
i have the same picture in a larger version but can't seem to put it up here had Quig to thank for helping me get this one up...
Let's see some more pics, especially of you and the boar. I've spent the better part of 15 years guiding boar hunts in some of the best boar hunting country in the U.S, I've killed literally thousands of boars (pics to prove it), many of them monsters. Only one I have personally killed over 400lbs in all that time, and a few close. Also, I've seen many boars, small and large shot with a .357 out of a pistol. Never once have I seen it put a boar down in 10 steps much less 2 with single shot, or even 2 for that matter. The .357 out of a pistol is horrible on big boar, in every case I have witnessed. Just saying. Of course, you could be really REALLY lucky, in both areas. Lets see some good pics
Rex... it could be luck/skill/old age/fright or whatever... did i expect it to run off yep... it did not... i've hunted boar/wild hog on maybe six occasions and been lucky enough to make a kill in 3 of those hunts... never claimed to be the expert... Can i give you a forensic explaination as to why it dropped when it did no.... i guess i'll have to differ to other experts The local boars are thought to be left over from some russian boars that were imported for a hunting club in the 70's and got loose... they've bred withother wild/domestic (gone wild hogs) and i'm guessing that this is what i've shot...
I hear you Witch Doctor, didn't mean to come off like an ass. Just sounded far fetched to me. It's like where some guy buys a cheapo semi-auto .22 from wal mart, and makes a post saying he shot .25" groups at 100 yards using Remington thunderbolt ammo. It goes against everything you know about shooting and guns, but the guy that actually did it, knows it is true. All the rest of us are left scratching our heads.... Congrats on your nice boar!
I've had some run ins along the San Pedro River where it seemed as though it was going to be a bad day. After some more thought, stated Javelina and family moved on without incident. Of course, at the time, it wasn't season. Luckily the largest I've ever seen here is about 100 lbs. I've heard of larger, but never seen it with my own eyes. 100 or 200 lbs, I wouldn't take a shot unless I was sure
Oh yeah BBQ. Real nice Witch Doctor I've been on a couple hog hunts in Arkansas and loved every minute of it. Got both of mine with a S&W .44 Mag. It was about 20 years ago so I forget the loads but they were over the counter stuff. but I'm hoping to go again sometime and maybe even use my bow on a hunt for boar. i will remeber to take a handgun for backup lol......