[rorshach1980]

I have an opportunity from a local farmer to eradicate some problem wild hogs from his property. Right now the best guns i have for this would be my 7.5" 44mag bisley and 4 5/8 45 colt blackhawk. The only viable rifles i have are my ar15 and an m1garand id rather not use.
I dont mind taking the ar but from what ive read they are marginal unless you use a copper solid bullet. All i have are 69 gr matchkings and 55 grn fmj and 55grn vmax

I have a good 44 load of a 240 grain cast kieth at 1200fps
For now i only have 230 grn rn lead for the 45 colt

What do you guys think is my best bet here?

 

[keyston44]

Of the handgun loads you have, I'd use the 44mag. If you had a similar load for your 45 colt then it would be a toss up between the two.

Key

 

[phonejack]

The AR will work if you only take head shots. With either pistol I would use a 240 or 250 cast around 1000' max for penetration.

 

[JEBar]

which pistol do you feel the most comfortable with .... for me it would be the 44 mag ... I like the longer barrel

 

[Yetiman]

The 45 LC is certainly more than capable, but using what you have on hand the 44 would seem to be the clear choice.

 

[bwinters]

I use my 45 colt with cor bon or buffalo bore factory ammo In handload 9.3 grains of unique with a magnum primer and a 255 grain swc hardcast.

 

[rorshach1980]

I am more comfortable with the 44, since i have shot it more. I have only shot some sellier&bellot cowboy loads through the 45 and just loaded some 230 grain lead with 13 grn of blue dot but havent shot them yet. I bought the 44 as my first single action when turkey hunting with a 18" shotgun i saw a coyote at 100 yards and no way to take him out. The 45 i bought on a whim cuz i thought it was cool

 

[twodog max]

I would go with the 44. The AR will be plenty good with most any decent bullet. The heavier weights will be the best bet. Stay away from the pure varmint bullets. There have been thousands of hogs killed cleanly with the 223/5.56.

 

[Varminterror]

The Garand would offer you the most punch, but it's a heck of an anchor to lug around after bacon. Out of your list of 4 - 44mag & 45colt revolvers, M1 and AR-15 - I'd personally recommend you take another look at the AR-15.

I dont mind taking the ar but from what ive read they are marginal unless you use a copper solid bullet.

You've been misinformed.

I've killed - without exaggeration - hundreds of hogs with 50grn V-max's in the past out of 223rem and 22-250's. Put them behind the ear, the hog will drop like a sack of bricks.

The Nosler 60grn Partition has been the best bullet I've found for hogs in the 223rem. From common 50-75lb piggies to ~250lb porkers, the Partition punches hard enough to drop them fast behind the ear, and penetrates deep enough to run to get the job done on the vitals too.

Pretty much any bullet in the 44mag or 45colt will do well on hogs. I'd lean towards your hardcast 44, but that's just me being a 44-o'phile. Much shorter range proposition with the revolvers than the AR. No reason to get fancy on bullet choice, I started killing pigs with the 44mag using simple Winchester White Box "junk" SJFP's from Walmart a long time ago. Been through 225grn FTX's, 240grn and 300grn XTP's, hardcast, A-Frames, nosler JSP's, 180grn Rem JSP's (was on a velocity binge), and a few others... Hit a hog well with a 44mag and you'll have bacon to fry...

 

[sfc rick]

I've been reloading and shooting 45LC for a long time and see no problem using it.

1. It's been killing men and North American game for over 140 years.

2. It's not as hard on your ears when you do need to get off a quick shot as some other calibers can be.

The only downside is you must be well practiced in shooting it so you can adjust and hit your game at what range you estimate it to be(Bullet drop).

But you can tailor your loads to shoot some pretty hard hitting bullets.

 

[stand tall]

I use my 45 colt with cor bon or buffalo bore factory ammo In handload 9.3 grains of unique with a magnum primer and a 255 grain swc hardcast.

A Mag. primer with Unique ?? Why ??

 

[rorshach1980]

I may try both the 44 and the ar15 on different occasions for the fun of it. I try to challenge myself regularly at 100 yards with the 44 so out to 50 yards i feel pretty confident if the round has enough power.

 

[Teancum]

You mentioned that you have some 230g bullets for the 45Colt. Many times the 230g bullets are sized at .451 for use in .45ACP rounds while your 45Colt may be sized for .452-.455 depending on how it actually measures out. If it is on the larger side of those measurements that difference can effect accuracy.

I have a 44Mag in a Ruger Old Vaquero and 45Colt in another Ruger Old Vaquero and with the 44Mag I am more accurate and can load that caliber hotter with more of the same type of powder than the 45Colt, which just goes to show how each gun can be different from one that is exactly the same framework. From my choices I would go with the 44Mag for the reasons above.

I wouldn't give up on the AR either. It's much easier to hit stuff and stuff that moves with a rifle than a pistol,as you already know. There should be a good bullet design out there that gives you the accuracy and performance that you are looking for. Good luck in your adventure.

 

[texagun]

Either should do the job, but if you can shoot it well, the .44 Mag with good ammo would be the best choice. We have 300-400 lb. pigs around here and they will charge you if provoked or if they have shoats with them so it is important to choose a gun you are very familiar with and can shoot accurately. I would prefer a rifle of adequate caliber over any handgun.

 

[jkelliott]

Ror what area of east tenn ?
I live in johnson city area

 

[HAWKEN]

I hunted hogs for 26 years, when I lived in Florida, ranging from 50 to 350 pounds, using a .243, a .270, a .357 and a .44 magnum, and never found them hard to kill. Shot placement is key because they have a triangle shaped bone, (scapula), covered with gristle, shielding their vitals. The older they get the thicker the gristle gets that covers the bone. Your .44 loads should be good to 100 yards and your .45 loads to 50. You can load to Blackhawk specs for your .45. I have some 300 grain JSP's loaded with maximum charges of H110 to about 1400 fps that would do nicely. I also have some 255 grain LRNFP's loaded with Trail Boss to about 900 fps.......robin

 

[rorshach1980]

Real close to you jkelliot! Im in between greeneville and parrotsville. Im really looking forward to trying out the handgun on them for the challenge of it. Ive played around squirrel hunting with my mkiii but that was mainly an excuse to be in the woods and relax

 

[derek45]

44 on the belt hardcast 240-310gr
AR15 with an aimpoint or 1-4x