9mm or .45 for hogs?

billy62green

Senior Member
Planning up a hog hunting trip in March. Gonna be using a center fire rifle, probably my .3006. Thinking about taking a sidearm along as well to administer any needed coup de grace on a wounded hog and also if I were to get into a close encounter with a riled up hog or hogs and it is too unwieldy for the rifle. I have access to either 9mm or .45 to take and am proficient with both. I already know hollow points is out for either, gonna just use ball ammo for the penetration factor. Which would you take, the 9mm or .45 and why? And yes I already am aware certain calibers such as the 44 mag, 357 mag, 10mm etc would be better. But my question is between the 9mm and 45?
 

d-a

Senior Member
My 10mm and .357 doesn't get pass thru's on the majority of the hogs I've shot with it. That's using Hornady XTP (both guns), Speer gold dots and ball ammo(10mm). I have had better penetration with 230 gr hard cast lead out of a 45 acp but the recovered hard cast bullets are not expanding.

I would recommend that you took the pistol your most familiar with and most accurate with, hopefully there the same.

d-a
 

bronco611

Senior Member
45 cal simply because you will probably never need to use it but if you do it will need to do its job quickly. Also there is always a chance you may walk up on a very large hog 350 lbs up to 500lbs and they do not take to kindly to being shot or pushed. if you are hunting in thick palmettos most of the time you will not see all of the hogs in a group until after you fire the first round and they spook, they run to escape the present danger and I have had them bust out 3 feet in front of me before, a little to close for a rifle in most cases.
 

oldways

Senior Member
either one 9mm or 45 will do you will more then likely never pull it out your 06 will handle business I shoot a 22mag and it does just fine .
 

billy62green

Senior Member
either one 9mm or 45 will do you will more then likely never pull it out your 06 will handle business I shoot a 22mag and it does just fine .
That's my way of thinking too. Ain't very likely to need anything but the 3006. However a couple of year ago me and my wife were hunting from a ground blind and one walked up within about 20 yards. Wife made a good head shot but it took out part of the skull without hitting brain. Hog went down rolling around s few seconds, then got up looking for someone to take its anger out on. Fortunately I was able to pop it again through the chest with s .243 before it got in the blind with us. Have thought many time since then about what a mess it would have been if that thing had gotten into that blind with us!
 

Bama B

Senior Member
I suggest 45. The side arm I carry is a 357 and have no problems with knocking them down. A 9mm is a good waepon but would carry the 45 over the 9mm. My 2 cents
 
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