Big Boy .357 and Florida pigs

[ditchparrot]

Just found out today that I'll get to go on a 1-day boar hunt on a trip to Florida in May. I'm going to take my Henry Big Boy .357 along for the occasion.

I was wondering if anybody might be able to recommend some specific factory ammo that would be suitable for this hunt. I'm not concerned with price or anything like that – I want the best I can get for the purpose.

Thanks in advance.

[North Country Gal]

Have never shot a hog, but if it's max power in a 357 you want, Buffalo Bore's 357 180 grin hardcast bear load is about as good as it gets in a 357 for penetration and energy. It's what I carry in my handguns when I hear reports of a bear in the neighborhood.

[Deadwood Dutch]

Or, Speer Gold Dot 180 grain or 158 grain JSP/JHP. I use the Speer 158 grain JHP in my .357 mag revolver. I do not hunt pigs either. I am sure either will get the job done.

[JEBar]

Have never shot a hog, but if it's max power in a 357 you want, Buffalo Bore's 357 180 grin hardcast bear load is about as good as it gets in a 357 for penetration and energy. It's what I carry in my handguns when I hear reports of a bear in the neighborhood.

if you go with factory ammo, I concur with the recommendation for Buffalo Bore's 180 hard cast .... if you hand load your ammo, you have a bunch of options

[BigAl52]

I would agree with the Buffalo Bore those would be hog stoppers for sure. Al

[ditto1958]

Yup. Hardcast lead bullets are the ticket. That Buffalo Bore stuff is mighty powerful.

[Bugs]

I live in SW FL. Where are you planning your hunt?

[ditchparrot]

I live in SW FL. Where are you planning your hunt?

Marco Island.

[Bugs]

I live in SW FL. Where are you planning your hunt?

Marco Island.

Interested to hear how you make out with your hunt. You doing a guided hunt for fee or hunting on a friends land? I've been looking for a well run hunting guide area.

[ditchparrot]

I live in SW FL. Where are you planning your hunt?

Marco Island.

Interested to hear how you make out with your hunt. You doing a guided hunt for fee or hunting on a friends land? I've been looking for a well run hunting guide area.

It's part of a "work" trip and I don't know many of the details yet. It will definitely be a guided deal. I'll certainly pass along all the information that I can once it becomes available.

[Bugs]

Thanks dp.

[Bugs]

Marco Island.

Interested to hear how you make out with your hunt. You doing a guided hunt for fee or hunting on a friends land? I've been looking for a well run hunting guide area.

It's part of a "work" trip and I don't know many of the details yet. It will definitely be a guided deal. I'll certainly pass along all the information that I can once it becomes available.

Thank you.

[Henry88]

SW Florida has the greatest concentration of hogs. Sometimes they put them on large acreages and then let people shoot them, it's basically hunting with the odds greatly in your favor. some of them actually guarantee a kill............

[Slugnut]

I like the Hornady 158gr. FP-XTP. You can bump up your velocity ( reloads ) with these over the HP-XTP. Good penetration to boot.

[ditchparrot]

Have never shot a hog, but if it's max power in a 357 you want, Buffalo Bore's 357 180 grin hardcast bear load is about as good as it gets in a 357 for penetration and energy. It's what I carry in my handguns when I hear reports of a bear in the neighborhood.

The two boxes (20 rounds each) of this stuff I ordered arrived last week. I bought one for practice and one to take on the trip. I took five rounds to the range to shoot one group yesterday and will do that three more times over the next few weeks, in addition to practicing with a lot of lighter ammo.

Man, this stuff is not my grandfather's .357 round! Amazing what can be done with ballistics.

Here's my group from yesterday (50 yards, off-hand, iron sights), shot from probably twice the distance that the shots on the trip will be. It was fairly windy, but I doubt wind has much influence on that bullet propelled at that velocity from that distance. There's certainly no issue with the accuracy of the ammo.

Not sure what happened with that higher shot, but I was pleased with the remainder of the group.

Target.JPG

[JEBar]

thanks for the update .... I'm enjoying following your progress

[CT_Shooter]

thanks for the update .... I'm enjoying following your progress

X2

[Bugs]

Can't wait to see the piggies.

[Dennis H]

Trip still on?

[ditchparrot]

Just got back yesterday. Man, what a great experience!

It's going to cost me a fortune to have the meat from this ol' hog transported to me in California, but I don't really care. I have to complete the cycle on this deal and have its hams, back straps, loins, chops, etc. grace my table on numerous occasions over the next several months.

The name of the place where I hunted is the Ross-Hammock Ranch near the town of Crystal River, Fla. After failing to see a pig during the morning hunt from a ground blind, I scored from a box blind near a pond at about 5:45 p.m. It was the only hog I saw.

I was watching two fallow deer and one axis deer eat some corn when the pig came trotting in from the other side of the pond. It stopped near the edge of the water, presenting me with a quartering shot from about 50 yards. My heart was pumping pretty hard, but I took careful aim with the .357 Big Boy and let loose with a 180-grain Buffalo Bore round. I'd decided to aim for the left shoulder – even with as slowly as I move afoot, I could get there within a minute or so to put it out of its misery, if necessary.

I was shocked when there was no visible reaction from the animal after I'd fired. I couldn't have missed completely from that range, as I could've been off by a foot in almost any direction and still hit flesh. The pig acted like it was stunned by the noise, but completely uninjured. After a few seconds, it took a few steps away from the pond (and away from me), so I got back down on the stock and again aligned myself with the semi-buckhorn sight. If the hog bolted in that same direction, I was going to try to drill it right between the shoulder blades.

Then it took two more rather tentative steps and dropped to the ground, stone dead. Whoa, what a relief!

I got down to it as quickly as I could to see where my shot had ended up. I was about 2 inches right and an inch high with my aim, and I believe the bullet went straight through the heart. I was so excited that I could barely pound out a text to the guide (the owner's son). It took several tries just to type "Dead one here."

I also discovered that the pig had a through-and-through wound in its lower gut that had been healing up nicely. A closer examination showed that it'd been caused by an arrow.

The animal wasn't quite as large as it appears in the photo – the guide was a real good picture-poser. He estimated its weight at about 185 pounds.

Many thanks for the recommendations I got here about the Buffalo Bore loads. I've still got 19 of those, and I hope to get the chance to squeeze off another one before too long.

Pig_smaller.JPG