Quiet Pig Stunning Load

[curioushooter]

Odd thing. I recently have needed to stun some domestic pigs to be slaughtered. I do not posses a captive bolt gun, which the standard tool used by abattoirs for this purpose. I was thinking that a small revolver would do this job nicely.

I was thinking a Lyman 358429 in 38 special loaded with about 3.5 grains of Unique. The Lyman manual lists 3.7 as the suggested starting load, but I cannot think of any reason to back it off a bit more. Perhaps even down to 3.0 grains. This bullet I would think would easily penetrate through a pig's skull and perforate its brain and exit into the ground.

I would like to to be as quiet as possible otherwise. I know the position to place the muzzle (at the intersection of an imaginary X drawn between the base of the ears and eyes).

Anybody have experience with this or know if it can be backed off even more?

[GhostHawk]

The ones I killed were all done with .22lr.


These days I would likely use a .32sw long. A because they are reloadable. B they won't overpenitrate. C they will go far enough if you line the shot up right.

My first try the pig in question had his nose up in the air throwing off my target. Either up or down you need to allow for.

.38 special will do the job and the load seems fine. Just might go a bit further and do a bit more damage than needed is all.

[curioushooter]

A little 22 is all it takes? Thanks for the guidance.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

It can be a bit messy, but pressing the muzzle against the pig's head muffles the sound quite a bit, although it may cause the pig to jump when it feels it. The brain can also be hit from the side (beween the eye and ear angled rearward) or rear (behind the ear angling forward). Good to know if you have one that won't cooperate.

[JWFilips]

I have a very old pig gun Used for dispatching ! .22 long

[curioushooter]

Do you think a 148 wadcutter would be better?

[rancher1913]

all we ever used was a 22lr, right spot they drop in their tracks.

[Slugster]

I have dispatched many hogs with .22 lr. As you say aim for the imaginary X. They go down fast, usually bang/flop. Watch out when you go to cut the throat, they can still kick and such. Approach from behind the animal.
I always used some pastry to get them to come to the side of the dispatch cage...gets them real close with their heads about where you want them, Easy peasy.

[jcren]

If you use magnum primers, you can go below 3. Had squibs and unburned powder trying to go lower for some loads for the kids. Magnum primers were effective at 2.6 grains of unique for me.

[Outpost75]

Colt M1903 Pocket Hammerless in .32 ACP with Accurate 31-077B cast from wheelweights with 2 grains of AutoComp at 900+ fps does the job neatly, but you need industrial rubber matting over the concrete killing floor to prevent riccochets because they shoot clear through a pig or sheep. They will stay in a beef.

Years ago Dad used ordinary 73-grain FMJ.

Attachment 261760Attachment 261761

[country gent]

We always used a 22 lr and it never filed . behind the ear to the opposite eye. From behind the pig dosnt see you and no skull to penetrate entering. Also much closer to the brain stem. Coming from the front the bullet gas to penetrate the skull first then the brain. The pastry is a great idea, will still them and make it easier.

For most of his years butchering my grandfather didnt use a firearm. Stunned them with a 4 lb cross peen hammer, until he gad a big Guernsey cow get up on him.

[TNsailorman]

My grandfather was the executioner in my younger days. He would keep the revolver in his pocket until he walked up beside a hog and then on smooth motion bring the .22LR revolver out of his pocket and shoot the hog behind the ear into the brain. Most didn't even grunt. Just dropped down dead. He was also the one who castrated the male hogs while they were young.

[megasupermagnum]

Back when we butchered pigs, my dads gun of choice was a single shot pistol in .410. A .410 slug to the brain did the job. Lots were killed with the 22lr too, but shots were most effective from the side. The .410 worked no matter what. If you can shoot through them and not worry about the bullet hitting the ground, and you don't care about the mess, then the sky is the limit. I remember one time the 41 magnum was used, and while the bullet did exit, it was not that big of a deal.

[Brassduck]

when I was 10 my job was to mind the rifle and the ammo and shoot the hogs. used a remington 513 single shot and a box of shorts. hog raised his head I missed the spot and the pig squealed, that's the only one I can remember other wise they dropped on the spot.

[RU shooter]

No load out of a handgun is gonna be quiet . About quiet as your gonna get is a rifle with a really reduced load or 22lr and put the muzzle about an inch from the head

[frkelly74]

My grand father used a Remington 550 . There was one that took two shots once. Either he flinched or the steer did. So it was pop, pop that time instead of just pop.

[jmorris]

At distance my suppressed 458 socom pushing 400+ grains subsonic is what I use, in a trap a .22 works fine, just have to wait for them to calm down for good shot placement.

If you have already been feeding them, drop the bucket right in front of you and they will walk to the muzzle.

FWIW a .22 will also drop over 1000 lb cattle, like a light switch as well. Doesn't take much, in just the right spot.

[Hanzy4200]

Just a thought, but a wheel gun is never going to be quite as quiet with a light load as a auto loader. The other poster who suggested the Colt 1903 .32 is on the right track.

[curioushooter]

Do not, I repeat do not, use low powered 38 specials this way. Four shots exactly in the correct place managed only to enrage the animal and disorient it. They didn't exit the skull. 22 LR from a rifle stopped it and subsequent pigs perfectly. It was quieter too.

[megasupermagnum]

Do not, I repeat do not, use low powered 38 specials this way. Four shots exactly in the correct place managed only to enrage the animal and disorient it. 22 lr from a rifle stopped it and subsequent pigs perfectly. It was quieter too.

Yikes. I would think anything safe that wont get stuck in the barrel has to be around 500 fps minimum. You're telling me a 175 grain bullet at 500+fps couldn't go through a skull? Theres no shame in missing. Every year we did it, we had it happen. Pigs don't have a lot of brains. Where we always tried to shoot them was dead center between the ear and eye, usually a side shot, as we had them in trailers. From the front, I think it's best to square up and get them right between the eyes. They have a flat spot right where to put it. Shooting straight down, the way their skull is shaped puts a lot of bone at an angle. We were not professional butchers either, just a handful of people who would buy a trailer of pigs every year to split between us.