Piggies with a .44 Mag "rollie"!

Hi Guys

Would greatly appreciate your educated and experienced opinions.

I'm submitting the app for a S&W Model 29 with a 6.5" barrel next week (one of my Old Man's toys).

I am hugely keen to employ this shooter against some piggies (warthog or bushpig) but need some guidance please:

1. When is the best time of the year to hunt them?
2. When is "worm season"? (They will be shot for the pot)
3. Are there places reasonably close to Gauteng where nice piggies could be had?
4. Rough price of a piggie?
5. What would a suitable load be? (I have a 220 gr SWC mold and about 100 bullets already cast). Not sure what the Old Man has in his safe.
6. What would the maximum distance be at which they should be engaged with open sights? (Much fun will be had practicing when she arrives in order to get my ability (hopefully) close to her's)

Thanks in advance and sorry for the question-a-thon!

Cheers,
Ghost

Allow me to give my opinion. But I expect others to have their own, of course...

1. When is the best time of the year to hunt them?
Where I live you are allowed to hunt them all year. They don't have a specific breeding season, so hunt them when you can find them.
2. When is "worm season"? (They will be shot for the pot)
All year round. Pigs are not guinea fowl.
3. Are there places reasonably close to Gauteng where nice piggies could be had?
Everywhere. Where there is food, there will be pigs. I have seen them or their tracks and droppings in GP too. Crops like maize attract pigs, so that might be a good place to start looking.
4. Rough price of a piggie?
Some farmers will beg you to please come rid them of the crop raiders. Others might charge you per kg or per pig. Depends on your people skills...
5. What would a suitable load be? (I have a 220 gr SWC mold and about 100 bullets already cast). Not sure what the Old Man has in his safe.
I prefer 300gn flat nosed cast lead bullets at around 1100 fps. But SWC's and JHP's should perform well. Heavier is better. Use the 220 gn bullets for practise and get a heavy hunting load.
6. What would the maximum distance be at which they should be engaged with open sights? (Much fun will be had practicing when she arrives in order to get my ability (hopefully) close to her's
I prefer to see how far I can make accurate hits on a paper or steel target, and limit my hunting shots to half that distance. That way I can be confident of not wrestling with an irate wounded pig.

Your M29 is on the lighter side for this purpose, shooting heavy bullets at good velocities. This will cause it to bite your shooting hand and could lead to flinching in short order. That is why I recommend a light practice load and a heavy hunting load. The POI might differ between the 2 loads, so you might need to have 2 sight settings. With a bit of tweaking, it could be possible to get them to shoot to the same POI. And you will need to practise a lot.

Hope this helps?

Thank you, A-R. Greatly appreciate your input :ch:

Hi Ghost

No answers to all the questions but would be very interested ... have a Model 29 but also a 8.5 inch Redhawk:h1:

5. What would a suitable load be? (I have a 220 gr SWC mold and about 100 bullets already cast). Not sure what the Old Man has in his safe.

My normal load a 250 SWC at around 1100 fps. Last batch a little hotter at 1170 fps. For hunting, I like a 300gr at 1200 fps but the SJFP Corbon 300gr at 1500 fps will leave a mark for sure. I normally load XTP 300gr at 1200 fps for things with legs

I replaced std grips with Hogues ..... makes a heavy recoil a little more acceptable (Mark at Guns and Bows in CT) Heavy loads in a 29 will accelerate wear over time so rather use mild loads to punch paper.

Even a 6 inch pipe with 300gr will be noticeable :g:

Cheers

African

Thanks, African; greatly appreciate the info :t: Great info from A-R and yourself to start my research while I wait on the license... :)