What load would be best to use on hogs at 40 yards. I am shooting a Mossberg 590. This is the first hunt and I will probally take both with me. I was just wondering which load for the shotgun.

Rifle. If you go with the shotgun make it slugs. I have seen alot of hogs wounded with buckshot. They are not like deer, they are tough, much tougher than deer. They also do not leave much of a blood trail until they are well away from the area where they are hit- the reason is that their long hair will have to matte quite a bit before the blood can start to hit the ground. For that reason they are hard to track.

I MUCH prefer hogs DRT...take it from someone who spent a half hour crawling down a hog highway in a plum thicket at o' dark thirty with a Smith 29 in one hand and a Surefire in the other chasing a wounded 300 lb sow....don't go there!

Been there done that. I agree, rifle unless you're using slugs. Remember though that you probably should be off the ground if you're hunting hogs at 40 yrds. I've seen some mean hogs and even been charged by one that managed to take 3 rounds of .44 mag and 3 rounds of .357 before it dropped.

I would leave the shotgun at the house. The Winchester Power Point 64 grainers are excellent pig medicine in my experience though I have shot them with the new Federal TRU loads and they have all been DRT.

I shot a large pig with my 357, killed right on the spot.

I also shot several with my 6.8 spc ar-15.  3 of 4 died instantly.  The 4th one I hit twice in the head and she ran off, never to be found.  The only thing I could find were pieces of meat and fat.  I hit it at about 60 yards, double tapped her in the head, I still can't believe she ran off.

at 40 yards, not much will still be standing if hit with a 12 guage slug

Last fall I caught a group of hogs in the open and immediately started cursing because all I had was a Rem 870 and 12 pellet OObuck.  I had to chase the bastards across the pasture and shoot out the window in order to be close enough for the buck to do the job cleanly. Got two pigs before they got to the creek and got two flat tires to go with them. I take a rifle to feed the cows now, just in case.  The shotgun would be ok in thick brush, other than that, take a rifle.

Here is a head shot with a Rem 870   3" slug at 30 or so yrds.  The poor thing did not stand a chance. DRT!!!
My largest hog With a slug

Quoted: Rifle. If you go with the shotgun make it slugs. I have seen alot of hogs wounded with buckshot. They are not like deer, they are tough, much tougher than deer. They also do not leave much of a blood trail until they are well away from the area where they are hit- the reason is that their long hair will have to matte quite a bit before the blood can start to hit the ground. For that reason they are hard to track. That, and their skin is like self sealing rubber. LOL 'Borg I MUCH prefer hogs DRT...take it from someone who spent a half hour crawling down a hog highway in a plum thicket at o' dark thirty with a Smith 29 in one hand and a Surefire in the other chasing a wounded 300 lb sow....don't go there!

...my AR did the job this year.  Hornady 60gr TAP round behind the ear...it didn't move.  ...shot placement is what's important.