The Hog Blues

[Ranch Dog]

I'm bummed out. After a spring and summer of no hogs, a week of scattered thunderstorms off the Gulf have got them moving looking for new country. In the last three nights I've missed two! It is darker than the inside of a tire tube out there. No clouds at night but no moon.

Two nights ago I missed a large boar hog at 50-yards with my Rio Grande 38-55 Win. I actually had to put a light on him a couple of times because I kept losing him in the wet vegetation. Finally I could make him out in the Bushnell with the ambient light, the shot looked good but nothing afterwards. Gone.

A few minutes ago I stumble out my backdoor to check things for the night and there was a large sow following a sounder piglets out by the brush line. I grabbed the rifle in rotation at the back door, my R92 scout chambered in 357 Mag, and hightailed it out after them. I lost them in the dark for a for a bit but found the piglets off to one side to me. The sow was further up the brush line and slowly started to work her way back. I had a what I felt was a good shot behind her shoulder as she flanked me. Good definition of her against the brush and grass through the Weaver K4 scout and boom at 50-yards. I actually saw her take off at the boom and thought I hit her because of the loud slap I heard. Could find nothing. The slap was probably that flat nose bullet hitting the brush.

Hogs 2, Ranch Dog zip. I'm going to bed and try not to scratch my mosquito bites

[Tuco Ramirez]

The sun don't shine on the same hogs %@*&$ everyday....... Shooting at night is a whole different animal. Something was off, either sight picture or you may have hit something in between.

Maybe both hogs had guardian angels watching over them?

[pricedo]

Levers are great in the daytime when visibility is good & you have a clear shot & lots of time to take it.
For quick shots at fleeing animals during dawn, dusk or night hunting get a Winchester model 100 semi-auto rifle or preferably the 19" barrel carbine in 308 Win.
Fantastic little guns.....light, sleek, fast shooting & accurate.
With a semi-auto you keep squeezing the trigger til something drops.
You don't have to disturb your sight picture in the scope in order to work the action.
A semi-auto will turn those misses into pork chops on the ground.

[Ranch Dog]

The sun don't shine on the same hogs * everyday....... Shooting at night is a whole different animal.

Boy that is right! I try to use no light as nothing will spook a hog quicker, I don't care what color it is. There are guys doing the same with night vision stuff, both goggles and scopes but I cannot see putting those dollars into it. For that kind of money, you could do it from a helicopter twice a year. A game warden lent me his night vision low power binoculars and it seemed like a good idea but you cannot go back and forth, looking and then no NV system on the rifle. You will never see anything over the barrel of the rifle.

For quick shots at fleeing animals during dawn, dusk or night hunting get a Winchester model 100 semi-auto rifle or preferably the 19" barrel carbine in 308 Win.

No time, I sometimes see them through the shot but there would never be time for a follow up shot of any type. I'm talking about a 1/10 of a second may be. It's too black out there.

[Ranch Dog]

Well, the little 357 Mag Scout did its job. I was coming back in from the far pasture and the road takes me near to the spot I shot. I could see some buzzards hovering so I pulled over and looks. Thanks to the birds I found the hog about 30 yards from where I shot in some very thick cover. Bullet hole was completely through the hogs heart. I guess they can't leave a blood trail if their heart isn't pumping. Nothing left of it.

HOG_130909.jpg

[pricedo]

No time, I sometimes see them through the shot but there would never be time for a follow up shot of any type. I'm talking about a 1/10 of a second may be. It's too black out there.

In that case I would take a favorite gun & set it up with night vision optics.
In my case a very accurate medium bore semi-auto like a Winchester model 100 (308 Win) or more likely my Browning BAR (300 Win Mag) both of which I have.
That BAR of mine is the fluted barrel model that weighs only 7 pounds 2 ounces and has a soft anodized matte metal finish with a synthetic powder black stock which reflects no light..........great for night work.

[pricedo]

Well, the little 357 Mag Scout did its job. I was coming back in from the far pasture and the road takes me near to the spot I shot. I could see some buzzards hovering so I pulled over and looks. Thanks to the birds I found the hog about 30 yards from where I shot in some very thick cover. Bullet hole was completely through the hogs heart. I guess they can't leave a blood trail if their heart isn't pumping. Nothing left of it.

HOG_130909.jpg

Little feller looks like he was weaned about a week ago.
Dress out to a pork chop + a coupla strips of bacon.

[Ranch Dog]

50 to 60#, perfect eating size. It is not the sow that I thought was returning down the brush line. As far as night optics, waste of my money. I killed over 60 hogs in the dark of night with standard scopes. I'm training for when the SHTF EMP wipes out all those $5K NVS. Like I said in another post, I'm going to be a Warlord and rule the night!

[akuser47]

50 to 60#, perfect eating size. It is not the sow that I thought was returning down the brush line. As far as night optics, waste of my money. I killed over 60 hogs in the dark of night with standard scopes. I'm training for when the SHTF EMP wipes out all those $5K NVS. Like I said in another post, I'm going to be a Warlord and rule the night!

Hail the mighty R.D. lord of his ranch shall you need a thane from Ohio in those times I shall serve. I think NV is fun but to costly for the standard hunter for sure.

[357cyrus]

I've been wonderin why we hadn't heard any hog stories from you in a while. I was starting to think TX was running dry of them.

50 to 60#, perfect eating size.

That's the same size as the one and only hog I've shot. I was kinda disappointed in the size for all the work I'd put into getting the hunt arranged, but woulda been even more disappointed if I'd have passed and not seen another. She was pretty lean but made some damn fine sausage when mixed with some fat back I bought from the butcher.