I posted this on the regional site, as well, but does anyone know a good gun dealer in the dallas fort worth metroplex? I'm looking to make a few purchases over the next grade and upgrade a few I have in the gun cabinet. Someone fair with trades that values repeat customers? thanks.

I bought a pistol from the Bullet Trap in Plano and was pretty happy about the whole thing. They have their own range, so as soon as I bought this used gun, I was able to try it out on their range (for free). They had a large assortment of weapons and an impressive indoor range that even allows for deer rifles with standard ammo (two lanes). They also had a large assortment of rental guns so you can try things out. Firing a DA-only Taurus convinced ME that I didn't want one. Some people love DA-only, not me.

The Bullet Trap is right along Ave K (Hwy 5) in Plano, just east of the railroad tracks. Their sign is rather small along the east side of Ave K.

BTW, what do you think of a .30-30 rifle or .357 revolver for feral hogs in East Texas? I'm thinking of a legal spotlight hunt with the .357 in one hand and a flashlight in the other. (Texas DPW recommends calling the local game warden the day of the hunt.)

HTH

Where in East Texas are you hunting? We hunt hogs at night all the time around Buffalo & Centerville and we let the game warden know we are hunting out there. As long as they know what you are doing they will not give you any problems. I would use a 30-30 instead of a .357 for hogs though. We always hunt w/ two people one to hold the light and one to shoot. We also have one blind set up w/ a light in a tree riggied on a foot switch so you can hunt alone and still have both hands free to shoot.

I will have to check that out. Thanks for the advice. I would say 30-30/.357 depends on you and the hog. The ones we see that are under 200 you could take with a very well placed .357, put you better be tack driving. I'd go with the 30-30. some of those fools get real big....

Thanks again. I'll be hitting the bullet trap soon.

I use Euless Guns & Ammo in Euless Texas. I've bought several guns from these guys and they have taken care of me. They are located on Hwy 10 in Euless just west of hwy 157 right beside the police station. They are not the cheapest but they will deal with you and they do take trades and consignment guns as well. They also have a full blown machine shop and even make fully custom rifles.

I traded with McClellands in E. Dallas for many years. Then I moved to the Houston area

You might try Elk Castle Guns on the west side of Fort Worth. This is a really nice gun shop with very good people. They have two excellent gunsmiths also. They trade alot of guns and have a great inventory. Larry

I hunt between Jacksonville and Palestine, just a few miles from the Neches River.

Mama is not too keen on me taking the boy out at midnight to spotlight hogs, so I have to hold the light AND the gun.

Please provide some tips, e.g.:
1) Good times to find hogs
2) Good country for hogs: along trails, along creeks, open fields, light woods, heavy woods, next to stock ponds, etc
3) Hog safety (I hear they are very ornery.)
4) Field dressing sequence
5) Butchering recommendations (meats to mix in with the hog, sausage only, hams, recipes and so on)

Any help is appreciated.

Oops, look further down for my full reply to this post, JeffS. Thanks, Rgarand3006.

If you are having to hunt hogs by yourself at night you should look at getting you a light from Cabelas that mounts to your scope. That way you have both hands free to shoot.

If you go down through the river bottoms the hogs like to follow trails down through creeks and along the river. They move mainly at night so unless you are hunting over a feeder the best time would be around midnight. During a full moon if you find a place where the moon light can penetrate the trees you can see well enough to shoot w/o a light if you have a good quality scope. I use a Zeiss Conquest 3x9x50 on my Marlin .450. It really helps when you are hunting at night gather light. I like using a large caliber gun for hogs because you can get some really large ones and if you shoot them in the shoulder it takes a heavy bullet to penetrate the shield. We shot a 350# boar from around 60 yards w/ a .35 Remington and the bullet stopped under the skin on the far side. We used to use a .223 and shoot them in the head but we had too many problems w/ it so now the smallest gun we use is a 25-06. I personally shoot a .450 Marlin for hogs though it is larger than you need when you shoot one it goes down.

For cleaning them we clean them right away and keep them on ice for about 4 days draining the water and adding more ice as it melts. It helps drain the blood out of the meat and we've never had a problem w/ wild taste.