prim79

I got my first hog yesterday about lunch time. I had gone out scouting around the last few weekends but only found areas that were obviously active but could only here them in the distance.

One area I went back to thinking it would be the best was a shallow pond/mudhole about fifty feet long by thirty feed wide but probably only three feet deep. The banks had been wallowed in and the trees covered inmuddy rubs with the ground all mulched up.

I went back there yesterday but it was frozen over and the mud was hard. There didn't seem to be much activity there so I decided to look else where.

I walked for about another quarter mile in and saw a few trails that led into thicker bruch. I started to walk twards it when I could hear somthing in theleaves out of sight. I figured it was another stupid armadillo that I see so much of. To mysuprize a hog walked out slowly from the brush broadside twards me.

This is only about thirty to thirty five yards from me. I am using an old german mauser in 8x57mm. It is every bit as powerful as a 30'06. I was using 200gn FMJ lead core ammo. I have a 2x7LERpistol scope in place of the military sights on a B-square mount. I lowered powr to x2 andaimed just behind the shoulder. I shot and he fell down but got up and went into the thick brush. He was mobile but very uncordenated and slow.

I waited a few minutes to go into the thicker brush. When I did I threw the mauser over my shoulder and took hold of my vaquero in 45lc with the 300gn corbon soft tip jacketed rounds. I figured if it was there to greet me then the pistol would be my friend.

Tracking was fairly easy. I was findingblood and pieces of bloody bone. Some of the bone pieces were the size of quarters. When I found him about75 feet away he was down but still kicking around. When I got to with in twenty feet or so I shot him with the .45 in the chest and all movement completely stoped. I gave it a minute to bleed out and started cleaning it out.

I don't know the exact weight but it was about the same size as the hogsI am used to on the farm when I was younger when they were ready tobe sold, about 250lb or so. this one was a touch smaller but very close in size. Once I started draging it with a rope tied around my waist I realized that I was not going to be able to drag it out. I had only gone aquarter mile or so and I was almost two miles in from my truck. I marked where I was going to leave it and go get a hand.

Lucky for me there were some people riding four wheelers not far and one guy went with me with his atv and helped me bring it to the truck. It took bothof us grown men to pick it up with a little bit of effort.

In the next town there was a taxidermist thatwill process hogs and deer for $60. So I dropped it off on the way home. I am not situated to process the hog my self though I would like to get equipedin the future.

In all it was pretty cool and will definitly do it again sometime. My freezer isnot huge and I think this one will fill it, if not over fill it and have to have aBBQ.

I think I know why it didn't go down right away. When I gotinto cleaning him, the front legs just flopped around. I think I shattered his shoulders but didn't do enough damage to the vitals. hehe just snow plowedthrough the brush until he was wore out or bled out. I will definitly try to do more damage to the heart/lung area next time.

Also a good bit of obvious advise: Don't use a .45 long colt 300gn corbon(1300fps-1100lbseng) at twenty feet at the hog. I could put my fist in the chest if I wanted and probably screwed up some meat there.It did stop kicking though!

I asked to butcher to weigh it before he started but the guy who was going to do it was not there so the hired help was supposed to give him the message. Well he didn't and by the time I called back to let him know what cuts I wanted, he had already skinned and removed the head and was waiting for me to call to know how I wanted it cut. He appologized but he didn't know that I wanted to know the wieght. OH well,it doesn't really matter, I just wanted to know for myself.

I have been reading this column for the last few weeks and let me tell you it helped me alot. I had never gone hog hunting before and was completely ignorant to alot if important things.

I ordered a 45/70 guide gun last week and can not waitto get it. I difinitly subscribe to the idea of more bullet is better. I want thehogto go down and not get up. Tracking throughthe thick brush where you can hear squeiling all around the area, behindwhat is visible, was kind of nerve racking.

A guy I work with shot a smaller hog, less than 100lbs, was run over after he shot it and wasattacked by it. I believe he was using a .270 with no side arm. He punched an kicked back and it ran off. he got a second shot off and killed it.

Well this is my first post here and look forward toyour advise and tips. I didn't get any pictures since I was by myself without a camera. I cell phone has a camera but I don't know how to work it. Oh well, I suppose I will just have to get another hog for a pictureas soon as the freezer is empty!

thanks again to all!

huntnma

Congrats and Welcome

HollidayHunter

Congrats on your 1st pig and welcome to the board.

bigboar23

Welcome to the wonderful world of Hog Hunting. You can plan on a lifetime of Adrenaline rushes. Congrats on your pig as well and welcome to the forum. Heres just a little tip for the future about why he got up and trotted off. As deer hunters, we're programmed for that behind the shoulder hit and it's deadly as you can see,but if you really wantto drop a pig in his tracks.....take that Mauser and put the crosshairs in front of his shoulder towards the neck. You won't believe the difference.

Chuck7

Wow!!! That was exciting ..probably at least 150 pounds if ya needed help. Let us know how it taste.

One thing I would do ..not sure about the others here. Once I messed a deer up by shooting it too much. I try to shoot them as little as possible to not damage teh meat. I shot a buck this year in the neck. The poor fellow was in pain etc.etc. Strut who I was hunting with gave me hisknife and showed me where to stick him for a quick kill. He died real fast then. If you are not goin gto mount the animal a head shot is good to if your afraid of the animal..but save that meat.
Thanks for sharing.
Chuck7

Chuck7

take that Mauser and put the crosshairs in front of his shoulder towards the neck. You won't believe the difference.

Thanks Bigboar...I would have shot behind the shoulder too. Fact is I shot one there knocking out 5 ribs with buck shot.{ I will never use buck shot again} Hog ran for a long way.I then put a 12 guage slug in his head. End of story.

Rebel Hog

[quote]ORIGINAL: prim79

I was using 200gn FMJ lead core ammo.




prim, does your state allow FMJ for hunting?

prim79

Thanks all for the welcome!

Also thanks bigboar for the tip. Definitly something I will try next time I am out. I'll tellya, these hogs have a lot of energy even if they are injured. I mean, the front legs were just hanging there and he still went quit a ways. I couldn't believe he went that far after I saw the damage. When I saw pieces of bone with the blood I kept thinking he couldn't go far but he proved me wrong. I'll keep it in mind to aim just in front of the shoulders next time though. And if I do need a final shot to put it down it will be in the head not the chest.

this is the first time I have taken game with the mauser. It is a k98 still in military conifiguration exept for the rear sight replaced with the ler scope. I went to range to sight in the scope a few weeks back and was satisfied with the accuracy at 100 yards. I was able to keep twenty shots within four inchs at 100 yards which is as good as I will ever need. And it has all the power I will need from a bulletin that size. It is kinda heavy but I wasn't raised to be awuss. And hey, I can always put the bayo on right=)

prim79

Rebel hog,

I actually looked all through the hunting rules and regulations book to try and find something as in some states I have read in black and white that it is not O.K. to use FMJ, but I could not find anything and I really look hard going through the game book several times and couldn't find anything.

Is there any disadvantage to using it on a hog. I figured since I couldn't find anything in the regulation book that I would take advantage of it's penetration and sacrifice on expantion thinking two holes leaving blood trails would be better than one if a softpoint would have trouble exiting after expantion.

If I am in the wrong then let me know. I am here to learn and share my expiriences. And definitly if is a legality item then let me know or show me where I can find out. Breaking rules is not O.K. with me by all means.

thanks again rebel hog.

Rebel Hog

Prim, dead is dead no matter what you use!

FMJ's were desinged for millitarycombat use, under the Geneva Convention agreement. The FMJ's will go thru without expansion in the body.
They are as deadly as any ammo, but for head shots on game. Usally animals shot in the body with FMJ's will run many yards untill they bleed-out.
You want a bullet that expands and causes shock on the animal for a sure kill.
Don't use them to sight in your rifle and than switch to a hunting bullet. Sight your rifle with the ammo you are going to hunt with.

In Florida they are illegal for hunting.