Went to the boar spot tonight, watched two coons for about an hour and they never lined up. Then they skedaddled and this guy showed up. It was a "BANG-flop" moment--174#



Entry wound, quartering to me (end of stick)



Dental work--



Security--dang 'yotes have dragged off several skulls I wanted to extract the teeth from.



And, here's a clean shot of what a gristle plate/shield looks like on a 174# boar:

Nicely done!

Well done and nice shooting, my friend! And thanks for showing the photo of the shield -- you know, the "myth" that us folks fall for.

And to top it off, you killed him cleanly with a little, gimmicky caliber. That just makes my day!

Keep up the good work. And get after those skull-thieving coyotes soon, too.

Good job and Thanks for posting the photo of the gristle plate.

Bobby--thanks for pointing out my "little gimmicky caliber" use. Intended to put that in but it was late and I was needing a shower and some sleep.

Can't shoot the coyotes--rancher likes them 'cause they keep his gopher numbers down.

Interesting too that this boar's hide was rubbed enough he had a nearly bald spot--seen where the cut thru the shield goes--

Gopher problem? Haven't seen a gopher since I moved back from Wyoming. Good shot and a now good hog. I see you mount your scope lights just as I do.

The rancher may think the coyotes are helping, but in reality, foxes and bobcats are much better in that regard.

You have me wanting another 22-250. Way back when, a used 788 in 22-250 was my very first centerfire. I was 15 and bought it on law-away, paying for it over the course of a few months with my hay-hauling money. I used it for everything, including deer, and the next year cut my teeth in the reloading game with the old Mequon hand-held loading kit. It was crude and slow but it worked.

No one told me a 22-250 was small and gimmicky, so I didn't know any better. And neither did the critters I shot.

Anyway, you got me feeling nostalgic -- not to mention giving serious thought to getting another rifle I know I really don't need.

Bobby--what does need have to do with it? If need was a variable in the equation, my gun safes wouldn't be full of .22 rifles and I wouldn't have 3 bows either.

I've had several .22-250s and all of them have been bad--on the critters on the receiving end. Never used them on deer though, as my old favorite Ruger M77--"Two-Bits" (a .25-06) does them just fine.

I loaded up all my brass in both .22-250 and .25-06 calibers and sold all my reloading stuff. Hopefully I have enough ammo to last me until I run out of hogs to shoot.

Hah! That's a great point! I've also had a few 22-250s over the years, my favorite likely a Smith & Wesson bull-barreled Model 1500 (actually made by Howa). That one was truly sweet with anything I fed it. Not sure why I got rid of it...likely for some other caliber I "needed"

Right now I want a .30 cal barrel for the Contender to take advantage of the 120 grain Barnes Blackout bullet, which is much softer than their typical offerings and would be awesome on piggies in something like a 30-30 or 30-30 AI that runs even faster than the little .300 it was made for.

There you go now---talking about gimmicky calibers like the BO.

Nice Boar, congrats. Keep filling that freezer!