Well I just got back from a very successful hunt down south. I hunted from very steep terrain. After a morning of still hunting and not seeing what I wanted it became spot and stalk. I saw some pigs in the 250 range but was going for a big one. After huffing and puffing up and down the ridges we spotted a really big one down in a creek bottom between two steep ridges. This boar was a monster. He was wallowing in a shallow pool/mudhole in the creek bottom. I was able to get within about 60 yards before I took the shot. The 376 steyr whacked him right between the eyes. This pig dropped where he stood. I still wasnt sure how big he was but I could have put a saddle on him. Rule one, if your going to shoot someting this big try to do it on top of the ridge! It took some work with 4 guys to get him out of the creek bottom and back to the ranch house. When all was said and done he tipped the scales at 550 pounds, and what a set of choppers!

This is the biggest russian boar I have ever seen. This thing had a bladder the size of a basketball. I should have pictures back tomorrow!

[ 10-28-2003, 09:04: Message edited by: Mike Smith ]

show me the pig- this sounds like a great hunt
i will be interested in seeing the head of this thing- tell us again the gun ,ammo load and lead you used?

where were you hunting?- [down south]

are you going to eat this thing?

whtailtaker

Hunted with a 376 steyr prohunter used factory 225 grn hornadys. Yes I plan on lots of sausage!

[ 10-28-2003, 08:50: Message edited by: Mike Smith ]

Mike, can't wait to see the pictures! I've never actually seen a hog that big, but I do dream....

Are you going to mount the head?

Posting a couple pics now.







Whitworth, Oh yea this one is going on the wall
much to my wifes dismay!

You should have seen the looks on the guys faces when I started complaining about my my shot being off to the right!

[ 10-28-2003, 08:55: Message edited by: Mike Smith ]

I have alot more pics but unfortunately they are pretty bloody. Not for the masses. Normally I would tidy everything up and try to pose the animal but this guy was just too big to move around.

Very nice boar mate, good one.

Great looking PIG- i see the hole in the head-
haven't seen one this big in a long time

great wall mount material-

did not catch where down south you went?

whtailtaker

NICE ONE !

I am still very pleased with this hog but after some discussion on HA there is some question about actuall weight. Anyone have a formula or guidlines for weight?

Mike, what bullet/load did you use for your 376? did you recover the projectle? how much did it penetrate?
Thanks for your time.
Nice pig

Hey Mike,

Congrats on a great hog! Where did you say you were hunting.......

Bob

Congrats again on a BIG hawg Mike, I had success on taking a 300lb + boar and mine looked like a Runt laying next to Mikes boar. look forward to another hunt sometime Mike. have a good one to all.
Jim

Mike,
Congratulations!! that's a VERY big pig
How much kilos are 550 pounds??

I think is something near....270 kilos!!!!???
Is this correct??

Congrats again
LG

Wow, Mike that thing is massive! Holy cow! Makes the head I recently had mounted of a 200 pounder look puny. I have boar envy. Wow! Where did you find that monster? I hunt pigs in Florida and have never seen anything even close in size. Do tell!

Whitworth

[ 10-29-2003, 20:40: Message edited by: Whitworth ]

Lorenzo: 550 lbs would convert to about 250 kilos..

Thanks olarmy,
That's big!!

It seems there is little hunting pressure in that place or your pigs are much more machos than southamerican ones

To find a pig like that during day light down here... JA!!

Mike, make a shoulder mount with that monster and enjoy it because is the boar of your life!!

LG

Lorenzo: it seems your hogs are smaller than ours. Our number 31st in the records weighed 313 kilos and the good Dr. Campo Mercandino shot one that seems a little rhinoceros and Dr. O�Farrell other weighing 270 kilos. Perhaps it�s their urine diet

Nainital,
I'll ask the gauchos to start pissing the little ones and see what happends

Give me a break!! 313 KILOS!!!!!

Was that a truly wild boar or one of those freak feral pigs from the atlantic coast near Bah�a Blanca???

I've seen a couple of pictures of them and they are real monsters.

How is the weather there? The sun is cooking us in this side of the river

Take care
LG

[ 10-29-2003, 21:57: Message edited by: Lorenzo ]

Lorenzo: yes, 313 kilos and that was 30 years ago by Mr. Osvaldo Pontecorvo. From the photo I have from the old Safari magazine this seems quite a purebreed but no true sus scrofa should weigh more than 180 kilos for my m oney. This notwithstanding I see that in Europe the further you go East the bigger the hogs thus these weight are no uncommon in say, Hungary or Russia.
To return, truly we have some monsters which are halfbreeds roaming the Rio de la Plata and Atlantic Sea shores. These days I�m getting very good reports from an area named Bah�a Creek which locates South of Viedma.
By the way, did you think of breeding some fallow deer in your place?. I�ve hunted them at Sierra de la Ventana mountain range and there they adapted surprisingly well.
Best regards.......and some peeing in the foot

Hi Jim, Yours was a very good pig, he just wasnt in the same class as this guy. I enjoyed hunting with you. You are welcome in my camp anytime. We all enjoyed ourselves very much.

Lorenzo, roughly 2.2 lbs per kilo so if this pig was in fact 550 lbs that would be about 250 kilos.

I guess I will never convince some of the guys at HA about this without a pic on a certified scale. I shouldnt let it bother me but it does. If I ever get the chance at one this size again Ill damn sure make that happen.

Smallfry, I was just using the factory loads as I have a lot of them. I didnt recover the bullet. We couldnt find it.

[ 10-30-2003, 03:11: Message edited by: Mike Smith ]

Mike, where do you bag that beast?

Mike - very nice pig!!! was he aware of your presence? 60 yards is good, would be fun to get even closer to that monster - yee haa curious minds want to >>>>know where did you take this animal ?? thanks - KMule

YO Mike

just where down South did you shoot this pig- which preserve [pig lot] was it?

whtailtaker

Great looking hog! Where did you kill him? I want one like that with my bow.

WOW Mike..
what a hoss!!

376, huh? don't you just love that little round?

man, I've only seen one anywhere near that size, wild, and it was only AFTER I hit it with my car, that I realized it how HUGE it was... the head hit above my tire...

jeffe

Jeffe, AS far as the 376 steyr goes I do love that round. I find myself using it more and more. I prefer it over my 300 WM even for deer.

Ok, Now that I have let you guys drool for awhile, I will tell you the rest of the story. The hunt was described as above but it was a preserve hunt. It comes under the fun hunt category for me. I had to cancel both Africa and Alaska this year because of my wifes health problems. So, by this point I was pretty much climbing the walls and had to get away. I could manage this over 4 days making a long weekend out of it. The place and people were nice. The terrain was rugged. The animals realtively wild. The stalk and shot were good. However it was still a fenced property and looses alot in the translation. It was still good therapy for me. This is still a monster hog but not the same as hunting in the wild. Matt Norman and I went to Niihau Island last year to cull pigs. We took 150 animals between 3 guys in 3 1/2 days. The island is 17 miles long by 5 miles wide. Lots more fun than this. I have also hunted alot of feral pigs in SE GA and in Louisiana. Then there is the warthogs etc... You get the picture I love to shoot pigs. Anyway, I dont think I have ever seen a truly wild hog go much over 350 pounds. As far as that goes I think this guy was unusual in size even for a preserve. The place was the Double D and I would reccomend them for some recreational shooting.