Here is a pic of a boar I killed just before daylight 2 Saturdays ago. He was in the middle of a sandy area and with the bright moon light was visible in my scope. He had his head down in a hole that was filled with corn and attractant. He never came out of the hole.

Nice looking boar. Do you have the weight? Was that a Handi rifle you used? Congrats Packy

He was about 200 lbs maybe a little under. Once we got all the mud off him we realized he had a beautiful coat with grey and blonde under-wool. We caped him out for a rug.

The rifle is a heavy barrel handi-rifle in .243.

Thanks. I'm curious, do you use the 243 for neck and head shots only? Is there a premium bullet you use for a boiler room shot? My son ran an almost complete diagonal shot with an 85 gr Barnes X in a whitetail. it went from the left front shoulder into the right ham. We took it out when butchering the ham. It was a good education in premium bullet use. I would hesitate with a 243 but a 308 would be a go with a 150 or 165 X. Thanks again. Packy

To tell you the truth...this is my wife's rifle. I have been a huge fan of the .45-70govt and .300 Win Mag forever, but due to an increasing migraine condition my doctor said it was time to "lay off" the larger calibers and settle for something with a little less recoil. During this outing I was in the process of switching my scope from my .300 over to my new .308 so I decided to use my wife's .243. She has had wonderful success with 85 gr Barnes DPX bullets as well and I have been amazed at what they have done to both deer and hogs that she has taken. I am a firm believer in the X bullet when it comes to demanding more from a smaller caliber. She takes forward shoulder shots on hogs and has harvested hogs in the 225 pound range with this bullet and had them only go feet. I (like you) feel more comfortable with a larger caliber, but she will ONLY shoot her 243 and she has proven herself with it. She say's there is no reason for her to go bigger....I can't argue with proven success.

How far are you from San Antonio? My two favorite firearms for hogs are my Bowen Ruger in 45 Colt and my Marlin 45-70. There's not a thing wrong with the .243 and a good bullet.

Do you chaps every hunt with dogs?

Billinthewild,

I'm directly between San Antonio and Houston...bout 100 miles from each. Just south of I-10 about 15 miles. I have shot a NEF handi-rifle for years in 45-70, but have lately been putting many rounds through my T/C Encore 45-70. I outfitted it with X-S Sights and love the feel of open sight shooting....makes me feel like a kid again.....45-70 doesn't bother my headaches near as bad as the 300 Win Mag did!

I raise pure European boars on our ranch as brood stock so we dont keep any dogs on the place. (would never get any sleep with all the barking!) A good friend of mine dog hunts all the time in Teague and whenever I can I make the trip up and go with him. Will be heading up there on Monday!

If you are interested I have an excellent load for the 45-70 using the Nosler 300 grain partition. I would love to get over to your place one day this winter if I can. Have to go to Dallas in January, but you are probably a bit off that route...

Sure...I'd love to see the load data.

You are welcome to come to the ranch anytime. We are about 6 hours south of Dallas though. Come and take a look at the boars if you ever get this far south.