While I have taken one larger back in 2002, the boar I took last night (actually very early this a.m.) with my 7mm Bullberry Contender carbine had incredible girth.

I took him through both shoulders with a 120 grain TTSX from app. 90 yards. The bullet wrecked the heart. The hog dropped on the spot, but there wasn't a single drop of blood from the entrance or exit until I moved him (with a tractor, no less... )

Interestingly, what I originally though was the exit wound in the neck turned ut to be an injury from another hog. There was a small piece of tusk imbedded in there.

That guy is next on my list...

Holy fried prok chops! That's one fat feral piggie!! Congrats!

Great pig, Bobby!! Congrats!! Did you weigh that fat boy?? Did the bullet exit?

Yes, the bullet did exit; the exit was barely more than caliber-size, but this is typical with large hogs as the heavy cartilage, layers of fat and thick hide are difficult for a bullet to overcome.

I did weigh him. Anyone want to venture a guess before I post the weight?

I'm gonna go 350 lbs give or take a few, but it's pretty hard to tell from that picture just how long he is...and I'm no hog expert! And if that's way off, I sure don't mean any disrespect to your kill, either!!

jdunlapmo-

Without giving it away just yet, let's just say you are most definitely in the ballpark.

Hard to tell from the angle, but I'd also put him in the 325-350 live weight range.

I'll say 300-330lb


Excellent pig!

I too am guessing 300-lbs -- tough to guess with the angle presented. It's a good hog no matter what it weighs!

I weighed him on the old farm scales, and while they are not the most accurate in the world, I'd say they're within 8-10 pounds on something this size.

The scales said: 353.

My personal guess was around 325-330.

Most fully-mature boars in this area go 180-220.

The girth on this hog was simply incredible -- unlike any other I've taken before.

Very nice pig -- congrats.

He's a good hog Bobby and you should be proud!

What a monster Bobby!! Big time congrats!!

That is a great photo too!!

Good Hunting,

Bob

Howdy Bobby!

Congratulations on the hog harvest!

Yup, there are definitely some things I miss about ol' Tejas.

-However, did I tell you that our local grocer here in Appalachia finally started selling Shiner Bock from your very own Spoetzl Brewery?!

I'll try to not covet thine 7mm Bullberry Contender carbine. She's a beauty... but the .30-06 you sold me is doing just fine, thanks. [Remember, I sent you the photo of my biggest- rack- ever- last season that I took with the tack-driver you sent up here to 'Wild & Wonderful, WV'?]

Happy Hunting, Sir!

Bobby,

Congrats! That is a NICE piggy.

I am soooo jealous of you guys in Texas being able to hunt all summer. Am not going to make it down to Dilly until Labor Day weekend. Sure lookin' forward to it!

What a hog! Congratulations. Packy

Hawkeye Mountaineer wrote: "I'll try to not covet thine 7mm Bullberry Contender carbine. She's a beauty... but the .30-06 you sold me is doing just fine, thanks."

Hey, I remember the rifle, but what stands out in my mind is that BEAUTIFUL buck you took with it! That was a buck anyone would be proud to put on their wall...

That's a great hog Bobby. I don't think I've ever seen a feral hog that fat; there must be some good feed in your neck of the woods.

I appreciate you saying such, Bobby-

The exclamation of gratitude and relief did echo through the hills and hollows when that buck dropped. -And the Euro- mount turned out nicely.

Again, thanks are in order to you for not using that very slightly "previously enjoyed" -06 for parts after her performance at the range. Also, mstarling was looking out for me when he noticed your ad in the AR Classifieds and mentioned that y'all had quite positive dealings in the past.

[mstarling had been kind to loan me a rifle here and there when I was in need before I bought yours-- but those are stories for other threads. Pulling the Garrand out of retirement to harvest the Black Bear was a classic as referenced by: RE: I swore I'd never own a .30-06... ]

Bobby-- my first piggie was intentionally small enough to poke with holes/ fill with garlic/ and smoke him whole for a big picnic in Tejas. He tasted great on the plate. The Thompson Contender with 14" stainless bull barrel in .357 maximum dropped him flat. [Again... it's a blessing to have good friends who loan you cool firearms when new to a hobby.]

You have inspired me to go for Hogzilla Jr next time!!! Again, Congrats!

Wow really nice hog...and really, really nice gun, I love it!

Bobby the only thing wrong with that picture is your not in it too!Congratulations on a super nice fighting Hog,I hope i get one like that someday!Hes a nicen for sure I bet that old boy got in all kinds of fights with the other boars.....He has that mane running down the middle of his back those longer hairs will stick streight up when they get mad and charge & brissell up like a mane on a mad zebra gone wild,looks alot like a Black Russian boar to me..they remind me of a Rhino,built like a tank

Thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate it.

As to the gun, it's one of my all-time favorites. It's a Thompson-Center Contender with a 20 1/8th" Bullberry in 7mm Bullberry.

The cartridge is basically the 7mm International Rimmed with the unnecessarily long neck trimmed back to give an overall case length of 1.75".

It drives a 120 grain bullet at 2640 fps (in this particular load) or a 140 grainer to somewhat over 2400 fps. It is mild but supremely accurate, and its on-game performance has never disappointed me. The cartridge is perfect testament to the statement that it's not what you hit 'em with but where you hit 'em (and with what bullet... )

It handles like a charm and is utterly reliable. No matter what I am after, more often than not I find myself reaching for the 7mm Bullberry.

Here are a couple other hogs from the past 3 weeks or so that I took with the little 7mm BB:



Two of my best bucks also fell to this rifle:



And below is a group shot at 200 yards with the 7mm BB and the new Berger 140 grain Match Grade VLD-Hunting bullets.


Suffice to say, I will get rid of all of my other guns first before the 7mm Bullberry would have to move on...

Very nice, Bobby! It's nice having a reliable, go-too gun, isn't it?

It certainly is.

With this one, I have never worried about POI shifts or any other issues that tend to plague other guns. It's primarily worn just two scopes over the years I've had it, and neither was anything fancy or high-dollar. It started out with an Elite 3200 3-9x40 and now wears a Burris FFII 3-9x40 with the BP reticle. One day, I do plan on replacing it with a Conquest 2-8x32, which will give the gun somewhat sleeker lines. But the Burris has done so well that I see no need to change it any time soon...

I don't pamper the gun, either. Today, it's in my truck. Tomorrow, I may be dragging it through the huisache and cactus and scarring it over the rocks during a stalk.

If it ever rains again, it'll probably be out in the mud with me...

It reminds me of my old M77 .338 win mag. I have a cheep Bushnell scope on it that I keep intending to replace with something better, but I just can't seem to kill the scope...... And I've tried, but it just keeps holding up to the abuse. My go-to gun.........

Beautiful photos, Bobby!

They are all nice-- but I gotta admit that the B&W Buck is my fav-

I'll bet you could bring home the bacon with your photography skills, too.

That is a nice hog! The angle of the photo makes judging the weight tough, but just looking at the width and depth of body and size of the head, I would have to guess in the 300+ lb range easily.

very nice! congratulations!

Jeff-

On the old farm scale (not precise but close enough for these purposes... ), he went 353.

270 lbs +/-


300lbs. +/-



a few other fair sized hogs





GWB

Geez guys, y'all need to start new threads. I would have missed all the latest and greates if I hadn't checked back!!

Bobby...I see you slipped some VLD testing data in. Thanks!!!!

GWB.........awesome hogs.

Bob

Geedubya-

Those are some AWESOME porkers! The black hog with the huge cutters is my favorite. The hog your son bagged in the top photo is impressive as well and would make a great wall decoration...

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:


While I have taken one larger back in 2002, the boar I took last night (actually very early this a.m.) with my 7mm Bullberry Contender carbine had incredible girth.

I took him through both shoulders with a 120 grain TTSX from app. 90 yards. The bullet wrecked the heart. The hog dropped on the spot, but there wasn't a single drop of blood from the entrance or exit until I moved him (with a tractor, no less... )

Interestingly, what I originally though was the exit wound in the neck turned ut to be an injury from another hog. There was a small piece of tusk imbedded in there.

That guy is next on my list...

Believe it or not, but this little guy ran and left no blood trail

Nice hog Bobby ,we used a similar rifle here in 450 marlin with great succes on boars,the rifle belongs to Travis Apsley aka troglodyte .Juan

Very nice T/C, I have an encore, with a MGM 338-06 AI barrel, as a lefty I thought I would buy several barrels and get a lot of use out of this rifle, but can't just "get into" this rifle, maybe I just need more trigger time with it.

Bobby, did you take your hogzilla anywhere near Shiner? My ranch is 15 miles south, on the river, but I'm not seeing anything.

fla3006-

Yes, I did take this one at our home, which is about equi-distant between Shiner, Yoakum and Hallettsville. But lately, they have gone nocturnal thanks to the extreme heat. It happens every summer about this time.

I put out a game cam, and the first hog activity isn't till around 1:30 a.m.

If we'd get some rain or cooler temps, they've be active at first and last light again.

CLK320-

I agree that the TCs take some getting used to. But once you do, they are quite addictive. And the MGM barrels are as good as you'll find anywhere.

Right now, I am playing with a .25x30-30 (aka 25 Bullberry) in a 24" Contender barrel by MGM. It's actually going to be for our oldest (he's 16) -- IF he can get it away from me long enough. It makes a nice companion to my 26" MGM barrel in 6.5 Bullberry IMP.

Bobby ---our game cams confirm your conclusion about the hogs going nocturnal. Our Tarpley Tx. lease hasn't had hogs in any numbers for two years. The photos are showing several larger boars -- several sows & and 20 plus pigglets. The pictures are from around 1am. I am glad to see the come back. We may have been hammering them to hard and moved them off.
Lee
San Antonio

Those are some fine lookin' hogs in this thread!

My personal best is about 315 lbs (it bottomed out a 300 lb scale), but the ones presented have a glorious example of a European style head!