4 of July hogs

04 July 2016, 18:30

larryshores

4 of July hogs

We were supposed to leave yesterday for Argentina to hunt ducks. The outfitter cancelled due to lack of ducks. Decided to go hogs hunting in spite of the heat. I shot 3 small ones the first day. A hundred pounds or so. Then I struggled. Yesterday afternoon I managed to hammer a nice red boar with serious teeth . We checked another place where a big bar hog has been hanging . No luck. We moved on and decided To check this other isolated feeder. We slipped up on it. Godzilla was there . I hammered him. Down he went. I had no idea how big he really was until I walked up to him. He was massive . Serious teeth . Weighed over 400.

"Up the ladders and down the snakes!"

Mike

Legistine actu quod scripsi?

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What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.

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08 July 2016, 01:29

larryshores

I think I failed to add that I shot 7 over the long weekend. Those that I posted were by far the biggest .

I had a couple of difficult shots. I had 1 comical shot. It was at the smallest pig. I shot it out of a bunch. They immediately scrambled at the shot. It was an easy shot. I was shocked when it didn't fall instantly. I lost it in the mad scramble. I asked my friend if I missed this ridiculously easy shot. He let me sweat for a few second before he acknowledged it had fallen in high grass about 10 yards away. He rather enjoyed me berating myself.

Life itself is a gift. Live it up if you can.

13 July 2016, 01:33

larryshores

In certain parts of the state, the ranchers put out raw molasses in tubs for the cattle. I forget the exact reason why. Hogs will flock to these tubs. If you shoot a hog that has been in the molasses for a while, the meat becomes sweet.

I have shot quite a few in my life in citrus groves. These are generally pretty sweet.

I have never shot any in the cane.

Regardless, I do not want to eat a big old boar. I would rather eat a tire with barbecue sauce on it. We always give those away.

13 July 2016, 19:36

custombolt

I thought old ones would be nasty tasting no matter what their diet is. I would give mine away.
One of these cooler months, I should just go down to the SW side of Okeechobee some fall and just visit a couple farms/groves and ask where the pigs are. Got to be some place to harvest some hogs. Last time we fished around there, most roads barely had any cars driving on them and there were several gravel roads next to open fields after the sugar cane was cut and burned. Then the orange groves are everywhere too. We watched on older fellow pop 3 swamp rabbits at the drainage creek in just 20-30 minutes. Kind of a neat area.

Life itself is a gift. Live it up if you can.

18 July 2016, 17:38

hogfarmer

quote:
Originally posted by larryshores:
In certain parts of the state, the ranchers put out raw molasses in tubs for the cattle. I forget the exact reason why. Hogs will flock to these tubs. If you shoot a hog that has been in the molasses for a while, the meat becomes sweet.

I have shot quite a few in my life in citrus groves. These are generally pretty sweet.

I have never shot any in the cane.

Regardless, I do not want to eat a big old boar. I would rather eat a tire with barbecue sauce on it. We always give those away.

The feed tubs are a protein and mineral mix in a hard molasses matrix. Cows can only lick it so it limits how much they can eat. In conjunction with hay it keeps your cows in good shape through the winter.

And I agree about large hogs, my rule of thumb is I only eat ones of 100 lbs or less.