31 May 2016, 19:22
Bobby Tomekbreaking a long, long drought on hogs
(Am a couple days late posting. This was Sunday morning)
I've been on the inactive list too long and don't recall even pulling the trigger on a hog for maybe eight months or so -- no doubt the longest drought on porkers I've had in the past 20 years. The hogs hadn't been moving much, and -- in all honesty -- neither have I as I rarely get to engage in shooting or gun-related activities anymore. But that all changed this morning.
After getting a glimpse of a rogue boar Friday evening, I've been on the lookout for his return and even sweetened the deal by leaving out some additional enticement in the form of corn and a few other goodies. And shortly after 6 a.m. this morning, his quest for an easy meal turned into a fairly easy shot for me.
From a relatively stable rest near the house, I was able to place a 120 grain Ballistic Tip from my 7mm Bullberry Contender carbine right where it mattered most. With the slight quartering angle, the Nosler entered tight behind the onside shoulder and exited the center of the opposite shoulder, wrecking the heart and taking out a portion of the lungs as well. The hog went exactly 10 yards after the shot and left a swath of red-painted grass along the way. The exit was the size of a quarter and had small bone fragments in evidence. The range of the shot was 210 yards.
After years of using almost nothing but 140 grainers with outstanding success in this and the 7-30 Waters, pain in the shoulders forced me to drop down to 120s in both last winter in an effort to reduce the already-mild recoil even more. My notes are next door, but the load -- propelled by LVR -- develops around 2650 fps and is exceedingly accurate. And it's obviously more than ample for this type of task...
