It’s been a long time since I pulled the trigger or even felt like picking up a gun. But I did get to enjoy a therapeutic tripping of the sear around 2 this morning. I couldn’t sleep due to pain, so I got up and decided to take a look outside as it was a beautiful morning out there: a cool and crisp atmosphere, a clear sky and nice moonlight. I was pretty sure I could make out figures in the field, so I grabbed my binos and took a look. Sure enough, there were hogs. I picked up an Encore late last winter that has never fired a bullet at a hog, so this was a perfect opportunity. Lining up a shot with the Meopta 4-12x50 and the #4 reticle on the 160 yard target was no problem, and when all looked well, I touched off a shot. Unlike with my 7mm Bullberry, I could not distinctly hear the impact of bullet from this much-faster 6mm-06, but I felt my shot should have been good. So I cranked up the 4-wheeler and headed down there. Where the hog had been standing, I saw a spray of frothy blood that included tiny bits of lung tissue. A few feet away, there was even a small chunk of bone. I drove forward a bit in the direction of the blood trail, and there she was, all piled up in an outcrop of firewheels. She made it 26-27 yards before giving up the ghost; the bullet entered tight behind the onside shoulder and continued through the center of the opposite shoulder, leaving a nickel-sized exit in its wake. And there was a blood trail into the grass that anyone could have followed.

Now the non-Ballistic Tip believers won’t like this next part , but the bullet I used was Nosler’s 90 grain BT. And while a 120 pound hog is not that great of a test, the compact construction is about the equivalent of a 160-170 pound deer. I normally advocate (and prefer) more bullet weight for hogs, but there is no denying that the little BT performed its job about as perfectly as any bullet could have.

Congrats, Bobby.

Yes, the solid base on the Ballistic Tip provides surprising penetration. Add that to the shrapnel from the expansive front portion and you've got a deadly combination. When I find the remains of a Ballistic Tip in the offside hide it usually weighs 50-60% of the pre-firing weight. That means that 40-50% of the bullet has stayed inside to tear up the vitals.

The last thing that impresses me about a hunting bullet is that it "retains 99% of its weight".

Glad to hear you got out to shoot one. I like the 95gr. BT's a lot but when they got hard to find I bought some 85gr. Partitions to shoot out of my 6MM Remington. Loaded to top with H414 I could be getting 3400fps or so and I believe the next hog this rifle sees will react to being hit just like yours did. I have shot a couple with the 70gr. BT with head and neck shots. Worked but not pretty.

Great story Bobby. Did the twins wake up?

Great to have you back, you've been missed. Sorry it took some pain to get you up, though. Great shot as always, very nice results.

Do you ever miss? I think if you do it must be a rare occasion.

congratulations my friend .

Bobby--do you ever miss?

WTG, Bobby!

I hope that you trained the Zeiss I got from you well.... that is, if I can get it away from Micheal.... Good shooting, Bobby!!!

That Zeiss will all but pull the trigger for you!

But I don't think you have to worry about it. I have a feeling when you see it, that scope will already be mounted atop someone's .375.

Larry-The twins did not wake up. But boy oh boy, did I get a lecture from them in the morning for NOT waking them up!

Larry M & Dustoffer-

Misses? You bet. But I am almost OCD when it comes to my guns, loads, mounts and scopes -- and if it didn't perform the way I thought it should have, I worked at it till ironed out and the bullet printed exactly where it should every single time. I no longer shoot much at all, but all that work back then paid off as I am both familiar and comfortable with what I use. I am also fortunate to have gear -- particularly my trusted 7mm Bullberry Contender barrel -- that shoots incredibly well.

I have been fortunate in that it has been a rather long time since I've missed a hog. The twins often tease me and tell me the streak HAS to end before long. They also tell me they must be good luck for me since they've yet to witness me flub one.

We all miss, though -- and it is the misses that seem clearer in memory than even the toughest made shots. One that still haunts me today is from back in the mid-to-late 90s when I had a 22" 6MM TCU carbine. Early one morning, a coyote was slowly trotting across a field and was only 100 to maybe 150 yards away -- easy pickings for my 200 yard zero and a relatively flat shooting cartridge. He was moving from right to left and presenting a wonderful target. I had a rest, gently swung the crosshairs to where they needed to be and touched off a shot, fully expecting the coyote to go head-over-heels when the Nosler bullet ripped through his vitals. But he didn't and simply turned on the afterburners. I searched for blood or any signs of a hit, but there were none (and they'd have been easily visible in that plowed field). Unsure what the problem was, I went back and fired a shot to check zero; of course, it hit exactly where it should have. I can still picture that big male coyote to this day and still don't know what I did to muff that easy shot.

Around 2003 or 2004, a big gray boar had been tormenting the area and tearing up all the fields. For weeks, I never could get a glimpse of him. And then one morning, a neighbor called to say the boar was at his feeder, so I hustled over there and got to within decent range. I was shooting a bolt rifle in 6.5-06 and sent a 140 grain Speer speeding towards his neck (vitals were covered). At the shot, he whirled and disappeared -- no blood, no hair and definitely no hog. Walking back dejectedly, I noticed a freshly-clipped sapling that had been maybe 20 yards in front of the hog. I never saw it as it blended with the hog's unusual color. But finding that clipped sapling did not make me feel any better.

Days later, though, I got my revenge when I spotted him on the edge of a sugar cane patch. The shot was longer, tougher and into a brisk crosswind. It felt good to avenge that earlier flub, but guess what: I still remember that dog-gone miss moreso than I do when I connected.

Great job on the pig and the story Bobby, Good to see you posting.

Bobby, there are two kinds of folks that don't miss: those that don't shoot, and those that lie!!!

Great seeing you posting again and about a fresh kill too. Hope those pains let up. Not much worse than feeling miserable.

Ever cut a fence wire when shooting at a gimme shot?? When I went to tie the ends together I found that same wire had been tied back several times. SO I sure wasnt' the first one. Just a couple weeks later I took another guy along to the same fence corner and told him: "don't hit that wire" Sure a good thing it was loose for a good distance so we could pull the ends back to reach.

George

Oh, George, you made me remember another "memorable" miss that I wish I could forget.

My first centerfire was a 788 in 22-250 when I was about 16. An older neighbor raised chickens and sold country eggs. Well, after having the rifle a couple of years, coyotes started giving him fits, so he contacted me as I had been there before, knew the place and had enjoyed some limited success calling both coyotes and fox on his farm. Over the course of a couple of weeks, I shot either 2 or 3 while waiting in ambush from his old pig pens. He was thrilled.

A little time passed, and he told me another big coyote had come 2 days in a row and took a hen each time. Because of the wind, I used a different setup to wait in ambush. There were numerous small building and fences criss-crossing the place. Sure enough, shortly after first light, I see the coyote come in and sit down near the tank -- a "gimme" shot of about 120 yards.

I planted the crosshairs, tripped the trigger and fully expected the 'yote to be dead there under the mesquite tree. In the back of my mind, I thought something sounded a little strange about the shot, but then I just chalked it up to the reverberations from the tin roof I was nestled upon.

Well, I go to get the coyote and find nothing: no hair, no blood, no coyote. I search for 45 minutes or more until the rain started to come down. I was baffled because that rifle was reliably accurate and had been responsible for many varmints and at even longer ranges.

Mad at myself, I start back towards the gate and then -- with the rain coming down even harder -- decide to cut across to get to the cover of the barn. It is then that I saw what happened to my shot. The top strand of wire was neatly and freshly clipped. I knew it was intact a few weeks earlier as I had crossed it then, too. But in my haste to eliminate the chicken-thieving coyote, I cranked up the power of the Weaver, adjusted the AO to be focused on the 'yote and never gave second thought to the wire, which likely was softly blurred due to the narrow depth of field at the higher power. And that "sound" I heard was the twang of that taut wire recoiling back towards the fence post.

I never got that coyote in my sights again, but a couple of weeks later I did trap one that looked remarkably similar. .

quote:

We all miss, though -- and it is the misses that seem clearer in memory than even the toughest made shots. One that still haunts me today is from back in the mid-to-late 90s when I had a 22" 6MM TCU carbine. Early one morning, a coyote was slowly trotting across a field and was only 100 to maybe 150 yards away -- easy pickings for my 200 yard zero and a relatively flat shooting cartridge. He was moving from right to left and presenting a wonderful target. I had a rest, gently swung the crosshairs to where they needed to be and touched off a shot, fully expecting the coyote to go head-over-heels when the Nosler bullet ripped through his vitals. But he didn't and simply turned on the afterburners. I searched for blood or any signs of a hit, but there were none (and they'd have been easily visible in that plowed field). Unsure what the problem was, I went back and fired a shot to check zero; of course, it hit exactly where it should have. I can still picture that big male coyote to this day and still don't know what I did to muff that easy shot

More one shoots the great shots one makes and the more misses one has also.

I've already concluded I'm probably not the shot you are Bobby. My last miss on a pig took place a week ago Friday.

My wife and I were returning from town and were almost at the house when I saw three hogs in the field. This brought about memories from a couple of years ago when my wife interrupted my TV viewing to tell me hogs were in the same field. I managed to take three from that herd. This time around I almost jumped out the SUV before it stopped, my wife was telling me who I should give the meat to, since we were going out of town the next morning. I grabbed my Win. 88 from the cabinet and loaded it on the run, snuck under two fences and got into the pasture.

First thing I noticed was that the hogs were a bit further out than I thought they should be. Also the grass was much taller than I had envisioned. The hogs were 175-200 yds out and about all I could see were the upper third of the animals. I decided to shoot from the kneeling position, don't know if I've ever attempted to shoot from that position before, but it was that or standing. I remember from the teaching of Jack O'Conner that kneeling was suppose to be better than standing. Well the reticle of the scope did a dance that was frankly unnerving. I tried to squeeze of a round when the reticle was somewhere in the vicinity of the hog, but the trigger of a 88 is not the best, usually manageable, but not in this instance.

Well I ended up shooting three times, had to keep and eye on the cattle which were problematic after the first shot.

Found no hog or hogs, no blood, and no confidence that I broke a hair on this occasion. Next time in these circumstances I'll shoot from my hind legs, I have some experience with that.

Anyway Bobby you are a better shot than me.

Larry-I am betting that trigger had as much to do with you missing than anything else. Long ago, I used to do a little trigger test that really proved to be an eye-opener. And some guns that routinely turned in tiny groups did not pass muster.

I would take a small object, like a 12 ounce vegetable can, and turn it on its side where only the silver bottom would show. The range I conducted this at would depend on the gun/caliber/scope/accuracy history of the rig. But most were 125 to 200 yards for centerfires.

I would take something that was firm but malleable for a rest, like a sack of corn. I'd set the gun on it without nestling the forend deeply into the sack and then only allow myself the use of one hand to do the shooting.

Triggers with too much take-up or too much poundage were quickly sorted out as they would not allow you to consistently connect as from a solid set-up that firmly supported the firearm. Even though it may have punched tiny groups from the bench, some proved not all that great for field-position shooting. Some got trigger upgrades or were simply tuned. Others went down the road.

Without knowingly doing so, maybe that is one reason I use the TCs so much. Especially with the Contenders, you can get a trigger that breaks crisply and cleanly, one that is absolutely predictable in letoff yet not so low as to cause any danger while being handled during a hunt. To me, the triggers make a huge difference.

Another thing that helps my shooting the last few years is having very limited mobility. I have several spots near the house -- be it a tree, fence post, back of truck or even a make-shift shooting platform -- that most of my shots now come from. I've used each many times and know what can or can't be done from there. It is not hunting anymore but impromptu sniping, so the element of the unknown is largely taken out of the equation. If I was out there getting winded pursuing the game and then taking whatever Mother Nature allowed as a rest, I know my hit-miss ratio would change considerably. Dating back a number of years now, many of my hog kills are nothing more than an extension of backyard plinking or target shooting. I hate not being able to get out there anymore and get very frustrated at times but have to admit the more controlled shooting environment has been a bit of an unexpected consolation.

Alas there is no fixing the trigger on a Winchester model 88, still I hit with it with some regularity. But in a really tough spot others would serve better.

I still pursue hogs with and without dogs, but I know that those days are numbered. In the mean time I take what comes along. Some misses do haunt though, a deer two season ago, really nice buck and bad stuff happened. Mais C'est la Chasse!

Larry-Those triggers remind me of the little Win 190/290 series. Those were some great 22s: rugged, amazingly accurate and downright reliable, even when dirty. But those triggers, well...

Stay after 'em, Larry, and please post pics when you do. Seeing the real-world hunt photos makes my day and often gets my mind off other things.

Thing I try to do when I miss a shot that has no excuse for missing is to recall some of the fluke shots I have made. Even a couple with witnesses.

Around 45yrs or more ago cousin Bill and two of his college buddies met me to try some coyote calling he'd gotten into and I'd tried a few times w/o much results.

We drove out on a hilltop, got out with my '06 in hand just in case. Walked to the edge and saw one running hard way down the steep hill, about 300yds. Off hand I fired and know I'd of shot way over if it hadn't jumped high over a big rock right into the bullet. Took the skull off his head.

Unknown to me Bill had told them: "he's a hell of a shot". That sure convinced them but, he and I knew what happened. Things like that help console misses a bit. We've all made some unbelievable shots over the yrs.

Bobby:
How's your eye's doing? You able to do a bunch of reading? I've got some great books I know you'd enjoy that are just taking up shelf space.
I spend most of my days sitting n reading now that I can't do much.
Great seeing you post again.
George

As some one once said I shot never taken is always a miss.

Bobby, good to see you posting again !
Damn, now when I 'try' to sleep tonite, I'll have to deal w/ the haunting of my misses.
I cherish the good shots that I've pulled off, but cannot escape, forgetter or block out the misses. Shit.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
Larry-Those triggers remind me of the little Win 190/290 series. Those were some great 22s: rugged, amazingly accurate and downright reliable, even when dirty. But those triggers, well...

Stay after 'em, Larry, and please post pics when you do. Seeing the real-world hunt photos makes my day and often gets my mind off other things.

My dad gave me a Win. model 290 for my 12th birthday. Maybe it was preparation for dealing with the trigger on the model 88. Thinking about it, both rifles have pretty much the same attributes, both positive and negative.