OK, you older guys will get the Bon Jovi reference: "shot through the heart..."

Had a sounder come in a little before 1 a.m. Most seemed to be in the 30-40 pound range with the lone exception of this sow, and observing them in the brilliant moonlight told me she was definitely the leader of the pack, so to speak.

My intent was to harvest a smaller specimen for a whole-hog roast, but in this situation, taking out the sow left me with pretty good odds that the rest may return at some point.

As the shoats rooted around, the sow kept herself in the background, darting in and out of cover and making things a little tough for me. A couple of times, she did pause for a few seconds, but I didn't care for the angle of the presentation. Soon enough, though, I got the broadside look I wanted.

Tonight I was using the 23" MGM Contender in .223 with a 1:8 twist and loaded with 55 grain Barnes TTSX at 3294 fps MV. That load has done beautifully for me before on both hogs and deer, and I was eager to put it into use once again. So as the hog came to a halt, I put the red dot of the Zeiss Classic Diatal 7x50 where I hoped it would do the most good and sent the little Barnes speeding downrange.

The impact planted the hog in its tracks, breaking bone upon entry and leaving the leg on the entry side loose to flop around. The Barnes chewed through and demolished about 1/3rd of the heart and broke through bone on the opposite side before leaving a nickel-sized exit in its wake. Honestly, one couldn't ask for better performance than that.

The range of the shot was only 120-125 yards.

Below is the exit. By the time I removed the heart, my gloves were quite bloody and my phone was in my pocket, so I didn't get a picture of the internal damage. You'll just have to take my word that it was more than adequate -- if not downright impressive.

Nice one, Bobby.

We don't have a feral hog problem here in Kentucky, much to my surprise.

Hitting them left and right. Aye BT? Buzzard buffet or donate? Your freezer(s) have got to be filled to capacity. No?

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Hitting them left and right. Aye BT? Buzzard buffet or donate? Your freezer(s) have got to be filled to capacity. No?

Took the straps, the hams and what I could get off of the shoulders, and the rest was donated to the buzzard buffet.

The Wife wants more wild hog for dinner. Still haven't found the right time and place. Get dem hogs!

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
The Wife wants more wild hog for dinner.

You'd better get busy then ha ha!

My moonlight advantage is probably over. Clouds have rolled in and will stick around for at least the next 5 days if the forecast is correct.

The Surgeon of Shiner completes another operation.

Been busy lookin'. Most if not all are re-sellers that charge stupid fees and many even tell you (OK-suggest) how much of a tip to leave plus poundage, plus this plus that. I prefer a hunt on a personal note by the owner, caretaker or lessee like I did with Randall of crazyhorseconsulting and Charlie at (????- sorry memory lapse) both good people. Cheers.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
The Wife wants more wild hog for dinner.

You'd better get busy then ha ha!

My moonlight advantage is probably over. Clouds have rolled in and will stick around for at least the next 5 days if the forecast is correct.

No hogs in Montana so I go to Europe where I grew up as a kid and there is hog galore
I use simple 308 CZ with ATN thermal
Done some hog hunting in Turkey and those there are impressive as you talking about 600-700 lbs on some of those old boars
I’m 6’2” 220 lbs and couple of them I couldn’t move at all and it took three of us to drag them…of course they are Muslims so rubber gloves and then chop head off to get tusks out and leave the hogs for bears and wolves