Although I have shot lots of pigs, most all them have been shot from a box blind with little square windows or from an elevated tripod. Only a very small percentage have been stalked.

What is the best way to hunt them with a heavy recoilling double? The box blind is obviously out of the question for fear of damaging the rifle as it recoils. Also I have reservations about shooting a 470 from an elevated tripod for fear of falling off it.

Is a ground blind of some sort the way to go?

Put bigger windows on the box blind or shoot it off the porch of the blind. I was in blinds last weekend in Texas and both of them had platforms on the outside where the ladder and door were that would work fine for a sitting area.

Everyone should have that problem. Just make sure you use the softest bullets you can as bullets for DGRs are made to plow through a cape buff or ele, and a pig doesn't offer much resistance. I file off the lead noses as flat as possible and file in grooves in the jacket to help it expand. I just offed two pigs with my 450-400 and it blew fairly big holes in them, which is what I wanted. On those, I used Hornady copper jacketed (not DGX which have steel jackets), with the noses filed flat. Probably not necessary.

Muletrain, I've had to face this scenario a few times - even with others' doubles. I am more comfortable working off the ground even if there isn't a formal groundblind.

Muletrain We have both box, and ground blinds at 4K and I have shot several with a 470Ne double out of the windows, or from the pop-up blinds without problem.

Don't worry about modifying bullets for hogs a 500 gr solid will drive theough at any angle, and will drop that hog in his tracks! All my boars were in the 150, to 200 pound range, and they never knew what hit them with a TB solid, or a North fork SPS, life just ends. The big boys fall just as well to the 286 gr soft points from S&B factory 9.3X74R ammo. They kick some with the 9.3, but that never move with the 470NE.

[IMG]http://www.doublerifleshooterssociety.com/images/545_4K_Ranch_January_2007_Frozen_Hogs.jpg [/IMG]

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
Muletrain We have both box, and ground blinds at 4K and I have shot several with a 470Ne double out of the windows, or from the pop-up blinds without problem.

Don't worry about modifying bullets for hogs a 500 gr solid will drive theough at any angle, and will drop that hog in his tracks! All my boars were in the 150, to 200 pound range, and they never knew what hit them with a TB solid, or a North fork SPS, life just ends. The big boys fall just as well to the 286 gr soft points from S&B factory 9.3X74R ammo. They kick some with the 9.3, but that never move with the 470NE.

[IMG]http://www.doublerifleshooterssociety.com/images/545_4K_Ranch_January_2007_Frozen_Hogs.jpg [/IMG]

So there is no worry about smacking the top of the window frame with the rifle barrels?

Just get down wind with some quiet shoes on a windy day and they are not hard to sneak up on.
This time of the year when they have been shot at for the past 2-3 months of deer season, they sure go nocturnal and hard to stalk.

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
Just get down wind with some quiet shoes on a windy day and they are not hard to sneak up on.
This time of the year when they have been shot at for the past 2-3 months of deer season, they sure go nocturnal and hard to stalk.

That's the problem. We hunt them year round so they are never easy to sneak up on. And they don't stay at any particular feeder for very long. They normally come in at a trot and gobble up the corn and leave at a trot. Usually you get one shot and that's it.

I've guided several clients carrying .470's on pig hunts. We've always done it stalking as that's over 95% of our hunting.

As much as I like huge guns, like we always say placement is king.

My favorite .470 story was a pig shot through the guts with a 500gr. soft. The pig took off like it was gut shot... with a .223. I took a back-up shot on the run and also hit it through the guts with a .460 Wby using an X bullet. The 200 lb. boar continued on as if gut shot with two .223's. Finally I was able to cut the boar off and get in a neck shot just before the boar got back into the cover.

Another client using a 500gr. soft in a .470 hit a boar perfectly through the lungs while we where sneaking through a riverbed. We were expecting him to drop in his tracks, if nothing else just because of the price tag on the rifle. But he ran off... only to make a quick circle in the thick cover and come back out to die in the river bed before we could get in another shot.

Fun stuff those big guns but we proved yet again that game animals rarely if ever read ballistics charts.

Kyler

I have downloaded .470 for friends for use with cast bullets for practice. got them to regulate well enough for pigs out to 80m or so. Got very good results with some copper tube swaged 350grn bullets at 1600fps...

That is the situation I was alluding to; that these DGRs are made to punch through 3 feet of hide, muscle and bone, whereas even a big hog presents relatively much less resistance. Penetration? You could shoot through several hogs with a 470 solid. I want a bullet that will open up a lot and give massive damage even on a less than perfect shot (I am not advocating indiscriminate shooting, but sometimes shots to less vital areas happen). Since the true DGR bullets aren't made to open up that fast, I wanted to help them out. In my 45-70 DR, I use Speer 400 grainers, which are made for more lightly constructed game. Remington 400s; even more so.

Tried some reduced velocity 500 grain cast bullet loads at the range today. They had significntly less recoil than the full velocity loads. They impact slightly low at 25 yards and are plenty accurate for short range hog hunting.

I shot a Russian Boar a couple of weeks ago, from a box blind, with my .450 #2 NE. Absolutely no problem with recoil or the gun coming up and hitting the window frame. I was shooting the Hornady 500 grain RNSP at about 2170 fps.

Nice hog, Ron!

In Australia we do a lot of spot and stalk and just walking them up.
Took this toothy old Boar by walking down into a brush filled gully and found him sleeping in his nest.

Nice hogs gentlemen.

I've used .458" 500gr Woodleighs and they worked just fine, with expansion evident (and exits.)

I don't know if Hawk Bullets makes bullets for the 470, but 450NE No2 swears by them in .458" for hogs and deer. They would be cheaper and softer than the Woodleighs.

As far a recoil from a tripod, we shoot deer from tree stands and tripods up here in our shotgun only areas with 12ga slugs and rifled barrel shotguns. As far a recoil, I would rather shoot my 458wm or a 470, they kick less. Its never been a problem.

If you are really worried, one of the Dog House pop ups sets up in seconds, folds down in minutes and has plenty of room for recoil.

JPK

Here's a recovered 500 grain Woodleigh from my 470NE. The hog weighed 255#, was about 30-40 yds slight quartering away standing in a mud hole. The bullet entered centered on the body, toward the rear of the right shield and was recovered inside the shield in the left shoulder area. This hog didnt take a step! I have had several hogs in this weight class stop the 470 but have had many pass throughs on the smaller pigs. I Have had a few that left a real good blood trail but went farther than I cared to track a hog in the snake infested swamp! Maybe in those situations where my bullet placement was not ideal the altered bullet technique would have helped or maybe just a different bullet for hogs?? As most of you know, perfect shot placement is not always possible in real hunting conditions, particularly when spot n stalking and walking or running animals are involved. Also, with hogs I tend to take more difficult shots than I would on my first cape buffalo or elephant!

What a grand thing that there is a cadre of us who choose to hunt with these guns and to keep the spirit alive, even if it's not always in Africa. During our shotguns-only deer season, I choose to hunt with my iron-sighted 12 bore double rifle. As such I have to limit my shots to about 75 yards. I saw 4 deer this year, at 125 yards or beyond, that would have been easy kills with one of the modern, scope-sighted, single-barrel, slug guns. However, IMHO, the kills would have lacked that certain "Je ne sais quoi" inherent in hunting with a double.

quote:

"Je ne sais quoi"

"An indefinable, elusive quality, esp. a pleasing one. For example Mona Lisa's smile."



I must agree. In spirit anyway. Since I have neither hunted with a double rifle or seen Mona Lisa's smile. The first shortcomming will be corrected in the next few weeks. Doubtful that I will ever see Mona Lisa's smile.

I shot a hog out of a blind like you described with a .577 NE double. I didn't have problems with wacking my hand/gun on the window frame.

It's more fun to chase them in the thick stuff with a double.

quote:

Originally posted by 577NitroExpress:
I shot a hog out of a blind like you described with a .577 NE double. I didn't have problems with wacking my hand/gun on the window frame.

I was waiting for that one.

Our DRSS guys hunt hogs with doubles up to .577 NE out of box blinds with no issues. I wouldn't worry about it.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

An exciting video is "Boared to Death" which features a lot of walk-up hog shooting with a double rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by 400 Nitro Express:

quote:

Originally posted by 577NitroExpress:
I shot a hog out of a blind like you described with a .577 NE double. I didn't have problems with wacking my hand/gun on the window frame.

I was waiting for that one.

Our DRSS guys hunt hogs with doubles up to .577 NE out of box blinds with no issues. I wouldn't worry about it.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Mark, when you are a fat bastard like myself, there are few things that can move heavy objects like me easily :-)

Cheers, happy holidays, and I can't wait to see you next month.