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First blood with the new .260 Remington!!
It has just been too damn hot to hunt the past few months. On top of that, I've been gone off and on.
This afternoon, I just got back from playing with Hurricane Harvey. No sooner had I unpacked, than a rancher friend called to say some pigs were in a field being cut and could I take care of them.
After so long without drawing blood........why not!?!?
Grabbed my new Remington 700 Magpul (no longer in a Magpul stock) in .260 Remington and 140gr A-Max handloads......off we went.
Got to the field and saw the workers cutting the hay grazer. Talked to one of them and they said the pigs were in the hay. Running from patch to patch as they cut sections. So, I got up on top of the irrigator and they started cutting in a way as to drive them to me.
As the shredder cut towards me, the pigs would have to cross the opening to get to the next section of hay. The worker said he'd turn the overhead lights on the shredder when he saw the hay moving in from of him. Signaling the pigs were about to break cover or at least, to know where they were in the field.
As he cut on section, I saw a big boat run out of the hay. I aimed at him, but didn't like the angle and proximity of the shredder. I held fire and he ran back into the hay. I'd be ready the next time.
Continuing the cut, I saw a sow and 3 piglets break cover and hold at the edge of the hay. Waiting for the shredder to pass. Once he did, they broke into a run for the next patch of cover. With a clear backdrop, as the shredder had moved on, I lead the sow and dropped her with one shot at 175 yards as she ran.
The shredder continued to cut its way towards me. At one point, I saw another piglet breach cover and run. But, I held on the low percentage shot. Being a small target at distance moving at Mach Speed for the safety of the next section. Then, I saw his lights come on and a head poke out of the hay. Another sow. She held her position as the shredder passed and when he did..........POP!!! Right through the head at about 150 yards.
At at the end of the section, that big boat finally broke and ran the opposite way at about 600 yards and into some cotton next to the hay. Guess I'll have to get him later.
Anyway, the field was finished. A couple piglets got away and a few got shredded. The buzzards were enjoying that part. The workers came over and I asked them which pig they wanted. They chose the smaller of the two.
It turned out to be a fruitful group effort. And first blood for the new .260 Remington. Dropping both in their tracks.
On a side note, I used two new knives to butcher this pig. They are the best I've EVER used!!! Highly recommend.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/954994/cold-steel-commercial-series-stiff-curved-boning-knife-6-4116-stainless-steel-blade-kray-ex-handle-black
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/935755/cold-steel-commercial-series-big-country-skinner-6-4116-stainless-steel-blade-kray-ex-handle-black
This afternoon, I just got back from playing with Hurricane Harvey. No sooner had I unpacked, than a rancher friend called to say some pigs were in a field being cut and could I take care of them.
After so long without drawing blood........why not!?!?
Grabbed my new Remington 700 Magpul (no longer in a Magpul stock) in .260 Remington and 140gr A-Max handloads......off we went.
Got to the field and saw the workers cutting the hay grazer. Talked to one of them and they said the pigs were in the hay. Running from patch to patch as they cut sections. So, I got up on top of the irrigator and they started cutting in a way as to drive them to me.
As the shredder cut towards me, the pigs would have to cross the opening to get to the next section of hay. The worker said he'd turn the overhead lights on the shredder when he saw the hay moving in from of him. Signaling the pigs were about to break cover or at least, to know where they were in the field.
As he cut on section, I saw a big boat run out of the hay. I aimed at him, but didn't like the angle and proximity of the shredder. I held fire and he ran back into the hay. I'd be ready the next time.
Continuing the cut, I saw a sow and 3 piglets break cover and hold at the edge of the hay. Waiting for the shredder to pass. Once he did, they broke into a run for the next patch of cover. With a clear backdrop, as the shredder had moved on, I lead the sow and dropped her with one shot at 175 yards as she ran.
The shredder continued to cut its way towards me. At one point, I saw another piglet breach cover and run. But, I held on the low percentage shot. Being a small target at distance moving at Mach Speed for the safety of the next section. Then, I saw his lights come on and a head poke out of the hay. Another sow. She held her position as the shredder passed and when he did..........POP!!! Right through the head at about 150 yards.
At at the end of the section, that big boat finally broke and ran the opposite way at about 600 yards and into some cotton next to the hay. Guess I'll have to get him later.
Anyway, the field was finished. A couple piglets got away and a few got shredded. The buzzards were enjoying that part. The workers came over and I asked them which pig they wanted. They chose the smaller of the two.
It turned out to be a fruitful group effort. And first blood for the new .260 Remington. Dropping both in their tracks.
On a side note, I used two new knives to butcher this pig. They are the best I've EVER used!!! Highly recommend.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/954994/cold-steel-commercial-series-stiff-curved-boning-knife-6-4116-stainless-steel-blade-kray-ex-handle-black
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/935755/cold-steel-commercial-series-big-country-skinner-6-4116-stainless-steel-blade-kray-ex-handle-black
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Replies
How stable were you on that pivot head? Good picture of the guys, they look amused, nice shooting.
Not this time. I was fighting the heat and the flies.
Suffice it to say, it did a LOT of damage!!! The A-Max continue to perform.
I was was clinging to the pivot with my legs like an acrobatic! Leaning forward to keep the bipod legs on the flat part and lead the pigs or rotate to their location. It was a feat. They thought it was funny.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
- George Orwell
Jerry
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Yeah, the important one is the sow. So, it worked out in the end. Maybe I can get my boy a shot at the boar on a later date.
The head was was all I could see poking out of the hay. All that was needed it would seem.
She does her thing, no doubt.
Thanks.
Once or twice before.
;-)
As always GOOD shooting.
Interesting choice of knives, goes to show expensive is not always best
Go get your socks dry. :jester:
Excellent blog and photography, once again. :up:
Siri seems to be unversed in the porcine species. Damn auto correct.
It's an accuracy international AICS chassis.
I have ate some of the cheaper Cold Steel. But, these are quite a bit better.
But, speaking of knives, I'm reminded of my time in Wichita, Ks back in the late 80s. At that time, there were (and perhaps still are) a lot of meat packing plants. When the big butcher knives the packers used got worn down a bit, some of the local pawn shops would buy them. I bought a few and took them to a family reunion in Texas. One of my cousins thought he could sell them at a local flea market, so we worked out a deal.
I bought about 100 or more of them from a local pawn shop for 60 cents each, shipped and sent them to him for $3 a piece. He or a friend of his sold them at the local flea market for about $10 each.
I used to have a number of them, but have no idea where they are now. Too many moves, I guess.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Jerry
I found that one a most excellent skinner. Stupid sharp, it sliced through the fat and gristle under the hide like no other knife I've ever used.
It was however, lacking in the quartering and boning out chore. Too much of a sweep in the blade to get where I needed it and cut joints. Now we'll at working around the ribs and getting the back straps off. For that, the boning knife (as designed) was exquisite!!!
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
See, working for the carnival and climbing on the rides did have some advantages later in life.
Nice shooting!
It's cooling a bit. Or at least, it's not Africa hot anymore. So, no reason to wait.
Very true.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
One can hope.
Do you have another complete project that you have yet to use this year? Let me know what I can look forward to.....
Yeah, I have a whole list of guns I need to bloody this season. If I'm lucky.
Yeah.....I've been vacillating between a .260 Rem and a .220 Swift for awhile now
Yeah, but that boar can insiminate 10 Sows in a week. That could end up being 80 pigs. But then again every little bit helps. Yeah let your boy get that boar. That would be cool.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
"Horrible, yes. . .but we have been invaded. Lord, what can we do?"
"Kill them, Sir! Kill every last man of them." - Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Gods and Generals. :guns:
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee