.404 Jeffery and a Pig.

Zee

Many moons ago, some dude who collects junk came out to Texas with a friend to hunt pigs with me. When he left, he gifted me a 10.5” Ruger SBH 3-Screw. Ever since, I’ve been meaning to use it to take a deer or a pig. 

A buddy of mine said he had pigs coming to his bow blind during daylight hours. 

I figured that would be a great opportunity for the revolver. 

Judging the lighting conditions, I decided to bring my .404 Jeffery along as well. Being as the 6:06 time frame might be too dark for iron sights. 

Some of you might remember the .404 Jeffery my Mentor built and the deer hunt with BigBoreShooter.  How he shot a doe at about 20 yards and the ensuing fun on the forum about which direction the deer was actually standing. Well, he’s the only one to actually take game with that rifle and I needed to fix that. 

Showed up at the blind yesterday after practicing using the Pig Saddle with the rifle and revolver. 

Once in the blind, I realized I was goi g to have to change plans. I would need to use the tripod with Pig Saddle to hold my phone so I could video the hunt. That would leave my BogPod to shoot off of. A much less stable platform as compared to the Pig Saddle. 

While in the blind practicing aiming with the Jeffery, I see a pigs head pop out of the brush behind the feeder!  Crap!!  Out comes the boar in the first pic above. The Jeffery is in my hands, no hearing pro on, the phone is not ready to video, and the revolver is on my pack. 

Slowly, I start rectifying the situation. I put the Jeffery down, put ear pro on, set up the phone to video, and pick up the revolver. Whether it was all the motion or something else, the boar was VERY skittish. While getting ready, he ran off. Then he came back. Just to run off again. 

Finally ready, I’m realizing how crappy this tripod setup is for a revolver. Basically, resting just in front of the trigger guard, the gun is a teeter-totter in the V. The front sight rocking up and down in an attempt to remain steady. 

Here’s where I went wrong. I didn’t follow one of my personal rules of never accepting mediocrity in a shooting platform. Instead of improving my platform, I felt rushed for fear the pig would run off again and not return. Never break your rules. 

As the boar approaches the feeder after running off the 3rd time, he quarters slightly towards me and I try to put the front sight at the base of his neck. At 30 yards, I let fly with a 325gr WFN-GC bullet. Dust kicks up behind the boar and he has what I would call, a YOU MISSED ME reaction to the shot as he spins, runs towards the brush, and proceeds to high jump over about a 4 foot bush. Crap. 

I immediately take my phone and look at the video in slow motion. Yep. Missed the Buggar. 

You can actually SEE the bullet in flight!!

Zooming in in the video, you can actually see the bullet cut a “V” out of the hair on the top of his neck, just in front of his shoulder. Well, close........but not good enough. I screwed the pooch on that opportunity. Damn. 

It was still early, so I figured I’d wait and see if the larger sounded showed up. 

As time passed and the light faded, it became time to switch to the Jeffery. Then, at 5:56.........the sounder came running in to the feeder. Here we go......

Big Al1

JerryBobCo

What I remember most about you and BBS' shooting that poor little doe with that big ol' gun was the pissing contest that ensued with a former member.  Since I'm not 100% sure of the member's name, I won't state it.  However, he had a way of insulting a lot of good folks.  And I'm pretty sure I've seen more elk than he has killed, but I could be wrong.

Now, post the rest of your story, please.

zorba

I thought this thread was going to involve lipstick!

sakodude

Love that 10.5 SBH, always wanted one of those. I have a 7.5 but there is just something about that long tube.

bullsi1911

NN

" Here we go " -----where did you go?

Michakav

Come on already! I have to get up early.

Zee

Aghhh, I’ve been planting grass on the new place this morning. Then, re-wiring my barn. Then, working on my friends ranch.  Then, fixing the wiring on the barn...........busy day. 

I shall start the next chapter. 

Michakav

Should have called me. I could have wired the barn the right way the first time....

Zee

So, like clockwork, the sounder came running in from my right (game camera left). Instantly, there were two big sows, a young boar, a few shoats, and a handful of piglets. 

I first thought about shooting the biggest sow. But, this is my buddies lease and there aren’t many deer on it. He pretty much just has pigs to shoot. So......a sow being a baby factory......providing things to shoot.........don’t slit your own throat. 

I decided to shoot the young boar instead and let the sows keep bearing targets for my buddy. 

The young boar is on the far right of the picture above. He was moving left in the picture and would pass behind the sow in front of him. Providing a two for one shot opportunity. Tempting. But, just before he took one more step behind the sow, I sent a 400 grain Hornady DGX bullet high behind his shoulder. 

His back end dropped and everyone else began to scatter. 

A cloud of dust erupted behind him with the bullet passing through and he crumpled to the ground. 

The sows beat feet but a few of the shoats and piglets stuck around for a few seconds. Thought about putting a round through a shoat.......but figured there might not be much left after the fact. So, I passed. 

All became quiet and I began to pack up. 

After so many years........Jeffery had finally spoken of my own accord. 

Zee

Michakav said:

Should have called me. I could have wired the barn the right way the first time....

Yeah. 😒

Zee

.404 Jeffery built back in the 1960s on a Remington P14 action with rust bluing and stock work by my mentor. 

Zee

400gr Hornady DGX bullet. 

I’d originally bought a box of factory ammo. The used the brass and a purchase of additional brass to load my own. This was all done pre-chronograph so I have no clue how fast the bullet is traveling. I haven’t shot this rifle in YEARS!

Zee

At 30 yards, it left nothing to chance. Dropped that sucker on the spot. 

Entrance

The bullet struck a rib on entrance, along with the top of the lungs and bottom of the spine. 

 Breaking two ribs on exit, the shrapnel made quite a nice torn hole as it left the body. 

 

While definitive, the terminal results are quite less than the last one that sparked such a controversy.  While only 10 yards further than the doe that caused the forum ruckus, this pig was broadside and not stem to stern. Much less body to travel through and cause the hydrostatic temporary cavity that looked like a bomb went off in the doe. 

Hell, you could shoot broadside game all day long with the Jeffrey and cause less damage than I’ve seen with my softer A-Max or ELD-M bullets!!
Why people freak out about using such a “large” caliber/cartridge is beyond me. It actually does less damage to soft skinned game. 

Diver43

Thats one heck of a rifle.  Glad it performed as planned. 

You didn't need to rewire the barn, you just needed a longer extension cord.

Zee

I took the week off so I could apparently WORK for a living!!😳

More grass to seed and more electrical work tomorrow. 

Big Al1

THAT is a fine rifle!!

bullsi1911

Very nice rifle, and great results.  And you are right about the damage on thin skinned game.  I head shot a doe with a .454Casull this weekend, and it caused less damage than some I’ve seen hit with a .223 in the head.

congrats on the pig, and even bigger congrats on blooding the rifle!

NN

WOW

Zee

I wish THIS sucker had showed up!

GunNut

A lot less crazy than the doe from years back for sure.  I'm almost surprised there was much internal damage at all, since I was expecting the tougher DG bullet to just punch through cleanly on a normal broadside shot.

Zee

Most of the internal damage was likely from bone fragments. 

GunNut

Zee said:

Most of the internal damage was likely from bone fragments. 

Now that makes sense!

JunkCollector

Zee said:

I wish THIS sucker had showed up!

Think it's big enough you wouldn't have missed ?

I did lol......sorry

Zee

Meanie. 

Bigslug

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!  You may have heard that Enfields make me feel all tingly.

That .404 has got to be one of the most sensible D.G. cartridges out there, doing what it does in the size that it is.  The .416 Rigby is just a little bit gonzo dimensionally. making it really hard to get into non-specialized actions - not that people haven't done it.

Zee

And recoil is really nothing. Even compared to smaller caliber cartridges like a .338 WM. 

This is a heavy rifle and that helps. But, it’s also well designed in the stock. Actually a pleasure to shoot for the size of the bore. 

Ernie Bishop

Wonderful story!

That is a beautiful rifle!

We all still make mistakes.  I know you don't do it often.

Johnny reb

GunNut said:

Zee said:

Most of the internal damage was likely from bone fragments. 

Now that makes sense!

I’ve found I’ve had far less meat damage with calibers over .375. Depending on chosen bullet I’ve found you lose far less meat than with traditional frangible type bullets.

Johnny reb

Zee said:

400gr Hornady DGX bullet. 

I’d originally bought a box of factory ammo. The used the brass and a purchase of additional brass to load my own. This was all done pre-chronograph so I have no clue how fast the bullet is traveling. I haven’t shot this rifle in YEARS!

Zee said:

400gr Hornady DGX bullet. 

I’d originally bought a box of factory ammo. The used the brass and a purchase of additional brass to load my own. This was all done pre-chronograph so I have no clue how fast the bullet is traveling. I haven’t shot this rifle in YEARS!

Good looking rifle. Who says big bores aren’t accurate? Do you remember the twist rate and bore size for your barrel?