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Varmintmist
Senior MemberPosts: 7,396 Senior Member
Swine down
Varmintmist
Senior MemberPosts: 7,396 Senior Member
We got our pig hunt in. My buddy got a Russian, the three of us got blends.
I learned a few things.
Pig hunting is fun.
Pig hunting with bay dogs is a treat.
They really dont have a curious bone in their body. They run.
Loshbough http://loshbough.com/ seemed to be a pretty good place to go. It is a fenced pig hunt, the fence is around 770 ac.
I still hate Nos Partitions.
Made it past this place
We got there Fri afternoon and got our stuff in the lodge. Rodger the guide showed up and we talked. He suggested we start a stalk at 6A on Sat, so that was what we did.
The woods are pretty young, about 1/2 open and 1/2 thick.
Sat AM we stalked until about 0815 and got up on a boar behind a down tree. The son was in the front but since this was all new to all of us, I think things didnt click. The boar bolted down a ravine and the woods took off. There were probably 12 pigs down there and my buddy got a round off at one going up the other side of the ravine and dropped her with a Gameking to the spine at around 40 yds. One other stopped and I was lined up on it but I thought the son was also lined up on it, but he wasnt, so it bolted. We took that to get processed and resumed stalking until about 1300 when we broke for lunch.
Went back in at 1500 with puppies. It was not at all what I was expecting. The dogs chase them until the pigs decide to stop in a creek bed or fallen trees. Your job is to keep the dogs close enough that you can close because 1 of 5 things will happen. 1. a boar will get mad and leave, which will break the bay. 2. The pigs will rest up, and run, and break the bay. 3. The pigs will hear a stick break, and they will break the bay. 4. The pigs will see a person, and break the bay. 5. You will get close enough to shoot one. I said it was like sprint stalking. You keep up with the pups, then go slow and quiet for the last 70 yards. At one point we were within 12 feet of a big group that was bayed up and we were in mt laurel. Couldnt see a thing. Then they broke. Trees swayed and the ground shook. The guide said the dogs couldnt count. He told them three and they brought 30. It was a hair on the neck moment. Eventually we caught up to the dogs and they had one pig bayed and we got close and the daughter took it at about 12 yards. The Partition hit the left shoulder and took bone into the vitals wiping out the heart and lungs. (this plays a part in the next chapter) BY the time we got that out, it was close to 1830. The son and I took a short stalk but didnt see anything. My buddys gps said we covered 8.1 miles, you criss cross and go up and down a lot.
Day #2 started out similar. 0600 start stalking. At about 0845 we saw two coming up a trail towards us at around 50 yds. The son and I both took knees and waited. I let him lead and it was a boomboom. He spined his, thankfully, and walked up and finished it with a head shot. I put mine through the pig and broke the off shoulder. Mine just lifted its leg. I shot it in the vitals twice more, and it hobbled off. I put one through the hams because that was all I could see in the weeds. He hobbled off, I put one in his neck, he hobbled off. Finally he laid down, I got two cartridges from my son and the guide and I went after it. We got up to it and it jumped up and ran, I took a Texas Heart shot and that was it. Every single shot except the ham would have put it down if the bullet expanded. 165gr Nos Partitions punch holes through anything other than bone. When the guide gutted it, the 30 cal holes were there. The sons spine shot, was a hole through the spine, not a complete bone crusher by any means. I am sticking to Gamekings.
All in all, I had a good time and so did the kids. The place was ok, only downside was the accommodations are probably used for a harder drinking crew that we were. There were some odors in the room that the son and I were in Fri night. However every other room smelled OK, and the kitchen was good and it has two working bathrooms with showers. We were the only ones in the lodge so we switched Sat and Sun and took a different room. It was about a grand each for the trip with tip, I rented a minivan and we had the pigs processed on site. I made lasagna and we brought burgers for Fri and Sat, Sun I told the kids they could take me out for Dads day.
Particulars...
Buddy shooting a mil 03 moved into a sporter stock with a no drill scope mount. 165 GK over 54.4 IMR 4350
Daughter a Wally World Rem 700ADL 165gr Partition over 54 IMR 4350
Son, my 03A4 w/original Weaver 330, same cartridge
Me, my mannlicher that up until Sun I had NEVER worked the action on to take a animal, same cartridge
If I do it again, and I might in 2 years, I am taking the 32spl open sights, and/or the Garand with GK's.
I learned a few things.
Pig hunting is fun.
Pig hunting with bay dogs is a treat.
They really dont have a curious bone in their body. They run.
Loshbough http://loshbough.com/ seemed to be a pretty good place to go. It is a fenced pig hunt, the fence is around 770 ac.
I still hate Nos Partitions.
Made it past this place
We got there Fri afternoon and got our stuff in the lodge. Rodger the guide showed up and we talked. He suggested we start a stalk at 6A on Sat, so that was what we did.
The woods are pretty young, about 1/2 open and 1/2 thick.
Sat AM we stalked until about 0815 and got up on a boar behind a down tree. The son was in the front but since this was all new to all of us, I think things didnt click. The boar bolted down a ravine and the woods took off. There were probably 12 pigs down there and my buddy got a round off at one going up the other side of the ravine and dropped her with a Gameking to the spine at around 40 yds. One other stopped and I was lined up on it but I thought the son was also lined up on it, but he wasnt, so it bolted. We took that to get processed and resumed stalking until about 1300 when we broke for lunch.
Went back in at 1500 with puppies. It was not at all what I was expecting. The dogs chase them until the pigs decide to stop in a creek bed or fallen trees. Your job is to keep the dogs close enough that you can close because 1 of 5 things will happen. 1. a boar will get mad and leave, which will break the bay. 2. The pigs will rest up, and run, and break the bay. 3. The pigs will hear a stick break, and they will break the bay. 4. The pigs will see a person, and break the bay. 5. You will get close enough to shoot one. I said it was like sprint stalking. You keep up with the pups, then go slow and quiet for the last 70 yards. At one point we were within 12 feet of a big group that was bayed up and we were in mt laurel. Couldnt see a thing. Then they broke. Trees swayed and the ground shook. The guide said the dogs couldnt count. He told them three and they brought 30. It was a hair on the neck moment. Eventually we caught up to the dogs and they had one pig bayed and we got close and the daughter took it at about 12 yards. The Partition hit the left shoulder and took bone into the vitals wiping out the heart and lungs. (this plays a part in the next chapter) BY the time we got that out, it was close to 1830. The son and I took a short stalk but didnt see anything. My buddys gps said we covered 8.1 miles, you criss cross and go up and down a lot.
Day #2 started out similar. 0600 start stalking. At about 0845 we saw two coming up a trail towards us at around 50 yds. The son and I both took knees and waited. I let him lead and it was a boomboom. He spined his, thankfully, and walked up and finished it with a head shot. I put mine through the pig and broke the off shoulder. Mine just lifted its leg. I shot it in the vitals twice more, and it hobbled off. I put one through the hams because that was all I could see in the weeds. He hobbled off, I put one in his neck, he hobbled off. Finally he laid down, I got two cartridges from my son and the guide and I went after it. We got up to it and it jumped up and ran, I took a Texas Heart shot and that was it. Every single shot except the ham would have put it down if the bullet expanded. 165gr Nos Partitions punch holes through anything other than bone. When the guide gutted it, the 30 cal holes were there. The sons spine shot, was a hole through the spine, not a complete bone crusher by any means. I am sticking to Gamekings.
All in all, I had a good time and so did the kids. The place was ok, only downside was the accommodations are probably used for a harder drinking crew that we were. There were some odors in the room that the son and I were in Fri night. However every other room smelled OK, and the kitchen was good and it has two working bathrooms with showers. We were the only ones in the lodge so we switched Sat and Sun and took a different room. It was about a grand each for the trip with tip, I rented a minivan and we had the pigs processed on site. I made lasagna and we brought burgers for Fri and Sat, Sun I told the kids they could take me out for Dads day.
Particulars...
Buddy shooting a mil 03 moved into a sporter stock with a no drill scope mount. 165 GK over 54.4 IMR 4350
Daughter a Wally World Rem 700ADL 165gr Partition over 54 IMR 4350
Son, my 03A4 w/original Weaver 330, same cartridge
Me, my mannlicher that up until Sun I had NEVER worked the action on to take a animal, same cartridge
If I do it again, and I might in 2 years, I am taking the 32spl open sights, and/or the Garand with GK's.
It's boring, and your lack of creativity knows no bounds.
Replies
Deer aren't hogs, you can kill a deer with a .270.
Nicely done Varmintmist, all of you that can hunt now make me seriously jealous.
I have never had that happen with a Game King, but I have with a Nosler. I shot a deer 3 times with a Nosler BT just before it got dark. While I was looking for the deer in Nut high grass, it got up and bolted over the fence and staggered off. We saw where it had layn down and there was blood. As a result I have little faith in Nosler Bullets, either Ballistic Tips or Partitions. I've killed deer with them, but all it takes is a couple bad experiences. I haven't had that experience with a GK. Now maybe at a longer distance when the bullet is slowed down some it may expand more reliably, I don't know, but this has caused me to lose faith. inside of 100 yards I have no faith in them at all.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Actually, I think you have that backwards. If you are stating that your bullets didn't expand.
Bullets tend to expand faster at greater velocities. As the bullet slows down, they tend to expand less. That is why lighter bullets often "blow up" at high velocities. The same bullet, moving slower, would not be so explosive.
It takes velocity to open up a bullet. If you threw a 6mm 87gr V-Max at someone.............yeah..........no expansion. Hit a deer at 3,000 fps with it and...............POOF!
And I agree with the OP..........a Pig doesn't warrant a Partition.
Sounds like a good time was had by all, even added some science to the hunt. Congrats
I think you would have been pleased with the 165 grain Nosler BT. I have killed three deer, DRT, with them in .30-06, and the expansion is impressive. Still, I have to agree that they are probably no better than the much cheaper GK's. I have 139 grain Hornady SST's in 7mm-08 loaded for hogs, but have not had an opportunity to test them. My grandson has, though, and the hog died instantly, so I'm confident that they will be fine.
FWIW, my experience is if you are in a stand or blind. a scoped rifle is the way to go. If you are stalking pigs, open sights rule and a 30-30 or 45-70 are excellent choices.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Inexpensive, accurate enough and dependable, what's not to love?
I hadn't noticed that before, excellent.
Dad 5-31-13
I have had them do the same as the partitions did. They are accurate'ish so for the money the GKs just out preform them and I never got a box made on a Fri before a holiday weekend.
It was my first go, so I didnt have any real idea of what we were in for. If we go there again, then the 32spl with 170grFP's and the Garand with 165gr GK's. There wasnt anywhere there, at least in June, that you are going to get anything at 100 yds so opens would not be a problem.