Fear the .308

That's right piggies, Fear the .308.

I bought this Rock River LAR 8 last year, making it my hog gun, and I've knocked down quite a few hogs with it. I mean, they don't leave when they get hit by that Federal Fusion 165 grain bullet. Tonight Carlos and I went out since we hadn't been out in a few weeks and we were sure the hogs were getting comfortable with us gone. The last time I went out was a month ago and their pattern was changing and they were coming in pretty late at night. Tonight was different. We spent the day moving things around in the field and setting up a platform stand on the opposite side of the field, since the signs were very good that hogs were coming through the fence. We drove all over the ranch and found good trails where they were coming through so after setting up the stand we did some target practice with our Ar15's since Carlos had reloaded some 55 grain ballistic tips. All five shots at 100 yards were touching and could fit through a dime. Those were some great reloads. I double checked my 45-70 and it was dead on. I didn't fire the .308 because I knew it was accurate and it was too bright outside and I couldn't remove the cover from the lens or it would mess up the night vision. Even with the little peep hole in the lens cover, it was too bright.

The plan was for Carlos to sit on the platform and wait for the hogs to show up, and I would go to the back and see if the hogs were coming through the fence in the back. Well it didn't work that way, Carlos sent me a text message (don't you just love modern technology) and said 6 pigs had come through the field from the caliche road and were mingled in amongst the cows. So I drove to the tank where I could see Carlos, and glassed the field? Oh for you non hunters that means looked through my binoculars. Carlos sent another message saying the hogs were still amongst the cows and he couldn't shoot, and I also could see them working the field. As I watched the hogs and the cows I could see dirt flying up about 10 feet in the air and I received a text message from Carlos, which said you need to come get me, it's getting dangerous, the bulls are fighting.

So after relocating Carlos with me by the tank we sat watching the field, the cows and the hogs amonst them waiting for one or two of them to step out so we could get a shot. It never happened and the sun went down, time to change tactics.

With a full moon high in the sky we could clearly see up to 60 yards and with binoculars we could see to the opposite side of the field. And, we could still see the cow and the hogs amongst them. Darn!!! At 2130 hours 3 hogs crossed the caliche road and walked to the tank, only 35 yards from us. I was sitting in the jeep and since Carlos was standing outside I told him to use my 308 and shoot one. Now remember it's night time the full bright moon is up so it looked like 3 figures in a hot tub. Carlos picked one out and fired, dropping it where it swam. The others scattered without a sound. After waiting a few minutes and checking the area making sure all the hogs were gone, we walked to retrieve the pig. Yup it's in the water alright. A few minutes later the hog made landfall but before we could drag it back we heard pigs squeals coming from the treeline so we let the pig lay and took cover back at the jeep waiting for the hogs to come in and another chance to shoot one. We could see hogs working the ground in the field and 3 more came in, walking inches by the one we left on the bank. I had my 45-70 and looked through my nikon scope as 3 more pigs were in the jacuzzi (tank) bathing themselves. KABOOM, another round down range and it's like the scene from jaws where the great shark is looking for someone. Pigs are scattering everywhere, even the one I hit. We looke everywhere but didn't find the pig, and it wouldn't be found till sunday when my wife and I took a ride out there. It was 40 yards from the fence in some tall weeds and grass and it was feeding 20 buzzards.

So we sat back down and waited, and glassed the field and after an hour we saw more hogs working the field. After watching them for a while we noticed the cows left and the hogs left also. Carlos was watching the opposite end of the tank and said there's a hog coming in at the 104 yard mark. We had ranged it earlier so that's how we knew the distance. I turned to the hog with my 308 with night vision scope and saw the hog standing on the bank looking around. It started eating some of the corn on the ground and when it turned sideways I fired, and it dropped where it stood and that was it. Walking up to it as it lay there it seemed to get bigger and bigger and once reaching it we realized it was bigger than we thought. It was so big both Carlos and I could not drag it much less lift it to put it on the carrier on the back of my jeep, so we decided to drag it to the back by after we tied it to the rear bumper. So 2 hits with the 308 and one with the 45-70, what a great night. Until next time

Safety Off??? Check

As you may remember on a previous post I took Angel and some other hunters out in hopes of knocking down some hogs, and like said all I can do is put you in front of the hogs, it's up to them to knock them down. On this hunting trip the same group went out again and since there was a strong north wind blowing we set up on the west side of the field since I was pretty sure the hogs would be entering from the north side of the field. From the tank it's 500 yards to the fence line where they enter, and the only one that can make that shot is Shawn we decided to get a little closer, around 200 yards. As we sat there looking at the cows in the field we noticed they moved further to the east end of the field. It was still daylight and as we scanned the field Angel saw a group of pigs to our left enter the field. We repositioned ourselves and Angel was set up for a 200 yard shot with his Remington 700, .308 soft point. Safety Off, someone whispered, yeah it's off was Angels reply with a laugh. As the sun started to go down but the hogs were still visible, it was obvious the hogs were not going to come any closer, but we watched for a few minutes as they tore up the ground 200 yards away. Angel said, they're not coming any closer, and Shawn and I agreed so I told him, if he can see them pick one out and shoot, and his reply was KKAAABBBOOOMMM. Darn that was quick, I guess you had one picked out. We could hear the distinct sound of the bullet hitting that hog and it dropped right where it stood. Because of the loud report from the his rifle and the muzzle flash, Angel asked if he hit it, because he couldn't see it. Oh yeah you hit it, it didn't move, but because the winter oats are a little tall, you can't see it. As you can see by the picture, he's happier than a boar locked up in a pen with a bunch of sows. As it got darker I thought it was a full moon, but then realized it was still Angels white teeth since he was still happy to knock one down. Good job, and who's your dentist.

Very Nice

It's amazing what a little water can do for the plants. Last year and during the winter the area in this picture was tore up by hogs, without rain it was dry and everything was dead. Over the last few weeks we've had some rain, and even large hail and a tornado or two go through the area and as you can see the wildflowers are in full bloom and it's breathtaking. But now is the time you have to be careful since it's nice and warm there are other creatures lurking in the underbrush. Just off to the left Carlos spotted a snake going through the weeds, so yes it looks beautiful, but be extremely careful. I had my snake boots and even though I had protection, I was still scared.