nutter/hog hunt...

[454 Big Block Chevy]

well, we went nutter hunting, and a buddy wanted to go.   he wanted to shoot the cfx, and i didn't want to be under gunned if we saw a hog, so i let him take the cfx and i opted for my 7mm rem mag powder burner.  were creaping allong, following a big big gray nutter in a sycamore tree, and from about 20 yds away from us, the loudest and meanest grunt i have ever heard from a living creature.  i instantly shouldered and clicked off safety on the 7mm, as my buddy realized what was up.  my buddy immediately set hte cfx down and pulled his .45.  we couldn't see the hog, but knew he was really close.  he was continuing to grunt.  i decided to take a few steps to the left, to look behind a big briar bush, and as i did, the big SOB busted out of the bush, away from us.  my buddy managed to not &^^& himself, it was his first encounter with a hog.  i did not get a good shot at the hog, but judging by some of the other ones we've gotten, he was a 400+ bruiser... stood easily 4" to the shoulders... quite quite large for a hog.  i'm seriously considering not going out there alone anymore.... my buddy is scared poop less, and is buying a 300 mag to go after this guy with.  upon leaving the swamp, we did take 4 nice grays, and a chipmunk, with the CFX, my buddy, cleaned and kept all of them.  we also busted up 3 or 4 smaller hogs, but none presented a shot.  i wasn't carrying the 7mm ready.. it was slung over my back and i was assisting him in finding nutters and keeping a mindful eye out for snakes.  very exciting day... and very deserving of a good bourbon tonight. 


against something that large... my .45 acp compact doesn't seem big enough.....

[DaveShooter]

Good story I loved it. Hope your friend cleans his pants. Ha Ha

[454 Big Block Chevy]

several hours later, i'm still shaking... the adrenalin really kicked up when i heard that boy grunt... the rifle shouldered so quickly, my buddy said it seemed as if he blinked and i had the gun off my back and in my hands..  he also stated it was the calmest he's ever seen me... i blame to much military training.

[Carl]

Hmmmm, this may be just the excuse for a 1911 in 10mm.
Good job on the awareness and quick response. Also on the nutters ( still getting used to that, makes me think of nutterbutter cookies). I never go into the woods with out a sidearm, well make that anywhere without a sidearm.

[only1harry]

Nice story!  This reminded me when my friend and I were going #1 while in the woods at Lake George, NY, deer & bear hunting.  A black bear scared the &^^& out of us while we are taking a l**k   She was about 30-40ft from us and we must have startled her.  Luckily she ran the other way and we almost pi**ed in our pants instead of the ground  

Tell your friend he doesn't need a 300Mag.  The 7mm Mag will take care of any size wild hog.  My uncle has taken Grizzly and Polar bear with his 7Mag, which is why I bought one too   I have sold most of my powder burners but have kept my old trusty very accurate Remington 700BDL 7mm Mag.  I love the upgraded stock in the BDL model (glossy shine), the deep checkering and art work on the wood, its balance, and everything about this gun.  They don't put this much work into a gun's stock these days unless you pay big bucks.  Guns & Ammo voted the Rem. 700BDL in the 7mm Mag caliber gun of the year in Guns & Ammo in 1986.  They did some comparison tests including about 10 other guns from other manufacturers and the Remington beat them all especially in accuracy from 200 to 400yds.  The only thing is ammo costs a fortune, which is why I have not sold my 30-30's

I can imagine getting scared with such a beast so close grunting.  They can kill a man.  How about bringing a dog next time to flush it out and keep it busy while you shoot it?  I guess it would have to be a trained dog(?)..  A Jack Russel will scare the hog and flush it out   My neighbor has 2 of them and they are not scared of anything.  They have killed a couple of G-hogs too

Nice shooting on those nutters!   

[bradyman1]

No need for a powderburner on a wild hog. Haven't you seen the Gamo videos?

[only1harry]

If Gamo can come up with that commercial about a 15fpe gun, I wonder what Air Force's ad should be like about their 65+fpe .22 Condor.. bringing down a Bison at least I would think, no? 

[shadow]

A wild hog at close range will get the blood flowing since their known to run at you instead of away hehe, great story bro and you all got some nutters. Ed

[dk1677]

Wow! Yes that would put a scare in ya!

[454 Big Block Chevy]

i told him to get a .270... but thats another story in its own...   we will get a hog... the only problem is the georgia brush is soooo thick, makes scopes almost useless for them...  and not too many guns come with open sights now...     its just plain unsafe to try and chase these big boys into the thick...

[Jonesin]

I would love to have them hogs here in NoVA. My .35 would put a dent in them, unless you believe the Gamo vid!! :-)

[Carl]

Thick woods or brush? No problem with it. http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/bigbore/1895G.asp
45/70 big boom big hole 300gns of lead goodness.

[Atchman2]

I'd get me a big old 12 gauge slug gun with a red dot scope   Less than $200 for a Mossberg at Wally World  

I've only seen a hog in the wild once and it was in Florida where they seem to be everywhere.  That would have been a rush to see on that close though! 

[454 Big Block Chevy]

i actually have a mossberg 12GA shotty, 3 1/2 inch mag.  its got scope mounts, and open sights (turkey gun).  but its got a goofy overbored barrel, that cannot shoot sluggs...   mossberg 835 ultra mag.  i can get barrels for under 200 bucks... rifled barrel, or a smooth barrel....

[only1harry]

I had a .35 Marlin lever action.  Very nice gun.  I regreted selling it, but the 7mm Mag Ed brought with him, would have easily taken the hog and actually gone through 3 big hogs if you lined them up    I once shot a tree 11.5-12" in diameter when I first got my 7 Mag from 30yds out using a 170gr Rem. Core-lokt bullet.  Not only did it go through the tree, but went into the tree behind it.  We could not find the bullet after digging for it for a while with a knife.  It was way into the 2nd tree.  My friend then shot the same tree with his 30-06 and we got no exit hole!  I felt sorry for the tree, and never shot another one again  

[Mebits]

I remember for years and years when I was younger and still discussed hunting with non-hunters, the conversation would almost always devolve into:

"Oh yeah. Big brave hunter with his high powered rifle and his high powered scope killing defenseless animals. Bet you feel brave..." etc.

Well, today, in at least some areas, you'd BETTER be brave, and have enough fire power. The critters aren't so defenseless anymore.

I'm not sure I can blame the bambi-lovers for the overpopulation of deer, but I like to. I definitely can't blame them for the hogs, though.

Odd how what used to be a carefree talk in the woods shooting squirrels has become a much more heart-pounding pursuit!

OT: I think of the hog, and the sparrow and the starling and even the collared dove problems when they start talking about genetically modified critters (like that new salmon). Then Jeff Goldblum comes to mind in The Lost World.
 
http://www.entertonement.com/clips/vxsnntctsg--How-it-startsJeff-Goldblum-The-Lost-World-Jurassic-Park-Dr-Ian-Malcolm-

It's shockingly easy for us to really screw up (or at least dramatically alter) and ecosystem through irresponsible animal husbandry, greed, or rank stupidity (or any combination of the former).

M