Last week, I had my first-ever big game hunt. I have hunted upland birds for years, and varmints, too, but never anything that could account for multiple meals from a single critter ;- ) We had a family reunion in central Florida, so my brother in law (BIL) and I decided to try a guided hog hunt.
He was also a hunting rookie, using a rifle he had never shot before—a recent gift from his father. A Rem700BDL in .30-06.
I chose to use my Swiss K-31 for the hunt. Why? Because it’s my only rifle with a scout scope on it, and I wanted to try the scout scope. And it’s got gobs of milsurp character. I use a handload which is just a little softer than a .308. It’s a 150gr. Speer Hot Cor bullet at 2,600 fps.
We hunted at Outwest Farms, near Okeechobee, FL. It was somewhat of a “canned hunt”. The hogs were not fed, they ran wild. But they were on a fenced ranch. We chased them down in a truly awesome swamp buggy. The floorboard of this thing was over 6 feet off the ground. Wheels were about five and a half feet in diameter.
The guide brought hounds on the swamp buggy. But it turned out they only use the hounds if they have trouble locating hogs. We didn’t.
We just drove the buggy around several thickets that often hold hogs. After a while, we spotted one trotting along fence line, maybe 100 yards away.
We stopped the buggy and I jumped to the front and took a sitting position. Holy cow! It is hard to get a good hold on a moving animal! The hog was moving 90 degrees to us, now maybe 90 yards away. Nearly a broadside shot. I aimed at the top of the shoulder and took my shot. The hog jumped, twirled, and bit at his leg. I thought I had made a solid hit, so I was very surprised when he took off running. Dang! (The autopsy showed that hit was low and behind, in the back of the upper leg). As he was running away, I tried head shot, but called it high. Then I tried a rear-quarter shoulder shot but it went wide. I recalled the old saying about hearing shots in the woods. “1 shot, dead deer. 2 shots, maybe a dead deer. 3 shots, that one got away.“ I felt pretty stupid for missing the first shot and two subsequent shots. Buck fever had me. I reloaded as the guide took off in the buggy and cut the corner on the hog. So now he’s quartering toward us at about 125 yards. I tried another head shot and missed right. Then I decided to get serious about getting a hit. I slowed down, concentrated, and let him come to me. At about 90 yards, when he’s nearly broadside again, and slowing to a trot. I aimed at the top of the shoulder again. This one hit solid. He went down on his side, hard, and kicked twice. Autopsy showed this shot hit just behind the shoulder joint.
About the same time, BIL spots another hog running the other way. We run her down and he takes a head shot with his .30-06. She seems stunned, and runs into a thicket, where the height of the buggy allows him to see her. With her stopped, he makes a perfect head shot, right behind the ear. Lights out right now. The first shot, he lead her too much, and shot through the bridge of the nose.
Within 30 minutes more, both hogs are quartered and on ice. The guide says both run about 100 pounds. We weighed the meat later and it yielded just under 30 lbs., including ribs. My boar definitely had more gamey smell that BIL’s sow. Could be the run he took, could be the male thing. But I overcame it, as you will see.
So, a quick equipment review. The scout scope is a Good Thing. With both eyes open, I could follow the running hog well. More magnification is not needed at that distance. Target acquisition was quick. The misses were certainly a result of my shooting, and not the sighting system.
The Speer 150gr. bullet performed fine at 2600fps. That’s more than 300 Savage speed, and less than .308. Exit wound was fist-sized. The bullet was not recovered.
The K-31 was fun to use. Ergonomics are fine, and the straight-pull action allowed for fast follow-up misses ;-)
We drained the ice on the way home (half hour after first ice) and put in fresh ice, along with a box of rock salt. We rinsed the meat again and put it on fresh ice when we got home. By that time, you could barely smell any “game” in my boar.
We had loin for dinner that night. Tasted great! We braised the loin, then baked it in oven bags, coated in spices. It was tender and not at all gamey. A bit dry.
Tonight, we had the other loin. This time, I didn’t braise. I just baked it in a bag, with a mixture of about a cup of honey, and 2 TBSP of Dijon mustard. Baked at 325 for 2 hours, rotating the meat in the bag every half-hour or so. AWESOME! It fell apart as I was transferring it from the bag to the serving platter. Poured the sauce back over it on the platter. Very tender. Sweet. Some of the best meat I ever ate! Did ribs, too. Those I boiled for half-hour, then coated in barbeque sauce, sealed in tinfoil, and baked at 325 for a couple hours. They were falling apart, too. My kids ate every bite they were served, and everyone asked for seconds.
Why is it that eating something you have killed and prepared is so incredibly satisfying? It must awaken some primal emotions that go way back to the beginning of our species. No restaurant meal is ever as satisfying, no matter how good the taste. No store-bought meal “feels” as good.
As you can tell, I really enjoyed this introduction to hog hunting. Can’t wait to do it again.
He was also a hunting rookie, using a rifle he had never shot before—a recent gift from his father. A Rem700BDL in .30-06.
I chose to use my Swiss K-31 for the hunt. Why? Because it’s my only rifle with a scout scope on it, and I wanted to try the scout scope. And it’s got gobs of milsurp character. I use a handload which is just a little softer than a .308. It’s a 150gr. Speer Hot Cor bullet at 2,600 fps.
We hunted at Outwest Farms, near Okeechobee, FL. It was somewhat of a “canned hunt”. The hogs were not fed, they ran wild. But they were on a fenced ranch. We chased them down in a truly awesome swamp buggy. The floorboard of this thing was over 6 feet off the ground. Wheels were about five and a half feet in diameter.
The guide brought hounds on the swamp buggy. But it turned out they only use the hounds if they have trouble locating hogs. We didn’t.
We just drove the buggy around several thickets that often hold hogs. After a while, we spotted one trotting along fence line, maybe 100 yards away.
We stopped the buggy and I jumped to the front and took a sitting position. Holy cow! It is hard to get a good hold on a moving animal! The hog was moving 90 degrees to us, now maybe 90 yards away. Nearly a broadside shot. I aimed at the top of the shoulder and took my shot. The hog jumped, twirled, and bit at his leg. I thought I had made a solid hit, so I was very surprised when he took off running. Dang! (The autopsy showed that hit was low and behind, in the back of the upper leg). As he was running away, I tried head shot, but called it high. Then I tried a rear-quarter shoulder shot but it went wide. I recalled the old saying about hearing shots in the woods. “1 shot, dead deer. 2 shots, maybe a dead deer. 3 shots, that one got away.“ I felt pretty stupid for missing the first shot and two subsequent shots. Buck fever had me. I reloaded as the guide took off in the buggy and cut the corner on the hog. So now he’s quartering toward us at about 125 yards. I tried another head shot and missed right. Then I decided to get serious about getting a hit. I slowed down, concentrated, and let him come to me. At about 90 yards, when he’s nearly broadside again, and slowing to a trot. I aimed at the top of the shoulder again. This one hit solid. He went down on his side, hard, and kicked twice. Autopsy showed this shot hit just behind the shoulder joint.
About the same time, BIL spots another hog running the other way. We run her down and he takes a head shot with his .30-06. She seems stunned, and runs into a thicket, where the height of the buggy allows him to see her. With her stopped, he makes a perfect head shot, right behind the ear. Lights out right now. The first shot, he lead her too much, and shot through the bridge of the nose.
Within 30 minutes more, both hogs are quartered and on ice. The guide says both run about 100 pounds. We weighed the meat later and it yielded just under 30 lbs., including ribs. My boar definitely had more gamey smell that BIL’s sow. Could be the run he took, could be the male thing. But I overcame it, as you will see.
So, a quick equipment review. The scout scope is a Good Thing. With both eyes open, I could follow the running hog well. More magnification is not needed at that distance. Target acquisition was quick. The misses were certainly a result of my shooting, and not the sighting system.
The Speer 150gr. bullet performed fine at 2600fps. That’s more than 300 Savage speed, and less than .308. Exit wound was fist-sized. The bullet was not recovered.
The K-31 was fun to use. Ergonomics are fine, and the straight-pull action allowed for fast follow-up misses ;-)
We drained the ice on the way home (half hour after first ice) and put in fresh ice, along with a box of rock salt. We rinsed the meat again and put it on fresh ice when we got home. By that time, you could barely smell any “game” in my boar.
We had loin for dinner that night. Tasted great! We braised the loin, then baked it in oven bags, coated in spices. It was tender and not at all gamey. A bit dry.
Tonight, we had the other loin. This time, I didn’t braise. I just baked it in a bag, with a mixture of about a cup of honey, and 2 TBSP of Dijon mustard. Baked at 325 for 2 hours, rotating the meat in the bag every half-hour or so. AWESOME! It fell apart as I was transferring it from the bag to the serving platter. Poured the sauce back over it on the platter. Very tender. Sweet. Some of the best meat I ever ate! Did ribs, too. Those I boiled for half-hour, then coated in barbeque sauce, sealed in tinfoil, and baked at 325 for a couple hours. They were falling apart, too. My kids ate every bite they were served, and everyone asked for seconds.
Why is it that eating something you have killed and prepared is so incredibly satisfying? It must awaken some primal emotions that go way back to the beginning of our species. No restaurant meal is ever as satisfying, no matter how good the taste. No store-bought meal “feels” as good.
As you can tell, I really enjoyed this introduction to hog hunting. Can’t wait to do it again.
