Small boar, Big tusks

[Nic Barca]

Here are some pictures from a hunt I went on over the weekend. I took my bike and walked it uphill about 6 or 7 miles to a new lava flow that I was hoping would have some sheep. Not much sheep; all I saw was some old dried pellets. It was the middle of the day and the new lava flow had some good looking forest in the center of it, like an island of trees. So I swung around it to get the good wind. Kalij pheasants were making noise as I approached but it almost sounded like there was some pigs too but when I listened, I could hear nothing. So I continued on my way, dropping into the trees, where I still-hunted my way back towards the trail. After 20 minutes or so, I think I had only gone 80 yards when I heard something coming up ahead of me. I listened and sure enough I could hear rustling bushes and grunts. After zig-zagging my way around all the dry fallen tree fern fronds, I closed the distance to 15 yards and peaked over the crest of the hill. They still were not visible but I could see the bushes shaking close to them. So I swung around to the right of a large ohia tree and then I could see them, two or three black pigs milling around side by side in some uluhe fern. All I could see were the tops of their backs. One was larger but wasn't presenting a very good shot and fearing they might wind me due to the shifting wind, I settled my sights on the smaller pig. Bam! He dropped and the larger pig ran 30 feet to the right before slowing down. I moved after him but couldn't see him through the thick bush. Best I could see was the bushes shaking close to where he was. He moved off onto the adjacent hill and gave off a roar. That was the last of him. After waiting a few minutes, I went to check on the smaller pig that I shot but to my surprise he had huge tusks! I haven't officially measured them yet but they are probably over 3". Otherwise he was a rugged little boar with no fat, weighing in at about 120 pounds. I cleaned him on the spot and took the jaw and meat. Three different times while cleaning him, pigs walked up on me from the upwind side. It was action packed. Good thing I took my bike because I was able to simply coast all the way 6 miles back down to the truck.

Here’s the pics.

 

[hOtLoAd]

Congratulations on a great hunt. Nice looking porker you got there.

 

[Hogfest]

Awesome looking pig Nic. Thanks for the much needed pics. Good things for your bike being a trusted companion in which it didn't let you waste any meat on the long walk back to your truck. Did u bag this pig in Kauai? I was there not too long ago, during the early part of the summer and I so wanted to do some pig hunting. You and Doc Cherry make me want to return to the islands so bad, it hurts. Thank you, and the rest of the Hawaii JHOers, for enjoying paradise for the rest of us.

 

[Nic Barca]

Nah, actually I've been going to college on the Big Island. The pig hunting here is rediculously easy compared to Kauai. The places I've been hunting are native forest and somewhat open because of all the pig damage. No mosquitoes either that high up! Kauai hunting is in thick mosquito infested noxious weed forests. I've very glad I brought my bike along on this hunt or else I probably would have made it back to the truck at 10 PM and definitely would have been sore for days. The only thing that was sore the next day was by butt from the bouncy road, ha ha. If you ever come back to Hawaii to hunt, then the Big island is truly a pig hunter's paradise. Although I cannot believe the amount of people who bowhunt the saddle area for sheep. That gets a little crowded.

 

[scott0san]

Nice looking pig. Is that a shotgun you are hunting them with?

 

[BobcatJess]

Great Hunt Nic!! Always looking forward to hearing your stories.

Jess.

 

[Nic Barca]

I've been using a 20gauge Remington 870 Express Magnum with a 22 inch barrel and open sights. I usually put a slug in the first shot and buckshot for follow-ups. It's a sweet little gun and perfect for back country pig hunting. Only thing that bothers me is that it will jam from time to time. I don't know if it's my fault or the gun. The cartridge doesn't line up right with the chamber and hits the edge. The sling is just a piece of flat rope I tied to it. Shotguns work very well in these thick areas and few shots are over 20 yards. Buckshot comes in handy for running pigs and for shooting through thick cover but most shots are with slugs.

 

[ooja]

Awesome hunt. I had that little jamming problem after I cleaned my 870 Express pump 12 guage and oiled the barrel/chamber lightly (or so I thought). I guess the oil that ran down the barrel while it sat in the gunsafe, in addition to the oil I already put in the chamber it was too much. It was ejecting the last shot fine, but when advancing the next shot it hit before entering the barrel and stuck. I really cleaned out the chamber extra special, and left no residual oil in it before going out for the quail opener. It cycled perfectly, and I believe the problem is solved. Try cleaning out that chamber and the advancing mechanism really well and make sure there is no oily residue in there and see if that fixes it. Hope it helps. Good pig!

 

[spectr17]

I just saw an article where the new 870 Expresses have some rough tooling marks on them. How old is your pump? I get a gunsmith to smooth out any new shotgun action I have. $40 well spent.

Mine's never jammed as long as I put it back together right after cleaning.

 

[baboltin]

congrats. what type of gun were you shooting?