Successful pig hunt

[NatureDriven]

Hello everyone,

Had a successful hunt recently at the Tejon. This is the largest pig I have taken in my life and still can not stop thinking about him. Estimated wieght is 275 lbs. The largest tusk measured 4-1/2". I am still not sure how to crop my pics and all that to get them on to the site so if you'd like to check the big boy out go to:

http://community.webshots.com/user/naturedriven

The photo album labeled "August WILD BOAR - Big Boy" has the pics of the boar I killed.

The photo album labeled "August at Tejon" has the pics of pigs on the move with a nice black and white in the mix, along with some deer in velvet, turkey and other wildlife.

 

[jjhack]

What happened to his upper canines? Were they warn off or broken off? I have seen quite a few hogs with enormous tusks and like yours almost all had worn down or broken off uppers. The lowers grow until the hog dies so when the uppers are missing or worn off the lowers really get exceptional length with nothing to rub against.

There is a well known Texas ranch that hacksaws off the uppers on many of the young pigs so the lowers will attain un-natural length in a short time. Not very accurate way to claim a trophy but the pigs only 2 years old have teeth that a 9-10 year old pig would have. I saw one that had only one lower and it was already pointing back down having made almost a complete circle!

After processing about 500 hog skulls from across the USA and Canada I can tell you that a hog with more then 4" of tooth outside the skull is an extreme exception to the species! That is one hella long set of teeth!

Last winter I shot a wild boar in Tennessee that is Number 16 SCI Natural wild hog not a farm raised hog. It's also a massive bugger with exceptional teeth. Here is a photo of the boar:

Here are a couple photo's of the skull showing the lowers and complete uppers.

Another view

This hogs SCI score was 19-15/16" there are only about a dozen scoring over 20" and officially entered.

 

[VHRAM]

nice pig

 

[Walker]

Here's one that scores over 20" by R.O.E. scoring system.

 

[Walker]

And mounted

 

[NatureDriven]

JJHack,

The uppers were broken off. The tips of the bottoms were broken off also. I can only imagine how big they would have been if they were full length. Not that it matters, I've been working very hard for a trophy like this. thanks for he kind words.

Scott

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

NatureDriven,

Great looking hog. Way to connect on such a nice trophy. Be proud!

 

[fremont]

Tell us about your rifle. I was going to guess 20" or 22" barrel. My dream pig gun (for now, at least!) is a compact (20") rifle in .260 Remington (maybe 7mm-08 Rem) with a compact 2x-8x (28mm-33mm obj lens) scope.

 

[jjhack]

I would strongly suggest something over 30 caliber. Nothing under 30 caliber will allow much blood to flow out and hogs have extremely thick skin. Blood tracking will not be a functional option if you use undre 30 caliber. My suggestion would be a 338/06 35 whelen, 338 win mag, 8mm mauser, or something over 30 caliber. In my work I have seen 1000's of big game shot and I have some really opinionated feelings about this. Way too many animals shot well, or so it seemed, have vanished in the thick bush with hardley a drop of blood to follow. Maybe we find a few drops here and there but no enough to continue on the trail to the animal.

A 338/06 is probably the perfect hog rifle because it's flat shooting to 250-300 yards and works very well with a 22" barrel. Same with the 35 whelen. Put a Leupold 2.5-8 power scope on the gun with a Premier reticles (www.premierreticles.com) 4A reticle in the scope and you can shoot all night with a bright moon. The same can be said for a 35 whelen, or a 338. Although the 338 should have a 24" barrel.

The 338/06 as a dedicated hog hunting rifle with 210 grain nosler partitions would be about the best combination of available technology made for a dedicated boar hunting rifle. If you don't reload then the 30/06 is also a tough choice to beat, but is right at that 30 caliber minimum. Smaller then 30 caliber is not a good plan for big game unless you never make anything but a perfect shot, regardless of how much velocity you shoot the bullets at.

 

[superduty]

NatureDriven, glad to see everything worked out so well for you. If Iv'e got my story straight you were'nt the only one that hooked up lately up there from your family. Congragulations to all of you.

 

[Speckmisser]

That's a heck of a nice boar, NatureDriven. Congrats!

I love Tejon! Just wish it were a little closer and more affordable.

 

[larrysogla]

Congrats,
Those are awesome slashers on those pics anyway you look at it. Good hog, good eating. I fully concur with JJHack's wisdom.
God Bless. larrysogla.

 

[jaehunt]

Of course your big brother goes out of town for the weekend and you kill the biggest piggy in the family... not fair.

Bro, that is one hell of a pig, biggest I have ever seen from the ranch.

Congratulations!!

Superduty,

You are right, our mother took a big guy last week also. I haven't seen any pictures yet, but it is supposed to be about 3.5 inches on each side.

I guess I picked the wrong weekend to be out of town.

Jason

 

[abbydog301]

NatureDriven

Nice looking hog, also those are some cool pictures on webshots. It is nice to see all those game animals in there natural habitat.

 

[bzzboyz]

Naturedriven and jjhack. Nice hogs to both of you. Difinately wall hangers.

Naturedriven, if youve been looking for a trophy, I think you found it.

 

[D-Zone]

Nice Hog!

 

[Norcalihunter]

That is an awesome hog! A real trophy! Congrats on bagging it! Look back on this post called ''your biggest pig''

I'd give you the real link but dont know how (anyone want to tell me for future reference?). Try copying and pasting this. You'll see not too many people ever bag a pig that big with the exeption of a few lucky people.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/index....our+biggest+pig

Way to go!!!!

 

[Jake]

NatureDriven,

Thanks for sharing the pics. You've got many great shots of Tejon in your photo album. Looks like alot of fun.

Thanks Again,

 

[NatureDriven]

Fremont,

The rifle I used to kill that boar, which is the only rifle I use to shoot pigs, is a Ruger M77 MKII calibered in .257. The barrell is 22". The scope is a Weaver Classic 3X9X38MM. I know many claim that a large caliber is the only way to go. I have a different opinion. While I believe the caliber, ammo and shot placement have much to do with the killing power of your rifle, confidence in your ability and gear is equally as important. I use Hornady's 257 Robert 117 gr. SST's. Many claim that due to the soft tip, these rounds do not have the impact power to rip through the armor like plating boars have, nor the power to break through bones. In my experience this is not the case.

As you can see from the pic, these rounds had the power to put that boar down in one shot. As the pig was moving away from me heading up hill the shot landed square in the vertebrae, right below the last rib. The entry hole that was produced was a pig pinning 1 1/2"'s. The bullet then broke what I believe are the 5th, 6th, and 7th rib's on the right side and stopped about an 1/8th inch away from exiting the 1 1/4" thick protective cartledge plate. Needless to say the damage was quite effective.

This ammo is very fast and has proven to me to have all the stopping power needed. I really enjoy it. The pig prior to this one I killed instantly with a bullet behind the ear at 184 yds. The other two I have killed: straight in the boiler maker, and the other was another vertebrae shot. All shots, except for the one to the boiler maker, which ran about 20 yds., stopped the pigs instantly in their tracks.

Anyways, I really believe I have had great success with this set up simply because I believe in my gear and my ability.

Thanks for the great words everyone!
Scott

 

[superduty]

Scott,
Congragulations again on your big boar and thanks for the tips for this weekend. I'm sure we will be trying some of our normal tactical spots and use your advice also. We will be looking forward to meeting your brother and having a cold one in camp hopefully after there is a pig hanging in camp.

Still looking forward to seeing those pics of your moms pig from last week also. We will be watching for an update.