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DaRkWoLf
12-19-2006, 12:29 PM
On Monday, one of my friends called and asked if I could help harvest a few boar for x-mas dinner. I was fairly enthused at first, until I found out we were hunting with a dog (I essentially despise hunting with dogs). I went anyway though.

I brought along my version of the basics: the M700P and a box of BH 175gr SMKs, the Sig and a mag of Fiocchi FMJ, my Buck 110, and my Nalgene; with everything based around my duty belt. I figured that since the terrain was permitting for the most part, I could hit the critters at 300-400 yards where the dogs wouldn't be a pain.

I ended up taking the first boar; and not in the way I was anticipating. The dog we brought ran off, and in short order came running back chasing a pig. They ended up clashing about 10 yards from where I was standing, and of course (my luck) the dog presented more of a target than the pig due to all the jumping around. I dropped the M700, drew the Sig, and tapped two rounds right by the dog and into the chest cavity of the boar, the dog jumped to the other side and I hit the base of the boars front left leg, and then shot it squarely between the eyes. My friend gave me a "wtf" stare while I was swearing up and down in various languages; nothing pisses me off more when I'm hunting than not being able to make the first shot a head shot. This is actually the first time in 3 years I have had that problem (and both times were because of dogs).

The thing was coughing blood on the first two shots and was walking dead at that point, but I hate when animals are suffering (hence the follow up so I could shoot it in the head). When I gutted it, I saw something I really didn't expect. The three 9s that went into the chest cavity made a mess that looked like a small bomb went off on the left side of the heart. There wasn't a single unit of heart and left lung, it more or less just ground meat soup. The first two rounds apparently zipped through the entire chest cavity and left two exit holes and I couldn't find where the third shot stopped; the fourth I'm assuming lodged somewhere in the base of its brain.

We put the thing on our truck and then went on. At this point, my friend got the idea of wanting to shoot a boar with my Sig (I guess some form of catch-up?). I didn't want a fight over a gun so I just gave the thing to him. We then went on a long, long chase with the dog through a dense, palmetto rich area and got about 5 yards from another bore that was giving the dog a pretty stiff fight. My friend just kind of threw six rounds at it and then finished it with his knife. This of course almost made me blow a gasket as the animal was definitely hurting for around five minutes.

Gutting revealed that my friends swarm went through the gut and touched the back of the right lung. It looked like everything went right through but I didn't sit and count holes. The digestive tract was utterly totaled to say the least. We managed to salvage quite a bit of meat despite the gut shot and perforation.

We ended up with enough meat to feed his rather large family for x-mas (and then some, to say the least) and I took half a tenderloin cut. I was feeling fairly down by the end of the hunt though, too much went counter-protocol and against my hunting ethic.

Though, I have this much to say after using the 9mm FMJ on a Boar: If you say the 9mm has no killing power or is somehow unsuitable in comparison to other handgun rounds, you are full of **** and probably can't put bullets where you're trying to hit either.

RIKA
12-19-2006, 02:18 PM
Sounds like you had a good hunt even with the frustration. Back a couple of years ago I hunted feral hog (larger than boar) with 9mm FMJ and had excellent success. Like you I took the head shot and a spine shot in one instance. I'm hooked on pistol hunting within my accuracy range; I pass on shots I'm not confident of.

RIKA

DaRkWoLf
12-19-2006, 02:55 PM
Sounds like you had a good hunt even with the frustration. Back a couple of years ago I hunted feral hog (larger than boar) with 9mm FMJ and had excellent success. Like you I took the head shot and a spine shot in one instance. I'm hooked on pistol hunting within my accuracy range; I pass on shots I'm not confident of

How big was the feral hog you took? Those things look like they get gigantic; a lot of meat there.

I'm currently trying to figure out how I want to cook and prepare what I've got. Cooking is so much more meaningful when one harvests the edible subject themselves. I'm thinking of using a soy based marinade, keeping the meat on the medium-rare side and serving it with a BBQ glaze, and plating it with some wild rice and possibly steamed asparagus.

RIKA
12-19-2006, 05:10 PM
I would guess that the largest hog weighed about 400lbs; it was too large for me to even move so I just took the hams and left the rest for the varmints. Be sure to cook your meat well because hogs and boars can have nasty parasites. The following recipe is similar - actually probably better - than the one I have used.

http://www.deibleroutdoors.com/wild%20hog%20bbq.htm

Good luck and bon appetit!

RIKA :)

KJUN
12-21-2006, 06:02 AM
OK, I'm not sure where y'all are going with this, but feral just means a domestig animal that went wild. Hogs are Sus scrofa, whether they are domestic, wild, or feral. Boar are male Hogs. Sows are female hogs, and Shoats are half-grown hogs. Boar can't be bigger or larger than male wild hogs because they are the same thing. On average, Boars are larger than sows, and castrated ones get the biggest of all. If you are referring to Russian boars (why doesn't anyone ever talk about Russian Sows?), those are just a variety of Sus scrofa!

On a large Boar (and I'm talked over 300lbs), I wouldn't think of taking a shield shot with a 9mm. I've skinned large hogs hit broadside with 9mm bullets that had to get finished off with a rifle because they wouldn't go down. Skinning them showed why: Once penetrating the shield (and shoulder in most), there wasn't much damage done on the inside of the ribs. That's why I consider the 9mm round useless. You don't have to agree. I own a couple for cheap shooting, but it never even crosses my mind to arry one for self defense or to grab one at the house if I would hear something strange in the yard.

So, why don't you like hunting with dogs? I find nothing more fun that hunting hogs with GOOD dogs (and the behavior you describe doesn't sound like good dogs), but I've never used a gun when hog hunting with dogs. Rabbit hunting with dogs is more than a blast - almost as much fun as frogging IMO.

KJUN
12-21-2006, 06:09 AM
a lot of meat there.

Actually, you don't get much more MEAT off of a 300lb boar than you do off of a 150lb sow. The extra weight is a lot in the head and shield area - plus fat. Cut all that off, and the hams are barely larger on the larger animal - plus the ribs are usually NOT good eating on a large "boar" unless it has been castrated previously. Even then, you have twice the fat than the meat in MOST cases.

The shoulders are a little larger, but that doesn't transalte into much MEAT once it is deboned and ground up for sausage ( or whatever). I'd shoot one around 120-150 over one 150+ any day. The marginal amount of meat increase is NOT worth the extra effort of skinning it IMO. That's a lie, though - I try to shoot all of them I can that come out on me regarldess of size. Bigger ones just go into smoked sausage, pan sausage, or tamales. Mmmmmm....

I haven't hog hunted in 2 years, and I used to like that more than deer hunting. I've killed some while deer hunting during that time, but I've gotten so many from a neighbor's trap that there is no reason for me to drive to hunt them any longer. I did over 60 last year (~1/3 of them were under 50lbs, and ~1/4 of them were over 225lbs). I've yet to waste as much as a tenderloined size piece of meat - but most of it has been given away to family and friends, though.

KJ

DaRkWoLf
12-21-2006, 02:44 PM
So, why don't you like hunting with dogs? I find nothing more fun that hunting hogs with GOOD dogs (and the behavior you describe doesn't sound like good dogs), but I've never used a gun when hog hunting with dogs. Rabbit hunting with dogs is more than a blast - almost as much fun as frogging IMO.

I've hunted with much better dogs before, to say the least.

But, overall, I just don't enjoy hunting with them as much. When I hunt (which isn't even every season), I like the stalking and searching way more than the shooting. I don't miss where I'm trying to shoot (not saying I can't, I just don't), so its not like there is any accomplishment in actually killing something. Dogs take quite a bit of the actual hunting out of the equation and I gain no practice in areas of use; and in some cases they can actually be quite troublesome.

Don't assume that I don't like the hunting dogs themselves, however. :)