Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Out Of State Hunting => Topic started by: emac on February 05, 2015, 05:58:29 PM
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At the end of February I have a business trip to Texas. A few of us are going extend our stay and go hog hunting for 3 days. I have never been hog hunting before or hunting out of state. I was just wondering if anybody had any pointers on what gear is a must take with (I wanna pack as little as possible for the flight).what rifle I should take (deciding between the 6.8, 300 blackout, 223 or the 5.7x28 ) and what's the easiest way to bring the meat home (buy a cooler there bring it back on the plane or ship it back. We are hunting a friend of friends property and he has got a butcher shop. Any input would be great.
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I would take the 6.8 I know a few people that hog hunt in Texas and sometimes .223 will only piss'em off.
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Hunted pigs the last 7 years in Germany and of those I'd take the 300 with some hot 125 grain loads. Above those I'd take the 6.5 Grendel with 120 to 130 grain loads. Same weight with more speed aka energy.
If you aim for the head it's between the eye and the base of the ear and make sure you know where the bullet is hitting elevation wise at distances outside of your zero distance. Many a "headshot" pig has run off to starve because the bullet hit low and took out the jaw.
My boar hunting mentor, a retired old German Forstmeister of some 500-700 kills(he stopped counting) always told me "for every centimeter back you are from a perfect heart shot is 10 meters the pig will run".
Pigs aren't an ungulate and are usually considered trash in America so don't be worried about going through the gut to get to the heart as long as you are shooting a bulket that can penetrate a few feet of pig. My friend British Steve boasted his 300wm with hand loaded swift A-frames boasted his round could go all the way through any pig at any angle. A stout bullet in a cartridge like that, I believe him. On several occasions he would take more than one pig with a single shot.
Also be very wary of a dropped pig. They are very well known for getting up after a stunning *censored* and making a run for it. I think it might be because of their thick ribs. The bullet hits the ribs and they cause a torquing or jarring of the spine which drops them. After a few seconds, or even a couple minutes they shake it off and dissapear while you are planning a boar dinner that will not be happening.
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A guy at work used to do it. They would bait and spotlight at night. He always talked about how fun it was and how he wanted to go back.
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Regarding transporting meat home, I've always used a styrofoam cooler, frozen the packed in however much dry ice the TSA allows on top and checked it (if you call the airline or check on line, they should be able to tell you the limit.)
As long as the meat is frozen and there isn't much extra space in the cooler at the start of the trip, it will stay pretty solid for a long day time--a day at least.
If you don't have a place to freeze it first, I'm sure you could at least keep it safely cold between Texas and here.
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Believe it or not it's a lot cheaper to have a meat shop ship the meat. Flying it home is very expensive. Oversize and overweight fees acuumulate fast. It's also a pain in the butt. We just got back from hunting near San Antonio. We shipped the meat. It saved almost 300 dollars. As far as the weapon. The only one you named that I would take would be the 6.8. Hogs are extremely tough and you don't always have a head shot. They form a gristle shield as they get larger. I've seen it stop a .357 bullet fired from 4 feet. Remember the guts on a hog come a lot farther forward than on a deer. The best way to shoot them is find the front elbow and raise up 3 inches. That's your best kill shot other that the head. I don't prefer the headshot due to the fact that hogs never quit moving. It makes it to easy to wound them. They are extremely tough, even the little ones. And as said previously, always approach a downed hog like its a grizzley.
Have a great time. Wild hog is amazing meat!
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Thanks for the replies guys. I also have a 270 308 or 300 win mag I could take I just thought it would be more fun talking an Ar so I wouldn't have to worry about running a bolt. I am excited to go hopefully the next couple weeks fly by
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Fowlweather what was the process you used for shipping the meat back. Like I said before the guy has a butcher shop on property but isn't a professional butcher. We would be cutting and wrapping our own meat for shipping.
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I would bone it all out at your buddies then put it in garbage bags and just ask the meat shop to cryovac it and box it then freeze and ship. I paid 1.20 per pound for them to vac seal freeze and ship. Basically your paying .20 cents a pound for processing. Then you can do with it as you like when it gets home. Where in Texas will you be?
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They are very tuff critters. I have belted the big boars with 3 shots of 300 win mag all in the vitals and had a hard time bringing them down. Of your first list the 6.8 is the way to go. I would look at a fairly solid round. Don't run anything like a ballistic tip. Get something with good weight retention. Like fowl said there vitals are far forward so you want to keep your shot right on the shoulder line.
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A guy at work used to do it. They would bait and spotlight at night. He always talked about how fun it was and how he wanted to go back.
Night hunting is the shiznit!!!!!! Red lights work wonders!
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The reason you never trust a "dead hog" lol.
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I got to play to! :chuckle: Get you psyched for the hunt.
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Nice Matt!!! I gotta get to Cali!! Lol. After we hit Texas of course.
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Few more
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One more to stoke the fire,
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We will be hunting between San Antonio and Houston. I shoot 120 grain hornadys outta the 6.8. We plan on doing the night hunting. One of the guys going is taking his bow and said that is the only way he will shoot a hog. Those pics are awesome guys making me really excited the 27th can't get here quick enough
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With good shot placement your 6.8 should be fine. Are you shooting the sst or gmx? Both are good hog poison. Archery hunting hogs is a blast. Especially spot and stalk.
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By the way I know a great inexpensive meat shop about 20 min west of San Antonio if you're interested.
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Sst's. Yeah I might be interested. Will be meeting up with the other guys in the next couple weeks to hammer out details so I will get in touch if we decide to go that route.
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The sst's are great shooters. They are a little soft in the weight retention and some of those big boars can be hard to get good penetration on. If you can head shoot them that is always a great option on the small to mid sized pigs. Hogs are tuff and swell up after you shoot them. A lot of times you won't have a pass through with a bullet like the sst. They don't bleed well because a lot of times the bullet hole will close off. So knocking them in the melon makes for as short tracking job.
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Carp what 6.8 ammo would you recommend? My hard gun case holds two guns so I think I will take the 300 bo also. I shoot either the pnw 125 nosler or hornady 110 gr amax outta the 300
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If you are just buying factory ammo Federal fusion makes some good solid ammo.
Also there is a few ammo companies that make loads with the accubonds. I am a firm believer in the accubonds.
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Maybe I will get some of them. I see Remington makes a hog hammer for the blackout but no one has em in stock
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I have not seen them in stock either. I know barnes makes a nice little factory load. I have never seen them in stock, just like the hog hammers.
I have been running 125g ballistic tips for my super sonic load. Then 220g smk loads for my sub sonic's with my suppresors.
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I didn't have an issue dropping a big sow and some little piggies with a .270. Night, with a spotlight is the way to go. Small ones are better eating IMO and it is nice when you can throw a whole one on the grill.
If you want to bring your meat back on the plane with you , the red coleman square coolers with wheels and a handle work well for me, $30 at wally world. Loaded with meat and some clothes for insulation comes out to ~50lbs. If you go this route carry a scale with you, otherwise you run the risk of handing meat out at the check in counter....
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Ham from a 125 pounder in the smoker as we speak. I still say shipping the meat is cheaper than flying it. A lot less hassle and cheaper per pound therefore you can kill more.
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:yeah:carp, where ya at? I need some help eating all this texas BBQ! Emac, you will have a great time and if you have any question or ever wanna hit the hog cactus just pm me. Nit trying to thread jack, just trying to get you pumped.
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:chuckle: I am around. My butcher pig just went in to get cut and wrapped then I will be smoking the hams and curing the bacon soon.
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slowcooker does wonders for a hog shoulder, just a simple rub and some bbq sauce can do the trick, I tried hog for the first time last year it has a unique nutty flavor but tasty
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:yeah:carp, where ya at? I need some help eating all this texas BBQ! Emac, you will have a great time and if you have any question or ever wanna hit the hog cactus just pm me. Nit trying to thread jack, just trying to get you pumped.
I am super pumeped. I have packed and unpacked about 3 times just making sure I got everything I need and that it all fits. Its kinda of a pain since I gotta take business cloths with me also but oh well.
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Last day of business then time to trade the collared shirt, slacks and business cards for camo and a gun
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Right on :tup: Remember to take some Pics for us!
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On are way to the airport. I am heading home hogless but had a great time. We got one hog in our group. My buddy got it outta of a group of about 35. Only hogs that were seen by any of us. I heard some last night on the neighbors property followed by about 7 gun shoots. The owner of the property we were hunting said they have only being crossing his property lately. All in all great time, only a couple hrs of sleep. But I will definitely be back. Thanks guys for all the info
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Nice!!!! Right on man. Sorry you didnt kill one. But it sounds like you had a great time! Have a safe flight.
