~~ Austin's official Western U.S. hunting trip thread ~~

[Hwilli1647545487]

Do you eat what you kill?

[Jelloman4571647545499]

that does look like fun. Austin fly out with the guns? If so how big of a pain in the ass was it to go through the airport?

[RedRocket1647545505]

Do you eat what you kill?

 

These rabbits/hares aren't edible.

 

But normally, yes.

[RedRocket1647545505]

that does look like fun. Austin fly out with the guns? If so how big of a pain in the ass was it to go through the airport?

 

Yep, flew out with my .17 and .22-250. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Just make sure you read the TSA's rules regarding transporting them, AND, your airline's own rules. I flew Continental, and they only allow 11lb of ammo (which really isn't much at all), and they have specific requirements for cases.

 

The only thing I got dicked on was they dumped some of my .40 ammo. Their rules stated that ammo could be stored in magazines so long as the magazine opening was covered in a secure case. So, I loaded up 2 of my G23 mags with ammo, and put those mags into a Blackhawk dual mag holder (they snap closed). I followed their rules to the 'T', and they still dumped it out. 26rounds lost, so I'm not that upset about it.

 

The TSA baggage check guy didn't even bat an eye when I handed him the gun case. I asked him, "Is that it? " He's like..."That's it. We'll page you if we need you."

 

It was painless, really.

[RangerTurbo]

26rounds lost, so I'm not that upset about it.

 

26 rounds some TSA jerk off just scored for himself.

 

I'm not looking forward to flying back to Ohio in July with my carry gun. I don't expect a hint of trouble. But I've ready too many stories of TSA workers being above the law.

[RedRocket1647545505]

My father shooting his CZ 550 SM for the first time. He had the shooting sticks a bit too high and obviously not a good enough grip on it. I 'd

 

[evan9381]

26 rounds some TSA jerk off just scored for himself.

 

I'm not looking forward to flying back to Ohio in July with my carry gun. I don't expect a hint of trouble. But I've ready too many stories of TSA workers being above the law.

 

dont put your ammo in a mag...keep it in the original box, if you have it, or a plastic ammo box made for that

 

when i went to florida last year, i took my keltec PF9 and 20 rds of ammo, put them in a locking metal box, went to counter she had me sign a piece of paper saying it was unloaded, put it back in my suitcase, zip it shut with the tag i signed on top of it, and gave it to the TSA guy and that was it. just as easy coming back

 

in fact, we probably went thru all that quicker than when we went to NC 2 years ago with no guns! lol

[RedRocket1647545505]

dont put your ammo in a mag...keep it in the original box, if you have it, or a plastic ammo box made for that

 

They state in their rules that loaded mags are allowed so long as they're encased in a secured enclosure. Mine were in mag holders and then locked in the hardcase.

[evan9381]

just another reason then to keep it in the original box. i know ammo isnt overly expensive, but i still wouldnt want to lose 26rds

[RedRocket1647545505]

just another reason then to keep it in the original box. i know ammo isnt overly expensive, but i still wouldnt want to lose 26rds

 

Yea, I know. Next time I'll put them ALL in the original boxes. It just sucks that I was following their rules and they still dumped them.

[Dave1647545494]

Do you eat what you kill?

 

rabbits in the southwest are like groundhogs or rats here

 

if you did eat one it would probably taste like cooked shoe leather

[verse]

i know ammo isnt overly expensive, but i still wouldnt want to lose 26rds

 

Yeah, I'm assuming for his Glock 23 and JHP. That's a good $30 in ammo.

[RedRocket1647545505]

7/4/09 = Day 3

 

We didn't do shit for the most part today. There was talk of going out to slaughter some more bunnies, but we decided to get some rest instead for our hog hunt that was planned for the night.

 

As was stated earlier, I decided to use my father's DPMS LR-308 for our hog hunt. At first, I thought it might have been a bit overkill. I've never been hog hunting before, so I was expecting to see 1.......maybe 2 small hogs. However, after talking to our 'guide', I learned that these things run in packs, sometime up to 300+ in numbers and 500+lb. . It was then that I realized, I brought the PERFECT gun for this mission.

 

We met up with our guide, Abe, at around 5:30pm and drove 10 miles east of Hobbs, NM, and then 30 miles up the state line to one of our hunting spots. Our guide, Abe, is certainly a character. He is the spitting image of what I'd picture a Texas rancher. Picture a lanky Yosemite Sam, with gold teeth, and a sick-ass Howa .223 set up for hog hunting. Abe has a friend, John, who met up with us a bit later on our quest for some hogs. Both of these guys were some seriously good dudes. The stereotype for Texas hospitality shines through here. These guys are also SERIOUS about hunting hogs. They go out 2-3x every single week. There's endless hogs to hunt out here. If you've ever seen the special on the Discovery channel, you'd know that Texas actually has a hog problem. They multiply like crazy and destroy everything they touch. We went out with one goal in mind: Kill as many as you can. Pssh. Sounds good to me.

 

We arrived at our first location around 6pm and got started right away. We loaded our gear into the bed of Abe's white Dodge Ram; my father hopped into the passenger seat with his Wby Vanguard .243, and I jumped into the bed with what I thought was a trusty LR-308. I'd learn later that it wasn't as trusty as I would have liked.

 

We took off down our first access round. Abe's got several farmers that give him permission to hunt their land, mostly to try to save their crops (peanuts). The basic idea of hog hunting is to drive around the crop fields (circles) and keep your eyes open. About 5 minutes into our hunt we spotted a young coyote about 600yd out. Abe and I took up positions on the backside of a small sand dune. This same sand dune was what ultimately fucked up my night. I mono-pod'd the LR-308 off the magazine on top of the dune and waited while my dad tried to call in the coyote for a closer shot. Unfortunately, this coyote was not interested in our sales pitch. In fact, he pretty much ignored it completely and took off the opposite direction. After wallering around in the sand for about 15 minutes, we decided that to continue on with our hog hunt.

 

We glassed the Texas fields for hours without seeing anything. Abe wasn't discouraged. He preferred the night hunts anyways. At around 10pm we moved to another location where we met up with Abe's buddy, John. John's a hell of a good dude, and hilarious too. John took up the position beside me in the bed of Abe's truck and off we went again. At this point, it's raining fairly hard. We're on my first ever hog hunt, in the middle of the fucking desert, and it's somehow raining. That's my luck.

 

While riding in the bed with John, I learned a bit more about how they hog hunt. What I learned was that they will drive around with multiple spotlights (it's legal. [side note- pig eyes don't glow when a spotlight hits them, :/ ]) until they find a pack, sneak up on them (if they can), blast as many as they can while they're sitting still, and then run them down in the truck and shoot as many as you can. I pictured the scene from that Jurassic park movie where they chase the dinosaurs down with the Jeeps. Only, instead of trying to put a noose around their neck, we're trying to put a bullet in their head.

 

We drove around for hours. John and I are soaking wet, and though we're in the desert, it's cold. Remember that new mesh camo I bought? Yeah, bad idea for hunting at night. But, we finally had some luck come our way. At about 3:30am, John spotted a pack of about 12 pigs running along the edge of a field, parallel to us. GAME ON. Abe stompped on the gas to try to head them off. We cut down another access road to get in front of the pigs. About 300yd before they got to us, they took a hard turn to their left. John turns to me and said, "Let'em have it!" I took up position on the bedrail of Abe's truck. I zero'd in on the general area that they were in and attempted to hit a few of them. My problem was, I could barely see shit. Between my rain-soaked scope lenses, and a distance that the spotlight barely reached, I was essentially firing blind (not a big deal out here, there isn't shit for miles). Anyways, I cut loose a couple 110gr hollowpoints, having no idea if I'd actually hit anything.

 

It was at this point that the actual chase begain. Abe stomped on it again, bouncing off through the fields to catch up with the pack (apparently these things can run at up to 40+mph ). We catch up to them fairly quickly, probably because we were going 60mph through a dirt field. John and I are bouncing everywhere, just trying to hold on. We get into firing range, about 30ft to the back and left side of the pack. I take a general aim at the biggest one, click the selector switch to fire, and squeeze the trigger. CLICK!.................. No BANG. At this point everyone else is cutting loose on the pack. My father had his .243 hanging out the window, and John's standing behind the cab with his .357 Blackhawk. I give the 19rd magazine a good WHACK, and attempt to rack the charging handle. No dice. Remember that retarded ring setup my dad went with on this gun? Yea, it pretty much fucked me. I could barely get ahold of the charging handle to attempt to pop the carrier loose. I tug and tug and tug but it won't fucking budge. I drop the mag, and start beating on the charging handle. All the while, WWIII is going on around me. I hear shell casings hitting the bed floor as John's reloading. Dude is tearing them up. I finally get the bolt carrier un-stuck. Drop the round in the bed, tap the mag on a cooler to try to dislodge some sand and slam it back into the magwell. I hit the bolt release and it slams forward. I take a quick look at the carrier to make sure it's in full battery;........it's not . It's stuck about 1/2" from full battery. So, I drop the mag again, and attempt to pull the charging handle AGAIN. Again, it's fucking stuck.

 

At this point, we're going through some rough terrain and it's all I can do to keep from getting tossed out of the truck. The packs split up, and we are chasing after a lone two hogs. I drop the gun in the bed because I'm tired of fucking with it (I'm also questioning myself at this point as to why I decided to leave my G23 at home. I didn't think I'd need it ). I grab a spotlight instead in hopes of helping the other guys do something productive. I see a hog or two take a couple rounds to their rear and drop off.

 

We stop the truck and everyone gets out to B.S. about it and laugh. I pick the LR-308 back up and manage to get the carrier unstuck again. We all dick around with it for about 10-15 minutes, but it's got entirely too much sand stuck in it. The carrier won't close to save it's life (or to end a pig's life ).

 

We get back in the truck to retrace our path and to see what kind of damage we (they) did. Unfortunately, we only find one. These things (pigs) are built like a fucking tank. They can take several bullets and still run off pretty much unphased. John lets us know that he's confident he hit atleast 4 of them due to watching them drop off from the pack, but we can't find them anywhere. My dad's unsure if he even hit any. Scoped guns aren't condusive to up close running and gunning hunting.

 

We spend the rest of the morning trying to find the pack again, but were unsuccessful. John shot a a few coyotes but never did hit any. I took a shot at one with the .243 that was well over 1000yd out with no expectations of actually hitting it. We only had the .243 dialed in to about 300yd and I had no numbers to go off of to compensate for the yardage; so I guessed. The first shot was well over his head, the 2nd was about 50yd in front of him which was apparently too close for comfort because he took off.

 

We stayed out til sunrise looking for some more coyotes but failed to see anymore. At about 8am, we called it quits.

 

We went home cold, wet, and tired but I had an absolute BLAST. This type of hunting > *.

 

:bangbang:

 

 

*Pics to come. Will proof-read later*

[RedRocket1647545505]

I guess I should also mention that I know why the LR-308 fucked up. My father likes to take care of his guns, which is understandable, but sometimes he gets a bit excessive. When he oils the gun, he OILS the gun. I'm talking everything. It all gets drenched. Upon throwing it in the sand where it belongs, the sand sticks to everything and now you've got a completely useless gun. I'm convinced that had it been dry, the sand would have fallen right back out, and my hog count would have been higher than 0.

 

Anyways, here's some pics. I didn't get a whole lot of them since I was too busy trying to kill something.

 

http://i41.tinypic.com/jztpid.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/35izwd3.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2r477eo.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2z4xtw0.jpg

[RedRocket1647545505]

Here's a quick vid:

 

[04r1]

Damn that sounds like fun.

[RedRocket1647545505]

Damn that sounds like fun.

 

 

Oh it is. I'm quite convinced that had my gun not malfunctioned, it would have been a hog massacre.

[TheHaze]

Here's a quick vid:

 

 

Why not put actual effort in to ending its life quickly? Why is the geezer in the video casually strolling around the hog? Did you eat that hog? There's nothing wrong with hunting, but at least have respect for what you're hunting.

[RedRocket1647545505]

Why not put actual effort in to ending its life quickly? Why is the geezer in the video casually strolling around the hog? Did you eat that hog? There's nothing wrong with hunting, but at least have respect for what you're hunting.

 

 

1. How much more effort do you want towards ending it's life? I can't think of many other quicker way towards death than a .357mag to the dome piece.

 

2. He's 'strolling around it' so that he didn't get a tusk through his leg. Walking right up to a 200lb hog that's wounded is not smart. I'd also say that not walking straight up to the thing is being respectful. I can respect the fact that that hog could whip our ass if it decided to get up. That's why I'm in the truck.

 

3. And no, it did not get eaten. Hogs of that size rarely get eaten. When they get that big, they get tough. The babies taste great, though.

 

4. Also, I don't think you really understand why they're being killed in the first place. There's an infestation of them in the South. They don't get killed for their meat. They get killed because they need killed.

 

Do you cry this much when someone calls an exterminator? Perhaps I should put a wreath on it's final resting place?

[verse]

Why not put actual effort in to ending its life quickly? Why is the geezer in the video casually strolling around the hog? Did you eat that hog? There's nothing wrong with hunting, but at least have respect for what you're hunting.

 

Go cry to PETA or stop looking at this thread.

[LJ]

Why not put actual effort in to ending its life quickly? Why is the geezer in the video casually strolling around the hog? Did you eat that hog? There's nothing wrong with hunting, but at least have respect for what you're hunting.

 

Feral hogs are a health risk to humans and other animals. Know what you are talking about before you try to be an ass.

 

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/Hutton_Pig_Paper_218759_7.pdf

[TheHaze]

1. How much more effort do you want towards ending it's life? I can't think of many other quicker way towards death than a .357mag to the dome piece.

 

2. He's 'strolling around it' so that he didn't get a tusk through his leg. Walking right up to a 200lb hog that's wounded is not smart. I'd also say that not walking straight up to the thing is being respectful. I can respect the fact that that hog could whip our ass if it decided to get up. That's why I'm in the truck.

 

3. And no, it did not get eaten. Hogs of that size rarely get eaten. When they get that big, they get tough. The babies taste great, though.

 

4. Also, I don't think you really understand why they're being killed in the first place. There's an infestation of them in the South. They don't get killed for their meat. They get killed because they need killed.

 

Do you cry this much when someone calls an exterminator? Perhaps I should put a wreath on it's final resting place?

 

That's not respect for the animal, that's respect for your own fear.

 

Hey, that's great that you were so worried about the crops in New Mexico that you felt compelled enough to fly out and attempt to defend them from some pigs and rabbits. And an FYI; I've roasted three hogs(perhaps not of the same kind, but you are only speaking of size) in the past ten years bigger then that thing. What's the harm in at least getting something out of a life that you just took?

 

Go cry to PETA or stop looking at this thread.

 

Your intelligence is clearly profound. It definitely makes sense for me, a gun enthusiast and casual hunter to "cry" to PETA about a fellow hunter.

 

I hunt and I've killed. I just become appalled when I see hunters killing without the utmost respect for a creature.

 

Feral hogs are a health risk to humans and other animals. Know what you are talking about before you try to be an ass.

 

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/Hutton_Pig_Paper_218759_7.pdf

Thank you for addressing the most minuscule of items in my post.

 

You guys are too thick-skulled to even consider what I'm saying. My family is full of outdoorsman and hunters, as am myself, yet when I approach other gun-advocates about respect, they pull out the defense card and cry about how I must love PETA and that I'm some sort of environmentalist.

[LJ]

 

Thank you for addressing the most minuscule of items in my post.

 

??

 

Hey, that's great that you were so worried about the crops in New Mexico

 

You are an idiot

 

While the physical damage they cause is substantial in itself, the most

compelling justification for aggressive control of feral swine populations comes from their

associated disease risks and the role they may play in emergence of new viruses that can

potentially affect human and animal health and the world’s economy

 

Hmm, what diseases do feral hogs carry?

 

Bovine herpesvirus* Anthrax*

Classic swine fever (hog cholera) Brucellosis*

Coronaviral infections* Erysipelothrix infections*

Encephalomyocarditis* Helicobacter spp.*

Foot-and-mouth disease* Leptospirosis*

Influenza* Bovine tuberculosis*

Louping-ill virus* Pasteurellosis*

Malignant catarrhal fever Plague*

Menangle virus* Salmonellosis*

Papillomavirus infections* Yersiniosis*

Parainfluenza virus*

Pestivirus infections

Pseudorabies (Aujeszky’s disease)

Rabbit hermorrhagic disease

Rinderpest

San Miguel sea lion virus

Swinepox virus

Vesicular stomatitis*

 

So, I will say it again. Know what you are talking about before you open your trap. Even ODNR asks that hunters help eradicate feral hogs in any way shape or form they can.

[Alex L.]

Why not put actual effort in to ending its life quickly? Why is the geezer in the video casually strolling around the hog? Did you eat that hog? There's nothing wrong with hunting, but at least have respect for what you're hunting.

 

[TheHaze]

??

 

 

 

You are an idiot

 

 

 

Hmm, what diseases do feral hogs carry?

 

 

 

So, I will say it again. Know what you are talking about before you open your trap. Even ODNR asks that hunters help eradicate feral hogs in any way shape or form they can.

 

Okay. I will not deny disease control, but I highly doubt that this little gun expo has anything to do with desire to control disease. And the cotton tails?

 

I'm also having difficulty figuring how "You are an idiot." is a proper rebuttal or if it even actually responds to something. Perhaps you have sort of affliction that does not belong here.