2016 Hog Hunt.
4/28
Is this week ever going to be over .......
Here I sit at work ,supply and demand. ..... no demand I hold down a chair, waiting impatiently as all get out . The guns are selected, loads quadruple checked then confirmed . All hard cased waiting to be placed in the truck (see how I didn't load them in the truck?), ammo has been selected packaged and canned and is waiting with its correct tools . Tires checked ,fluids serviced, new wiper blades (the desert is hell on them), clothes packed , extra socks and boots (it's going to be wet.) . Spare gear for 3 new hunters , including vests ,hats, and lights.
Dad called yesterday. ..." I can't find my presses,dies ,brass or powder for the 25 . I guess I'm going to have to buy a box . I did find 6-7 boxes of 257 Roberts brass and a brand new bag of 100 ......" . See this face ? This is me not loosing my mind and not throwing my phone into the next county after begging and digging for a few pieces of 257 R for 6 months . Notice how you didn't hear me say ya know if you had even zones for stuff that was like mat'l you wouldn't have these problems.
* Then this morning reminds me how shooting cast bullets causes leading and messes with the accuracy.* Then tells me Mom shot a 3" off hand 50 yd group with that leaded up 357 Marlin I swapped him for the A5 3 yr ago, but it's about 4" high . Ya think ! I was dialed in with a 358-158 RNFP Lee over Unique for 1410 at 100 and Mom was shooting 14.0 H110 over a Speer 170 HC at 1400 fps at 50 yd .
*I have fully enhanced my calm , I will not be cranky, I will not even try to explain antimony wash ,low pressure carbon, or how he basically just scoured the seasoning off the frying pans and that the rifle may take gobs of shooting to get back on track ...... no I'm going home at lunch and finishing up the loading of the truck ,check the tires once more ,pour in the can of Bars Leak, top off the fuel ,stack in the full gas cans, get the chargers on board for the phones and pad ,clothes ,misc gear and ammo. The I'm going to get a few last minute items boxed up to ship tomorrow from some point down the road probably Vegas .
4/28
The evening
Everything is loaded , everything is loaded all is settling in to place .
Really 1 mud puddle in the whole township and the kids apparently rolled in it . 7&9 ,why did they need to drag half the mud through the house ?
Now the kids are puking ,and just in time for bed ......
Time line predicts I will be heaving some time between Tucson and El Paso. .. huhuha no passo, blows chunko.*
4/29
Up early , just 3 packages to go in the truck and we're ready to roll.
Dinner time
WHT is wrong with city dwellers ,they don't know how to merge ,have no concept of personal space or traffic spacing , really spacing lights on on ramps ?
Ms had a little bout of whatever the kids had so we had 3 extra stops getting to Vegas and lost an hour there . Phoenix was a disaster there has to be another way around almost 2 hours to get past that zoo. 250 miles short tonight .
An otherwise uneventful day on the road .
4/30
On the road by 530 ....... yeah ok , right not happening.
Maybe gas station by 6........
640 out of the gas station. ..... wait what time zone am I on ?
MST into CDT so loose 3 hr into Tx .......
Extra stop in NM for gas the* 86 Oct in Tucson us 3 mpg .
Quartering head wind across most NM . Gas prices all over 1.899 to 2.259 . Out about Tx 215 we took a bounce in a pot hole and gator backed a trailer tire . Got that changed and dumped in 10 gallons of gas from cans . My Folks canceled on me not long after the gator back ...... dammit all. The trailer isn't digging the 900 # in spite of being rated for 2000 # .
1115 pm checked into a randomly sellected room in San Antonio.* Gotta get a spare tire , hunting license and my bootleg Tx* beer in the morning.
5/1
On time for continental breakfast. ..... it was supposed to have rained all the way across, nothing but blue skies and impacted bugs . Looks like we'll get the bugs soaked up and washed off.
Almost lunch time .
Waiting on the tire . We have the licenses ,feed ,full gas , munchies and soon boot leg Lone Star ..... really no beer before noon on Sunday ?* I miss Strawberry mararitas with my Spanish omlete at 530 Sunday morning because.
Finally . 2 hr to get the tire mounted ........*
Still no rain to get the other 6 lbs of bugs off the truck .
Check was quick and easy like we've done this before .
Checked the sights against the ammo actually in the guns ,check and all aces . Chatted with some rookies, met the crew ,had dinner ..... well I didn't have to cook so it's not all bad .
1st hunt ,out at 700 in at 945 .
We get to our blind and this tore up, walking jerky, looking boar walks in like he owns the world ....... umm mm pass ....
The 1st sounder wanders in with 25 or so hogs and stops about 60-70 yd right in the gap between the 2 groups of exotics with price tags a lot like a whole pay check . Go for it.* There was a good looking trio of boars in black and 2 more that were bigger .......click ...... I guess I short stroked 96' 257 Roberts when loaded it . Apparently the action rattle is what was scary ,not the click or the green light.* They made a run for it but 10 min later they're* back . I set up on 1 of the big light colored ones and wait for the inevitable head lift ...... it comes the the 1st stage is gone ,exhale, squeeze ,elk head in the scope and necks and eyeball and shoulders ........ and the sounder scattered. ......
So ends day 1 @ the ranch ,no hog and down to 5 hunts .
5/2
0545 roll out, on the blinds at 630 ........
530 who's on coffee detail, slackers ......
Coffee is done ...... better ..... bunk mates up ....... chamber a round this time .
Saw couple of lil' bitty pigs 1st off but they were barely above the grass , the grass ain't very high.
Ms foot is killing her, the walking is too much on the lingering bone repair. I'm glad I have a Ms that likes to come along .
Your wondering about Ammohead ? I'm going say he has been a trooper ,2 days in a car with next to strangers and all of our ......umm.... quirks .
Next up spot ,swing and pop.
Ok maybe I was just a little to excitable . Apparently I can't shoot for beans with witnesses.* All by myself I kill critters just fine ,wrecked organs , next to no meat loss or bone chips. Witnesses ,I have trouble with head shots with the barrel in its ear.
Ammohead got a nice 200# boar with a 25 yd shot head on with a 35 Rem with a 250 gr RCBS 35-250 SIL .
Attachment 167483
Ammohead took another
Finally killed a 120 # sow at 90 ft . I slipped the bullet in just under her jaw and inside the left shoulder,out just behind the right .
Attachment 167484
Ms just let out a whoop she killed a 100# about 2 min before the dinner call.
I bought her a sweet AR 15 in 6.8 SPCII set it up for her, she has a fused wrist with no flex ,worked up a load that does it all and she takes the dinosaur 1949 Savage* 30-30 with 60s Super X silver tip and kills a 115 # Russianish boar.* Way to go Mary Mo !
Attachment 167485
Got another @ 96# tonight , bloodied the MTB 96' Mauser 257 Roberts . Dead, solid ,perfect . Of course I* remember now exactly why I shoot cast heavy and slow .
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