The last hog I shot was in March, so it was with much satisfaction that I put this boar down last night. I have been after this guy on my last 4 or 5 hunts. He's been doing his best impression of a bulldozer this whole time, tearing up parts of my road, and especially the areas around the feeders and pig pipe.

But worse, the 5 or 6 younger hogs traveling with him have been learning his bad habits. I have watched their progression on my game cams and I'm quite sure they'll follow in his foot steps. The deer are hitting the feeders hard and leaving very little to nothing for the hogs, so they end up rooting everything up for a few loose kernals of corn.

Not sure of the weight, since it was in between rain showers, I didn't have the extra time to hoist him up on the scale. A fellow lease member heard my shot and came to assist me. We tried to swing him up into the bed of my truck and failed twice. I guess that 6" lift isn't so handy at times. :roll: Wrong time not to have brought the game carrier. :oops: I'd say maybe around 150lbs.

The shot was about 50 yards, I used my M4 shooting Lake City Ammunition, 5.56x45mm NATO 62 Grain XM855 and put it right behind the ear. Love those DRT's.

Fresh tenderloins are on the menu tonight....

Click on the pics for a bigger version.

Nice job! DRT is good! M855 seems to be a great penetrating round and has worked well for me as well.

I understand about not having time to hoist and weigh, but there is a quick and easy way to get a good, accurate field estimate using a simple pocket measuring tape and you don't even need anyone's help. Measure the heart-girth with the hog laying on the ground. The scale is by whole inches, but but you estimate between them easy enough. So far, I have found the method good to within about 2% when I have hoisted them on a scale. You don't need the chart in the field - just remember your measurement and you can look it up later.
http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/1106/use-heart-girth-to-estimate-the-weight-of-finishing-pigs

Well done!

You like that M4 for hogs? I have been considering getting a hog specific platform for a while, and can't decide. I'm noticing alot of people using the AR's lately. Thoughts?

I've been on a dry spell for a week now myself. Congrats to you

Error! Error! Does not compute!

Usually I hog hunt with an R25 (LR308) topped with a 3rd gen nv scope. Since the blind I was hunting from is only 50 yards from the pig pipe I had no doubts about putting the 5.56 right where it needed to be. My M4 is a tack driver and even in the light drizzle, my Texas Boars light lit those hogs up well enough to put one behind the ear.

Oh, and it is soooooooooooo much lighter than this:

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to have to get steel in hand to make a choice. I haven't held the R-25 but heard they are heavy. I am much more concerned with shot placement than caliber size.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the Texas Boars light? I mean- are you using a feeder mounted light or gun mounted?

It's a feeder or sendero light. It's not mounted on the feeder itself, but a camera tripod. They do sell a gun mounted version, but I still use the old Classic Big Red, with three independently swiveling lights. You can focus all three in one tight beam, or spread them out to light up a larger area.




The color is a bit more saturated because of the night time exsposure, but here it is pointed at one of my tripod feeders 50 yards away.



The two round things under the feeder are coons. I use my TB lights when I'm too lazy to cart the big AR10 and NV scope around.



I've killed hogs with that light using fixed power scopes all the way up to 50mm I have on my wife's .243

They also come in white and a combo of red & green. Some of them can light up an area 150 yards or more away (Sendero series) I could easily kill animals at much farther ranges by simply placing the light closer to the target than my shooting position is. It has a dusk to dawn switch so it only comes on in the dark.

http://www.feederlights.com/

Indeed. That is a fair assessment. I don't really want to know what it weighs fully loaded.

very nice

Saweet!

Hot looking weapon there. I love my SCAR-17s (.308 Win) but you're right...it gets heavy with a full mag and attachments.

Nice weapon!!

My buddy is waiting for his to hit the gun shop, so he's jumping every time the phone rings. Wouldn't mine getting my hands on it for a comparison on ergonomics and functionality. I really liked the SCAR 16, so if it's just a scaled up version I'll really be jealous.

Good work...choot all 'dem porkers!

It's every bit that and more. I'm very very pleased with it. I'm dropping a customized Leupold scope on it soon and will be hunting with my laser designator for some night running hogs.

SATX, thanks for the info and ideas on setup! I had never thought of putting lights on a camera tripod to make them portable... excellent idea

cupofjoe04,

If I need to make longer shots, I will place the lights within 40 to 50 yards of my target area, then retreat to my shootng stand. Your to distance to shoot a hog would only be limited by your optics.

Most of the tripods have a hook at the bottom of the main tube, and thats what I hang the battery from. I used 2 zip ties to secure a carabiner clip to the feeder battery that powers the lights, then just some alligator clips on the wires and your good to go.

If we didn't have a problem with thieves on our lease right now, I would set it up permanently with a solar charger and leave it attached to one of the blinds.