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Posted: 3/17/2013 9:40:39 AM EDT
We walked out into the deep swamps on about a two mile hike to two of our feeders and hung out for around two hours listening to hogs rooting and sparring in the deep swamp thickets and ponds all around us but never had any come out in the open.

It was a beautiful clear sky night with stars shining brightly all the way down to the horizon with the PVS-14s working great under the quarter moon.

We hiked back to the truck about 2AM and loaded up to drive home.

Went through two locked gates on the way out and at the last gate I had my PVS-14 still on as I locked the gates and noticed two dark contrast objects in the jeep trail right up in front of us.

Took out the FLIR PS-64 thermal and thought that they were just large surface limerocks around 100 yards out as they were hot but not moving around, but looking at them with the NVO, one of them had an outline of a hog?

Looking more closely, I could see one hog standing sideways and another standing with its rear to us with the LS-64 thermal scanner.

We had been shutting the gates, slamming truck doors, talking, and the motor was running and there was not sign these hogs were even moving with all the noise and commotion over a five minute period of time?

Mounted the SIG 716 with Barnes 130 grain TSX handloads and put the ACOG TA02 crosshairs on the neck of one and pulled the trigger, he dropped dead and the other one took off, put the crosshairs on his head and shot, he drops with a round through his neck that split his spine in half.

No meat damage at all, both hogs were head shot and the 7.62mm did an immediate kill on both of them.





Link Posted: 3/17/2013 10:01:30 AM EDT
[#1]
I want a FLIR ThermoSight T50.  Badly.

 
Link Posted: 3/17/2013 12:08:08 PM EDT
[#2]
The FLIR T-50 is an awesome instrument.

Fresh sausage and eggs for breakfast again!
Link Posted: 3/17/2013 4:41:22 PM EDT
[#3]



Quoted:


The FLIR T-50 is an awesome instrument.



Fresh sausage and eggs for breakfast again!


I believe you kill way too many hogs to ever come close to running out of pork....

 



What happened to the 70gr TSX's? Just changing it up a bit?
Link Posted: 3/17/2013 7:56:17 PM EDT
[#4]
I am still breaking in that new SIG 716, have less then 50 rounds though it, once it has over 200 rounds down the pipe I will break out the other two 556s, still working on finishing off the build on one of them.
Link Posted: 3/17/2013 10:34:55 PM EDT
[#5]
Nice kills!  

Any reason your loading 130's out of your .308?  Cheap 150 core lokts put them on there ass out of a 16 inch tube. I've been using a noveske 6.8 with a 12.5 barrel for awhile shooting 85 gr tsx's and 120 sst's. Needless to say I'm switching back to my .308.

Km
Link Posted: 3/18/2013 1:02:01 PM EDT
[#6]
Not meaning to hijack your thread Skypup, but have any of you ever heard a rattlesnake at night? I wear electronic muffs when hunting and turn them up full volume because my hearing sucks and it gives me an edge with the amplification. I shot a big boar Saturday night and had to go in the woods after him. About 20 yards in and I hear the distinctive sound of a rattlesnake, close! I just froze, as I couldn't immediately tell what direction the sound was coming from.

I pulled up my thermal and couldn't see anything, he's probably same temperature as surroundings and my NV didn't show me anything. If I had a hard time seeing him in the daytime, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to see him at night. I exited gracefully, once I got an idea where he was. Scared the crap out of me, I never heard one rattle at night.
Link Posted: 3/18/2013 1:55:17 PM EDT
[#7]
Boy that would be scary, JB55, hearing one close by at night in the thick of things would not be good.

I do have on some real nice knee high snake boots I got at Bass Pro Shops and I NEVER go out without them on as I mostly have been afraid of water mocassins where we hunt at.

I was at my physican's this last month and was telling her about some of our hog hunting adventures (she just got her first revolver and a CWP) and she told me that just last year FOUR of her patients were bit by rattlesnakes and to ONLY place to go when bit is to the Tertiary hospital because of budget restraints in the healthcare system, they are the ONLY hospital in about an 8 county region that carries snake antivenom.....$10K+ for treatment and it goes up from there.....
Link Posted: 3/18/2013 2:01:02 PM EDT
[#8]
Quoted:
Nice kills!  

Any reason your loading 130's out of your .308?  Cheap 150 core lokts put them on there ass out of a 16 inch tube. I've been using a noveske 6.8 with a 12.5 barrel for awhile shooting 85 gr tsx's and 120 sst's. Needless to say I'm switching back to my .308.

Km


Nothing special, I had been loading Barnes 70 grain TSX in my 5.56mm for a couple of years and it performed very well around 2,700 fps as long as I managed to place the bullet in a lethal area.

I thought with the 7.62mm, that 125-140 grains would be great about 3,000fps, so I am trying out 200 handloade Barnes 130 Grain TSX.

I like the lesser recoil than the heavier slugs and also more velocity too.

So far, the results have been spectacular, even though these are not the biggest pigs that I shoot. This is more than plenty adequate for <300 pounders.
Link Posted: 3/18/2013 2:51:19 PM EDT
[#9]
Skypup,  I have a nice set from Cabelas, but never wear them at night unless I am out walking. Usually sitting in a stand that is 14' high and take head shots so that I don't have to go in the woods, but this guy was huge and I had to take a body shot. (heart,lungs)

Does Crystal River hospital take snake bites? They are the closest to my property at 1 hour away. Is there a Bass Pro in Gainesville or Ocala? I don't walk the swamps, therefore, I've only seen a couple moccasins, while I've killed MANY rattlesnakes.
Link Posted: 3/18/2013 4:13:46 PM EDT
[#10]
University of Florida Shands Teaching Hospital is the only hospital in North Central Florida that has snake anti-venom. I would think that Tampa General and USF would have it available too as it is a tertiary hospital?

I got my snake boots at Bass-Pro in Orlando, my wife paid for them for me as she absolutely demanded that I wear them while hunting.

These are the ones I have, very light weight, very comfortable, and totally water and snake proof:

http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Bone-Dry-16-39;-39;-Waterproof-Bayou-Zip-Snake-Boots-for-Men/product/58009/?cm_ven=bazaarvoice&cm_cat=RLP&cm_pla=58009&cm_ite=productname_link

I really like them allot.
Link Posted: 3/26/2013 12:48:52 PM EDT
[#12]
very nice,  great shooting,
Link Posted: 4/2/2013 11:40:21 AM EDT
[#13]
FLIR T-50 Dinner!

Link Posted: 4/6/2013 2:44:19 AM EDT
[#14]
FLIR Thermal and Barnes 70 grain TSX puts down another boar tonight, one shot DOA @ 125 yards:



Eagles are hungry...
Link Posted: 4/6/2013 9:12:37 PM EDT
[#15]
That looks like a perfect whole roaster!!! But then you have so much pork in the freezer the Eagles need it more than you..  Keep em dropping.
Link Posted: 4/6/2013 10:40:27 PM EDT
[#16]
Link Posted: 4/7/2013 2:23:33 PM EDT
[#17]
I know in TX you can hunt hogs with lights, NV, Suppressors, heck if you can afford it you can hunt em with a minigun.  Basically any legally owned weapon and any time.  They want them gone by whatever means the landowner can muster.  Some other states do not have that freedom.  I know in my state of Oregon they want the pigs gone but unless I am on private property and I am the landowners representative, I cannot hunt at night with lights or NV.  Don't make sense but that's the way it is.  I can however hunt with a suppressor though.
Link Posted: 4/7/2013 9:56:03 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
What are the legalities of hunting at night in your area?  Does the State allow it?  Can you use suppressors?

I know some states do, and some don't.


Yes to NV/Thermal night hunting for hogs and coyotes on private land 24/7/365 with or without suppressors.
Link Posted: 4/21/2013 10:13:26 PM EDT
[#19]
Was out tonight and was able to blast these three hogs @ 125 yards using the FLIR Thermal, it was raining like hell and they were in some tall grass but they stood out like a sore thumb in the FLIR.



Loaded them up to drag them back to the truck and no sooner did I get them loaded that another sounder group showed up and took down two more, for a total of five.

Totally soaked through and through but we had a damn great time tonight! FLIR Thermals work great in a heavy downpour!
Link Posted: 4/22/2013 6:18:11 PM EDT
[#20]
Thermal actually works very well at night in the pouring rain....when virtually nothing else works very well.

Link Posted: 4/22/2013 6:36:30 PM EDT
[#21]
Link Posted: 4/22/2013 7:02:00 PM EDT
[#22]
Note to all wild hogs:

Resistance is futile...


Link Posted: 4/29/2013 12:18:10 AM EDT
[#23]
Thermal & Barnes 70 gr TSX bite a small shoat @ 100 yards,entered one shoulder pencil sized hole and blew the far shoulder off:

Link Posted: 5/4/2013 2:00:38 AM EDT
[#24]

Was out in the backyard tonight in the rain dialing in my LASTAC-2 IR laser on my Ruger 10-22 bull barrel when I picked up three thermal signatures on my FLIR LS-64 about 275 yard out behind my barn. Went in and picked up my SIG 716 with handloaded 7.62mmX51mm Barnes 130 grain TSX and the FLIR T-50 and went out to see if I could put a hurting on some swine.

Three nice boars were rooting deep in a pond surrounded by tall grass, so i put the ACOG crosshairs on the head of one, pulled the trigger @ 175 meters and he immediately disappears, no thermal signature or anything????

Watched the other two high tail it up out of the water through the grass and start running off towards the pine forest canopy, put the crosshairs on the shoulder of one dude @ 225 meters and took the shot and he drops in his tracks and does not even move or squeal.

Rode the 4-Wheeler out to to furthest one and he was DOA with his spinal cord severed in front of the shoulder, looked into the pond area to see the other one with the FLIR LS-64 and nothing????

Drove the 4-Wheeler down into the bottomless muck and could not see anything and finally I see an ear sticking up out of the water! Wrapped a 50 foot 1/2" rope around his head buried in the water and thick mud and dragged him up to the other one. He was shot through the ear and died immediately too.

Dressed the two nice boars out and only lost about two pounds of meat between the two of the, about 350-400 pounds of pork, real nice loins too....







Link Posted: 5/4/2013 11:53:44 PM EDT
[#25]
Nice looking porkers there Skypup.  Good shooting too.
Link Posted: 5/5/2013 8:57:05 AM EDT
[#26]
The Bald Eagles are having a field day on the swine offal, there are five of them on it this morning....

Link Posted: 5/15/2013 5:46:04 PM EDT
[#27]
From now on, I will be using this scale to verify hog weights!

Link Posted: 5/15/2013 8:40:08 PM EDT
[#28]
sound like good time
Link Posted: 5/15/2013 8:42:57 PM EDT
[#29]
lot of bald eagles around their
Link Posted: 5/22/2013 3:51:21 PM EDT
[#30]
Having NV & Thermal sure helps when you are walking around at night hunting coyotes and hogs and you come up on this thermally glowing log on the ground in front of you in the rain.....



Link Posted: 5/22/2013 4:09:38 PM EDT
[#31]
cool pic's  been out few times on hog hunts at night,  an pray didn't come across a poisonous snake
Link Posted: 5/22/2013 9:15:06 PM EDT
[#32]
Got a Tag?? Gator tastes good
Link Posted: 5/24/2013 10:08:31 AM EDT
[#33]
Quoted:
Having NV & Thermal sure helps when you are walking around at night hunting coyotes and hogs and you come up on this thermally glowing log on the ground in front of you in the rain.....

http://www.phossil.com/thom/4th%20July%20Hog/Kanapaha%20Gator2.jpg

http://www.phossil.com/thom/4th%20July%20Hog/Kanapaha%20Gator.jpg


Not a "log" I'd want to sit on!
Link Posted: 5/28/2013 12:31:16 AM EDT
[#34]
Nice ending to a great Memorial Day weekend.

Saw him near the game cam tonight @ 175 yards with the FLIR thermal and put one Barnes 70 grain TSX through his lungs.

He made it about 150 feet and died. The shields on this dude were a solid inch thick when we took out the loins for a BBQ party next weekend, each loin weighed 10 pounds....







Link Posted: 5/28/2013 12:59:57 PM EDT
[#35]
Was the weight before or after taking the loins??  Looks like a Much bigger pig than 160lbs.  But then-----
Link Posted: 5/28/2013 1:14:16 PM EDT
[#36]
You were reading kilos, the scale is reading 350 pounds prior to the tenderloin removal, loins weighed ten pounds each...
Link Posted: 5/28/2013 11:19:04 PM EDT
[#37]
AAHHH  much better.  Nice pig either way.  350lbs looks more like it.  Guess I need to put on my high mag reading glasses.  
Link Posted: 6/10/2013 8:02:55 PM EDT
[#38]
Told the game warden about some bear tracks we've been picking up around one of our hog feeders, so they set up a trap to catch him.

The bear also seems to like pork too, as we found this freshly killed hog next to the trap when we caught him, he'd broken the hog's back with one bite....





He was tranquilized and taken to Ocala National Forest for release....
Link Posted: 6/11/2013 3:38:17 PM EDT
[#39]
Always look forward to your kills Thom.

I need to get me a Hog Grappler.
Link Posted: 6/11/2013 5:46:37 PM EDT
[#40]
Quoted:
Always look forward to your kills Thom.

I need to get me a Hog Grappler.



The grapple works great for retrieving & weighing the BIG ONES!


Link Posted: 6/13/2013 4:43:45 PM EDT
[#41]
Is that considered small for a black bear? He sure did a job on that hog`s neck!
Link Posted: 6/13/2013 11:09:10 PM EDT
[#42]
it may have been good to keep that bear around to help kill those hogs
Link Posted: 6/14/2013 7:14:20 AM EDT
[#43]
Quoted:
Is that considered small for a black bear? He sure did a job on that hog`s neck!


Most black bears around here are about 300-350 pounds, although the Game and Fish recently trapped a couple of 650 pounders. The big ones probably got that large eating garbage around suburban areas, you don't get that heavy eating berries...

Link Posted: 6/14/2013 7:16:49 AM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
it may have been good to keep that bear around to help kill those hogs



Actually, there are hundreds if not thousands of alligators that love grabbing some pork by the snout when they come down to the water to get a drink or wallow in the mud.

There are a couple of 12-13 footers we give wide girth to when we are traversing their territory on foot.

There are only a couple of bears around....
Link Posted: 6/14/2013 7:34:50 AM EDT
[#45]
Quoted:
Quoted:
it may have been good to keep that bear around to help kill those hogs



Actually, there are hundreds if not thousands of alligators that love grabbing some pork by the snout when they come down to the water to get a drink or wallow in the mud.

There are a couple of 12-13 footers we give wide girth to when we are traversing their territory on foot.

There are only a couple of bears around....


Gotcha, maybe use the bears to help drive the pigs into the water for the gators.

Link Posted: 6/14/2013 9:17:07 AM EDT
[#46]
I would love to set up a Trail Cam for video near one of these giant Bull Gators hangouts and actually see them take down some of these hogs.

I know they did not get that big and fat eating frogs.....

Last weekend I had two seven foot gators in my yard, one in the front yard and another out back, then on the way into work this morning about 6:30AM a huge 10+ foot bull gator was laying in the middle of the driveway!
Link Posted: 6/17/2013 11:32:38 PM EDT
[#47]
Was sitting in the kitchen eating dinner and just finished and was washing the dishes in the kitchen sink, when I looked out the window and about 25 hogs were in my backyard in the twilight darkness. Ran over to the safe and dialed the combo and removed my SIG 716 7.62mm with FLIR T-50 Thermal and Barnes 130 grain handloads.

Slowly went outside with the FLIR LS-64 scanner and picked them up about 175 yards out. Got situated on my stand and was putting the ACOG crosshairs on one of the largest ones when suddenly two deer came running out from the side and stopped in the middle of the field. This black sow came running out about 100 yards to the deer and stopped right in front of them and the deer started snorting at the hog?

I figured I can take care of this for the deer, so put one Barnes 130 grain handloaded TSX through it ear.

BLACK HOG DOWN -> DRT!









Link Posted: 6/18/2013 6:33:02 PM EDT
[#48]
Here is a game cam pic of how my hog went to chase out the two does and ended up meeting a 7.62mm to the head...

Link Posted: 6/18/2013 6:48:48 PM EDT
[#49]
Cool thread, thanks for sharing.
Link Posted: 7/10/2013 4:14:35 PM EDT
[#50]
Great thread.  There sure is no wildlife like that down in my area of Florida (Miami).  I'd really like to do some hog hunting, but don't know where to go.
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