General discussion > Black Powder Shooting

The great Colorado hog hunt

(1/3) > >>

MuskratMike:
I just got back from my 1,150 mile (each way) trip to shoot a feral hog with my .54 caliber flintlock in Colorado. Originally the guide and I were hoping for one of his "Hogzilla's" (550 lbs. to 750 lbs.) but I was frankly a month too late. The ones he had left were unreachable even with his pack of hounds. It was also getting hot there in Colorado so the shooting from blinds was out as they had left for the morass of scrub oak before dawn each morning. It was decided by the both of us that we would use the hounds and I would shoot any of the larger hogs (350 +lbs.) the guides father and I rode around in a side by side on very narrow dirt trails cut through the scrub trying to follow the sounds of the baying hounds while the guide followed them with the tracking devise each dog had on. The hounds finally found some hogs and the fight was on. The largest one broke from the pack and all 3 hounds followed him, he came out onto one of the dirt trails just 50 yards from me with all 3 hounds fighting and worrying him. He spotted me and went right back into the scrub and made his stand in a 4x4 foot square opening in the scrub. His bad luck was he was only in the scrub a few yards from the trail I was on. The guide called off the dogs and I fired right behind his near front leg quartering to and through the far front leg killing him instantly. I will never know how the patched ball would have worked on a giant boar as this one weighed 350 lbs. I will say a .540 soft lead round ball patched with .018 ticking and greased with my combination of 50% T.O.T.W. mink and 50% pure neatsfoot oil over 75 grains of Goex 3F did the trick. It penetrated through the hog breaking the off leg and ending up in the hide on the off side. I couldn't have had a better time or treated better than Pete Severson Outfitters treated me. I will be writing a full article for MuzzleBlasts magazine with more pictures so look for it in the near future. Pete also has hunts for elk, deer, buffalo (including some pure white ones), water buffalo, Watusi bulls and exotic sheep like the Jacobs sheep in the picture.

wattlebuster:
Looks like that ball did exactly what its supposed to do. Congrats to you. Sounds like a great time

Daniel Coats:
Congratulations Mike!

Collbran is part of my old stomping grounds. We put up hay on that ranch in 1960.

Daryl:
Well done, Mike. Good shootin'.

Jeff Murray:
Glad you had a good hunt.  Hogs are a fun hunt.  I am still looking for a big boar with cutters.  Most places offering hog hunts tend to focus on the smaller ones with no tusks.  Did you hear any tall tales around the dinner table about the giants?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page