After over 6 months of learning, testing, developing, re-learning and practicing, I finally feel confident enough in my TAC30/30 Herrett to take it out in the field to try to find a willing victim to test it on. While in MS on a turkey hunt, I took time to do some hog hunting and got lucky on the second night. My buddy had pictures of a large boar that was making regular appearances so I was pretty sure I had a good chance to get a shot on something. The first night was a bust with nothing but deer and raccoons showing up by the time I gave up and got some sleep. The second night was a different story as this hog showed up shortly after dark. After the shot, I decided to get a second round into the hog since it wasn’t giving up as quick as I would like and the area I’m hunting in is very tight with swamps all the way around me. My buddy wanted to butcher this hog for sausage too, so I didn’t want to take a chance on it getting a second wind and leaving the area. As it turns out, my rifle short stroked and didn’t pick up a second round. You can hear the click as I pulled the trigger. After charging another round and lining up on it again, it was obvious a second shot wasn’t needed so I held my fire rather than damage more meat. It taped out at 215#. Not as big as it looked when it was tossing that barrel around like it was a play toy. I’m shooting Nosler Ballistic Tips 125gr at 2725 fps with Starline “basic” brass formed for the TAC30.
After shooting the hog, I just assumed it was the big boar that we had on camera, and even when measuring it I thought it was a boar, but didn’t verify. It wasn’t until we started to gut the hog and milk poured out that we said WTF. It turned out to be a sow with milk, but no sign of nursing piglets or on-board fetuses. A couple days later, my buddy called me and said when he was butchering the hog, he found what appeared to be under-developed testicles under the skin. It seems like I have a knack for shooting sexually screwed up animals this year.
After shooting the hog, I just assumed it was the big boar that we had on camera, and even when measuring it I thought it was a boar, but didn’t verify. It wasn’t until we started to gut the hog and milk poured out that we said WTF. It turned out to be a sow with milk, but no sign of nursing piglets or on-board fetuses. A couple days later, my buddy called me and said when he was butchering the hog, he found what appeared to be under-developed testicles under the skin. It seems like I have a knack for shooting sexually screwed up animals this year.