New guy on the boards saying hello.

[Mid-South Munitions]

Hello guys, and gals. My name is Zack and I'm a commercial ammunition loader from north Mississippi. I have been loading ammo like crazy for the last four years without much time for hunting up until this past election and have finally found time to get back out and hunt. I was recently invited on a hog hunt with a local charity organazation that I sponsor who take combat wounded vets out on hog hunts and it was my first exp with thermal hunting and man all I can say is I am def hooked on this type of hunting. Which is how I have ended up here. Since my hunt I have introduced the 458 socom to my production and am actively seeking to make a new thermal purchase. I have been watching countless YouTube videos trying to compare various models and have actually seen many videos from the lone star boar guys and when I found this forum I figured it would be the best place to ask guys in the know for advice on my first thermal. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated and very much welcomed. I have been looking at the ATN Thor hd 640 model and would like any input you guys may have. Here is the picture from my recent hunt.

 

[Ratdog68]

Welcome to the fray... lots of good input 'round here on optics for after dark!!

 

[Brian Shaffer]

Welcome!

 

[ZenArchery]

Good service you provide there.
458 some good recoil. Might wanna ask Todd what he's using.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

Welcome! Ignore a guy named DJ on this site. He is pissed that application to America's Got Talent was rejected. Apparently the judges thought that there wasn't much talent involved in killing dirt clods.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

As of right now the only thing rated for over .308 recoil is the Armasight pro line thermals. The pro line Zeus and Apollo are rated found up to 50bmg.

 

[FrankT]

Welcome to the fray

 

[djones]

all those hogs and guns and nobody's smiling?? y'all look like you're looking at scrambler, lol

 

[Mid-South Munitions]

Hey guys thanks for the responses.

Dj. I'm the guy second from the left. I was hanging around some real badasses that night and all of them are always so serious so I didn't feel as if I could smile. Lmao. We also killed our share of dirt clods that night. we managed to get these four and it was a group of about 35-40 hogs and I know we all emptied mags.

Texas lawman. I'm seeing here that a lot of people are running the 6.8. I know it's a pretty mean round but when shooting these pigs wouldn't you want more power? I know only being able to hold 9-13 rounds in socom is a draw back but it can be suppressed and actually has the weight to do some massive damage at sub speeds. I'm basically a complete noob to the hog hunting and am under the impression that if you can suppress your weapon with these pigs They won't run far and you can get multiple shots at pigs not hauling ass. Wouldn't that be a bonus to the 6.8? I've watched several of your videos and I see your slaughtering them but they are always hauling ass after the first shot. Typically when your hunting how far will the group run before stopping again and are you able to stalk the same group again without taking hours and miles to do so?

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

Welcome. I almost hate being "over-gunned". Kind of takes the fun out of it unless you are getting paid to do eradication. Part of the experience is the challenge of making a good shot and trying to make good follow up shots. Glad to have you here!

 

[djones]

badasses huh? i would have knocked all their caps off and stepped on them.

308 should certainly be a better stopper on running hogs if you just get a body shot. however, i've lost many a hog with 308 rounds in them from corelokts to hordnady sst and amax. i was shooting heavier bullets though, so perhaps they weren't fast enough in a 16" barrel.

the only hogs i've ever heard of sticking around to get shot again are the ones who've never been shot at before or the ones at lawman's petting zoo with hobbles on their legs.

the fun thing about the 6.8 is i get to take a lot of shots

ps - snake is never overgunned. hell his biceps are only about 17 caliber!

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I'll throw my $0.02 in here.

I think the caliber is important, but there are a lot of very skilled marksman on this page. I'm not going to mention names since one already has huge ego issues! Watch some of the videos, and it's like watching a video game. I'm continually amazed at the number of successful kills at distance on running hogs.

TLM has a video utilizing the .458. Get the bullet near the vitals and death quickly follows.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

Hey guys thanks for the responses.

Dj. I'm the guy second from the left. I was hanging around some real badasses that night and all of them are always so serious so I didn't feel as if I could smile. Lmao. We also killed our share of dirt clods that night. we managed to get these four and it was a group of about 35-40 hogs and I know we all emptied mags.

Texas lawman. I'm seeing here that a lot of people are running the 6.8. I know it's a pretty mean round but when shooting these pigs wouldn't you want more power? I know only being able to hold 9-13 rounds in socom is a draw back but it can be suppressed and actually has the weight to do some massive damage at sub speeds. I'm basically a complete noob to the hog hunting and am under the impression that if you can suppress your weapon with these pigs They won't run far and you can get multiple shots at pigs not hauling ass. Wouldn't that be a bonus to the 6.8? I've watched several of your videos and I see your slaughtering them but they are always hauling ass after the first shot. Typically when your hunting how far will the group run before stopping again and are you able to stalk the same group again without taking hours and miles to do so?

I like the 458 for big lone boars and in the thick brush. But for hogs in a open field it's 6.8 or .308 for me. It does not always work but when shooting suppressed sometimes they will not run far after the first shot sometimes they never stop it's about 50/50. Supersonic or subsonic does not seem to make a difference the bullet impact is loud either way so I prefer supersonic.
As for getting on the same group twice it rarely happens in the same day, sometimes the next night or the next weekend it can happen. Hogs aren't nearly as predictable as deer are. They will do the same thing every day for two weeks then just totally dissappear for months.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

I'm not going to mention names since one already has huge ego issues!

At least DJ / Dr Sus is funny though, it almost makes his vanity bearable!

 

[djones]

i could possibly tone it down some in exchange for a turkey buzzard banner

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

i could possibly tone it down some in exchange for a turkey buzzard banner

Think I'll deal with this like I do with my one year old. Everytime I hear you whine a banner is removed. Say goodbye to "I'm special."

 

[djones]

ugh ohh...

umm... how does your 1 yr old get his toys back??

 

[FrankT]

LOL, there goes I am special, hey that was the best one! Sorta like DJ rides on the "short bus"

 

[Ratdog68]

DJones is at it again...

 

[FrankT]

Think I'll deal with this like I do with my one year old. Everytime I hear you whine a banner is removed. Say goodbye to "I'm special."

FOR DJ...lol