Pulsar XQ38 pays off Florida hog hunt

jglass

LSB Member
My trail camera was showing hog in the bait at 7:00 PM so I set up at 6:15 PM for an ambush. At 7:00 PM I scanned the jungle and spotted a hog in the brush. I shot several minutes of video waiting for a clear shot at the hog. By this time I couldn't keep my leg from shaking. Finally the hog just left. I had a gut feeling it would return, an hour later 8:00 pm, I scanned the brush and saw 2 hogs headed for my bait pile. When I had a clear shot at the lead hog I fired, the hog flinched and took off running. I'm thinking, "crap did I miss again?" At least I had a video and could replay it to see what happened. Well, I made a good shot if the scope was dialed in. At 67, alone in the jungle I was not going to hunt for the downed hog that might not exist. Next day I take the 9mm for a walk in the jungle and found the hog.
The shot I made was an angular shot instead of a shot broad side. Looked like a lung shot, the reason the hog ran off.
The broad side shots I made last winter sent the hogs to the ground, no running off.

I'll post the video when I figure out how to trim it. Here it is, hope it works:





 

RattlesnakeDan

San Antonio Texas
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Welcome to the jungle! Good job, pigs die hard, some harder than others. Has taken me a lot to learn to shoot them in the head.
 

jglass

LSB Member
Shoot them in the head. Interesting, what load are you using and where in the head? I have avoided head shots thinking they would be less effective than shooting them from the side ahead of the front legs.

The thermo imaging scope is a fantastic piece of equipment. It can see wildlife in thick brush, the main reason I bought it. I does the
the impossible. The built in video allows me to review all of my shots. At first I thought I missed but reviewing the video I could see
I made a good shot. Turned out to be a lung shot, the reason the hog ran 120 yards or so. Thanks
 

RattlesnakeDan

San Antonio Texas
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If I'm hunting in that thick stuff it's going to be a shot in the ear hole every time I think.
 

bar-d

Head Wrangler, Chief Manure Manager: Bar-D Cattle
I am not a hard core hog hunter by any means. I try to trap them and sell them instead of strictly hunting them. Having said that, I have shot a lot of hogs that showed up while deer hunting or predator calling. I shot this hog a few years ago while calling coyotes. He came toward the call from several hundred yards I am assuming out of curiosity about all the racket going on. He made a turn and was about to get straight downwind of me and he stopped, lifted his head to sniff the air. When he did, I put a 39 grain SBK from my .204 Ruger in his right ear hole @ 156 yds and shorted out his CPU. He simply flopped over and never moved. The red spot on the ground is where he was laying on his right side, I rolled him over to check for any exit and to take pics. Now, I do not advocate or recommend going hog hunting with a .204 Ruger but I had enough confidence in my rifle and my ability to put a bullet where I want it, I did not hesitate to take the shot. Given the opportunity, like Rattlesnake Dan says, I would take the ear hole shot every time. After that, all bets are off as any other hogs have kicked in the afterburners and will be vacating the premises ASAP.
What it boils down to is if you are using a caliber you are comfortable with, a head shot on a hog will do the trick. Just watch some of Texas Lawman's videos as the majority of his first shots on a sounder are head shots. (A lot of follow up running shots too.)1120111721.jpg
 

RattlesnakeDan

San Antonio Texas
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Because he went to find him the next day, probably with his day gun.
 

bar-d

Head Wrangler, Chief Manure Manager: Bar-D Cattle
He says he took his 9mm and looking at the magazine in the rifle I assume it is a 9mm carbine.
 

theblakester

Got a black belt in keeping it real.
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Well done. I usually aim for the center of the neck if they're within 100 yards. Center neck = dead. Low neck = dead. Left or right of neck = shoulder or head = dead. Just don't hit too high on the neck. Their spine dips down coming back from the skull and the top of the neck is just meat and no vital. It usually stuns them for a minute and they get back up and run off without any fatal wound.
 

jglass

LSB Member
Next hog picture with have the pulsar in the picture. I took the 9mm AR because it was handy and light weight for walking around with.
I really like the 9mm AR.
 

Wildfowler

Mis'sippi
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9mm AR is capable of killing hogs. First hogs I ever shot with an AR were from a 9mm AR. I got two out of group of about a dozen 30-50 lb shoats.

Great video by the way. Resolution looks better than the new cheap FLIR scope.

How far away was that hog?
 

jglass

LSB Member
9mm AR is capable of killing hogs. First hogs I ever shot with an AR were from a 9mm AR. I got two out of group of about a dozen 30-50 lb shoats.

Great video by the way. Resolution looks better than the new cheap FLIR scope.

How far away was that hog?

30-35 yards. Where I hunt is jungle where the trees are so close together the maximum line of sight distance is about 125 feet. There are exceptions of course. I'm lucky to have a small area with very little ground cover. This was the idea of the thermo scope in the first place, to have the ability to see into the vegetation, it doubles my field of view. Hunting in Florida is much different from hunting in places like
Texas. Doubtful I'll ever have a 100 yard shot at a hog. I would like to hunt Texas just to experience the difference. I live in Illinois where it is common to see 10 to 20 miles over ground.

It took me time and effort to adjust to hunting in the jungle alone at night. The first time I parked the car at 4:30 am I couldn't bring myself to stepping into the jungle and walk to the tree stand. I sat in the car until daylight. Now I love the jungle at night, staying out until 11:00 pm, but my wife worries about me.

Here is a post I made, "afraid in the jungle":
Afraid in the Jungle alone at night | Lone Star Boars
 
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