Yep, ‘Make-Shift’ AND ‘Low-Tech’.

Got a group of hogs (about 25 all included) coming into one of the pastures. Thankfully, they are hitting the corn I have put out and not rooting the pasture (yet).



If this group hangs around a few more days and I can get a South or SouthEast wind, I might be in business.

I’d like to get a shot scenario where several of the pigs are ‘lined up’, in order to make the most of the first shot taken. Making that happen from an elevated stand/position is difficult….so I decided to throw something together on the ground.

I picked a small tree about 65 yds. away from the bait site….from which to make a small ground blind.

I scrounged around my shop and came up with a folding chair, a couple of metal stakes, a piece of PVC and a length of Aluminum Square Tubing that I fashioned a rifle rest out of. This is definitely ‘low tech’ guys!



Continued Next Post:

Since it is possible the pigs will come in before dark and because I will not be very far away, I needed to fashion something that will hide most of my body. I am 6’-5’ and 260 lbs. so I can’t just be sitting out there in the bald arse open!

I mounted the swinging rifle rest to the tree, set up my folding chair and made make-shift framework from which to hang some foliage.



With that done, I need to ‘brush in’ the framework. I really wanted some Cedar Boughs to dress the frame, but the nearest Cedar Tree was about ½ mile away. So looking around the pasture for something easy to cut….(and something the cows won’t eat), I spotted this little stand of Smooth Sumac.



Got my Machete and went to work. Ten minutes later…we are all brushed in.



I then backed up a little less than half the distance from the blind to the bait site….and looked back at the blind.



I think we’ll be O.K.

The plan is to let the hogs come in and feed for a little bit until they settle down. Watch for an opportunity when two or more hogs ‘line up’ and shoot. Then switch on my rifle mounted white light and let my laser be my sighting method until they clear the pasture.

Yes, its low tech (no thermal, no drones, suppressors, etc), but it has worked before.

Now…. if the hogs will just cooperate.

Good trap

Kill em all

Keep us updated!

If the pigs oblige, this will be good set up for 540 grain hardcast load (just subsonic).

Normally I shoot a 405 gr. jacketed soft point from the .458 SOCOM and it will also penetrate more than one pig (have done it many times), but the hardcast will be a good choice for this short range set up.

I am usually shooting at 100 yds. or bit over.

Pretty easy to get two lined up (even if not perfectly), but you've got to be quick and really watch for more than two.

Good luck. Two is doable/have done it, 3 or more is a different ball game. I recommend a good blood light and reflective markers for trailing.

I like the set up BTW.

I've hunted very similar setups for a few years now and it's very effective. As a matter of fact, I just setup under a tree now with no concealment since my hunting is primarily at night. A few words of caution. Keep an eye on your six and don't fall asleep.

I'm pretty good about staying alert and simply won't hunt if I am too tired to stay awake.

I have certainly had hogs approach from an unexpected direction before, but in this case they will not come from behind me. Certain terrain features and the wind direction just wouldn't allow for it. In this case I know where the hogs are coming from (almost directly from right hand side).

But your advise to stay alert is well taken.

Flint.

I actually fell asleep one night and woke up to a hog standing 10 yards away. instead of trying to swing my rifle around for a shot, I slowly drew my pistol and put at least one round into the pig. On another occasion, my son in law and I were hunting one night with a easterly wind and had a small sow sneak up within a few feet of our chairs. I kept telling him it was an armadillo and to stop being such a pansy, but it turns out he was right. She spun around and ran when she realized we were there, but luckily she ran to the feeder and we dropped her. Not that it really offer any protection, but now I setup a pop up blind.

I'm not worried in the least about being attacked by hogs....if that is your angle?

But it is important to stay focused...so I can get my best shot opportunity. I've had hogs approach a bait site and suddenly 'hang up'. That can be your only chance at a shot. They are sometimes predictable, other times not.

I was bow hunting a pop up about 20 yards from the feeder one evening, sounder came in JUST before dark, had already drawn on a nice sow under the feeder when i heard a twig break right in front of me. There was a pig right in front of me - so close i couldn't see him below the window. My fear wasn't being attacked, but him jumping at the shot and crashing straight through the blind. That'd make for an interesting situation at the least. Stood up and tried to shoot him in stead. took the shot (about a yard or so), he busted out of there, ran right by the blind. Never found him. Found half the arrow broken off on a tree about 20 yards behind me.

I'm much more comfortable off the ground or in a box blind for that reason. I like the setup! no shame in a low-tech brush blind.

How do you like that .458 socom? I was looking into those the other day.. seems like a great concept, although I imagine they're a little harder on the check book than a 5.56 or .300blk

OK, I gotcha. Yes, they can and will scatter all directions with no regard to what is in the way. Javelina are even worse about that. Been there, done that...many times with a bow. Archery (traditional) is my first love (46 yrs. of it last season).


Me too, also affords you so much better a view of things.


Yeah, the post is more tongue in cheek than anything. I'll do whatever necessary to kill pigs.



I put the rifle together expressly for hog hunting. I wanted something that would allow me to shoot hogs from any angle and still get good killing shots. I've been battling hogs on this property for over 25 yrs (shooting them, trapping, snaring, running with dogs). But they just make more.

With the SOCOM I can shoot through about as many hogs as I can get lined up (no more Mr. Nice Guy).

I handload for it, so the cost is not all that bad. I have loads ranging from a 100 gr. (yes 100) bullet @ 3,000 fps to 540 grs. subsonic and everything in between.

Unfortunately, the game plan has changed though. The hogs came back in last night right at dark, so they are doing their part. But the wind direction here is going to be from the North East the next few days. Absolutely wrong for my ground blind.

I am going to have back off to the pond dam (again) and shoot at 250 yds. Will get out the 7mm-08 for that.

Just got off the phone with my brother. He is coming up tomorrow with his 6.5 Creedmoor. We did this a couple of weeks ago. Only this time...we will have separate tables to shoot off of. Don't want his muzzle flash blinding me again.

Want to get the lead Sow out of this group. Then IF they return...maybe I can get set up on them with the SOCOM or maybe trap the smaller ones.

All depends on the pigs and wind direction. We'll see.

Will a 540 gr sub penetrate through a hog and into another - let's say 150 lb pig for sake of discussion

I would think it would be way more effective than 30 or 224 cal subsonic , I.e big bullet make big hole...

I just wonder bout penetration

The 405 gr. soft point will do that. I have taken a 'pair' of hogs many times using that bullet. The last time I got multiples was 3 hogs, but I have to stay off of the shoulders.

The 540 hardcast shoots through hogs like butter. It doesn't expand at all. I don't use it to shoot single hogs, the 405 or even a 300 gr. is plenty for that. But I haven't had a good opportunity to get more than two at a time lined up when I have my rifle loaded with it.

I have recovered every bullet type I load...from hogs, except the 540 gr. hardcast. I have never recovered one of those (from an animal). I don't know where they stop at, but its not in the hogs.

Penetration is going to be based on projectile material more than anything. Look into the lehigh defense 300gr extreme penetrator. It's a solid brass boolit with some machined scallops cut from the ogive to help aid it with some better cavitation. The solid construction allows you to push it into velocity ranges that will guarantee penetration w/o expansion.

They're really awesome little things.

Thanks for the response and good luck! keep us posted and take pics!!

Looking at that bullet makes me grin. I load the same bullet in a 405 grain for a 4570... it kills on both ends!!!!

... Still hung up on penetration and the stated intent of the hunt (multiple kills with 540 subsonic)

Two items I would like to bring in to the discussion

1) Interesting results on the paper and body armor



2) Are there any videos of double kills with any subsonic load on medium to large body game to study?

Good stuff Flintk - as others say record the carnage or take photos to share.

458 Socom subs and documented doubles are a rare find on the net - you may be on to something here....

I've had to change the plan, due to wind conditions.

The wind is all wrong for my close range set up and these pigs aren't going to stick around much longer.

So my Brother and I are going to set up at 250 yds. and snipe as many as we can this evening.

Pigs came in last night about dark (same as the night before), stayed on the bait site for about an hour.

We got the rifles sighted in dead on at 250 this morning:



Got the tables set up on the dam overlooking the pasture. We will be about 15' higher than the hogs at that distance (250 yds.) Site is baited out, hog light set up. Hopefully, they will show up about dark. Will report back.

If you have the opportunity to practice your countdown, it will probably help. If nothing else, get your rifle (unloaded) and count down by yourself a few times. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Click! The first couple of times I tried it, there was no Click! I learned that to ensure that you fire 'on command' you actually have to jerk the trigger a little. Practice helped, and my buddy and I have actually pulled it off a few times (although not always).

That is excellent advice and we actually practiced that today. The first time, Mark was out ahead of me again. The second time we were close. The third time we nailed it.

Then we tried speeding up the cadence and did well with that too. So no matter the cadence/rhythm...(faster or slower) we just need to follow it. Trigger on both rifles are very good, so we can just 'tap' them and not pull off target.

We will both immediately reload, but my brother is going to be the designated shooter for any hogs departing the pasture. I am going to spotlight for him, or at least that's the plan. Neither of these rifles have weapons mounted lights.

When using the SOCOM I take my first sighted shot though the scope, then cant the rifle over (keeping my cheek weld) and use the green laser which is co-witnessed with my scope at 100 yds. That way...I can just concentrate on finding the pigs with my weapons mounted white light and get the dot on them (if going away) or swing out in front. You can see the beam of the laser. But its strictly a close range weapon and we won't be using it tonight.

Sort of an interesting video. Far from conclusive however and certainly not germane with respect to performance on animals. Ballistic gel would have been better.

I don't know if videos (involving the SOCOM) exist or not (online), haven't ever looked. Double and triples with any caliber have been recorded and are not that unusual. I do it often enough (doubles) that it is something I actually strive for each time out.

Just depends on how dynamic the group is...as to whether or not you will get an opportunity. Ideally you want the pigs as close together as possible. That happens quite a bit with two pigs, less often with 3.

I have game cam video of singles and I believe at least one double. But that is the only source I have for getting video. Unless the hogs are right in front of the camera AND it is recording at the time of the shot, I don't get any documentation or get such a brief portion of it, you can't really tell.

That is the strong suit of digital and thermal scopes. Most let you record all the action.

Arrrrrghhhh!

Hogs 1
Flint 0

'Most' of the plan worked out this evening. Waited until dark to go to the set up, because I was concerned that the hogs might come in from slightly behind us. The wind this evening would have been bad for that. By waiting the hogs were already past our shooting position and 250 yds. downwind on the bait.

We walked in quietly, stopped at one point to look through the binoculars, hogs were on the bait, lit up like a Christmas tree under the hog light.

We made it to our tables, set up the rifles... being very careful to be quiet. Two of the Sows we were after were eating from the holes I dug and filled with corn. The rest were milling around.

I confirmed with my brother that he was going to shoot the one on the left and I was going to take the one on the right. "Affirmative".

His hog turned a bit so we were waiting for it turn back broadside. I saw that I needed to make a minor adjustment with my crosshairs... and when I shifted the rifle, the bipod made a slight (and I mean slight) chattering sound on the table!

Well, that's all it took. Up came their heads, tails shot out behind them....and off they trotted into the darkness!

They didn't really BLOW out of there, but it was a definite 'spook'.

We waited an hour, but they didn't return. Not a good sign.

For those guys who maintain that hogs "just have average hearing" and "are blind as bats" I have to wonder if they are hunting the same hogs that I am.

250 yds. away, one slight 'foreign' sound and that was it! Hopefully they will return later tonight. If so, we might a chance at them tomorrow night.

I blew it!

good luck! We're gonna try to go after some tonight also

Yeah, that happens.

A few years ago there was a sow with eight piglets hanging around where I hunt. A couple of times we surprised each other as I was driving along the fence line next to a pasture. The road is not right next to the fence, rather there are trees next to the fence with occasional openings. The wind normally blows across the pasture, and this sow would settle down in the afternoon in those trees and catch the cool breeze. I've never before nor since seen another hog do that, but I caught her twice within a few weeks. She'd take off before I could get out of my truck with a rifle. Finally, I decided I'd stop and walk the fence road. Naturally, that time she was camped out right at the corner of the pasture where I approach and spotted me again before I could even get there. She ran off with her piglets into the nearby woods.

I came back before sundown, set up a chair downwind of where she'd entered the woods and waited. She appeared rather suddenly, and spotted me as I ducked down and brought my rifle up. She dashed back into the brush, and I waited to see if she'd reappear. She stuck her snout out, saw my chair and dropped back into cover. Meanwhile the piglets were running around in the open, but she grunted and they began going back into the woods. I figured I might as well take what I could get that day, and shot a 40# piglet.

Some weeks later I spotted this same sow (now with seven piglets) in that same pasture. The piglets were wandering all over, and I kept moving in the trees trying to get ahead of where they might end up. They kept changing course, and finally I was forced into moving past them while upwind. One of the piglet raised its' head, gave a little squeal, and they took off back to momma.

Even the little ones can be pretty cautious and hard to fool sometimes, and it sure doesn't get easier as they get older.