Took a new rifle in a new to me caliber out to the pig lease this weekend, I am always excited to have the opportunity to try new gear in the field but this experience was unexpected and more awesome than I could have imagined.
Gun:While I prefer semi-auto rifles for their ability to carry many rounds and dispense them with ease - I was not in the mood to spend a significant amount of money at this time of budgetary circumstance so I decided to opt for basically the cheapest rifle available.
Savage Hog Hunter with green Tupperware stock and threaded mid weight barrel.
There are some reviews online if you want all the specifics on the gun but anyhow I caught a real good deal from SWFA in Midlothian and it is at my max weight for a carry rifle ~ 8lbs w/o optic.
It didn't come with any scope bases so I sprung for an EGW 0-MOA mount and spun on a KaK Industries blast can.
Optic:Sightmark PhotonXT 6.5x digital night vision with an aftermarket T-20 IR illuminator , my standard night hunting optic that travels well in 30mm QD rings from gun to gun.
Unfortunately there is no place to mount the IR out front of the scope and inline with the point of aim (POA). This proved tricky in two of four hunting circumstances and really needs to be rectified . Also my scopes vid connection (mini-plug) has developed play which is causing video to not record , I may need to send it in for service.
Truly I desire a thermal riflescope but that budget circumstance is a real concern versus amount of time to hunt. Bang for the buck...?
Ammo:While a die set, brass , bullets , and other parts are enroute I committed a rule violation against a self-imposed edict against buying factory ammo. $ 32.99 later I had a box of 20 factory Federal power-shock, 200 grain Speer Uni-Cor cartridges. Other than American Eagle ammo this is about as cheap as you can buy ammo for this caliber (in stores).
Sighting in the setup was a breeze no surprises - the PhotonXT isn't a precision optic so if I can hold 1 MOA I'm pleased .
Photo of target at 100 yards - final 3 shots are in the black dot
Boar # 1 :
A very sketchy character , he did non-stop security checks for 10 mins about 20 yards off to the side of the feeder. I could see him with the thermal handheld (bought this long ago before 2017 budget crisis) however he eluded my digital NV in the mesquite thicket. He eventually presented a shot as he walked across the opening ahead, 60 yards, and I dropped the hammer on him. The shot struck him squarely on the right shoulder and proceeded to exit the left shoulder, he dropped and kicked for maybe 5 secs. Then he lay completely still, as I suppose is how it should work when your shot but we know all to well that hogs present challenges to completing the death cycle.
158 lbs - no squealing or thrashing about
Boar # 2 :
While exiting the blind a short while after dispatching Boar # 1 , I detected a heat signature in the adjoining oats field. Closer inspection revealed an additional player in the high stakes game of hog hunting and I attempted for 15 minutes to get a decent shot on the boar. Unfortunately my scope was fighting me with a barrage of "No Signal" messages which became known to me later that the internal jack is jacked up. So when I finally get a signal to the DVRs liking I then struggle to cast IR light far enough out - this is a result of my reticle being too high in the screen Point of Aim - and waist high oats that is causing significant IR splash back. It's like trying to hunt Casper the Ghost in a snow storm... Finally the boar wandered to within 60 yards of my position on the fence line and I let loose on what I believed to be a full frontal shot however a later review of video shows the boar turned to his right and so he recieved the bullet in a sharply quartered angle on the left shoulder, the bullet proceeded through his guttrals and was recovered far back in the flank on his right side.
As I recovered from the shot I became concerned when I could not locate the boar, I pulled the thermal up and no heat signature or sign of a quickly departing hog - no squealing or thrashing about, I can only assume that like Boar # 1 he was immediatly rendered Dead Right There DRT. I waited for 10 minutes and decided to wade into the oat field scanning with thermal and walking in a circular zig-zag manner. I eventually located him, exactly where he took receipt of the 200 grain projectile.
163 lbs
The recovered bullet weight was 142 grains and the bullet mushroomed nicely, nearly to the full base of the bullet and the size of a 25 cent piece.
Further inspection in search of the bullet revealed that the 338 Federal is quite capable of delivering it's high terminal energy without being an overkill caliber with respects to recoil, powder charge, or exploding tip bullets. The entry and exit holes were nominally larger than the projectile's entry and exit sizes however the damage to the structural parts of the hogs shoulder as well as surrounding tissue and muscles was significant.
Boar # 3 :
Well into the second night of hunting activities me and DennisB spotted a hog skirting the large hay field, attempting to pass himself off as a small cow we weren't fooled and gave pursuit. Unfortunately the hog receded back into the mesquite thicket which requires a series of thermal scans and digital nv sweeps to find an adequate visual to place a shot. Many stalking yards and minutes later I had positioned myself within 60 yards of this boar who was happily grazing on waist high grass. I have to admit, I was ill prepared when I set off on the stalk without shooting sticks and so I took to the kneeling positions and the reticle waved over a couple of the areas I typically find productive in killing hogs. When I released the fury of the 338 Federal I experienced the momentary loss of visual sight picture on the target and as experienced with Boar # 2 I came up empty on locating the hog upon completing shot recovery. A short while later I used the thermal to confirm that he did just like the previous two receipeints of the Uni-Cor Award - he took his bow and didn't get up.
260 lbs - no squealing and no thrashing about, I'm beginning to wonder at this point a couple of things.
I ask DennisB about the many times we've hunted together using dozens of calibers not to mention various bullet designs within each caliber and whether he recalls any time during our hunts specific moments in which I dealt death so freely and efficiently. We had a good conversation about it and I just cannot figure out why I didn't try this caliber out sooner. I'm also beginning to miss the death squeal and I am contemplating sending Federal Ammunition a request regarding the ammo relative to the application of anti-squeal coatings. Cutting edge technology but I have to think I paid $ 32.99 for something special
Shot entered the left side of hog nasty's head and exited the right side of his head - I won't lie I was aiming for the CNS and missed, after viewing this hog and his impressive smile and muscular build I am thankful to have been more lucky than skilled in hitting the target -
Sow # 1
It was nearly 3 am, fatigue and 39 degree abnormal temps were beginning to take their toll, as DennisB and I set off on what would amount to be the final stalk of the evening we did so without the added weight or benefit of shooting sticks. I did have an extra long video cable that would tend to get intwined with my rifles sling and which was connected to what i believe to be a now possessed scope that hates me and oh yeah that IR light that just can't quite make it there to the area my reticle lives - point being all the factors that you'd like to see in place for a successful hunt were not with us. We decided to add the ever complex 3-2-1-FIRE countdown to the fun and well we both missed the opening shots at 150 yards plus. As I cycled a new round into the chamber I discovered a Sow who was more about striking a pose as a statue than doing what her sounder mates call Run! And so being the ever generous and kind guy that I am I steadied the pip on center of mass and squeezed that trigger - THWACK!
At this point I started to let the 338 Federal get to my head, I non-chalantly scanned for her downed heat signature only to be surprised to find her standing exactly when i saw her last. Motionless , silent, and now apparently feeding on the hay. Befuddled DennisB and I closed the gap and at 60 yards we verified a mortally wounded sow, standing as if to say is that all you got.
Best I can deduce is she was shook up so hard in the guttrals that she was paralyzed and decided to spend her final moments grazing on Stephens County's finest agriculture - I took a more concerted effort to place the second shot on her shoulder and released the Uni-Cor and this time she completed the death cycle by falling over in place.
It was too cold for photos but she weighed out at 125 lbs.
Final Conclusions :I never imagined going into the weekend that it would go so well - 4 for 4 with Zero additional tracking required . Sure 3 of 4 shots were within 60 yards. This was different and i can only attempt to relay it in terms of my personal hunting experience from the last decade across many calibers - nothing has worked so effectively and efficiently on hogs as the 338 Federal.
This is THE SLEEPER cartridge of the 21st century and I cannot wait to get out again and see if the trend continues.
I hope you found this report useful - I'm as happy as a Pig in Mud
