Hello all,

I live in Houston Texas and I would like to pay to visit an outfiiter or someone ranch to shoot hogs. I only did this once with a friend at his other friend ranch, but no hogs come often. I plan to buy a AR10 for fast follow up shots, but this want happen til 3 months from now, when I get more money.

I been practice on the bench with this rifle I bought for deer hunting https://savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=19686.

Questions:

1. Is it recommended to shoot hogs with bolt action rifle? My goal is to shoot as many hogs as I can as etihcal and accurate as possible. I do plan to buy AR10 later on, but I just want to shoot the rifle for now since I already bought it and no kills with it yet.

2. How can I practice to shoot fast (and fast bolt action reload) and accuracy with my bolt action rifle to get more hogs?

3. Or is better to wait to buy AR10 with appropriate scope with quicker follow up shots?

Thank you,

Dry fire

And do it from the positions you will be hunting. Start out with your scope turned down, pick some fixed object as a target, shoot it. Maintain your cheek weld and sight picture while cycling the bolt, get the bolt closed and locked, reticle on target and shoot it again. You're not using any ammo, but you will know where the reticle was when the trigger went click. It does not harm a centerfire rifle, it costs zero dollars, and is very good for building muscle memory. As you get better at it, turn your scope up some. It will show your wobble, and increase the difficulty at getting the rifle to be still.

I’ve shot 4 hogs out of a sounder with a bolt action and 4 with a pump action shotgun with slugs. Practice enough with any weapon and you can become proficient t with it.

Thank you FiremanJG for responding:




My next task is to find some hog hunting outfitters so I can see the positions I will be shooting or their hunting setups (blind window and chair, or standing up, etc)



1. I was thinking of dry fire practicing in my bed room or back yard dry firing (unloaded and safety first, magazine pulled out.). Does it matter if I am not outside at 100 yards or so away aimining at target? Or am I just practicing get my eye sight in the scope position correctly with a target on the wall about 5 yards away in room or back yard?




2. So once I pull the trigger and shoot, I am NOT suppose to lift my head, get the bolt closed and locked, and then put cheek back on weld and place reticle on target? just making sure.

Are you referring to like this guy below?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErugLaLMiuE





3. What do you mean by "turn your scope up some"? Do you mean hold the rifle up in without any rest (sandbad or bipod,etc) and sheet standing or sitting with the strength of only my arms?

Thanks for the help.

Thanks SapperTitan for responding.

Very impressive. What is a sounder?

A group of hogs. Like saying a pack of wolves, a pod of whales, a murder of crows, etc.

SapperTitan,

How did you shoot 4 hogs out of a group with a bolt action so fast? When shot did they not take off running? Which means you would have shot them while they are running.

Yes. After the first shot, they will be moving. If they are in a field, you can take down quite a few before they make it to cover, even with a bolt. With practice, you can run a bolt action pretty fast.

Sounder was passing by I waited till the majority had walked past my location then shot the lead sow. After that they took off running back the way they came. I shot the second one and 3rd as they ran then a strangler that went the wrong way tried to catch back up to the group and I shot her. Whole thing lasted prob less then 20 seconds

All of these are with a pump action shotgun built in the 70s. After enough practice you don’t even have to think about working the action on a pump or bolt action you just do it.

That is very impressive SapperTitan,

20 seconds and 4 hogs down. Nice work.

Questions please:

1. Did you lift your head from butt on rifle after each shot and then work bolt action, and then refocus in the reticle and fire, repeat?

Please explain your mechanics of moving during this shooting.

The positions are supported or unsupported. Supported means the rifle is resting on some kind of fixed object. A fence, a tree, a truck, sitting on the ground with your pack, anything that might be around during a hunt. I have built rifle supports from 6" to 6'6" at my range, for this very reason. You have to figure out what to do with your whole body, at each height, and that is what I teach the second half of the day. Unsupported is just you and the rifle. Again, there are techniques for each position. You feet, knees, butt, legs, elbows, and hands can all be adjusted into different positions to aid in steadying the rifle.

It doesn't need to be 100 yards, but farther than 5 yards. A knot in a privacy fence, the top of a t-post, just some fairly small fixed object a distance away.

No, don't lift your head. It drives me crazy. Let the rifle cycle the ammo, no one needs to watch it do it. No more than anyone needs to watch pistons cycling inside the engine of their vehicle. Let the machine do its' job. One reason I don't prefer Savage actions, they do give trouble cycling. Exactly what Frank was doing in the video is what I am referring to.

Turn the magnification up. The higher the magnification, the more it will show your wobble, the more you will fight it, and the better you will get at it.

Watch Wild Boar Fever. These guys are very fast with bolt action rifles.

I like Franz's video a bit better, 6 hogs in quick succession.

no I never lift my head but after each shot I open both my eyes so I can acquire another target easier. Basically it’s easier to choose a target with both eyes open. Once I have my target aim fire repeat. You should never have to lift your head same with a pu
P shotgun.

to have multiple hits you'll need

an open field
stay back as far as you're comfortable shooting (150 yds or more )
heavy barrel (reduces flip)
smooth action
leave scope on low power 2x
know your distance at different spots along their travel

practice and get a perfect cheek rest
if done correctly, you should re-acquire sight picture naturally

practice shooting them on the run
once you've done a few you 'll know how much lead to hold at particular spot in the open field

if you want a real practice: set up 3-4 targets, 12", 20,40,60 yds apart at distance
shoot all targets with all the ammo in your mag
if you can do it without losing cheek rest and removing your eye from the scope.... you're on your way

Here is another example of shooting quickly with a pump shotgun without ever lifting my head or losing sight of the hog. Had to shoot Themis boar 5 times

IME you don’t need a heavy barrel, open fields, don’t need to be far away I prefer 50-75 yards, and put the scope on whatever magnification you are comfortable with. All ya got to do is practice

He is the fastest of the bunch. Pretty incredible.

Thank you FiremanJG,

I will respond to you in the morning, I had to work late.

Thank you very much Choctaw

Thanks cabosandinh for responding. I will respond in the morning. I had to work late today

Thank you for your detailed response.

one added note..keep both eyes open

All what has been said above is great advice. The number one thing I see after a shot is shooters pull their head off the rifle (losing the added cheek support during cycling), cycle the bolt, then rebuild their position and try to get back on target while scanning in the scope. When you pull your head off, you lose the added support of cheek pressure you can place on the rifle when cycling. And you lose the position you built and the ability to quickly get back on target. (I see this all the time at the THF shooting matches).

I have shot pigs and varmints with AR's and I have shot them with bolt guns. I actually find myself more accurate with a bolt gun and get more kills quickly with a bolt than an AR. The reason why is most of the time you just miss quicker with an AR. You are more apt to rush the shot with an AR and pull the shot (which I feel myself doing) since you have a full mag of ammo on tap. But I'm more precise with a bolt gun and I don't feel any disadvantage with a bolt gun for multiple shots.

this is good information, thank you