Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Corn Eaters of Florida (w/apologies to Corbett)

Yesterday my BIL and I went to the lease to check a few feeders. The feeders normally fire at 5:00, but it was after 5:00 before we got there and all but one had fired. The one that didn't fire had been assaulted by a band of raccoons that somehow got the top off the feeder and totally messed up the timer. They're next on the list!

Anyway, it was about 6:30 when we finally made it to the blinds. My BIL took a tree stand overlooking a feeder, and I set up a small ground blind - well, not really a blind: I just sat behind a young pine tree to break up my outline - 46 yards from a feeder that sits on the edge of a gas line right-of-way. I wanted to try his shooting sticks, so instead of sitting in a stand I sat on a camp stool behind the pine tree.

The mosquitos were out in force (it is Florida, after all), and the dove and squirrels had moved in to forage some of the scattered corn. I learned a long time ago to pay close attention to them as they will be the first to tell you when pigs are on their way. About 7:25, with about 45 minutes of shooting light left, the dove and squirrels scattered so I knew a pig was coming in. Dove and squirrels don't generally run when turkey come in, and the deer never bother with the corn, so it could only be either pigs or raccoons.

This time it was pigs: three of them, all the same size (about 60-65 pounds), one black sow and two gray boar. I'd seen one of the boar before and recognized him as being the one with the gimp right foreleg. He'd evidently broken it at the elbow at some point, and although it had healed it was still a bit stiff. But it never seemed to slow him down. I'd spooked him before, and he was every bit as fast as his brother and sister. I decided he would be the one I'd take.

Once under the feeder he never would turn broadside to me, so I knew I was going to have to take the shot as he rooted for the corn on the ground. He would turn his head to the left briefly, pick up a kernel, then turn back facing forward. The only clear shot I had was of his backside, and I had no interest in driving the bullet up through his spine, so when he finally turned to the left again to pick up a kernel I took the shot.

The bullet entered just behind the left ear, a little higher than I would have liked, and exited through his forehead. He hit the ground and never made a sound (a good sign of a DRT hit), only pumped his legs a few time as pigs often do. At the shot, the other two pigs disappeared. But they'll be back. Their bellies always get the best of them.

By the way, the Primo Bipod Shooting Sticks (trigger activated) work very, very well in a ground blind. I've ordered a set for myself.

Here's a shot at the young boar:




Here's the entry wound:




Entry and exit (M70Fwt, 7x57, 139gr Prvi SP):

That should be good eatin size!

Yeah, he'll cook up pretty well.

and another one bite's he dust. Good on ya' Oughta be tasty.

Coupla thoughts.

Sometimes on the small porkers I'll clean them, then while they're hanging, use a sawz-all and split them longways along the backbone. Season them and throw both halves on the pit. Or put one half in a large browning bag, slather with your favorite mix and bake at 250 until it's fall off the bone tender.

Now as to deterring coons.........

I've seen guys take a 6 foot piece of 4" pvc and put on the feeder legs. When the coons try to climb, the pipe rotates and the can't get to the spinner plate.

I use coon cages



works on the coons



Sometimes have pix of two hanging from the cage trying to pull it down.

Determined and persistant critters.

Best,

GWB

We cannot use tripod feeders on our property, because the bears knock them over, which usually causes damage.
We hang ours 10 ft off the ground between trees.

Congrats Rev!

Thanks, G; determined and persistent they are. Love the pic of one hanging from the cage. That fellow is an acrobat. Almost all of our feeders look like this. We don't have to sheet all of them, but those with coons close by get the "aluminum" treatment. The few we have hanging from oak trees, well, we're just going to have to remount them on free standing frames like this one.

Nice size eating pig easy to drag too.

Ratcoons make great archery targets if you bow hunt just keep both eyes open ,you can climb a tree 15 yards above them -they pay no attention to human scent. Also I enjoy taking my cz 22 and popping them with a CCI Quiet 22lr round I do it the night I fill feeders because hogs won't come in that night anyway -around here at least -panama city beach area.
Good shot -absolute lights out.
Mike

grease on the tripod legs will also discourage the coons

I hang mine between trees on a cable and use a handwinch mounted low on one of the trees to lower and raise the feeder.
I install pvc pipe on the cable on both sides of the feeder.
Discourages most of the accrobats.

We supplement feed on the ranch I hunt in FL and use a similar setup.





Otherwise, the little bandits have a field day with the protein feeder cans.




Where are you located in FL Rev?

East coast, near Sebastian. You?

Same, Vero. Hunt the Pressley ranch near Yeehaw junction.

Vero. My favorite place.

Small world. Sent you a PM

Great pictures MCT3 !

I might have to get some panels and make a deer/turkey set-up like that. The hogs run off everything except the ratcoons and squirrels. Nice buck.

Ditto that.

At one time I kept two pens set up with protein in demand feeders.
And no Mariah, we did not shoot animals out of these pens or even in the general vicinity. They were for supplemental feeding on a 3,000 acre low fenced/no fenced ranch.



IIRC this one the owner of the ranch called Hartford.

He was like a Dr. Doolittle. Had lived there since 1961. Didn't use A/C or heat or watch TV. Would go to town once every two weeks.
He would name all his critters. Had two big boars that would come up and eat out of his hand. One was named Jimmy Dean, the other Gorgeous. No hunting was allowed on this part of the ranch. I would get a kick out of riding with him in his truck when he'd go out. He'd have a 5 gallon bucket of corn next to him in the seat. He'd stop at particular spots, bang a coffee can on the side of the truck and strow corn out the window. Within a couple minutes there would be fallow deer, sika deer, blackbuck antelope, white-tail does and a sounder of hoglets chomping down.

A couple more pix.....





Best,

GWB

Funny stuff ..
How high should the fence be so our small florida deer can get in ?

Hog panel works. It keeps the shoats out. They go right through the 6 x 6 wire mesh panels and hoover the corn right up. Three foot would be good enough to keep hogs out. Forty or so inches will do if you've got cows. I run tee posts into the ground and run a stand of barbed wire along the bottom and the top. Stretch the bottom tight to keep hogs from digging under. Top is for insurance if you got cows. If you got elk, buffalo or a big Brahma bull, you're SOL. If you've got horses you need a pen also as they can reach up and tongue the spinner plate. Four horses will empty a 350 pound feeder in two weeks.
GWB

Really fine pics! Looks like Prancer, Donder, and Blitzen on summer vacation!

Vero Beach here also, transplanted from the keys via PA.
Never fired a shot in Florida as i prefer some distance for my hunting.
So the steep ridges and wide valleys of N C PA still get all my attention.
As for the small Florida deer, pick up a copy of the june issue of florida
sportsman magazine or go on line and read the deer article. It just might
change you thinking on that.

Nice pics GWB....really nice axis bucks.

Ol mike - Thanks. I've got hundreds of theses pics showing some pretty cool interactions between various animals. Our fences are about 4ft high. The deer clear them with ease. This property is a cattle ranch and GWB is right, it's a good height to keep the cows out.
You mention the hogs running everything off. I've seen our Turkey's (Osceola's) run hogs out from under a scatter feeder on more than one occasion.

Very cool and welcome to Vero. There is a lot of great hunting around here and west to Okeechobee. I've been here about 15 yrs and hunting FL took some getting used to.....having grown up hunting the mountains of VA. There are some quality deer in this area of FL. Here's a pic of one of the nicer bucks that I've taken in this area.

MCT3,

nice buck.

Sounds like you guys got it goin' on.

Good on ya'!

I for one would luv to see any pix you wanted to post of the country you hunt, the way ya'll do things and any game cam pix you wanted to post.

I very much enjoy seeing how others do things.

Best,

GWB

No problem GWB. I too enjoy seeing pics and you've posted some great ones from Texas.

We have a lot a variety on this cattle ranch - oak flats, pine flats with lots of open palmetto areas and swampy, cedar areas.

Here's a pic I took from my climber over looking a winter food plot.





Took this buck that day with a 260 at about 200 yds







Some cam pics:



[img]http://i1232.photobucket.com/a...se/DeerSouthPetty4_zps26600a69.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1232.photobucket.com/a...Lease/Fishhole2010_zpsa7c3fd95.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff366/gausi641/GatorholehogsampBuck_zps5ba10d8b.jpg[/img]

that buck is the mount you showed is it not?

I do like the 260 cartridge among others. I shoot a 130 gr.
Accubond out of mine.



I'm amazed that the cows and hogs don't knock over that low feeder. All of mine are on 10' EMT legs and each leg has two pieces or #4 x 2' rebar driven into the ground then wired with tie wire.

Also quite diverse topography. Our country is so rocky that a food plot would involve a major expense......



and irrigation. lol

GWB

Yes it is. Nice country. Sako 260?

We've converted more to food plots which do well in FL as price of feed is getting prohibitive. Occasionally the feeders would get knocked over but it has never been too much of a problem.

The creek swamps offer some good fishing as well. My son is my guide now.

The Seminole indians inhabited this land at one time. One of the cool things about this ranch is some of the artifacts that you find and a lot of the small groves, grapefruits, oranges, tangerines that they planted in the middle of some of swampy areas are still flourishing. We harvest some fruit from them every year.

Looks like ya'll have your own slice of heaven.

Good stuff.

Yes,sir, Sako 75 Varmint. Love the set trigger.

GWB

I'll post tonight's adventure tomorrow after a Jack Daniels and a good night's sleep. But another east coast Florida boar fell to the old 7x57 this evening.

Till then.

Best,

GWB

Yesterday afternoon, my BIL and I went to the lease to fill the feeders and check on a few things. It was hot, and by the time we finished it was almost 6:00 p.m. and still around 90 degrees in spite of a thunderstorm moving through. Luckily, it went just to the west of us and we didn't get drenched as is so often the case this time of year. The ground lightning kept things interesting, though.

A little after 6:00 I dropped BIL at a ground blind and headed to a stand about 3/4 mile north. You can barely see the feeder in the picture below, just at the end of a natural shooting lane. Note the two small palmettos on either side where the lane narrows. That is exactly 23 yards from the stand. The feeder is another 15 or so yards beyond that.



I sat watching a few squirrels nibble on some corn when a raccoon came in and began to eat. There was enough corn on the ground that he didn't feel like he needed to attack the feeder so I let him eat. He was going to be my signal when something bigger started to move in.

At about 7:35 I saw him freeze, look to the north, then scamper up a tree. I looked to my right and there was a pig moving towards the corn, but before he got there he disappeared into a myrtle thicket. Something spooked him. I know he didn't see or hear me, and while it's possible he smelled me - you gotta use a lot of DEET this time of year - I don't think so as I was far enough away and the wind wasn't blowing his way. But for whatever reason he never came back.

The racoon came back down the tree to eat, and just after 8:00, with shooting light fading, I texted my BIL to tell him I was climbing down. I'd no more hit "send" when the coon went back up the tree. I sat back down and about two minutes later five pigs, all in the 85-90 pound range, came in from my left. Oddly enough, they didn't head to the feeder but instead, crossed the lane single file just on the other side of those two small palmettos in the picture. The first pig, a brown one with black spots, started across, stopped for an instant, then continued on. The next pig, identical to the first, did the same. I had my rifle up with the crosshairs on where the third pig would cross. It did the very same thing as the first two, but when it hesitated I pulled the trigger. Once again, the old 7x57 did as expected.

Here's the boar, showing the entry wound.




Here's the exit wound.



As usual, the CNS shot anchored the pig where he stood. No tracking required.

My wife told me that I'm killing them faster than she can cook them. I told her they're reproducing faster than I can kill them. All in all, it ain't a bad way to spend a summer evening.

Great job Rev.....keep hammering them! I'd love to see a pic of that ole 7x57.

That shot will do it every time. By the look of that country ya'll probably have rattlers and or cotton-mouths. Seems like one would want to be careful where he placed his foot.

Great story, I can picture it in my mind.

I know it ain't hunting elk after humping 20 miles in, but it sure ain't a bad way to spend an evening.

I'm hoping to go to my place on the 19th. It will have been almost a month since I pulled the trigger on a critter and my SDD (shooting deficit disorder) is starting to make me itch, scratch and bite.

Question fer ya'll, do you ever use a thermo-cell to ward off mosquitios and gnats. I use one here, mainly in bow season when it can be in the high nineties.

GWB

Thanks. It's the cartridge that's old. The rifle, not so much.

We call it "going to group therapy" when it's just to the range; but I like SDD when the itch to take a pig needs scratched. I just bought a Therma-cell last week, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Everyone I know swears by them. After a while DEET makes stuff go numb!

7x57's come and go, all that is except this one.



A friend who was an itenerant gun-crank built it. Mauser 96 action, douglas air gauged barrel, timney trigger.
The guy that built it hand carved (so he says) the stock out of Mesquite. It is a shooter. I pretty much load 140's in all my other 7's, but 150 gr. ballistic tips is what it feed this.


GWB

Very nice Win 70 in a great cartridge to boot!

GWB beat me to it. I started using a Thermacell a few years ago....works great when you are going to be stationary for awhile. It's been a game changer.
It's miserably hot and humid already and the time of day Rev was out when he shot his hog is when the mosquitos, Horse flys and No-See-Ums are out in force.

Sweet custom Mauser GWB!

Although its hot in the hill country I've hunted near the Texas gulf coast all my life. It can be 100 degrees in September and October and the humidity be 95%. Sitting in a Tri-pod 8 foot off the ground in long legged and long sleeve synthetic leafy wear cammo with necessary face mask and gloves with not a puff of breeze and sweat trickling down your back between your shoulders and into your eyes, glasses fogging up and trying to ignore the biting flies while waiting, waiting waiting waiting then seeing a doe coming in, coming to full draw, she gets hung up, your muscles are burning and then she gets your wind, snorts, flag goes up and poof..........



Best,

GWB

Danged old yellow flies were out too. They'll drive you insane. Thermacell work on them?

As they say, that's why it's hunting and not killing.

Thermacells work. May not keep off chiggers and ticks, but work for everything else IMHO.

GWB

Yes! Give the Thermacell about 15 mins and you can sit in the swamp pretty much unmolested.....at least from the flying, biting insects.

You can count on that because even the DEET isn't enough - and I'm using 98%!

Sure do!

Rev,

You guys seeing many Rattlers on your place? We've definitely been seeing more big ones the last few years.

The east side is a piney sand ridge, and they really like that, so yeah, we see a few.

When I come across one I might as well go home since I'll be hunting snakes for the rest of the day.

That's a big'un.


I've hunted the Texas hill country for 15 years now. Seen only two rattlers on the four leases I've been on
.
However we had a place in east Texas between 1961 and 2007 Four acre lake and a mile of frontage on Peach Creek. Moccasins, rattlers, coral snakes, and copperheads were the poisonous varieties. Tons of cotton-mouth moccasins. One thing about them (moccasins) is that many times, especially on the water, when you got near them you could smell a rotten-egg/putrifaction smell. You knew then you were getting too close.
Over the years it seemed I developed almost a sixth sense when it came to snakes. I'd be walking along a path hunting squirrels. Don't know whether ya'll still hunt or not. My grandfather taught me to walk a few steps, then stop for five minutes or so, then walk a few more steps then stop again for an interval. Slip along quiet and slow, especially under white oaks with a canopy. Many times you would see them moving before they would see you, or you'd hear them cutting acorns or pine cones. I'd use my grandfather's Winchester 63. Nailed many a squirrel. Any how back to snakes. I'd be slipping along looking up and the next thing I'd know I'd get a feeling and either jump back or take a leap forward. Almost always would be a snake that I'd have stepped on in the pathway. Can't tell ya' how many times that happened.

Best,

GWB

This is great news...

How are you keeping the pigs out of those plots? And glad to know there's another .260 in Indian River County!

That be a Boone in Ok

As for coons, don't you guys just get some coon cuff traps and anchor them to a big log? That way when ya catch a coon, the hogs come by and kill the coon and eat it? Two bird with one stone it seems. (1) Kill the coon, (2) get rid of the coon without even touching it, (3) might make good hog bait! No? Some here shoot coons over a bear bait and in a few days those coons are eaten.

sounds like a plan.

I'd invest in some.

Been planning to buy some foot hold traps and get started trying to trap coyotes while I'm there. All of a sudden we have three packs.

Any particular brand of coon cuffs you recommend.


GWB

We can't....free range for hogs, deer, cattle, or whatever else. The plots survive pretty well, despite.

Yeah, I really like my 260 and 6.5x55's. I also have a Win 70 FWT but in a different metric than yours, swede that likes 140gr NPT's.

Very interesting. We use coon cuff traps but I've never seen a hog eat a coon. I was telling Rev that one of the land owners has a friend who likes trapping. He was running coon cuff traps daily for several weeks. He was just focusing on a 1000 acre area of the ranch and trapped 90 coons in a 2 week period. I don't know what brand he uses or if he makes his own....I'll ask next time I see him.

Sweet!!!

Thermo cell is awesome. The best $20 you'll ever spend.
Here in Florida it is a necessity.
Permetherin works well for ticks.
Wearing boots, or gaiters, is the only thing that works for chiggers.

I'll definitely be firing it up the next time I'm in the stand.

Another nice pig Revmike ..

I too love the 260 -have a model seven stainless -great little cartridge.

At first glance I thought that plot was a golf coarse -laf.

A few of us went to the camp yesterday to do some work around the cabin. We cleared palmetto off the lakeshore, built a new generator shed, and put a new floor in the outdoor shower. It was mid-afternoon by the time we finished, and rest of the guys decided to get cleaned up and settle in for the evening. I decide on a late afternoon hunt.

About 4:00 the skies opened up and we had one of our usual summer afternoon thunderstorms, but by 5:30 it had slacked off enough to drive to the stands. I headed north to check out one of the feeders on a gas line right-of-way, and when I got there three hen turkeys were already there. They didn't hang around long and there was plenty of corn on the ground, so I decided to stay.

Since there wasn't any movement around the feeder, I decided to head north to check out another stand. I parked on the main road leading to the feeder, headed east across the right-of-way, and eased my way south of the oak from which the feeder hangs. I have killed pigs under that feeder before even making it to the stand.

This time, however, the feeder never fired. The raccoons had jimmied the latches on the feeder lid, knocked it off, and had helped themselves to some of the corn. As they did they also disconnected the wires from the battery, so the feeder hadn't fired. I'm going to put snaps on the latches this week!

I reconnected the battery, reset the timer, put everything back together and headed for the truck. As I was crossing the gas line, I noticed something under the first feeder I'd stopped at so I decide I would give it another try. As I turned the truck around and headed back out the access road, I spotted for 4 or 5 pigs standing together in the road. Evidently they were on their way to the feeder when they saw me, and froze when they saw my truck heading their way.

I stopped the truck and began to wonder how this was going to play itself out. If I waited too long, they would all be gone. If I opened the door with the truck running, the "dinging" of the key alarm would undoubtedly spook them. So I put the truck in park, took the key out of the ignition (so the key alarm wouldn't sound), and opened the door just enough to slip the rifle barrel between the door frame and the cab since we were facing one another head-on. All but one of the pigs slipped away. This sow stayed put. I had to take the shot left handed, but the old M94 once again did what it has done for the past 52 years: put meat in the pot.




I don't know if you can see the entry wound, but the bullet entered the side of her face between her eye and her snout, and traveled up into her brain. It was evidently lodged there as there was no exit wound anywhere.




At my shot, she hit the ground, rolled onto her side, pumped her legs a few times, and was still. She'll cook up just fine.

They say a wink is just as good as a nod to a blind horse.

An off- handed shot at a target of opportunity is better than one not taken. And as the pics prove ,sometimes a plan comes together.

Good on ya!

GWB

Yup -gitter done Mike..

Do you get by with a circular pen with cattle around or do you have to make square corners with guy wire anchors?

I do the same with a 63 in the switch cane and palmetto bottoms and pin oak bottoms and pine and post oak and white/red oak hills around Piney Creek in Polk Co. There are very few rattlers but a fair bit of moccasins and copperheads.

It's nice to still hunt down a trail by the creek in the switch cane after the pin oaks drop acorns. A startled cat squirrel will notice something amiss and jump up on a trunk. Then it's time to try a head shot before it's gone.

Rev/MC: just now saw this thread. You guys are about two hrs south of me. Are you in cattle country? Pigs roam up here too, even in populated areas of Orange Park where I live. Nice to see open country in Florida. Again, thanks for sharing.

Yep. Millionaires to the east of us, cows to the west. Y'all are having problems with bears up there now, aren't you?

One guy in particular does a round pen at his two locations and has not had a problem with cows getting in .

As hog panel is 16'in length I generally make my pens 31' x 31' square, overlapping a foot and space the T-posts about 6' apart or so. Yes, I usually brace from the inside corner with a diagonal T-post.



Work great for keeping hogs out, or in,




depending on whether one is supplemental feeding the deer or intent on trapping hogs.

Best,

GWB

Thanks GW

Fox squirrels are easy.








Catching a cat squirrel sitting still long enough to get a shot with a 22 can be a whole 'nuther ball game.

Polk County, Texas? Our place was north of SH-105 just east of Cut-n-Shoot.

GWB

Yep! even have some hogs in the neighborhood!

I'm sure y'all have seen this, but check out the point of impact at 3:40. CNS, DRT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAuM8Ks2rRM

Dats whats gonna happen to couple pigs in FL. when I introduce them to the 223ai�..

Either that or run like a little girl like the fellows in this clip! Actually, I think Elk was right: you're way smarter than that, even if Mule Deer accuses you of being an Irishman.

http://www.nzblokes.co.nz/hunter-becomes-hunted-video/

Run�hell�under those circumstances I can FLY!


And I am Irish�..50% of me anyway�.

Ain't that the truth! What's the sober half?

I'm going to go out and check feeders this week. We have a little TS brewing just off the coast, so it'll bring a bit of rain and barometric pressure drop. I'll be interested to see how the pigs react. Might even get in a little Winchester action.

Mike,
I mentioned it on another thread, but I�ve access to a tract that is about 300 yds. wide and a mile deep (40 acres)that is adjacent to the Brazoria National Wildlife Preserve near Danbury Texas. About 28 miles from my house.

It used to be an old tree farm that was abandoned.

Has an irrigation canal that bisects it.




Great area for geese, ducks, snipe, and dove. Probably nutria in the canal.

Tons of small game.




I could have shot a dozen cottontails, but just wasn�t in a killing mood.

Did put a few rounds through a 28 Ga. CZ Ringneck I recently acquired.




First time I went there was early in the year. One of the first things I noticed was a hog highway.




Evidence of coyote, and suspect there will be bobcat also.




Got a feeder and a game camera set up about 10 days ago.




Probably will go back and check the game cam later this week. Whet my appetite. Will wait at least a month before I take any hogs though. Want them piggies to get it in their noggin's that this is where the groceries are before I start popping them.

I�m calling this my �Honey Hole�. Will be able to get there in 45 minutes. Should help assuage the symptoms of SDD (shooting deficit disorder).

Best,

GWB

That looks great! And that game trail is definitely a thoroughfare. Post some pictures once the pigs have cleared the brush from under and around the feeder...in about a week!

I'm working on my lease this weekend. Most concerned about a protein feeder for the deer and fixing blinds, but I'll also put out some feed for pigs, and then hopefully thin the pig herd.

Who knows, I may actually put the 1907 to work, too...

Sweet!

Sometimes I get stuck on stupid... "apologies to Corbett" ??

Corbett WMA?

As in "JW" in Palm Beach County? No, this would be Jim Corbett who is famous for shooting man-eating tigers and leopards in the jungles of India in the early part of the 20th century. Perhaps his most famous book about it is "Man-Eaters of Kumaon," hence the title, "Corn-Eaters of Florida (w/apologies to Corbett)". I figure we can share stories of our varied pigs hunts (wherever they may have occurred). I always enjoy hearing other stories and seeing the pictures as I'm always learning.

"The Temple Tiger" is another very good book by Corbett.

He was born in India of British parents, became a successful engineer, and was best known for his skill and bravery, hunting down a number of man-eating tigers and leopards - saving a number of Indian lives in the process. He later wrote his best selling books, and filmed wild tigers. Later he spoke up for protection of habitat. He also helped train British commandos in bushcraft, around WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett

The people of India were generally none too fond of Englishmen, but they deeply revered Corbett, and their largest national park is named in his honor.

Altogether, I'd rank he and Teddy Roosevelt together, for having lived some of the most interesting lives in the past century.

"The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag" is also a great read. I believe that's the book in which he mentions his first "magazine rifle": a .275 made by Westley-Richards. Interestingly, the Rigby-made .275 that he received as a gift, as well as his 450/400 double rifle are still around, but I can't find any information on the WR.

Big Corbett fan here too. The man had the patience of Job and brass balls the size of volkswagens...

No doubt. And we know he used the correct cartridge for much of his shooting.

Duh�which is why he and Bell achieved Iconic status��.


Kinda like you and me are working on�...

We're heading there, aren't we.

I thought Bell used a .256 Mannlicher...

He did, but then he woke up, smelled the coffee, and jumped on board the Ingwe Train.


Actually, I think he quit using the Mannlicher when he couldn't readily get ammo for it. As least that's what I've read. I like my explanation better.

for some odd reason I've never owned a Model 70. This one looks nice, though I am not crazy about the big honking Cabelas logo on the floorplate:

A 7x57

But I already have more projects than time...

Yeah, those are nice. That one has particularly nice figure on the butt. Read the next to last paragraph on this link. I think the author is referencing an article in an old American Rifleman. Check out what Bell said he'd take to Africa if he could do it all over again.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/bell_elephants.htm

Yesterday afternoon, BIL and I went to the lease to see if we could scare up a pig or two. We're in our rainy season now and things are beginning to get wet out there. The low spots are full of water and most of the trails are pretty muddy.

We have reset the feeders so they fire at 6, since it doesn't get dark until after 8 and this time of year the pigs come out just before all shooting light is gone (because of the heat), but yesterday it was overcast and not quite as hot so we thought the pigs might come to the feeders a bit early. The heat and the rain also brought out the mosquitos, but between a nice breeze blowing from the southeast and a Therma-Cell, I was pretty comfortable. The Therma-Cell even kept the gnats away. I am now a firm believer!

As I slipped to the stand, I had to pick my way through a few low spots that are now full of water. The ground just below the feeder was also full of water since the constant rooting of the pigs has removed the dirt from around the roots of the oak tree from which the feeder hangs. Now when the feeder fires, most of the corn winds up under the water, although some of it falls on the dry ground around the edge.

I sat in the stand, watching a few birds peck at the corn, when at about 6:50 p.m. three pigs, all about 85-90 pounds, came from the north straight towards the feeder. One was mostly white, with black spots, one was mostly black with white and brown mixed in, and the other was entirely black. The water under the feeder didn't seem to bother them at all: they just rooted the corn right out of it.

I watched them feed for few minutes when a larger black sow also came in from the north to join them. She must have been following right behind them, but she never got into the water. She was content to stay on the edge and eat the fewer kernels of corn that had fallen on drier ground.

I didn't have any interest in taking the sow, so tried to line up a clear shot on the predominantly white pig. But I never could get a clear shot. The multi-colored pig was directly behind her, and I didn't want to risk killing one but potentially only wounding the other. So I settled for the black pig behind them.

Three things became pretty clear as I lined up the shot. First, a Williams Fire-Sight on a M94 glows like a fireball even in pretty poor light; second, a black pig in the shadows doesn't; and third, my eyes aren't what they were when I was 30. Sad to say, this may be my last evening hunt with the old Winchester.

In any event, when the two pigs in front of the black one finally moved out of the way I took the shot. It wasn't quite 7:00 and I had been in the stand for less than an hour.

Unfortunately, sometimes pigs fall in some pretty messy places. But that's hunting.



The shot placement could have been better. The bullet entered high on the left side of the neck, but the angle I was shooting from drove it through the spine and down into the vitals. Again, no tracking required.



All in all, another pretty good July evening in Florida.

Good shot Rev and it's time for a BBQ!