I have just arrived home from a great over night hunt with my good mate Locky.
Having to work Good Friday as well as Saturday morning saw me not get away until 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon.
I love to hunt pigs on foot with the dogs in the moonlight.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
I hunted Saturday afternoon on my own and only got three pigs but "George" my pup caught this cracker on his own.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07

This is "Duke" on the left and "George" on the right.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
It was well after dark and I was making my way home slowly when I spotted the big boar about 130 yards away in the moonlight.
The dogs jumped and took off after him.
On the tracking collars I could see the boar had got going and at 800 yards I lost communication with them.
I was on foot and by the time I covered the 800 yards the dogs were coming home (or so I thought).
Swore out loud at missing a bloody good boar when I heard "George" bark as he was on the trail again.
He was only about 60 yards from me when he hit him up so I made the ground as quickly as I could (with no torch) to find "George" swinging to the ear of of the pig.
I was pretty nervous going in on a boar of this size under a low wilga tree with high buffel grass under it while an unproven pup holding him and no torch but we got it done.
Boars of this size only get that way by being smart and having a few tricks up their sleeve.
He had doubled back on the dogs and was heading back up the creek the way he come from hoping to throw the dogs off the scent.
This is the first trip I have put a breastplate on George and I'm glad I did.

I took my 8x68s loaded with 170 grain Hydro's @ 3220 fps.
The load is 76 grains of 2209 with a Federal 215 primer. (safe in my rifle but should be reduced to start with).
They feed like silk from my Brno but it will feed empty cases from the mag (Thanks Tony Small)
Geoff at Woodleigh say's that the faster you push these Hydro's the better they work.
After shooting a few pigs with this load this weekend I agree totally.
Check it out for yourself.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
Here is the entry on a small pig I shot while standing on the bike as it ran towards me and away from the dogs.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
This is the exit. (Check out the tunnel it left.) There must be something in this pressure ring theory.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
This is another one I shot.
Here is the blood trail the pig left (only for 15 yards)

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
This is the entry.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
Here is the exit between the front legs (keep in mind this is a solid)

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
This is a little boar I shot too low and too far back as he was on the run.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
This is the exit.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
The only vital the bullet hit was the bottom of the liver but he only went 20 yards and died.

By fatboy404 at 2012-04-07
We ended up with 15 pigs for the trip but some great memories.
George got his biggest pig, Duke caught his 300th pig and I am sold on these Hydro's.