Author Topic: just got back from hunt-need some help (Read 742 times)

JO1 · « **on:** December 21, 2003, 03:23:02 PM »

i just got back from an exciting hunt where i got my first shot ever at a hog. i will try to explain more later, but a big one walked in, i had a light shining behind me so i had no problem lining my iron sights ( i was using a 30/30). he walked in and i lined it up just behind his shoulder and then pulled the trigger. he and the others ran away and i sat there confident that i had nailed him.

this was probably about 7:15 pm or so, when it was completely dark, so we were searching for a bloodtrail with only our flashlights-we dont have any of those lights that make the blood glow ( by the way, is this a good investment?) after a good amount of searching we found no blood and no hog. :cry: there was a trail of clear wet drops, almost like blood drops except clear. also, there were some berries dropped on the trail and near the shot that i did not see anywhere else. not very many, just scattered along a trail. we searched for about 25 yards in the direction we thought he went-this is in a dense forest-and then decided to come early in the morning to look for him. so i need some help-do i need to just accept that i missed this guy or is there some way that we could have missed the blood trail. is there any way that he could make it for a while without leaving any blood? if so, about how far would he get before he started dropping it. once again, i am almost positive that i made a solid shot-i did not see him flinch or fall, yet i have seen deer give nearly no reaction to a killing shot. any help is appreciated-thanks alot guys.

wipartimer · « **Reply #1 on:** December 21, 2003, 03:46:08 PM »

There are alot of guys on here with way more hog experience than me , but here goes. I did track two hogs in Tex. that left Very little blood. One of them left No blood for aprox. 25-30 yards, then three drodlets, then a dead hog. It was almost as if the fat or cartilege from the shield closed around the entrence hole (30-06 did Not exit). I've deer hunted for years with theses guys so when they said "I know it was a good shot!" I knew to believe them. Don't just look for blood, look for tracks, tore up or turned over leaves, broken brush,ect, depending on the territory. Get on your hands and knees and look. Many times by getting down on a critters level, you can just tell where they went or would go. If all else fails, go to the last place you so him. Use that spot as a center point and walk a complete circle aroun it say ten yards away. Keep walking ever bigger circles until you find it. Good luck! :-)

SAWgunner · « **Reply #2 on:** December 21, 2003, 03:46:29 PM »

It could be possible you hit the breast plate, and your bullet failed. My suggestion is to get a blue lense filter for your falshlight so you can pick up a blood trail. Good lock.

longwinters · « **Reply #3 on:** December 21, 2003, 03:59:21 PM »

I would be out mid morning looking. In similar situations for deer we would come back and 1st look and listen a few minutes for crows. If there is a dead animal around, they will find it quick. If no luck there, then we grid. 10 yards a part and go for about 200 yd. Turn around and do the same thing heading back towards where you started. We would keep doing this until we have gone about 200 yds square. If no luck in sign or carcass, then we extend the grid. It has been a very good pattern to follow.

long

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** December 22, 2003, 12:51:19 PM »

Lotsa possibilities. You may have missed. It happens. But if it was a big hog you may have hit the gristle plate behind the shoudler and if so your bullet may have failed to penetrate and almost for certain didn't exit. Hogs have a thick layer of fat and that tends to plug up the entrance hole very quickly leaving little to no blood trail without an exit hole. With a .30 caliber rifle you might not get a blood trail even if you do get an exit hole as it is just so small all that fat covers up the hole easily.

In the future you'd do better to NOT take a just behind the shoulder shot on a hog. Shoot for neck or head if broadside or quartering slightly toward you. If quarting away then you can slip the bullet behind the gristle plate into the heart/lung region OK.

I really prefer large bore guns for hogs as they do leave a better blood trail and especially at night you need all the blood trail you can get if one runs off at the shot.

If he didn't squeal at the shot I strongly suspect you just plain missed. Not necessarily always but usually when hit they will squeal just as you'd hollar if some one punched you hard.

GB

kevin · « **Reply #5 on:** December 22, 2003, 03:42:04 PM »

Don't know how helpfull this is but last year I had the opertunity and killed two fat hogs one was killed with my 629 .44mag using 300 grain jaccketed rounds at 1200 fps at 15 feet , i know it was a solid hit , I saw stuff (white, red, and brown fly off the otherside of the critter it never squelled or indicated it was hit my dad was right there and ke thought he saw blood and fur fly off the hog he never heard it squell, after searching for fur blood goo and parts we bolth heard a squeel , and I new exactally were it was and found here dead 30 yards from the kill area I shot her just behind the elbow about were the heart was and confirmed that i blew the heart in too, the next early evening to took another one wieghing in at 35lbs. at 100 yards with my trusty 30-06 right in the neck and will say that that bore dropped like a sack of flour , and I agree 100% with grey
beard on the neck shot and enough gun for the job.
Kevin

JO1 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 22, 2003, 05:01:23 PM »

i went out early this morning and after a thorough search found no trace of the hog ( there were lots of tracks and diggings-we often see between 10 to 40 hogs run through our land-but they didnt help us find anything) so right now im just hoping that i missed it. i hate to miss that type of opportunity but i have a feeling there will be plenty more-this morning i could tell they came back to the food after the shot- and i dont like to picture some dead or wounded hog lying anywhere on our land. after you guys helping me out and me realizing all the mistakes i made, im sure i will have a much more successful hunt next time. like i said before, this was my first shot on a hog and i wrongly assumed that the kill shot for a deer would work on a hog. thanks again for the help, and i will consider all your tips for my next hunt.

shb · « **Reply #7 on:** December 29, 2003, 01:11:49 PM »

dont beat yourself up too bad. Alot of times in the heat of the moment, with a light coming over your shoulder creating a great deal of contrast between the sights and the target, a person doesn't get his front sight pulled down snug in the notch of the rear sight. This causes you shoot right over the top of your hog. Go out at night and try some practice shots on left over wrapping paper. Set it up just like the shot you missed, you might find that you just over-shot your hog and no big deal. I learned this from the school of hard knocks, only cost me three pigs before I figured it out.

Never had a problem with scopes and scope mounted varmit lights.