9 Year old Son's Hog Hunt

[FOsteology]

My 9 year old son went on a TSRA Youth Hunt for WT Deer this weekend, and after bagging his deer Friday evening, he wasn't quit ready to return home. So we set up a hunt with Kenny Kramer of Kramer Hunting.

I've done several hunts with Kenny, and he has a new leased Ranch in D'Hanis Texas which is simply overrun with hogs.

Saturday night found us in a blind 50 yards from a feeder. I had previously spread flour around the feeder to help my son see the hogs after dark. Also mixed up some strawberry jello mix with the corn.....

10 minutes past seven a BIG hog came in. I would guess he was over 250 but under 300 pounds. My son couldn't get a comfortable position so asked me to take the shot. He has a NEF Ultra Youth Handi-Rifle in .223 loaded with 55gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. The stock and length of pull was definately not my size, so I was off a bit. Instead of getting him in the neck the bullet hit low and got him in front of the shoulder in the brisket area (shield plate). He took off for the brush, never to be seen again. We found a few drops of blood by the feeder, but that was all. I guess with his size and the small caliber it simply didn't penetrate enough.

As luck would have it, an hour or so later a sow and a couple young pigs showed up. My son and I had previously did some rearranging and found a better position for him to shoot from. Now, with a steady/solid shooting position he was comfortable and took aim.....nailed her right in the neck! She took two steps and piled up never to move again.

Recovered the bullet when we dressed her out. I say she was maybe 60 pounds. Just the right size for eating. Can't wait to get my son back out in the brush for some more hunting!

[VTDW]

9 years old and got a deer and a hog in the same weekend.     No wonder he is cheezin so big.  :-D   Tell the young hunter congratulations from me.

Dave :grin:

p.s. Way to go Dad  

[Dusty Miller]

You got what you deserved with that first shot.  Using something like a .223 against wild pigs is irresponsible in my book.  I'd guess that if you continue doing this you'll end up with a lot of wounded animals that run off into the bush.  Perhaps somebody who is an absolute DEADEYE shot can pull this off and consistently put down game but those type are, in fact, quite rare.  My Lyman 47th Reloading Handbook (pg. 143) tells me that a 55gr. bullet fired from a .223 caliber rifle at 3240 fps is sufficient to take a 51 lb. animal AT THE MUZZLE!  Please reconsider what you are doing and what you are teaching your son.

[FOsteology]

Your entitled to your opinion DM. However, real world experience tells me differently. The .223 with the 55 grain TBB, or NP, or even the Win 64gr PP work just fine on WT deer out past 100 yards.

Works just fine on hogs too. We do alot of hog hunting in Texas, and alot of guys use the .223 and 22-250. As mentioned, shot placement is key, but not as difficult as you put forth.

Personally myself, I use a larger caliber. However, my 9 year old son will continue to use his .223 for a couple years.

[Dusty Miller]

Well, your experience with the hog you wounded and let get away certainly verifies your contention about shot placement!  Can you say with any high degree of confidence that a 180 gr. 308 caliber bullet travelling at 2700 fps would have produced the same result?  It does not impress me that you and others have in fact taken hogs with the .223.  I know from several sources I respect that the .223 is a VARMIT round.  I suspect that if you were being straight with me you'd admit you and your friends have in fact wounded many hogs that you did not take home.  I'd relinquish that contention if I knew for sure that you were taking only close in shots to the head or neck.

[FOsteology]

Yes, the .223 is a Varmint round. However, with the newly constructed bullets on the market I listed above, the .223 can also be used for deer. I'm of the mindset that one should use a larger caliber, however, we're not talking about ME, but what my 9 year old son uses! I took the shot on the BIG hog for him as he couldn't get a stable position. Since his gun is a youth model, it didn't fit me properly and my shot was off. Instead of the neck/ear area I was aiming for, the bullet hit low....in front of the shoulder in the gristle plate. If you hog hunt yourself, then you're familiar with the hogs extremely tough grisle plate/shield.

As stated previously, I know alot of hunters who use the .223 and 22-250 on hogs. And yes, they are taking head and neck shots within 75 yards. Of course mistakes happen, and not every animal is recovered. Same is true with larger calibers. I've shot hogs with my .308 and 30-06 behind the shoulder and had them run off into the brush unrecovered. Hogs are extremely tough critters and have a strong will to survive.

Head and neck shots are the most common as it puts them down. Here in South Central Texas we have lots of thick brush. Really hard to track and recover a hog at night in the brush. Not to mention it's dangerous as the hog will hunt you in the brush!

[Mohawk]

Tell your son congrats on his harvests. Good shooting too!

[Dusty Miller]

Well Fosteo, we are not going to agree.  Let's leave it at that.

[howie1968]

i had a hog  run off  from a double shoulder shot  from my ruger  1 in 375 H&H mag  from a double shoulder shot using remington 300 gr soft points over 4200 fpe  on the other hand i have had them run off with little blood trail  with  a 30-06 30-30  the funny thing  is  at one time  i had 1 gun  a NEF 223 loaded with remington 55 gr soft points i managed to take 6 hogs  over a couple month period  may be luck   but   the 223 in the neck  dropped  these hogs  right in my corn 25 yards away.  i know  it  is not perfect by any means  that  was the reason i purchased a 45-70 later on  but at the time it  was the only gun i had,  and  i was notgoing to let  owning a measily 223 varmit round keep  me  from hunting  the animals  i love and respect most of all, granted  a shoulder shot with a 223 is not a good choice  but   the kid is  hunting  YEAH!!!!!   alot better than video games  and partying.,  i  have made my share of mistakes  in the woods  as well as most others  and have lost game, some with calibers  that  i  shouldnt  have used  and some  with over kill  the main thing  is stick the bullet in a vital and  youll be ok  2 of  my 4 deer came  at  the hands of a 223 last yr  a 50 yards shot  and  a 25 yard shot  dead deer

[wilko]

hmmm...

since the gun is used by the 9 y/o the only question should be if the kid is a good enough shot to consitently take neckshots at boars at 50 yards or not. If he is then the 223 is probably not a bad choice for that kind of shooting. But if the kid cannot do that (yet), i think dusty has a point here..

[howie1968]

dusty  does have a valid point, but  i would never let owning a 223 stop me from hunting as at 1 time i had no choice.  right or wrong i enjoy hunting and luckily  given a good rest  i am capable of puttingmy shots into a boars neck at 50 yards  and  i  am  sure most responsible hunters would not allow  there children  to  shoot  a gun at an animal  unless he  could  shoot to some degree of proficiency.

[FOsteology]

Exactly. DM and I will agree to disagree on some points.

Since my son is not ready to move up to a larger caliber, I limit him to 50 yards max and head/neck shots ONLY. He goes to the rifle range 2-3 times per week to practice and I'm confident in his abilities. As evident by his clean kill! :grin:

Had I had MY rifle, the BIG hog would NOT have gotten away. :evil:

I'm going back out next week. Instead of firearms, I'm using my knife. :twisted:  

[Dusty Miller]

You need to have at least a six inch blade and preverably a 10 inch......................Uh, hold it!  Lets not get into that!!

[FOsteology]

Actually DM, I was going to use my trusty pocket knife with it's 1" blade, but I'll probably use a larger knife for giggles. :-D