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Airgun Hobbyist
One of my favorite hunting writers has always been
Robert Ruark. Cory Ford is another old time writer that, after
reading a paragraph or two that he penned, it becomes crystal
clear that he was “Out there and did that”. I wouldn’t give
you ten cents for all the words an “arm chair” hunting writer
pens. Regardless the endeavor, whether it be working on
automobiles or surveying land, one has to be on the ground,
doing it!
A lot of knowledge and wisdom can be gleaned from
reading these veteran writers that because of the era they
lived/wrote, had the opportunity to experience an enormous
amount of time in the field doing what they became famous
for, hunting and writing about their hunts..
Ruark coined the moniker “Use Enough Gun” while
hunting with the famous PH Harry Selby. Ruark was handed a
little .220 Swift and instructed to shoot a wart hog that would
be used for leopard bait. The shot from the little rifle did
little more than leave a wound on the hog’s rear ham. At that
moment, Raurk swore off the light stuff for shooting big game.
I definitely agree with Ruark in regards to shooting
big bullets from big calibers when shooting big game animals.
I remember watching a Youtube video a couple years ago (it’s
probably still there) with a hunter shooting a boar in the head
with a tiny bullet from a .177 caliber air rifle. The shot that
was on the video was a perfect brain shot and the porker was
anchored on the spot. After watching the video, I had many
questions and after a lifetime of hunting hogs, I felt confident
I knew the answers.
Will such a tiny bullet anchor a boar? The answer is
obviously YES but only IF the shot is perfect and penetrates
the brain. I’m sure a shot through the lungs or heart with a
tiny bullet will eventually kill the hog but not in a humane
way. It’s a good bet the hog would escape and the meat never
be recovered.
In the real world of hunting hogs is the brain shot a
high percentage shot? Most definitely not. Hogs, even when
baited, seldom remain still for very long when feeding. They
are continuously moving around and when they present a
good shot, the hunter better be ready and have the slack taken
out of the trigger. That are many big bore air rifles on the
market that are quiet capable of cleanly harvesting even the
biggest of boars. I’ve used several of them to put pork in the
freezer. I have a great friend that killed a monster boar that
weighed just over 400 pounds with a big bore air rifle, the
bullet went completely through both shoulders.
Since I began seriously hunting with air rifles, I
wondered if a .25 caliber rifle was big enough for smaller
hogs. I had an experiment in mind and I just had to bring it
to fruition. I’ve been shooting and hunting with an Airforce
Condor SS for the past year and have found the rifle to be a
tack driver and I’ve used it to harvest squirrels, rabbits and
raccoons. It’s my ‘go to’ rifle for small game.
This rifle is the hardest shooting small caliber air
rifle I’ve put to work. Since the day I began shooting it, I was
plagued by the question: can I use my .25 caliber Condor for
close order work on smaller hogs? I knew the “perfect” brain
shot was out of the question. A shot a couple inches high or
low would result in a wounded pig and that is something I
did not wish to risk. Then, I received a box of 48 grain hollow
point solid lead bullets from Hunters Supply. I took a couple
of big swamp rabbits with these bullets and noted bullet
expansion even in the thin skinned animals. I felt confident
that the heavier bullets would cleanly harvest a smaller hog
with a ‘through the vitals’ shot.
Last August, my trail cameras near my home
evidenced an older sow had given birth to ten pigs. This old
sow was as smart as any wild animal I’ve hunted, she has
to be. Every predator in the woods (myself included) enjoys
eating pork. She would bring her pigs to a feeder back in the
woods around noon each day, just like a wary old whitetail
buck that ventures forth when he thinks all the hunters have
left the woods.
I looked at all this wild pork in the woods much like
a farmer would look at the pork he’s raising. I would wait till
the pigs grew into BBQ size and then harvest them as needed.
Well, by mid January, the pigs were looking pretty good to
me. BBQ was written all over them!
My plan was to hunt from a bowstand situated about
18 yards from where I’d been feeding corn to the sow and pigs.
I sighted the rifle to be dead on at 20 yards with the 48 grain
hollow points, not one inch high or low but dead on. This shot
was well thought out and practiced. My rifle was stacking em
in the same hole at this close distance. I was ready.
After observing the sow and pigs hitting my spot
for two consecutive days within thirty minutes of noon, on
a bright and chilly winter’s day, I put my plan into action. I
approached the stand from downwind and climbed the 16
feet to the seat. Checking my watch, I had arrived just after 10
am. If the opportunity presented itself, I would harvest one of
those fat little porkers with a heart shot at close range. Hogs,
and most game animals, often run a few yards when heart
shot but it’s a very high percentage shot. If for some reason,
the shot is a bit high, I should still have pork chops on the
ground. I expected my BBQ pig to expire on a dead run within
sight.
Luke watched these pigs on his trail camera grow into BBQ size. A mature sow such as
this one is one of the smartest animals in the woods. Photos by Luke Clayton
USE ENOUGH
AIRGUN!
by Luke Clayton