lanman
Beginner
- Dec 3, 2011
- 159
- 0
I'm still holding Scotty's 444 Marlin hostage trying to get him to come to Florida to shoot some hogs with me. Every now and again I have to rub it in a little just to fan the flames..
I have a local friend who has been telling me that he has a HUGE hog in the orange grove across the street from his house and I am welcome to come over and help him tactically remove it..
Saturday night I got off work an hour before dark, grabbed the 444 and took off for the grove. I have it loaded with the last few 300 grain speer plinkers that I have. Seems they have been discontinued and I can't find them anymore.
We hopped on the golf cart and eased around the back of the grove and about 1/4 of the way in got busted by a wee little pig... It took off running and several more that were undetected under the trees took off with them. I jumped off the cart and ran parallel to the end of the grove trying to get ahead of them.. After several rows I stopped and got ready. As the first one ran into the row, it stopped.. Several more piled in and the grove row filled with hogs. I picked out the largest one and pulled the trigger. WHOOP, it sounded like busting a melon.. and a hog hit the dirt. I was pretty sure I shot it to far back, but it appeared it didn't matter. Most of them ran to the right and I gave flight after to no avail. We returned to the cart, drove down to the hog and started loading it up. I was shocked to find there was no exit wound. I could not figure how a 300 grain bullet didn't blast right thru a hog of roughly 120 pounds.
With the hog loaded up, we continued thru the grove a little farther, rounded a corner and found a second, larger hog, laying dead in the middle of the road. A quick examination showed a very large, fresh entrance and exit wound, poorly placed in the mid section. Then I understood why there was no exit on the first hog I found. I weighted the 300 grain plinker JSP after recovery at 260.6.. 87% weight retention.. I do not believe these bullets are bonded, but they look like they are recovered now from jugs and pork. I have fired this rifle at live game now three times and have a doe and three hogs to show for it. I'm sure that is the only rifle in my safe with a kill ratio greater than 100%
The little hog that busted us going in may have kept us from getting the big boy.. but now we still have a reason to go back and try again.
The bullet was recovered after passing thru the spine and stopping inside the backstrap of the second hog.
The 28 rounds in the bottom of the case are the last 300 grain JSP's, the top 17 rounds are the 270 deepcurls I just loaded but have not put on paper yet.. Would love to test them next.
I have a local friend who has been telling me that he has a HUGE hog in the orange grove across the street from his house and I am welcome to come over and help him tactically remove it..
Saturday night I got off work an hour before dark, grabbed the 444 and took off for the grove. I have it loaded with the last few 300 grain speer plinkers that I have. Seems they have been discontinued and I can't find them anymore.
We hopped on the golf cart and eased around the back of the grove and about 1/4 of the way in got busted by a wee little pig... It took off running and several more that were undetected under the trees took off with them. I jumped off the cart and ran parallel to the end of the grove trying to get ahead of them.. After several rows I stopped and got ready. As the first one ran into the row, it stopped.. Several more piled in and the grove row filled with hogs. I picked out the largest one and pulled the trigger. WHOOP, it sounded like busting a melon.. and a hog hit the dirt. I was pretty sure I shot it to far back, but it appeared it didn't matter. Most of them ran to the right and I gave flight after to no avail. We returned to the cart, drove down to the hog and started loading it up. I was shocked to find there was no exit wound. I could not figure how a 300 grain bullet didn't blast right thru a hog of roughly 120 pounds.
With the hog loaded up, we continued thru the grove a little farther, rounded a corner and found a second, larger hog, laying dead in the middle of the road. A quick examination showed a very large, fresh entrance and exit wound, poorly placed in the mid section. Then I understood why there was no exit on the first hog I found. I weighted the 300 grain plinker JSP after recovery at 260.6.. 87% weight retention.. I do not believe these bullets are bonded, but they look like they are recovered now from jugs and pork. I have fired this rifle at live game now three times and have a doe and three hogs to show for it. I'm sure that is the only rifle in my safe with a kill ratio greater than 100%
The little hog that busted us going in may have kept us from getting the big boy.. but now we still have a reason to go back and try again.
The bullet was recovered after passing thru the spine and stopping inside the backstrap of the second hog.
The 28 rounds in the bottom of the case are the last 300 grain JSP's, the top 17 rounds are the 270 deepcurls I just loaded but have not put on paper yet.. Would love to test them next.
