Thumper Shoots! He Scores!

[TXGunNut]

Decided I wanted to put the smackdown on a big hog I'd been seeing this past weekend so Ol' Ugly stayed in camp Saturday night, this boar is so big he looks huge 150 yards away in the dark or in the fog. Others have seen him recently so I know it's not just me.
Well, the big boar didn't show but a certain nice, fat sow and her sisters wandered by about sundown and most of you know I generally won't let a decent hog pass by, just sorry I wasn't able to get at least one of her sisters. RD 460-350 broke her back and dropped her in her tracks. She'll eat good, meat had almost no smell when I butchered her, better than most store-bought meat.

[richhodg66]

Mmmmm...Bacon! Nice hog, I really need to get down to Texas and hunt them sometime. Also need to work on that back burnered .45-70 project of mine.

[trails4u]

Excellent! Kill the sows first.....you've done a service by saving her breeding again, and again, and again......

[DougGuy]

Nice work!

[35 shooter]

Of course you know now that you shot something with 'Thumper', 'Ol Ugly' is gonna sull up like a possum and not shoot right for a month now lol!! Better pet her up and tell her she's going hunting again soon. Nice hog!

[Tom_in_AZ]

Nice sow, should be tasty!

[Bzcraig]

Nothing like the smell of bacon in the morning

[w5pv]

Raid on woods hogs meat very good table fare

[smokeywolf]

Congrats on the nice sow TXGunNut. I'm so envious, I'm gonna go put a fresh pot of coffee on, throw a pound of bacon in the pan and start mixin' up the pancake batter.

One plus to having a feral hog problem, you can eat 'em without having to feed them.

smokeywolf

[micky_blue]

I want to try smoked feral hog shoulder some day. Brine it for a couple days with maple syrup and peppercorns in the brine, the just smoke it for hours and hours.

[44man]

You guys don't know what it takes to make bacon, curing and a slow smoke. Apple wood the very best. Ham is another hard thing. Cure and smoke slow and cool. Age just right.
Eat the hog fresh but please don't call it bacon.
Micky says it best.
I am a bacon nut and 1/2# for breakfast is just a start. Store bought is OK but nothing like home made.

[Cowpoke]

Looks like Bacon in the Makin to me! And several other potential pork products. Nice shootin!

[TXGunNut]

It takes a really big hog to make bacon, have a few lbs of porkbelly but it's headed for sausage. I was thinking about brining a ham and giving my new smoker a little workout. I think some brats should hang out there for awhile too.

[TXGunNut]

Of course you know now that you shot something with 'Thumper', 'Ol Ugly' is gonna sull up like a possum and not shoot right for a month now lol!! Better pet her up and tell her she's going hunting again soon. Nice hog!

Thanks, but Ol' Ugly was already ticked off at me for blowing that first shot on the spike.

[smoked turkey]

Nice work on the hog. You guys are makin me hungry.

[kawasakifreak77]

Way to go! Man I want to shoot a piggy!

[micky_blue]

We have a butcher shop here that makes "Columbus Ribs". He takes the spare rib and leaves the pork belly attached. They are SO GOOD!!!

just an idea for your piggy.

[hog]

Very nice , thumper is a great name for your rifle. Smoke that meat.

[richhodg66]

Nobody's asked yet so I will; what is the load you used with that Ranch Dog bullet? Been contemplating off and one what kind of mold to get for my .45-70 to start working on it in earnest, the other Ranch Dog designs I've used are good ones.

[TXGunNut]

My RD moulds were made by Lee, but I hesitate to put the exact load out as it's unsafe for Trapdoors and other weaker guns. It's 46.0 grs of Reloder 7 but again it's only safe in strong actions in good repair. It's not the upper end of the 45-70's capability in a strong rifle but it's all that I want to deal with and it's up to the task of smacking down big hogs.