Don't Go Near the Water(s)!

[sweetwyominghome]

As we were getting the twins ready for school this morning, I took a look outside and noticed something out of place. After watching for a few seconds, I could tell that it was indeed a hog. My Contender in 7-30 was handy, so I grabbed it and took a closer look. After getting to a decent rest, I figured the range to be around 225 yards. Knowing that this load is virtually dead-on at that distance (and accounting for any possible error on range estimation), I placed the crosshair about mid-way up the shoulder and touched off a round.

Even my poor hearing could hear the audible “whap” of bullet breaking bone. The Combined Technologies 140 grain Ballistic Silvertip – powered by a book load of 748 – did its job perfectly, giving complete penetration and leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Dead on its feet, the hog still managed to whirl and make about 20 yards before piling up. There was no need for tracking as I saw where the hog gave up the ghost, but if I would have needed to, there was ample blood spewing from both the entrance and exit wounds. 

[BBF]

 
 
   N I C E !!
 
BTW: Are you a southpaw??
 
Very nice looking rifle.

[sweetwyominghome]

I am right-handed but left eye dominant and thus shoot as a leftie.

[luckydawg13]

I am right-handed but left eye dominant and thus shoot as a leftie.

so is my son works for him
nice hog

[3leggedturtle]

same here welcome to the club, nice rifle and hog.  How do you fix yours?

[sweetwyominghome]

I didn't get to keep this hog as some of my health issues were flaring badly today, and I would not have had the strength to complete the task. But one phone call and 10 minutes later, the hog was picked up and on the way to filling a local's freezer.

What I prefer is skinning and quartering the hogs and getting them over ice (in ice chests)  ASAP. I keep draining the meltoff and supplementing ice until it runs clear (usually around 72 hours) and then leave it another 8-12 hours.

After taking care of the delectable backstraps, I cut the rest into chops and roasts and package it accordingly. Or, in the case of an older, tougher hog, I take the prime cuts and turn the rest into pan sausage.

From this time of year forward, expedited handling of the meat is extremely critical as it is generally very hot. It doesn't take long at all for something toi spoil in south central Texas summer conditions, which seems to run from mid-April/early May to as late as November.

[kctibs]

nice hog and nice write up.  By the way I like the wood on your Encore.

[yooper77]

Awesome job, you got to love them Nosler bullets. I use the 200 grain version in my 338-06 A-Square, and it anchors whitetails on the spot.

yooper77

[dpe.ahoy]

I agree, you have some fantastic stocks on you T/C's.  I have a factory 21" 7-30 W barrel for my Contender that I need to play with soon.  Nice hog, we don't have em runnin around up here in Montana, good for the land, bad for us hunters that want to hunt hogs.  DP

[Silvertp]

Way to whack'em Sweetwyoming...

That 7 x 30 and big hogs were made for each other...especially with you running the controls.

After reading your "cooling off the hog" description your making me hungry.  Im gonna go get some moose steak out of the freezer and fix it for supper tonight. 

Like dpe said...we don't have hogs here in Idaho either.

Silvertp

[no guns here]

Wrong answer dude, they are there.  Boise Weekly reported so on 23 Feb I think it was.  Get ready for the invasion...


NGH

[sweetwyominghome]

Thanks, fellows.

The hogs are great for hunting but do extreme damage to crops and equipment (when you unexpectedly hit a wallowed-out pit while shredding!). They also kill plenty of fawns, kid goats and lambs. Here's another taken with the Waters.

From a lasered 205 yards, the 140 grain C-T Ballistic Silvertip, which has a muzzle speed of around 2600 fps, smacked the hog tight behind the shoulder and made it all the way through to the opposite side, lodging in the thick gristle plate. The damage to the internals was indeed impressive.

The recovered bullet weighed 109.3 grains. Check the protective layer of gristle behind the bullet. And if you look closely at the photo of the hog, you can see the outline of the protective shield around the shoulder area.

  

[dpe.ahoy]

Have you used any of the Nosler 120 BT's, understand they were toughened up a few years ago.  I need to start reloading for this now, first one was a 94 Win so have been shooting the FN's so far.  Have brass built up now, time to build my own.  Also have a Handi rebore-rechamber 7-30 to work with as well as the Contender.  Do you have frames for each of your barrels, or do you swap them around?  DP

[sweetwyominghome]

On my "serious" shooters, I prefer to dedicate a frame to a particular barrel. I know that destroys the premise this platform was built on, but I am a stickler for consistency and precision. Given good, solid lockup, swapping barrels on frames generally returns you to within an inch to maybe an inch-and-a-half (or even less) of your previous zero at 200 yards, and that small difference is hard to notice in the field. But bench time has always been important to me, so even that minute of a difference bothers me.

I used the 120 grain BTs for many years in single shot pistols and still put them through the paces on occasion. This bullet has always been somewhat stout as it is made using a cut-down 140 grain BT jacket, giving it a more robust frame. Nonetheless, it still expands adequately -- even from a 10" TCU -- and gives more than sufficient penetration. But with the longer barrels I am now using, there's enough velocity to bring the 140s into the equation. And for me, the 140 grain C-T BST has worked wonderfully.

Here's a hog that fell to a single 120 grain BT fired from a 7mm Bullberry. The bullet penetrated completely and dropped the hog in its tracks.

[OldSchoolRanger]

Nice story, nice hog, nice rifle, nice wood! Four out of Four stars, can't get any better than that!
The only bad thing about this story, is that now you got me thinking about a rifle in 7-30 Waters. 

[tgun6542]

Nice wood, where did you run across them. By the way I'm right-handed and left eyed so I shoot leftie. Got a buddy same story. Good story and pics. Got me wanting a 7-30 barrel now. Like the 7mm, got a couple 7/08s and a couple 280's.

[sweetwyominghome]

Thanks, fellows. Yes, I think everyone needs at least one 7-30 Waters in their safe. The round gets lots of attention in handguns but is often overlooked in rifles, where it truly shines.
 
As to the stocks, the buttstock came from highplainsgunstocks.com while the forend was made by Dave Dolin (posts as Dave D here on the board).