OK Matchking Fans, how about Gamekings?

[augustinaustin]

Tell me about Gameking accuracy and performance. I have gotten great accuracy out of 220 MK's and killed my biggest deer yet last weekend with one. Instant kill does not adequately describe it but I have not liked their performance on wild hogs. These pigs have thick plate skin that can be inches thick. Any one used Gamekings on them? How has accuracy compared to a MK? Thanks gentlemen

 

[adobewalls]

Several years ago I shot a larger hog with a 160 GMK in 7mm. I estimate the pig was 300+ lbs. and it was at 80 yds distance. The pig was moving on a trail that gave me a front quartering shot with the pig moving across and towards me. The bullet hit mid-way up behind the left shoulder traversed the torso and broke three ribs on the off side but did not exit. The impact visibly rocked the pig, but did not put him down, he wheeled and retraced from whence he came. We found him about 200 yds. from where I hit him.

That was the first animal I shot with the 7mm Mag that did not drop in its tracks. I do worry what a GMK would do if it hit a solid bone or the "shoulder plate" at mag velocities under 150 yds. So, now my pig load consists of partitions, but I have not since shot a pig near the size of the one above so cannot say comment on the partitions performance.

 

[augustinaustin]

thank you. That is excatly what happened to me. I rolled a pig at 300yds with a 220MK leaving the muzzle at 3175fps that made it over 100 yds after she got back up. I could not believe it. In our brush down here that just doesn't work. I shot a beautiful 11 point last weekend with same at 125yds which is a shot I would not have taken had it not been such a great buck. I have my feeder at 500yds but the rut is on. Anyway he dropped like he was hit by lightening but the entrance wound was huge (immediate expansion) and no exit. I'm looking for the best bullet for 300-600 yds that will hold together better, tolerate the velocity and be accurate. Am I asking for too many things given the velocity from a rifle like this? (300 RUM, 30"bbl, tight neck) or should I just slow the 220MK's down a bunch for that range?

 

[ewallace]

Have you tried the 240g MK in the 300 RUM?

 

[adobewalls]

augustinaustin,

You know, I think the big pigs are just tough SOB's that can soak up a lot of energy and keep on going. I agree with you regarding the brush, if they make it to the brush, only the buzzards and coyotes will find them.

My current thinking for the big ones (300lb.+) is to shoot for the head, or to use a bullet that will break a major bone and still get to the vitals. Using the partitions I have to limit shots to about 150yds because I can't get the accuracy I get with the ballistic tips and SMK's.

On the subject of long range loads for short range shots, I do load the Game Kings for use inside 200 yds and the load is a bit milder than what I use to push the ballistic tips.

Oops, I forgot to add, congrats on taking a nice buck.

[ 12-18-2002: Message edited by: adobewalls ]

 

[Robert D. Lyons]

I have shot a number a wild boars with Sierra 150 gr SBT gameking bullets out of a .308 winchester and never had any performance problems. All, but one, dropped where they stood with one shot.

 

[Dave King]

Finally!! Someone other than my crew has experinced the tougher variety of hogs.

I go down to Knox County TX at least once a year to shoot hogs and I have a fairly difficult time convincing folks that the variety of hogs there are VERY TOUGH. I've shot many and have lost some even though they were hard hit, it's amazing how though they are. (I've also shot a few on some high fence game farms and they died pretty easy by comparison.)

I used the 250 GameKing from a 338 Lapua on my second trip to TX (several years back), here's some "tales".

First shot(s) were at a sow in a sounder of running hogs, first round broke her leg but had little effect. Second round was about 300 yards later as she zig-zagged through a dry wash, this round cut a large gash into her side as it entered the chest cavity blowing many feet of guts out and she died within a few feet.

A few minutes after this encounter a LARGE boar stepped into a ranch road about 250 yards distance, I centered the crosshairs on the forward chest and touched off the round. He reared up a bit (like Silver in the Lone Ranger) and bolted through the fence. I was sure this was a good hit and patiently waited for the next hog. A short while later another entered the road behind me and I swiveled around like a tank turret (I'm prone on the ground) to get a shot off. There were many hogs piled up in a queue to get through the fence. I lined up on a smallish, quartering to, sow (100 - 150 pounds)in hopes of getting a pass through into another small hog. The round entered in the forward chest left side and never exited, I found it lodged unter the skin over the right hip. Distance to the hogs on this shot was about 80 yards. The sow gave no reaction to being hit other than to advance her position in the fence queue and leave the area, I found here dead about 100 yards onto the 6666's (I don't know if I killed her of she died of fright from being on the 6666's uninvited

.

But lets get back to this "Hi Ho Silver" boar! After I'd shot one more sow down near the spot I'd shot the boar I figured I'd go round them up and locate the rest of the dead. I initially passed the closer location for the last sow, there was blood but I elected to find the boar as I was sure he was of trophy status. Once on location at the site of the hit on the boar I spotted blood, globs of fat, bone (ribs I'm sure) and hair. I tracked that hog onto the neighbors place but lost the trail after about 200 yards. This is in a fairly open mesquite and prickly pear covered area. I was certain I'd find that hog as even when tracking I'd find bits and pieces of him along the trail (bone or more fat). The "guide" showed up and squimishly helped track the hog along with my hunting partner. (The guide knew we were not on friendly ground and had warned up to stay clear of the neighbors!) We never did find that hog and we searched for better that an hour before we decided to look for the last (third) sow, didn't find her either.

Al "Groceryman" Fiorille went donw this year for the first time, he thought for sure he'd do better on those hogs but came away with a better understanding too. He knocked a running boar over with a 300 Win mag at about 100 yards, great shot too! I was in the act of congratulating him when the thing got back up and ran off. This hog had done the "flopping tuna" thing for a few second and we were both sure it was dead but apparently the hog disagreed. Four of us tracked that hog for uver 1/2 mile and no dead hog.

The rule for those tougher hogs is, use a really big gun, breaks supporting bones or head shoot. They are remarkably tough and whatever you do, don't follow them into the Cedar breaks (another story but I'll tell it later).

 

[Ian M]

Dave,
Merry Christmas my friend, and the same to all of the fellows on this site. Dave, like you we don't have grandkids and our children have left the nest so Christmas morning is not the lively time that it used to be. Sincerely pray that your son comes home from his deployment with great stories to tell his dad.

We need to hear the follow-up to your hog stories, SAP.

I haven't used Sierra's on hogs but have killed them with Sciroccos and Bear Claws. Been fortunate not to have had any problems. Have done a few gun-company hunts in the Abilene area (the famouse Nail Ranch), including one where some guys shot very big boars with muzzleloaders. I recall that the biggest hog that trip was taken with a muzzleloading handgun. The guides were pretty antsy about wounding but we put 6 good big boars on the ground with no problems. They had horror stories about hits with .375's that resulted in lost critters.

I would tend to use a bonded bullet or something really tough like the Failsafe or Barnes if possible. I recall that the bullet impact sounds very much like impact on rocks, those rascals are tough and hard. Having said that I have also seen them drop in their tracks when hit. Nothing takes a big zap to the nervous system.

When Lee and I shot a bunch of hogs to test the prototype Swift Sciroccos we re-shot them in a specially made pig-holder. Looked like a small saw-horse that held the expired piggy in a roughly standing position. That allowed us to shoot into controled locations in 100 yard increments out to 500. We recovered 35 bullets plus a bunch of the competition and the Sciroccos averaged 82%.

Going on a boar/javelina/deer/armadillo/coyote whatever hunt in mid-Jan to shoot a new rifle and bullet. Have never shot a Javelina so that will be a neat experience.

 

[adobewalls]

Dave, I enjoyed reading about your Knox County hunting, it helps to confirm some of my own observations.

I second Ian M.'s statement about the .375 especially if its the 375 Winchester that came out a few years ago. Seemed like it would be the perfect pig rifle, but it just didn't have that extra bit of umpf necessary to kill quickly. The .375 H&H Mag, however, might be a different story.

Happy Holidays to all and Good Hunting in 2003!

 

[Dave King]

Ian

Thanks for the well wishes and same to you and your's. My son is fine and safely in Germany right now, we just got off the phone with him and his wife, they're fine but a little lonely I'd guess. He stated that his battery is on tap for a trip if the/a war starts...makes me a little nervous but I survived 21 years military and I'd guess he'll do the same.

Adobewalls

Yup, tough hogs, a real treat to hunt after puttering around with these whimpy Maryland whitetails.


He's a post I made on another site about hunting wild (not feral) hogs in Texas.

This was a reply to a fella that shot a hog or two on a high fence place and considered that experience enough for the wild version in Texas. He was considering taking a 45 APC into the Cedar breaks and stalking them

.


We're not talking about those "tame" hogs folks shoot on the hunt farms, we're talking real honest-to-goodness mean, nasty, eat ya alive hogs. I killed two Russians on a place in PA a few years back (one with a rifle and one with an arrow) and they died pretty easy too. I've been to Texas 4 times now and the hogs we hunt and shoot down there are not to be trifled with. They're craftier than most politicians, can outrun handgun rounds (don't shoot them with a handgun, it'll only **** them off), they have a self-sealing puncture system that makes tracking wounded ones near impossible and they scoff at weapons smaller than 338 caliber.

Al shot one last trip with a 300 Win mag, a boar, it immediately went into the tuna mode (flopping all over the place), I reached out to shake Al's hand and the hog got back up and ran away, it didn't wobble away or limp away, it RAN AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT into the Cedar breaks. Four of us tracked it for nearly an hour and lost the trail!

I've shot two with a 338 Lapua and blew pieces of rib bone and fat onto the ground on the exit side, in one case the hog reared up like stallion and took off never to be seen again and the other simple went into warp drive breaking a barbed wire fence as it passed through.... never found it either! I was truly amazed at the toughness and speed these "wild" versions have, a far cry from any other hogs I've ever hunted.

We had a young fella with us last trip that was not too keen on listening to his elders and against repeated advise followed a LARGE hog into the Cedar breaks. He called Al and I on the radio a FEW HOURS after his adventure began questioning whether Al had an extra set of underware in the truck! We asked why and he stated he'd **** himself while BEING HUNTED by the hog he initially hunted. We asked where he was at the particular moment and he stated he was ON TOP of the metal shed near where he had been let out. We asked why he didn't shoot the hog and he replied that it was TOO BIG to shoot with a 308 Win...... This is not the first time I've heard of hunters deciding to not shoot a hog because it was TOO BIG for the rifle at hand.

Don't get me wrong, they can be killed with a well placed round but any deviation from perfect placement will make for large cloud of dust and some high speed follow up shots if you're quick, and DON'T FOLLOW THEM INTO THE CEDAR BREAKS, they're setting you up for an ambush.


I really do enjoy hunting those hogs but I swear, they are crafty and tough in areas where we hunt. Could be there is a lot of hunter pressure and they're smarter than most but I suspect they're just regular run of the mill hogs.

 

[Guest]

[ 07-12-2003: Message edited by: S1 ]

 

[Ian M]

Dave,
Thanks for the mental image of that poor bugger crouched on the metal roof, after having dumped his drawers. So much for that mighty hunter!
How about this for a checklist for his next hog hunt:

Contents of fanny pack:
..Spare armour-piercing (DU - Depleted Uranium), Incindiary, High Explosive ammo.
..Roll of Scott-Towels (beats the hell out of wimpy toilet paper when you REALLY have to wipe)
..Container of baby-bum wipes - to finish the cleanup job (talcum powdered and scented of course)
..2 pairs of underwear, in case he sees more than one hog in one day
..Extra socks (just in case he is a little loose and ...)
..Extra pair of Nike running shoes.
..inflatable doll - to throw out as a decoy when being charged, and when things slow down...
..Satelite phone - to call for help
..portable electronic game with hunting programs - to while away time as he sits on that metal roof (after he has cleaned himself and changed gauchies of course)
..30' of rope, for lowering himself out of trees, buildings, windmills etc
..Water and energy bars,
..First aide kit with lots of band-aides

Also suggest that he attach 6 feet of Blaze orange surveyors ribbon to the trigger guard of his rifle, would make it easier to find after he tosse it when the monster hog comes charging, red eyes glowing! Reminds me of what they say about French Army Rifles - never been shot, only dropped once...

Do you guys hunt around abandoned Nuclear facilitie by any chance?

 

[Dave King]

Ian

No Plant or waste dump nearby but it is TEXAS so they're bigger of course.

This last hunt was a real hoot, Al, Pee-Pee and I had a great time. The particular day Pee-Pee ended up on the flat tin roof was an extra special day. Al and Pee-Pee had elected to wait out a sounder of hogs while laying on top of a three story pile of red sand pushed up while the rancher dug a tank. There was a little crust on the sand and everthing was fine even though it was a very windy day, fine until AL and Pee-Pee decided to climb to the top of the mound on the windward side instead of the lee side. Al would radio over to me every few minutes with a joke or animal report and things went well. I was stationed about 2 miles away in a Texas Tree Stand (Round water tank welded to a few spinly legs, looked like a Daddy long legs spider only less well constructed) near a water tank in a stand of Mesquite trees. The wind was gusting as I'd mentioned, probably 30 to 35 MPH at times and it was a noise, dusty affair. I could see the mound Al and Pee-Pee were calling home and I saw the truck leave for a bit and return, this was when Al took Pee-Pee to that fateful meeting. Not long after that Al called on the radio and I queried about the truck and movement, he stated Pee-Pee had decided to get out of the wind and sand and went down to the picnic shed near the pond. I asked Al how things were going and he reported all was well and they had finally waited out the initial sand storm they had created by climbing the sand pile but then when he rolled over on his side to urinate he accidently sand blasted the end of his "Richard" raw and he was sure it was only going to be good for peeing through for a few days or possibly a week. Those two learned a lot about free standing sand and high winds that day, I still find red sand in my rifles and I'll bet Al has some sand still embedded in the end of his special purpose!

Pee-Pee was just about to head off to Marine Corps boot camp and was feeling pretty tough, he was toting a 308 Win (Autagua built) and a 9mm Beretta (M9) handgun. We had specifically told him to stay out of the Cedar Breaks but he was too smart for us and went in anyway. We went down to get him and after he had calmed down for about a hour and we had convinced him it was fine to come down off the shed he told us the entire story. Seems he had setup on the end of a tank dam on a good trail, things were very good and he saw the hog but it would only appear for a short while as it wound it's way through the Cedars. Pee-Pee figured it was big but that in his full camo "leaf suit" he could sneak up on that critter and kill it. He waited until it appeared again and high-tailed over to the spot where it disappeared and waded on in.... He said things were doing fine for a long while and he noticed that the hog kept going in a big circle so he dicided to cut it off! Well, when it got to a good spot for the ambush he ducked down to go under one last little bit of Cedar and came face to face with the hog, it was about 30 yards out and coming fast directly toward him. Pee-Pee quickly decided that he couldn't climb the 8 foot tall Cedars to escape so he threw himself into the middle of the closest one. He said that hog trotted past about arms distance away, stinkin' and popin' it's teeth, said it's head was big enough to sit a television on and that it's tusks had to be 6 inches long.... That's when Pee-Pee figured out that the hog was making those circles in an attempt to hunt him down and now he had to get back to a safe spot...

We hunted that hog for 2 more days and Al and I only got a short glimps of a big one, could have been him, Al and I initially thought it was an Angus yearling or a donkey... pretty big hog...

 

[texas]

Dave sounds like Pee-Pee learned about some of the little pigs here in Texas. Are you going to bring the new gun down with you on the next trip? Would like to know if it makes a difference! Been hearing about some rouge cattle down on the Rio Grande river that have been giving ranchers a hard time.
Just like the the hogs evolving over time from their domestic parentage in the wild and now hard to stop! Need to try one one day.