Oacla Picture Thread

Was busy Sunday morning.  The big boar was snared (by the nose), brown one was caught in the new box trap, and the other I shot.  I shot a 4th with the 44mag; he dropped, but got up and ran off and I didn't find him.

The barley fields got knocked down by wind and then the deer/hogs tromped it flat so it's a total loss. But the hogs & deer are out there in force every night. I'm doing what I can to knock down their numbers.

Saturday I'd been working all day in the 100 degree heat and my butt was kicked. I had the campfire going and was about to put dinner on when I see a couple hogs 100m north of camp. I grabbed the 44Mag, made a stalk, and put a round into her. The angle and shot were sub-optimal; it entered in just behind the shoulder. She weighed 165# and was very fat from eating all that barley. The slug stopped just shy of the opposite hind quarter so it got about 24" of penetration. Pretty good expansion and penetration for only 1000 fps.



Sunday morning at daybreak I walked out on the porch and see another hog near camp. I got between it and the tank I figured it was going to with plans of an ambush. There were at least 3 of them. I shot one, DRT, and missed another on the run. Then hustled down near the dam and saw another one that had stopped, trying to figure out what just happened I guess. It was about 75 yards out and I usually try to get within 50 for this gun. I held over about 4" and the round found hog neck.  That's 2 down...

Off to check the rest of the barley fields... About 1/2 mile away I found another sounder. They were pretty far out in the field to where I almost went back to get the 30.06, which has more distance than the 44Mag. But I was afraid they might not hang around that long. Turns out I was right. I made a long stalk and by the time I was near them they were only about 25 yards from the edge of the field. I waited until two were broadside and lined up, trying to knock down 2 at once. It didn't work but I hit the front hog pretty good. It wasn't going down but you could tell it had a case of lead poisoning. I hit another one on the run, double lung, and it started squealing like a democrat not getting their way. The first one was almost off the field by now so I plugged it again before it got away, which anchored it.

I hauled them all back to the skinning rack and it was still nice. About the time I got started on the 2nd hog the sun came up. Butchering hogs when it's hot quickly becomes not-fun.


The new hog trap scored big-time Saturday night/Sunday morning. These 5 are at least 80lbs each. I had a guy come pick these up to sell. I need to modify it to allow for easier unloading. When I get it done I'll post of video of my design.

Woke up a bit late Sunday morning, fantastic colors just before sunrise:


Went hog hunting...  We plowed the (barley) fields this week and I was late so I wasn't surprised that I didn't see any hogs.  The hog trap was busy though.  I caught a boar, 2 sows, and 7 choates.  There were 3 babies running around outside.  They took off when I got near the trap.  I managed to shoot one.  I don't know if they were small enough to get through the 4x4" wire or just weren't in the trap when the door slammed.  I had my farmer come pick these all up so I didn't get stuck with butchering them.


I'm thinking of building another one of these large traps.  This time I'm going to use horse panel for the sides instead of 4x4" panels.  Horse panel is 2"x4" so the little fellas can't get out, but it costs more and weighs more.  Wire is the same size (6 gauge) so it'll also add some strength.  I want to change the gate configuration too so it swings 90 degrees instead of 62 degrees.  I built it this way so I wouldn't have to add a locking latch and I was worried that it might not shut completely.  A latch won't be hard to fabricate and the gate weighs enough that it slams shut hard.  Since all the angles will be 90 degrees it simplifies the fabrication.

Thanks, I hope to get years of use out of it.

My first bowkill deer on the ranch Saturday night!  She was 25 yards away in a tree and she was slightly quartering away, basically the perfect setup. I aimed low just behind the shoulder and released. She jumped the string and this is how she fell. The arrow went through the back of her neck, broke the spine, and cut a jugular. It's a clean kill but I'm extremely disappointed because I could have as easily hit the hind or gut.


Sunday morning I found these 3 fellas in the trap:

Nice!!!!!!