Gary's Gun Notes #70
Our next HHC (Handgun Hunter's Challenge) hunt is almost here and as usual I am almost ready, almost. This is the first of a new specialty hunt that we call the Big Bore/Big Boar hunt or BB/BB for short. This hunt was designed for the fellow that has a large caliber rifle or handgun in the safe that he rarely ever uses. He can get it out, dust it off and go hunt a big old hog, buffalo, sheep, exotic deer or any one of several other exotic critters.
This hunt is scheduled for Monterey Tennessee at the Wilderness Hunting Lodge. The big 3 story lodge is brand new. We were the first hunters in there last year and what a nice lodge it is. They have several large areas that they hunt in, encompassing several thousand acres. One area is what they call "the canyon" and they let very few people in there. It is a rough area with canyons that are straight up and down.
We hunted there last March in snow and that was a great hunt. Walking down the bottom of the steep canyon, Puff Daddy Parr happened to look up and just above him was a huge black Russian boar standing on a ledge about 5 feet above him looking down at him. Puff shot him with the new Mega Beast rifle in our new 610 GNR. Another large black boar ran out of the same area and Kase rolled him with a scoped Dan Wesson 445 Super Mag.
Everybody had a great time at that hunt despite a cold driving rain one afternoon. A lot of big hogs were taken along with a couple of exotic sheep and deer. As the rain began to sprinkle down on us we almost walked into a small group of water buffalo. The underbrush was so thick and heavy that we didn't see them until we were right on them. Just as Larry Farley was trying to pick out the big bull to try with my 510 GNR revolver the rain began to fall in torrents. Within minutes we were completely soaked. We gave up on the buffalo that day but Larry has a brand new 510 GNR revolver and those buffalo may be in trouble.
Giving up on the buffalo we headed back to the truck that was a good mile away and just as we topped a rise we saw a monster hog down by a pond. Larry crept up to a stump to take a shot. The hog saw the movement and headed for parts unknown. I had a baby pig squealer in my hand and let out a couple of squeals on it which stopped the hog long enough for Larry to put a 41 GNR in the breadbasket.
We dragged the hog out into a muddy path so the guides could pick him up and again headed to the truck, even wetter than before. We had gone maybe 500 yards and topped another rise and there in front of us was a large group of hogs. Puff Daddy had my new 457 GNR revolver in hand and before any of us could even register that there were a bunch of hogs there, Puff blasted a big monster, flipping him end over end.
Just as we spotted the hogs Puff turned and pitched the 610 GNR Mega Beast to me to hold. As the hogs scattered at Puff's shot we started to walk up to the downed hog. Just as we got near Puff's hog another solid black porker ran out from behind a large bush right across in front of me. I had wanted to shoot something with the 610 GNR and had the gun in hand, so instincts took over. It was raining so hard and I had such a hard time seeing out of my shooting glasses that I just put the red fiber optic dot on the shoulder area and pulled the trigger. It was just like the hog ran into a wire about 6 inches off the ground. He went end over end and flopped flat into the mud. I started walking up to him and Puff handed me the 457 GNR revolver. Just as I got to within about 10 feet of the hog, he started to get up. I was holding the 610 in my left hand the 457 in my right so I put another round in the hog from the 457 which flattened him for good. Looking at the hog later, my shot from the 610 had hit him a bit far back in the short ribs, blasting a 2 inch hole completely thru him but not an immediately disabling wound. As the shock wore off he had come back to and was getting back up when the 457 hit him.
This was the kind of action most of the guys enjoyed, except maybe for Gene Duncan and his faithful companion Boscoe Godfrey, who had fun sliding down muddy embankments and playing in the mud.
All in all that was one of the best hunts I have been on in a good while. Kase and I got 2 big hogs each as did most of the other guys.
This hunt promises to be just as good and hopefully will be a bit dryer. We have almost a full camp again this time with only a couple of open slots left. The hunters that are going are....
- Randy Barnett
- Gerald Altman
- Larry Farley
- Charlie Herf
- Ray Massey
- Mark Hall
- Blake Naugle
- Howard Ellis
- Larry Fry
- Marde Hersh
- J.T. Benes
- Javier Gonzales Bringas
- Mike Gulas
- Scott waterboy Boggs
- Tic Greer
- Kase
- me
A couple of other hunters that had to postpone their hunt until the week later was Tracy Marshall and his son along with Lawrence
Yao.
Most of these guys are FNGs with the exception of Randy Barnett, Larry Farley, Charlie
Herf, Blake Naugle, Larry Fry and Scott Boggs and of course Kase and me.
If any of you have decided at the last minute that you want to go with us, just show up at the lodge on Thursday afternoon October 2nd. Don't worry about a deposit at this stage of the game. We hunt all day Friday and Saturday and leave out Sunday October 5th. The hunt is $675 for the hog or some of the exotic sheep and deer. You can check them out at
www.wildernesshuntinglodge.com. Join us. You won't regret it.
With the election less that 6 weeks away things are really beginning to heat up. McCain's picking Sarah Palin was the best move he could ever make. This lady is classy all the way and besides being a hunter, shooter,and NRA life member she also has all the qualifications to hold the office of VP. Being the governor of Alaska is no cushy job besides being mayor of a town in Alaska where she had to solve problems face to face with her constituents on a daily basis. If McCain and Palin get elected they can do a lot of good for this country. The main thing is for every registered voter to get out and vote and absolutely forget the independent candidates. They have absolutely no chance of winning and a vote for them is just the same as a vote for
Obama. Remember Bush won the last election by around 500 votes, so your vote does count. You may not agree with everything McCain stands for but he is sure a lot better than
Obama.
On the gun scene, not a lot of new items cropping up for hunting season. If they are not on the dealers shelves by now they probably won't be until next year. The tactical/hunting gear keeps showing up though. I have a hard time accepting these guns but that is just me. To me AR-15s were for tactical use or competition and not hunting but now with all the rifles on the AR platform coming out in 243, 308, 7-08, 338 Federal and more and all in camo and most in a flattop form for scope use, it is about time I gritted my teeth and accepted them. With Remington,
DPMS, Armalite, and a couple of others all coming out with full camo hunting rifles on the AR platform, I guess they are here to stay, unless Obama gets elected, then they will be the first to go.
New super high capacity handguns are cropping up everywhere and each company seeming to be trying to out-do the other. Ruger came out with their SR-9 9mm pistol holding 18 rounds, and now Springfield Armory has introduced the XD-M which is a 19+1 capacity 9mm pistol, on their popular XD frame, sort of a copy of the
Glock. And at least 2 others say they are premiering a new 18+1 9mm auto very soon. So the hi capacity semi autos are back in the news again.
Tactical shotguns are the rave these days with every company out there coming out with their own version of a tactical shotgun. If you saw the movie "No Country For Old Men" the bad guy in the movie used a suppressed shotgun. A pistol gripped shotgun with a big old suppressor on the end of it. Well, somebody at Mossberg saw the movie too and got smart. They now have a Mossberg tactical shotgun out with the short barrel and a fake suppressor on the end of the barrel. As Kase would say, "that's one bad assed shotgun". Even stuck in the mud type companies are coming out with super tactical shotguns. Remington, for instance has several new tactical shotguns on the model 870 frame. They have the AR-15 type collapsible stock, flashlights under the mag tube, lasers and spare ammo sidesaddles and much more on them. Winchester says they will premiere some new shotguns on the Defender platform soon too.
Speaking of tactical weapons, remember the H&K model 23 Socom pistol? A huge handgun meant for the special forces, set up for silencer (suppressor) and all kinds of goodies. Very expensive too at well over $2000 retail. They apparently are not bringing it into the states anymore so S&W has stepped into the fray with their new offering, the M&P9 Spec Ops. At a glance it looks much like the Socom although not as big and bulky. And speaking of S&W, someone up there has watched a few too many Robocop movies. They have a new revolver out that looks just like something that would be in a Robocop movie. Square slab side barrel, matte dark grey finish, 8 shot 357 magnum, it has a Aimpoint red dot sight on top of the frame on a built in Piccatinny rail, Crimson Trace's laser grips, and Surefire's X300 Weaponlight under the barrel on the built in accessory holder. This is the model 327 TRR8 I assume for Tactical, ramped and railed 8 shot.
Some good news on the firearms front. After a study showing that gun control doesn't work, Australia had loosened their firearms bans. Residents are now allowed to apply for and buy firearms, even semi autos. Hopefully we will be able to hunt with handguns in Australia before too long. I really enjoy hunting Australia with a handgun. And there is a push in Texas to allow anyone who may legally buy a handgun to carry in the open. This would be restricted to places where you are allowed to carry concealed. And if you are saying "that can't be", well did you know that Texas is one of less than 10 states that do not allow open carry? Most states sort of hid that law when they opened up the concealed carry law, but the law is still on the books.
And with all the "good" news coming out about the high cap 9mms and high cap 45s and the new tactical shotguns and such there is always a fly in the ointment. At least 2 scope makers are coming out with "super hunter" scopes that are ranging type scopes that will help a "hunter" to make those 1000 to 1200 yard shots. And I think you already know how I feel about that type hunting, so I won't go into it.
Til next time, it's hunting season, hit the fields!
Gary
Note from the webmaster: Congratulations Gary on Gun Notes
#70!
