Pictures from the Leverguns Hunt 2013 ...

[86er]

First I had to sight-in my Henry 35-30/30 rifle. I have a few loads picked out that have great accuracy. Of the jacketed bullets, the 200 grain Rem CoreLokt at 2020 fps was the most accurate with consistent sub MOA groups. Using the Hornady or Federal 200 grain RN with more powder yielded 2255 fps but expanded group sizes to 1.65 inches (3 shots - 100 yds). Then there's the cast bullets in 225, 245 and 300 grain at 2150 fps, 2050 fps and 1935 fps respectively. Here's the final setting for the 200 gr CL :



Then I loaded up a shotgun I have been messing with. It has a rifled choke tube, ghost ring sights and fires 437.5 grain slugs @1600 fps. It is sighted in dead on @ 75 yds. Worked great when this hog popped out right before dark:




The other hunters should be here in a few hours....

[Nath]

Very impressed Joe....as ever friend.

Keep the camera cells topped up!

N.

[Blaine]

How can someone get Kicked Off their own hunt??? Dang

[86er]

Got a hog, two red stags and a waterbuffalo down. Add a fallow too now...

[JerryB]

Reckon that's as good a kickoff as you could want. Is that .35 caliber 30-30 working pretty fair? Would it be like a hot 38-55?

[Mike Armstrong]

.35-30 is a great round, isn't it! I had one made from a walnut-stocked Savage 340 that had a truly screwed up chamber and leade (some genius tried to remove a stuck casing with a hardened screw driver....) I had it rebarreled with a .35 blank, chambered to the .35-30 and it was also a tack driver. I could shoot .38 Spl. level loads and bullets, .357 level or .35 Rem level, and they were all accurate with a little load development.

A friend had a Savage 99 that had been a .303 Savage with a rotted out bore. He had his rebored to .35-30 and it was deadlier than ever.

There's also an AI version of this ctg. but I've never seen the need for it. And cases used to be completely FREE because on "sighting-in day" at most ranges there was a pile of once-fired .30-30 cases lying around. Not so true, now.

[Ysabel Kid]

Excellent!

[RIHMFIRE]

i'm jealous! .... congrats

[papabear]

well if your going to get kicked off at lest you went out in style

papabear

[crs]

Just got in from Hondo.
Troupe shot Fred's hog and another in the head and Fred's red deer cow through the heart - DRT, all of them. I blew my fallow doe over with my .405, so we filled our tags and had a blast. Pix tomorrow after we take the game to Po Boy's for processing.

Meat now at Po Boys, so here are some pix to be followed soon by more:
Troupe with Fred's red deer cow, shot at 85 yards with his 7mm-08 through shoulder and heart - dropped at the shot (Fred, her head was hidden in mesquite brush and shade).


Troupe with Fred's 200# + hog, shot in head as instructed:


Troupe with Rusty, a young boar of Duroc parentage, that our guide, Toby, had put 5 previous hunters on and all had missed their shot; Rusty died in his sleep with a head shot from 30 yards.




Sterling relaxing in a carelessly chosen chair:

Darned doves!


Sterling's spotted hog weighed in about 250#:


More pix after lunch!
Well, it is WAY after lunch because Richard just got his camera to me after the DWWC dove hunt this weekend
(good folks, food, cigars, whiskey, and OH, YES shooting).
Richard's 230 pound hog taken Saturday morning with .257 Weatherby:



Richard with red deer cow taken Saturday afternoon:



Still no pix of Brian's red deer.

Meat picked up and breakfast sausage is great as usual.

[piller]

Dang, I wish I could have been there instead of working. Congratulations to Troupe on his hunt.

[Griff]

Congrats 86er... and Troupe... crs, I coulda tole ya that'd happen with that big ol' 405! Lookin' forward to the pics!

[madman4570]

Fine Shooting/Fine Hunting------------------------good stuff all around-------------congrats!

[86er]

Painted Desert Ram with bow -



Water Buffalo with 1885 Winchester 30-06 alternated with 1895 Win 405 Win. Since the 1885 was a single shot, I coordinated a rifle swap after each shot. The buffalo took 3 shots from the 30-06 and 2 from the 405.

[FatJackDurham]

86er, can you fill me in on the scene here, I am not used to professional hunting. Up here, if its deer season, you shoot a deer. Turkey season, and so on.

Down where you are, is that a hunting preserve or something? Or is this a wild area that has all these different animals?

If its a preserve, do you still have to track down the animal to shoot it, or are they semi tame and less afraid of people?

Don't mistake my questions for any kind of criticism, I just haven't leave anywhere near where there are professional hunting parks/services, and I don't know much about it. I havent been on the forum long enough to know more about your annual hunting trips.

[Pitchy]

[86er]

This is often referred to as Safari-Style. These animals are within 1000 acres of fence and some have been born and raised there or resided there for years. They are not fed (no feeders, no food plots - just whtever is naturally occurring) and do not encounter people unless there is someone hunting. This is heavy brush country where you can hardly see 50 yards. No pastures full of animals. You do have to locate the animals, and still use the wind and other skills to get within range for a shot. You cannot really pursue one particular animal, it just wouldnt work. You could hold out for a specific species. You have to take whatever opportunity presents itself within your goals. Some of the participants shot red deer, some fallow deer. They could have shot cow elk, sika deer or blackbuck too but on this particular weekend the elk, sika and blackbuck never offered an opportunity. They are all very spooky and resort to their natural instincts to hide and stay away from people. However, if they were to roam completely free they would be subject to predators, increase vehicle collisions, cause crop damage and push out native whitetail deer. This is the typical set up anywhere in South Africa although the land tracts are many thousands of acres up to tens of thousands of acres. Even Kruger Nat'l Park, the largest park in the world, is completely fenced in. It is an opportunity to use and learn skills, marksmanship, ballistics and terminal performance, gather some different meat and collect unique species that are not otherwise wild in the US. However it is completely different that a deer, elk, moose hunt on public or private free range land. It is similar to antelope hunts in the southern half of the Country. The antelope are in fairly specific areas that meet their needs with natural boundaries keeping them in those areas. You locate the antelope from a distance and use cover, wind, camo, etc to get within range for a shot if there is one that interests you. Alternatively, you can sit over a water hole that antelope are using and wait for them to come to you. The natural limitations of the antelope are what make the hunts highly successful. In the case of ranch hunting, the fence takes the place of the natural limitations. The animals learn to live within it. You never see animals walking the fence or near it, they are afraid of it to some extent. We set it up purposely so that you have to work hard for your game and use skills to outsmart them. There are places in the US where many animals are in fenced pastures and these are usually over-populated. You can essentially drive out there and shoot something. Other places only use feeders and you sit in a blind and when the feeder goes off dozens of different animals come in. Let the participants - past and present - respond to your inquiry with their thoughts.

[FatJackDurham]

So this hunt was in Texas then? Or Africa? I am confused.... Water Buffalo is native to Africa, right?

There must have to be some pretty careful management to keep the herd right sized.

[86er]

Texas

[crs]

BTT - pix added to CRS post - Richard's deer and hog.

[Marlin32]

When he says "brush", he means it. I was there under severe drought conditions and they kept apolgizing saying "there is usually more cover than this" Good grief, can't see 75 yards anywhere in there. And you better take a shoulder shot if you can, because if they disappear in the brush, retrieval becomes a whole lot more troubling.

Lots of interesting animals, yes, its high fence, but it isn't the lollygag out to the pasture and just shoot something. Imagine where you deer hunt, then surround yourself inside 1000 acres of fence. Heck, the deer in my woods probably never even cover a 1000 acres in their lifetime, most likely less than a half section most of their life, doesn't make that old buck any easier to hunt.

[piller]

I have been there and agree that it requires skill. I don't have a lot of skill compared to 86er or many of the others, but I have been successful there. One time I was trying to get a Nilgai, and though we saw it the first day, it disappeared and we couldn't even find tracks for the rest of the hunt. I took a Scimitar Horned Oryx instead. It was not much easier. The solid lead 350 grain bullet from the .45-70 hit just above the diaphragm and did not put it down. It moved as I pulled the trigger and I almost missed the shot. We had to get 3 teams out looking for it, and 86er finally wrestled it to the ground and finished it off. That was the famous Oryx Rodeo. When SightHunter got her elk, it had rained and was muddy. We tracked the elk for 3 days before she got a shot. Using her Momma's Remington 700 SPS in .30-06, she put a 180 grain Nosler Partition right through the heart. Yes, it takes some work and skill to get the animals there. It is not a "canned hunt" by any means. I never did get a Nilgai.

[crs]

Piller,
Richard wants a Nilgai also. Surely Joe can arrange for a few to chase this winter when the weather is a bit cooler.

[peter richards]

86er, can you fill me in on the scene here, I am not used to professional hunting. Up here, if its deer season, you shoot a deer. Turkey season, and so on.

Down where you are, is that a hunting preserve or something? Or is this a wild area that has all these different animals?

If its a preserve, do you still have to track down the animal to shoot it, or are they semi tame and less afraid of people?

Don't mistake my questions for any kind of criticism, I just haven't leave anywhere near where there are professional hunting parks/services, and I don't know much about it. I havent been on the forum long enough to know more about your annual hunting trips.

Fat Jack,
Joe & the boys looked after my mates & I so well last year that I will back there next year. Joe's description is spot on, it was much better than I expected & the highlight of my USA trip last year. Joe guided me to a Bison, Elk & Texas Dall Sheep. Highly recommended.