Walker Hog Harvest Planned To Celebrate NRA DX w/ Revolver!

[Dave Rosenthal]

Just booked a hunting trip to celebrate my Distinguished Expert rating in Muzzleloading Pistol. Will be hunting hog at fairly close range (20-35 yards). Question for other Walker owners: Have you hunted with yours yet and what load? Results? I plan on using my 52 grain load, wonder-wad & .454 Hornady ball.

(Mods: I realize this goes into "Hunting" category, but I wanted the maximum number of members to see it quickly and have scanned archives & You Tube and can't find anything helpful. Thanks!)

Back to DX rating:

When queried, the NRA couldn't say for sure whether or not I am the first & only Pistol Distinguished Expert for the Muzzleloading Category. It took quite a long time to get it done and required several "missed" attempts where I fell short by only a point or so. Currently the COF is 13 shots at 25 yards and 13 shots at 50 yards, and the best 10 shots from each target are counted, for a total of a 200 point maximum. Distinguished Expert requires a minimum aggregate of 160 x 200 and you have to repeat this FIVE times to earn the DX.

If anyone else is involved in going for this title, I'd appreciate knowing about it, and if you've already earned it, please re-contact the NRA to remind them that you accomplished this feat with the hand gun!

Happy Easter everyone and I'll look for your replies.

Dave

 

[MSW]

well, congratulations on your hard earned accomplishment ... your level of marksmanship is something that I doubt I'll ever be able to accomplish, so a big hats off to you

:hatsoff:

as regards shooting hogs, i've always been impressed with them (their durability, that is)

when i was stationed in Germany (then West Germany) i was living in an apartment "on the economy" because there was a shortage in the Army housing system. my landlord was a pretty cool fellow, and he invited us to "a pig thing" and being a good guest i said, sure, and he told me to just come out into the courtyard the next morning.

so at about 5am, i brought out coffee for everyone and there was a pretty good sized pig, tied by his left hind leg to a sturdy stake (a two inch hunk of galvanized pipe). i large tripod had been set up and there was a huge pot and there were several smalled kettles of water starting to boil. the landlord said, "Well, it's time to kill the pig." and walked up in front of it and produced an old Walter P-38 and he shot the pig once through the back of the head. The bullet struck just in front of the joint between the spinal column and the skull.

you would think that this would have dropped the pig in his tracks and that that would have been the end of things, but you'd be mistaken. before the shell casing hit the deck, the farmer was ddancing out of the way (this was not his 'first day at the rodeo') and a good thing it was, too, for the pig was making a good effort to mix it up in the space where he was standing not so long ago. Had the farmer not moved, he would most probably have been gored. Porky then began to search for the farmer, who had done him such a mischief, and might have had better success had his left leg not been firmly attached to the stake.

I wondered if the round had been a 'squib,' but ejection was clear and the thing was plenty loud. There was all sorts of tissue under the spor wher the pig had been standing, so I'm sure that the round functioned as normal. We spent the whole rest of the day taking the pig apart, What wasn't used fit into a three pound coffee can: dang- that guy knew his work!

So, in my opinion, and for whatever it's worth, pigs are darn tough, pigs are pretty smart, and anyone who hunts them is pretty brave.

OK- that's the rant for this morning.

 

[bigbore442001]

I am not sure if this is allowed but there is a yahoo group for percussion revolvers. A number of the members hunt a variety of game with the Walker and other percussion revolvers. A group from Florida frequently takes them down with either heavy conials or round balls.Look them up and see some of the pictures for yourself.

Out of curiosity, where are you planning to hunt?

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Thanks for the encouragement and the nice story! I hope to hit the "sweet spot".

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Thanks for the Yahoo Group info--I just joined so I could complete my research. From what I've been told thus far, I KNOW I can do this hunt with just the Walker, but to balance-out the "load" I think I wear my 3rd Model Dragoon on the weak side, since lots of walking has to be done.

The place is on a 150 acre island in the middle of the Susquehanna River in PA. Only semi-wild, and easy to get close to hogs. Really good eatin' too!

Dave

 

[rodwha]

One of the fellows in the group that Bigbore mentioned prefers a RB to a conical when hog hunting, and finds it much superior within about 35 yds or so. Some of the hogs he has shot were well over 200 lbs.

If you plan on eating them you may want to target sows and/or smaller ones

 

[Blizzard of '93]

congrats on both the acheivement and the upcomeing hunt dave.
I've taken 2 wild/feral pig with my c&b revolvers - used Lee mold conicals.
a smaller one drt from back of skull/neck shot unfortunately the larger a sow of near 150lbs ran off after a hurried shot that still drilled both lung tips resulting in a trackdown of nearly 1/2 mile.
taken w/a depredatrion permit on nature conservancy land some years back

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Hey Bliz, it's been a while!

Yeah, this is on my Bucket List, and I turned-down a similar trip last year. My plan is to just wear a brace of revolvers (Walker is primary, 3rd Model Dragoon is back-up)in the leather and force myself to get in close enough for a kill shot with the Walker. Lots of walking on this Hunt, so to even-out the weight by carrying the Dragoon actually makes sense! Besides, if I go hammer-down on an empty with both, I have (10) shots to harvest a single Hog! Probably only need two if I hit it good the first time with my 52 grain charge of 3Fg Goex, a lubed wonder-wad & a .454 Hornady ball.

I saw reports & videos of guys using '58's, Buffalo '58's, even a 1860 Army to harvest Hogs & Deer. As with anything else, it seems that shot placement is the KEY! Already know where she hits with my accurate loading above, so I should be O-K.

Thanks for the encouragement & kind thoughts.

Dave

 

[George T.]

I think your right. ?Here in Texas there are a lot more 100 pound or less killed than the huge ones you hear about. Will you be on the ground with them ir in a stand? Good luck on the hunt and that was great shooting. Geo. T.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

They say to expect between 250-350 for weight, and I'll be on the ground on a 150 acre island with Guides. These aren't 1,200 pound or even 600 pound Russian Wild Boar, these are just wild pigs. It's more or less a "high fence" hunt, but with an island and no fence. Heavy thicket in the videos I've seen and some friends who have been there tell me that they're harvested between 10-40 yards due to terrain (thicket).

If I were to hunt a really huge wild one, I'd use my .50 cal rifle with 470 grain Maxi's or my 10 ga. SxS with .715 round balls that weigh about an ounce & 1/4 each! And the sidearm would be back-up.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Oh, almost forgot to mention the COF for the DX Rating:

13 shots @ 25 yards strong hand ONLY, then another 13 shots @ 50 yards freestyle (both hands). Count the best 10 shots on each target for a 200 point maximum aggregate. B-19 International Target used at 25 yards and the NRA's Official 50 yard slow-fire Pistol Target used at 50 yards. Minimum aggregate needed to qualify is a score of 160 x 200 and you have to do this FIVE times, which is why it takes so long to accomplish. My highest score was only a 165, and several attempts netted me a score in the upper 150's, during which I was fighting rain, wind and other variables.

I'm confident (after reviewing revolver forum mentioned above) that the mighty Walker is up to the task, as some have been harvested with '58's & 60's with a full chamber of powder...

I encourage anyone who wants to try the NRA/Winchester Qualification Program for Black Powder to get in touch with NRA HQ and they will be glad to send you materials to get your club (or yourself) started in this endeavor!

Dave

 

[swathdiver]

Question for other Walker owners: Have you hunted with yours yet and what load? Results? I plan on using my 52 grain load, wonder-wad & .454 Hornady ball.

Dave,

I have not hunted with a Walker or any revolver but the fellows at the Yahoo Percussion Revolver Group regularly take hogs with Walkers, Dragoons, ROAs and Remingtons.

Your load sounds about right but you did not list the powder used, they use either 777 or Swiss for the most part in 2F. Check them out. There are photos of their kills on the site too.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I did in fact check-out this Percussion Revolver Group on Yahoo, and had a great time doing it. Saw all of the images and even joined and posted a question about the Hunt I'm planning. They immediately gave opinions and backed-up what I thought would be the case. There's even a few photos of the vital zone on Hogs for your training needs.

Thanks to both of the folks here for recommending this Group. Seems like a nice & helpful bunch too! I'm confident & ready to harvest a Hog at this point! Can't wait!

Dave

 

[bigbore442001]

I wish you the best of luck on Mohr's Island. I had read about that island hunt. It sounds interesting and might be a great opportunity if you are limited in any distance.

Like any animal, placement is the key. That Walker loaded with a good load of H777 or Swiss 3F should do a job on them.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Thanks for all of the encouragement! !

I can almost taste the pork chops & bacon & ham now :haha:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

The Hunt was very successful! One shot in the "Boiler Room" from the mighty Walker did the trick! A friend gave me some hand-cast soft lead 225 grain Lee Conicals and I put those on top of the 52 grain charge of Goex 3Fg. Really good expansion and went through the vitals hitting both lungs.

A friend of mine & hunting partner took some cell phone pix. I have to pester him for the image so I can post it here.

More to follow!

Dave

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Excellent! :thumbsup: What was the distance?

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

The distance was a measured 20 yards. A second or two after the shot, my hog tipped-over sideways and didn't need to be "finished", unlike quite a few others hit by more modern .30 cal rifles.

So I drove home with 11 chambers still loaded :haha: (6 balls in my 3rd Model Dragoon & 5 225 gr. Lee conicals in the Walker. I think I'll take a shot or two with the Walker and give the rest away to friends this Sunday at the local club's NRA Qualifier Match :wink: .

 

[MSW]

congratulations!

 

So I drove home with 11 chambers still loaded :haha: (6 balls in my 3rd Model Dragoon & 5 225 gr. Lee conicals in the Walker. I think I'll take a shot or two with the Walker and give the rest away to friends this Sunday at the local club's NRA Qualifier Match :wink: .

You went hog huntin, loaded for bear, it seems. :stir: