Last Tuesday had me arrive at Pennsylvania`s Tioga Ranch along with my Black and Tan and the handgun battery of the week that included my Freedom Arms in 500WE and my ever faithful 454 along with John Gallagher`s five shot 475 Bisley....I wanted to try some lighter then normal bullet weight`s by Barnes and Speer which were 275grs, in both the 500WE and 475. My 454 was loaded with a Swift 300gr over 27.5grs of AA#9 that came from the FA`s web site and is meant to duplicate factory ballistics for that weight... I have future plans for that load...Using Hornady`s 480 Ruger bras I tried Speer`s 275gr Deep Curl over 31.0grs of IMR-4227 which was the first load I shot at the range and was realy accurate at 40yds with iron sights and my eyes.. As for the 500WE...she liked the Barnes 275gr X in a trimmed case over 23.3grs of AA#9 with iron sights at 40yds..... I had waited for the weather to warm up but it would snow three of the four days and on the second morning I climbed in the four wheeler armed with the Gallagher and 454...We set up in a comfortable box blind as luck would have it five or six boar showed up at the rear window and I was too late to set up a shot..... We let them leave and began a chase that ended with them back tracking their trail and running into me 40 yards off the path. Sitting...with my back against a tree and the Gallagher`s barrel rested on cross sticks I thumbed the hammer back on one of the 275 Speer/31.0 IMR-4227 handloads. The boar were not quite running but more of a stiff leg trot.. My eye was on a unique dark brown pure blood and the guide said "wait till they clear" when I dropped the hammer... Had the front sight leading on his nose and the bullet hit high in the shoulder dropping him instantly..
I then thought to borrow a page from the Bovine Bash handbook and drew my scoped 454 and placed a 300gr Swift along side the head and hoping to recover later for a performance check...
On the third day I came to an agreement with the boss to take two spotted swamp hogs or one Russian... whichever came first... Sitting in the same box blind one of the swamper`s crested the hill but would not get inside my open sight range of 40 yards to the 500WE... Out came 454 and at 80 or so yards I dropped the hammer sending a Swifty of 300grs making another high shoulder shot and an instant drop.... This was a good size sow with complete broadside penetration.. I was committed to take the other spotted hog and walked much of the property without luck....Finally one of the other guides spotted her in an area we just walked and we backtracked until we made contact... Her color was so light that I was amazed it took this long...The title say`s "Two out of three" meaning the first two went down with one shot each....The third....not so good... My first 80 yard shot from the 454 hit low and six inches back from the vitals....She started uphill and worried that a long chase was about to begin I unloaded on her....Finally my fourth shot went it where it was suppose to..I could say that all the trees and movement kept me from a good shot but there`s no excuse... I should have waited for a better first shot... Later at the skinning shed I recovered two of the 300ge Swift`s and the hope of every handgun hunter using jacketed hollow points showed its face and its name was "consistency"... The bullet from the Russian weighed 273.3grs losing 26.7grs and expanding to 0.671" while the one from the swamper weighed 279.2grs losing 20.8grs and expanding to 0.650"....PHOTOS: top: Russian with Gallagher..Lungs from Speer 275gr Deep Curl...Me and Rusian...First swamper and 454....Battery: 475 - 454 -500WE...2nd swamper and 454...recovered 300gr Swift bullets...