SIGforum.com Main Page Mason's Rifle Room Hog hunters - what do you typically carry with you on a hunt, and how do you carry it?
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Repressed |
Hog hunters of SigForum, I'm getting interested in hunting feral hogs. I've got a couple connections through friends and family that could have me hunting in Missouri as well as in Texas. Sooner or later, I'll have a SCAR-17 to shoot (at) the pigs with, but what else should I be packing, and how do you recommend I carry it? Lights, batteries, possibly night vision and/or thermal equipment, bi-pod and/or shooting stick, knife/knives, ammo, multitool, water, snacks, sidearm, gloves... What else? Please, help me build out a kit! -ShneaSIG Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?" | ||
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| The Unknown Stuntman  |
30-30, leather sling, havalon piranta knife. Super tactical, high stealth, rip-stop Old Navy blue jeans. Low drag weather-proof Kevlar reinforced Nirvana T-shirt. And good comfy boots.  | |||
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| Repressed |
Clearly, Bionic, you operate, man! -ShneaSIG Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?" | |||
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Dean of Law |
We pull all-nighters at a friend’s 7,000 acre farm in South Georgia. I have a Pulsar XD38A thermal monocular for scanning. We use two Night Optics 750 NV scopes and a Pulsar XD75 thermal scope. We each carry a Ruger Ranch 300blk and a suppressed side piece, that way the neighboring farm owners don’t hear gun shot all night long. I cut the bottom out of an uncle mike’s holster to accommodate a suppressor. I carry a surefire light and keep an energizer headlamp ready for when we have to drag something out of a field. Believe it or not we regularly drop them at 300 yards with a blackout. The holdover is quite a bit. | |||
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| Member |
Rifle, various calibers but, generally .30 caliber or larger. Sturdy knife, binoculars and range finder. Sometimes I'll bring shooting sticks. Clothing appropriate for weather conditions. And of course, comfy boots. I may also wear snake gaiters. Ignem Feram | |||
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Get on the fifty! |
Man, when a few buddies and I go out I wonder if were going after bin laden or pigs sometimes. I recently added a FLIR PTS233 scope into the mix, but haven't had a chance to use it on porky. I'm considering a FLIR Breach monocular to helmet mount with the PVS 14. Something to keep in mind is thermal will be excellent for observation/a relatively stationary rifle scope whereas night vision is well suited for movement since you are looking through the tube rather than a screen. Don't purchase a thermal unit thinking you'll be walking around safetly using it for navigation. I use an Inforce WMX mounted on the helmet for extra light usually in infrared. Works wonders with the PVS. Heres the real question, whats your budget? It's hard to beat good scopes and a solid helmet rig. "Pickin' stones and pullin' teats is a hard way to make a living. But, sure as God's got sandals, it beats fightin' dudes with treasure trails." "We've been tricked, we've been backstabbed, and we've been quite possibly, bamboozled." | |||
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| Go ahead punk, make my day |
“Heres the real question, whats your budget?” Truth | |||
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| Throwin sparks makin knives  |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this! | |||
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Fighting the good fight |
Rifle (usually some flavor of .30, like 7.62x39, .308, or .30-06) Handgun Knife Camelback TQ and small trauma kit Flashlight Snacks Thick canvas pants and shirt Quality boots Hat Gloves Season-appropriate inclement weather clothing Nothing fancy. I don't use a bipod, long-range optic, or IR/NV/Thermal. Stuff like that is more for longer-range hunting from stationary positions, like a stand. My buddies and I usually hunt with dogs while riding ATVs, or sometimes stalking on foot or driving/pushing. Shots are typically made from the shoulder, at relatively short range (100 yards and in), with minimal setup time. But the areas we hunt have trees and fairly thick brush. | |||
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| Repressed |
Budget? Let's say that I'm willing to get what needs gettin'. On the subject of night vision and thermals, while that stuff looks cool as all get out, I'll only get to use it when I go to Texas, and my uncle who will be hosting me already has good NV and thermal equipment. Missouri is not so enlightened and specifically prohibits the use of night vision and thermal gear. ...That said, a monocle and/or a clip-on NV unit sure sounds awesome. As I was pondering what would work best, I had the idea that a lightweight, molle vest or chest rig might be a good idea. Something to carry a couple magazines, batteries, a first aid kit, etc., and if I need to change it up for use in a class, a shootin' match, or the zombie apocalypse, I could just reconfigure the pouches. In Texas, it sounds like we'd be able to keep a vehicle within reasonable walking distance, so it may not be entirely necessary there, but for the Missouri hunts we'd have to leave the vehicle considerably farther away. -ShneaSIG Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?" | |||
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| Fighting the good fight |
Have you been hunting (hog or otherwise) before? I highly doubt you'll need a chest rig with a bunch of spare magazines, at least for typical hunting. You most likely won't be taking that many shots. So it'd just be excess weight that you have to hump around. Weight is important, especially when hunting on foot. I usually have 5-10 rounds in the rifle, plus usually either a (small) spare magazine or a handful of loose spare rounds. And even on days when we're really tearing them up, I have ammo left over. But it will depend on how you're planning to hunt. The only way that you might need a bunch of extra mags on hand is if you're setting up in a static position for an extended period, and plan on trying to mow down multiple large packs. (But that's less hunting than merely pest eradication.) If that's the case, weight isn't as much of a concern since you're not having to carry it around all day. And in that case, depending on how many hogs wander into your area, you might approach the volume of fire in which multiple spare mags are needed. | |||
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| Repressed |
Been hunting before for small game, but never been hog hunting before. It's a little different that hunting squirrels! These would be longer outings, especially the Texas trips - we very well may get a chance at 3 sounders a night (but we'll be in and out of a vehicle, so carrying stuff on me isn't nearly as much of a concern). I wasn't so much thinking of a chest rig as a means to haul around 8 spare magazines; I was thinking more like 2 (and, well, maybe not even that, based on your guidance - I'd feel a bit naked without at least 1 spare magazine, if for no other reason than to have a backup in the event of a malfunction), plus all the other useful things. Think a small carrier, not something like my big ole' LBT TEOTWAWKI 5.56 rig. Maybe a molle belt would be more appropriate. -ShneaSIG Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?" | |||
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| Fighting the good fight |
I usually just stick the small spare mag or the loose rounds in a pocket. Or a couple of my rifles have buttstock ammo carrier, like this:  | |||
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| Repressed |
As we talk, Rogue, the minimalist approach is hitting home. A belt with a couple utility-type pouches (one of those being a first aid kit), sidearm, and a spare magazine probably does the trick, and a camelback for water. -ShneaSIG Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?" | |||
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| Fighting the good fight |
It hit home with me the first time I humped a heavy rifle and a bunch of extra gear around on foot all day, and then couldn't make the shots I wanted towards the end of the day because I was too tired and my arms were too wobbly.  Now I favor less gear, and a compact lightweight rifle. But again, it depends partly on how you're planning to hunt. If you're setting up in a stand or other stationary position, then feel free to bring that 15+ pound rifle with the 20x infrathermal scope, bipod, laser/IR illuminator, and tactical plate carrier with 500 rounds of ammo. You'll only have to carry it from the car to the stand and back. | |||
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| The Unknown Stuntman |
Well, yeah. Obviously. But seriously, check out that knife I mentioned. Maybe not as a primary, I like my Gerber LMF for that, but as a skinner, Havalon is hard to beat. | |||
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| Get on the fifty! |
Rogue is right about weight. Definitely look into a night vision device like a Gen 2+ or Gen 3 PVS 14. The weight is negligible and the NV ability is a game changer. (Just noticed you already have access to it when you are out of state so YMMV) I typically carry one 20rd mag of .300 in the rifle and another 20 rounder in my pocket (when in Texas) Everything else is either on my belt, a small pack, or on the helmet. "Pickin' stones and pullin' teats is a hard way to make a living. But, sure as God's got sandals, it beats fightin' dudes with treasure trails." "We've been tricked, we've been backstabbed, and we've been quite possibly, bamboozled." | |||
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Member |
A good sling. With padding. Carrying the SCAR for a few hours makes it feel pretty heavy. You can add a QD socket forward of the hinge to allow folding the stock while the rifle is slung, which helps with stowing it a bit smaller for navigating brush or vehicles. | |||
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| Member |
I havnt shot pigs in years but for a couple years now I’ve used a havalon for almost all my hunting. I just can’t get myself to carry around big heavy knives now. I have a few of them and one of them lives in my Bino harness full time, the other just stays in my kill kit. A havalon and some extra blades is an awesome tool. I save the full blades and my buddy actually re sharpens them, after that I throw them out. | |||
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| Repressed |
Thank you for all of the input, gentlemen. You guys are great! -ShneaSIG Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?" | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page Mason's Rifle Room Hog hunters - what do you typically carry with you on a hunt, and how do you carry it?
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