Ruger Scout & a pig

[scaatylobo]

Went down to N.C. last sunday [ 16 th ] and arrived at Cribs Creek Outfitters for a pig hunt on Monday night.

Nothing but rain while in ground stand Monday night.

Tuesday we were driven to S.C. and I had a huge plot of land to myself and it was 34 degrees and breezy.

Must have fallen off and the sound of pigs grunting woke me,there were about 15 to 20 in the field DIRECTLY in front ---- flipped safety [ first mistake ] and took aim and turned on "Wicked green" light and there she was in front.

225 pound sow,pulled trigger = NOTHING,safety was part way on,pushed it off and a LOUD click told me that I had a light primer hit [ no doubt due to the first pull on trigger ].

They pigs all walked off to the right where they had come from,I chambered another round and they were now 85+ yards out front.

Squeezed off a 168 grain Federal match H.P. and a smaller pig dropped,having been warned by Greg [ owner of C.C.O. ] to keep shooting = I put another round into her and then turned to take another [ greed will ruin ya ].

Took 2 more shots that looked good,the the light switch took a dump [ ONLY bad part of that lighting system ] and by the time I got it back on ----- NO PIG in field.

That was at 00:39 and I called to tell Greg at which time he said to NOT track it alone as they will charge when wounded.

He arrived about 02:45 and we looked for her with night vision AND thermal,nothing and NO blood ?.

I was very upset and I HATE a bad shot and game getting away wounded.

No luck and no shooting for any of us [ we were a group of 4 from my neck O the woods] for the next day.

We all went back to my original spot on thur. night [ all our hunting was from 18:30 to anythime after 03:30 or later ].

The guy holding the night vision came to me at about 02:00 and asked if I wanted to see the pig I shot on TUESDAY = it was still warm and must have expired in that past few hours !!!.

160 to 180 pound sow is in the freezer !.

N.C. has a very liberal hunting rules & regulations [ like a free state ],and I will be going back.

btw - I had a 300 blackout & a Ruger mini 30,but got no shooting with them even though they got woods time.

 

[Ruger480]

Good story. Those hogs are tough! That one you have there looks delicious!
Thanks for sharing.

 

[rcmodel]

Whatever happened with the 'click' after the trigger was pulled with the 'safety partway off' should not have been possible.

You have a defective safety, and you need to contact Ruger to get it working properly.

A fining pin should Never Drop after the trigger is pulled with the safety on.
Even if it was only part way on.

rc

 

[agtman]

Congrats on nailing the hog and thanks for sharing your hunting story.

That said, your Ruger operated like a piece of junk.
Personally, if it were mine, I wouldn't waste time sending it back. I'd get rid of it and look for a different .308 weapon system, including a better light set-up.
The rifle and the light need to work when you need them to work - in hunting situations no less than in life-threatening, SD situations.

Is your 300Blk an AR carbine of some type?
I'm planning to hunt hogs later this year with my 300Blk LMT MRP.

Good luck.

 

[scaatylobo]

Yes

The 300 is a AR and I am fearing that without a brain shot --- way too light for the critters that are tougher pound for pound that a grizzly bear.

There were a few that used 5.56,but brain shots OR many rounds to the vitals [ no magazine limits ].

I had NO problem getting off the next 4 shots,and I am going to contact Ruger AND T&E that rifle to see what the problem was.

I fear it was my error,and until POSITIVE otherwise,that is my view.

I love the light,but need to use the tail cap switch = worked perfectly as did the other 4 in use.

The light problem is a defective remote that they really need to work on,but the light beats the snot out of spending a few grand for a good night vision.

 

[henschman]

I don't know about y'all, but when I'm hunting, my finger is my safety. When I leave the truck, rifle is loaded and safety is off... for exactly the type of reasons you illustrated.

Funny... on my last pig hunt, I was sitting in a blind and nodded off, and just like you, woke to see pigs right in front of me. I let two piglets line up and got them both with one shot, right through both their necks. Rifle jammed, and I cleared it fast enough to get a running spine shot on another. I was using a .308 AR that I am still trying to get to run reliably.

Hogs are tough critters, but neck shots really seem to do the trick.

 

[courtgreene]

Yeah our state has it's perks, hogs aren't one of them. Thanks for taking that one out before it headed north. Right now my area is hog free and I aim to keep it that way.

 

[B!ngo]

Seems like using your finger as your safety AND nodding off is a potentially dangerous combination. Safety's should just work. Proven technology and I would have both the gun and the OP's finger checked closely to figure out what went wrong.
And great story by the OP. Seems like most everything did go wrong, and thinking about a wounded animal out there (even a pig!) is painful but you triumphed.
That gun is on my short list but I can't tell if the growing list of 'stories' are due to it's popularity and volume or are there shortcut in design or production at the root of them all.
Thanks again for sharing,
B

I don't know about y'all, but when I'm hunting, my finger is my safety. When I leave the truck, rifle is loaded and safety is off... for exactly the type of reasons you illustrated.

Funny... on my last pig hunt, I was sitting in a blind and nodded off, and just like you, woke to see pigs right in front of me. I let two piglets line up and got them both with one shot, right through both their necks. Rifle jammed, and I cleared it fast enough to get a running spine shot on another. I was using a .308 AR that I am still trying to get to run reliably.

Hogs are tough critters, but neck shots really seem to do the trick.

 

[Fremmer]

You should use the safety until you're ready to shoot.
Helps to avoid "accidents".

 

[Ky Larry]

^^^ Yep.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

delicious? aint enough tenderizer for that pig, don't think about eating a pig over 80 pounds, right now full of parasites and fleas, ticks. I just drag em to gut pile, too many pigs, not enough time. my pastures are all rooted up. got aerial hog control going on now in our area, but that don't make a dent.

 

[Arobbins]

What time of year best to hunt pig

 

[scaatylobo]

Texaspatriot308

We are still in winter mode here [ spring almost here ] so we have COLD meat on the ground.

And I had most ground into Italian sausage,and its GREAT with cheese & hot pepper flakes.

As to the Rugers in general,if looking now - I would look at the Ruger American lightweight.

Cost is 349.00 and that is MUCH cheaper than the Scout.

But the scout has a feel and I do really like it, and it is overbuilt and will last a 'few' lifetimes.

I see it as much lighter than the M1A and the M1Garand [ neither has a scope --- yet ].

LOVED N.C. and the people are amazing,would move there IF the wife would relocate :banghead:.

BUT your summers are WAY too muggy even for us east coasters.

 

[scaatylobo]

Spoke to Ruger rep. and she said I could send in the Scout - or try it again to see if it flubs.

There are no records of that problem having happened prior.

I will try to get it to malfunction,it does and its going for a spa treatment.

 

[788Ham]

I'd suggest maybe really giving a serious look-over on that Ruger American Lightweight, haven't heard many good things about them, maybe too new, not having the bugs worked out of them yet! YMMV, just whats been on the inter net, and one other thread on THR about one… your monies. The thread I'm referring to, is down the page from your post, about 9 or 10 places, just saying...

 

[Paul7]

delicious? aint enough tenderizer for that pig, don't think about eating a pig over 80 pounds, right now full of parasites and fleas, ticks. I just drag em to gut pile, too many pigs, not enough time. my pastures are all rooted up. got aerial hog control going on now in our area, but that don't make a dent.

I disagree, we've been eating a delicious 200 lb.+ hog taken in Gonzalez near you, the key is getting them cleaned quick!

 

[Patocazador]

If your pig was fresh and "it was still warm and must have expired in that past few hours" then it had to be gut shot to have lasted that long. If your hog wasn't gut shot, they probably just gave you one that the guides had killed. On guaranteed hunts that is sometimes done. I don't know if you were on a guaranteed kill hunt or not.

I had a good friend who was a guide in Wyoming. It was common for he and his partner to "two-time" a client. They would shoot the animal in the neck, timing the shot with the client's shot. There were usually 2 bullet holes in the animal ... but sometimes only one .. in the neck.