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The “Hunting & Shooting” page looks to be a little slow as the last post here is more than 3 months old. I was hoping to have a bagged a monster whitetail this past deer season with the old 38-55 carbine to brag about but that wasnt in the cards. It was an odd year for whitetail hunting in our neck of the woods. About the best thing going was whacking pigs with a few Winchesters. In years past using a rifle you were almost guaranteed to remove at least one from the herd at a sitting but thats a one-off scenario each time you go. An article or two Ive read recently stated that you need to remove 70% of the pig population you currently have to maintain your current population. I talked to a friend of mine last week and the lease hunters on their ranch hired a helicopter for a couple hours to fly the place and killed nearly 180 hogs in one afternoon. If you live with them and deal with them you know how bad they can be.
In the last year or so Ive become fond of shooting these vermin with 00 Buck because what doesnt drop when hit will ultimately runs or crawls off and dies, keeps the buzzards or coyotes happy. While having reservations whether its ethical the past 4-5 months these darn pigs have absolutely destroyed big sections of our cattle pastures. A couple weekends ago my son and I were spotlighting in the back pasture because we knew the pigs had been coming in almost nightly. We happened to drive upon 9 sows and 20-25 piglets about 20-25 pounds in the pasture. What the Model 12 missed the trusty F250 ran over. I think the Model 12 had 2 sows and 2-3 piglets and the F250 got 5-6 piglets.
A couple years ago I was fortunate enough to find a nice Model 12 in 20 gauge that is a superb shotgun and one of my favorite bird guns. But I also found it works good on these vermin with 00 Buck.
The 20 gauge is a great gun but the 20 gauge I have was too nice to just rattle around in the truck and I wanted more firepower. I started using a 12 gauge auto-loader but it wasnt dependable, wouldnt cycle all the time. My father-in-law collects Model 12’s and I mentioned to him that I was in the market to buy one. He told me he had one that he would give me, one that would work good for what I wanted. Cant ask for more. The only caveat was that it was missing the front bead because the barrel had been cut. Shooting 00 Buck at 45-60 yards I didnt see where it would make much of a difference, neither did he. When I got the Model 12 from him the barrel had been cut to about 26 inches. I went ahead and took off another 2 inches shortening it to 24 inches. Wanted to make it to where it was easy to move about the truck. The first pig whacked with it is below, shot at 45 yards. When that Model 12 bit in into its hide the dust rose off his back and he fell to the ground. Cant ask for more. Not to mention when you take out the plug it will hold 7 cartridges.
Couldnt guess how many pigs Ive shot with this Model 12 since I got it but it has become the most trusted companion in the truck and the field.
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
Nice story and pictures.Thanks for posting.
With so many Winchesters at use in the field and on the range,I find it hard to understand why there are not more stories posted to this forum.Surely almost all of us here ,must have a good Winchester story to tell and share with us all.:)
November 7, 2015
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Chris-
Good job and a story well told. Circumstances precluded any hunting for me this season so I’m grateful for any hunting stories, especially involving old Winchesters. One of my most memorable hunts involved a 94 in 38-55, was hoping to hear about yours this season. The lease I hunt has plenty of pigs, I’ve gotten some resistance with my application of situational hunting ethics but we don’t kill nearly enough.
Mike
No hunting for me in the last 2 seasons. Used to go back to Iowa and hunt with my Dad. He passed away in 2016. But I do have a very old story to tell. In the late 50’s my Dad gave me a Model 12 16 ga. On my first hunt I was trying to hit a rabbit running across a cut corn field covered with a few inches of snow. Just as I was ready to shoot the rabbit ran into an area where the corn had not been cut, I fired anyway. I thought I had missed the rabbit but as I walked toward the rows of corn I heard a rustling. I was really excited that I had actually hit the rabbit. When I got into the corn I was surprised not the find the rabbit but a hen pheasant. So that is how I shot my first pheasant. Didn’t get to keep it though.
Here is a picture of my Dad and a friend with some pheasants and his golden retriever. Yes, this dog hunted and retrieved ducks and pheasants.
Thanks 28 gauge.
Mike, I was more focused on getting both my kids a deer this year than something for myself and it was hard hunting for both of them. Usually if your going to bag a good deer around here its going to be during the rut. Our rut runs from about the last week in October to the second week in November. After that you wont see any mature bucks unless its just by luck. We have antler restrictions in our county so it makes it tough hunting sometimes.
A good friend of mine hooked me up with some BP to load in a few of my guns. I worked up some of the BP loads for my 38-55 and was quite pleased with the results–have tried it in a couple of 38-55’s I shoot regularly. Not to mention its a lot of fun to shoot because you get the “boom” and all the smoke. Recoil seems a lot different Below is a pic of my son trying it out at a target.
Chuck, thats a cool pic with your dad, the dog, and the pheasant after a days hunt. Never hunted pheasant before, dont have them in our part of the country.
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
November 7, 2015
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Chris-
Good for you getting the next generation in the field! That’s certainly more important (and fun!) than doing it by yourself. One benefit of antler restrictions is that it teaches young hunters to take the time to evaluate a deer before taking the shot. It also lets them sit back and observe deer activity. Since my deer season is generally over very quickly I spend a lot of time watching deer and other wildlife while waiting for the hogs to show. On my brother’s lease in Bee County it seems the best bucks are taken the first weekend of December, theory is the bucks are looking for the elusive few does that haven’t been bred and they move more. Mature bucks most often seen on game cam pics early in the season.
BP is indeed fun to shoot in a 38-55; nice “boom” and gentle on the shoulder. The smokeless load I generally shoot is so quiet other hunters (and sometimes deer) don’t notice when I shoot.
Mike
What the Model 12 missed the trusty F250 ran over. I think the Model 12 had 2 sows and 2-3 piglets and the F250 got 5-6 piglets.
Be careful. That front suspension work can get costly. We both know what kind of holes these hogs can create!!! I have been busy getting after them at my place in Lee Co. just outside of Giddings. What color and size would you like?? And they do taste SO good.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
Never hunted pigs. Off topic, but do they scatter when a gun is fired? If so, and if you had a “silencer”, would they mill around like bison as you shot one after the other? Too smart for that?
1892takedown, love that pic throwing smoke. I like smoke.
I’ve only killed one animal in a fair chase hunt with a Winchester. It was my first elk, a 5X5 bull, with a post-64, 94 30-30. from 30 feet, through the neck. I generally hunt muzzle loader or archery.
I’ve killed many car-hit deer (none of which I hit) with my 1886 user. It was a 38-56 from the factory and someone put a 40-65 bbl on it, so I had it bored out to 45-70. I used to carry it for that very purpose as I see them all the time, but then a warden educated me on the fact that it’s illegal to put a game down on the side of a highway.
Never hunted pigs. Off topic, but do they scatter when a gun is fired? If so, and if you had a “silencer”, would they mill around like bison as you shot one after the other? Too smart for that?
Huck,
They are way smart!! And a lot of times they make hunting whitetails look like child’s play. Like you I love to bow hunt them. But even with that very quiet method they still scatter typically after the first one gets hit. Even with a silencer there is still the sound of a clanking auto that will chase them off. The possible exception is a subsonic bolt gun with silencer. They are VERY quiet in comparison. The fact that hogs travel in groups called “sounders” is what makes their control so difficult. You will typically only get one per bunch. The shotgun approach is a good method. I sometimes will walk my ranch at night with night vision goggles on and I have a 12 gauge auto with a pushbutton laser on it. The red laser looks white through the goggles and it is easy to shoot from the hip once the dot gets on a pig or coyote.
And speaking of archery, have you seen the new bow sight by Garmin? The Xero A1. I just put one on my Mathews bow. VERY slick no pin, auto ranging sight!! But EXPENSIVE.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
twobit said
Never hunted pigs. Off topic, but do they scatter when a gun is fired? If so, and if you had a “silencer”, would they mill around like bison as you shot one after the other? Too smart for that?
Huck,
They are way smart!! And a lot of times they make hunting whitetails look like child’s play. Like you I love to bow hunt them. But even with that very quiet method they still scatter typically after the first one gets hit. Even with a silencer there is still the sound of a clanking auto that will chase them off. The possible exception is a subsonic bolt gun with silencer. They are VERY quiet in comparison. The fact that hogs travel in groups called “sounders” is what makes their control so difficult. You will typically only get one per bunch. The shotgun approach is a good method. I sometimes will walk my ranch at night with night vision goggles on and I have a 12 gauge auto with a pushbutton laser on it. The red laser looks white through the goggles and it is easy to shoot from the hip once the dot gets on a pig or coyote.
And speaking of archery, have you seen the new bow sight by Garmin? The Xero A1. I just put one on my Mathews bow. VERY slick no pin, auto ranging sight!! But EXPENSIVE.
Michael
Thanks for the education. I have a client from S. TX with pig issues. He keeps inviting me down but I’ve just never made it. I shoot instinct with a Damon-Howatt stick bow. I started with rifle, went to muzzle loader, then compound (that bow had pin sites on it), then re-curve, and now stick bow. I’ve used the bow mostly for about 35 years with an occasional ML hunt in there now and then. Unfortunately, I haven’t actually been hunting in years. I’ve seen my favorite places get populated with homo sapiens and, half the hunt, for me, was pretending I was the first one over the land bridge. 
Maybe I’ll get back out there again someday.
Huck,
You need to make “someday” ASAP!! I just found out that my FFL friend just died on the 8th of March. I had not bought a rifle in about 18 months so I had not seen him in a while. I really really hope that his “someday” list was real short. My philosophy is that life is a bank account. You do not get monthly statements or know how much is in the account. BUT you do know that withdrawals are always being made.
I have never shot a traditional bow. I have a friend near my ranch who is crazy good with one.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
1892takedown said
Thanks 28 gauge.Mike, I was more focused on getting both my kids a deer this year than something for myself and it was hard hunting for both of them. Usually if your going to bag a good deer around here its going to be during the rut. Our rut runs from about the last week in October to the second week in November. After that you wont see any mature bucks unless its just by luck. We have antler restrictions in our county so it makes it tough hunting sometimes.
A good friend of mine hooked me up with some BP to load in a few of my guns. I worked up some of the BP loads for my 38-55 and was quite pleased with the results–have tried it in a couple of 38-55’s I shoot regularly. Not to mention its a lot of fun to shoot because you get the “boom” and all the smoke. Recoil seems a lot different Below is a pic of my son trying it out at a target.
Chuck, thats a cool pic with your dad, the dog, and the pheasant after a days hunt. Never hunted pheasant before, dont have them in our part of the country.
Thanks. These were shot in north central Missouri at a pheasant club. That’s why you see some hens. The birds at this place fly like wild birds. You don’t have to kick them to get them in the air. I love hunting with the dogs.
I’ve posted this before so it may be familiar. 30-30 model 94. Paid less than $100.00 for it back in the 70s. Note the duct tape.
Huck Riley said
I’ve posted this before so it may be familiar. 30-30 model 94. Paid less than $100.00 for it back in the 70s. Note the duct tape.
That is the special order nickel inlay on the fore end!!! Very rare indeed!!!
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
twobit said
That is the special order nickel inlay on the fore end!!! Very rare indeed!!!
Michael
On the highly sought-after post-64 edition.
Huck Riley said
On the highly sought-after post-64 edition.
Even harder to find!!!
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
November 7, 2015
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Suppressors sound like a good idea until you realize the first pig whacked will squeal an alarm louder than some of my rifles. I think that a well-placed shot into the ear or where the spine meets the skull may prevent this alarm but I haven’t tested this theory. So many piggies, so little time!
Mike
I definetly wouldn’t be braggin’ ’bout running over pigs as the P.E,T,A. folks will set their sights on You and You know what they say about popular opinion.
W.A.C.A. life member, Marlin Collectors Assn. charter and life member, C,S.S.A. member and general gun nut.
TXGunNut said
Suppressors sound like a good idea until you realize the first pig whacked will squeal an alarm louder than some of my rifles. I think that a well-placed shot into the ear or where the spine meets the skull may prevent this alarm but I haven’t tested this theory. So many piggies, so little time!
Mike
Mike,
I have shot many hogs in exactly this manner. The loudest sound they make is when they hit the ground right next to where they were standing a half second earlier!! The others still run off. But there is no tracking necessary.
They can’t run when the brain can’t communicate to the rest of the body!
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
November 7, 2015
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Michael-
Good shooting!
Mike
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