PURSUING THE WILD LIFE
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Pursuing the Wild Life

AR-15 .223 Hog hunting update

1/4/2019

1 Comment

 
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After a few more hunts and four more dead hogs shooting a Daniel Defense M4 platform with a few modifications and shooting Hornady Full Boar .223 ammo I have a few observations. First to put my comments in context, I typically hunt public lands and hunt well off the beaten track, often walking for miles through swamps and hammocks, stalking hogs. The M4's light weight , and carbine length, lends itself to the type of hunting I do.
  • The DD M4 platform is an excellent hog carbine when modified with a good trigger and low power, fast optic.
  • The optic I chose is a Steiner 1-4 power with an illuminated reticle. The scope is bright in low light, has good eye relief and an adjustable red dot reticle. I found it relatively easy to stay on running hogs through the swamp. 
  • Trigger: I chose a a 3.5 pound CMC trigger. It was an easy drop in installation and breaks very clean and resets lighting fast. And at about $160 its a good value. 
  • Light: I installed a basic Streamlight forward on the M-Lok rail where it is easy to turn on and off.
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Impressions of the Hornady Full Boar .223 ammunition:
PRO's:
  • It's an impressive load, fast, accurate, with good penetration, expansion and devastating wound channel.
  • You still need decent shot placement for a kill.
  • The low recoil allows you to stay on fast moving targets and fast follow up shots.
CON's:
  • This is a light load, too light for less than ideal shot placement.
  • I would not want to test this load against a large charging boar.
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Lessons learned:
  • The M4 carbine properly set up can be an effective easy and enjoyable to hunt hogs with, and well suited to the walk and stalk / still hunting.
  • The largest hog I killed was just over 200 pounds and it took two shots on the run to take him down. 
  • Smaller hogs can be taken down with one well placed shot.
  • It would be wise to carry a large caliber side arm if things go sideways with a large hog.
1 Comment
Matt
1/7/2019 01:45:34 pm

Always enjoy your blog, keep it up.

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Repair notes:
  • This was a fast and relatively average to poor, bordering on redneck quality job.
  • All materials were purchased at Lowes and Home Depot.
  • Total time spent: a few hours.
  • Total cost: approx. $50.


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 A marine grade filler was applied
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Then sanding and multiple coats of cloth, resin and sanding
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Then a final light sanding and spay can / palmetto paint job

The first trip we put in near Cedar Key and worked our way up a couple creeks that would have been inaccessible in a larger boat. We found 15 or more Redfish and a couple nice trout.
Gear used:
  • ​Old 1980’s Gheenoe, classic model purchased at a garage sale for $150.
  • Trailer assembled from parts
  • Yamaha 6 hp purchased new
First Impressions:
  • ​Gheenoe’s are excellent backwater boats. Their shallow draft, excellent stability and maneuvering are boats you can take just about anywhere in relatively protected waters. And you can pull, push or paddle them if needed.
  • The Yamaha 6 hp 4 stroke is a good balance between weight, portability, economy and power. The engine is not yet fully broken in, so it hasn’t been run a full throttle but I’m guessing it will move the loaded Gheenoe between 10 and 15 mph. The 6 hp is not a speed demon but seems fast enough and in the rocky backwater creeks, speed is the last thing you need. Easy to tilt up, shallow draft, and easy pull start are more important to me. As far as fuel economy goes, I don’t know how many hours I can expect from the 3 gal. remote tank because after a two or three hours running time the gauge hadn’t budged from full.
  • The ride of the Gheenoe is great in smooth water and fair in a chop. The boat and motor are sensitive to load distribution and the loads should be adjusted to be when heading into the wind and waves to keep the boat dry. I expected and did notice some hull cavitation when in rougher water. The hull could be strengthened in some areas but I doubt I will make many hull modifications.
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Paul with a couple nice trout from the first trip
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