Large Hog Falls to Cast Hammer

[RPRNY]

Got to hunt hogs on a colleague's ranch between Austin and San Antonio last weekend. Took my 35 Krag Handi Rifle and Hog Stopper hand loads: an Old West Molds baked clone of the Lyman 358009 at 280 grs over 4895 at about 1700 Fps.

Had to make a snap shot, because I was gawping slack jawed instead of calmly assessing and, while I was sure I hit this big boar, his reaction suggested a poor shot: little twitch and then a turn and run. Just as I feared I'd have some tracking to do, he dropped, kicked three or four times and died. Happily, right on a little track, so we were able to chain him up and drag him back for a weigh in: 540 lbs.

Love this bullet (sadly not cast by me) in the 35 Krag!

Handi in 35 Krag

155361

Hog Stopper Lyman 358009 clone 280 grs

155362

Big Fellow

155363

[MarkP]

540 lbs he is huge! or was huge.

[Echale3]

That's a lot of pork chops and bacon!

[rking22]

Nice shootin, lots sausage in that one! I like our handi, and 35s ROCK!

[TXGunNut]

Nice hog, looks like a Durock. Did he pass the sniff test?

[35 shooter]

Oh man! That is a P I G Hawg! I've only killed deer with the 358009(noe version), but it's my favorite 35 cal, boolit.

I have a lot of respect for the rn version i have, but that flat nose of yours has to be MORE hammer.

[Magana559]

Nice hog, looks like a Durock. Did he pass the sniff test?

Just because they smell on the outside don't mean they smell on the inside. I've eaten several "stinky" pigs and had quality meat.

Looks more like a hempshire than a duroc to me.

[Magana559]

Great shot! I usually cut these guys up for carnitas and hamburger! They make awesome burgers! Season with Montreal steak seasoning and red lawrys. Never hurts to add a bit of white onion and basil. Love hog meat! This year was awful for us! Glad to see somebody hammering them!

[white eagle]

nice job
excellent pig wow
awesome boolit btw
enjoy

[missionary5155]

Greetings and Congratulations !
Monster hog ! I wonder if even a perfect shot through any vital would have stopped him? The brain and head/neck connection for sure but that heart had to be a huge one. I like that boolit !
Mike in Peru

[RPRNY]

Stinky fat fellow but once the meat is processed and the blood leached out with a little apple cider vinegar and water, it's all good. Loins and back straps are great. 38 lbs hams go part ham, part sausage and sausage meet and pulled pork. Ribs aren't great but low and slow works wonders.

[MOA]

Congratulations, wow, my heart starts pumping just looking at that HOG!!!!!!
Sometimes ya just have to stare at these monsters that mother nature presents to us once every so often, but it looks like you got the right hammer to nail this guy down with, I bet is was a fun and exciting hunt for you, hope you took lots of pictures that you can look at over the coming years and remember the hunt all that much better. Great gun, great caliber, and great memories. :awesome:

[UBER7MM]

That Noe 358009 in 35 Krag will probably stop anything you point it at. The melplate is impressive. Great hog; must need a fork lift to move it! Congrats!

[Landy]

No shortage of pork at your house.

That .35 Krag with that huge flatnose is an impressive looking round. That Krag case has it all for a cast singleshot case:

Long Neck
Rim
Taper
Goldilocks Capacity

[RPRNY]

That .35 Krag with that huge flatnose is an impressive looking round. That Krag case has it all for a cast singleshot case:

Long Neck
Rim
Taper
Goldilocks Capacity



Love the 35 Krag. And that's an ejector barrel so a fast follow up is pretty easy if necessary.

[Doc Highwall]

RPRNY, did you recover the bullet or was it a pass through?

[RPRNY]

Did not. Appears to have ended up in the skull having scrambled the little piggy brain. Didn't go digging. Looks to have deflected upwards and forwards after entry. Lot of bleeding- took out a major blood vessel in the head.

[Geezer in NH]

Looks more like a hempshire than a duroc to me.Bet spelling error Hampshire looks to me.:bigsmyl2:

[chutesnreloads]

Nice hog.Sure like to hear how that 35 Krag Handi came about.Guessing a 357mag or 35Rem barrel was reamed?

[725]

Yes, I'd like to hear about the .35 Krag, too. Love the Handi's and wish I had more. Very good "snap shot"!!!! Congrats on a fine job. What a pig!

[TXGunNut]

35 Krag does indeed sound interesting, sounds like a good way to get a second life out of an old bolt gun. I'd like to hear the story of that Handi Rifle as well.

[taco650]

TXGunNut,

Is the same boolit you tried in your 35Whelen but couldn't get it to feed from the magazine?

[Markbo]

Well done. I try to tell people we have big pigs in Texas even where we have little deer. Texas Hill country has some of the densest white tail population in the country but they are dwarved by big hogs

[RPRNY]

It was a 30-30, ejector barrel. JES Rebore (Jesse Occumpaugh) bored it out to 358 and chambered it for the 35 Krag, which is just the 30-40 necked out. I specified a 1-12 twist. Lee did me a set of custom collet dies for $70. Brass is easily fire formed from 30-40.

I'm a 30-40 fan and have several rifles thus chambered. The 35 is a fantastic single shot and will perform to factory Whelen levels in the Handi. Thinking about a 35 Krag Improved in a Ruger #3. [emoji1]

Wasn't me trying to shoot that bullet in a Whelen repeater.

[TXGunNut]

TXGunNut,

Is the same boolit you tried in your 35Whelen but couldn't get it to feed from the magazine?


No, I'm using the NOE/RD 360-230 and have minimized the feeding issue but it's still an issue. I load it (3 rounds) so that the second round comes from the side that feeds well. I think the 358009 may actually feed in my rifle but I don't want to shoot that heavy a boolit. I also like the big meplat of the RD design, even if it doesn't feed well in my rifle. I seldom need a second shot but I often chamber a round after shooting game and don't want to be distracted by feeding issues while watching a critter go down.
I really like the 358009, it's a grand old boolit but it's simply more than I need here in TX. If I were going after moose or elk I would buy the mould in a minute. A certain enabler has been trying to get me to try the 358009 but so far I've resisted.
The problem with the 35 caliber is that there are so many excellent boolits but they all require significant amounts of powder and lead while dishing out recoil in no small packages. I don't think there's a better big game hunting caliber than the 35 but in must cases it pretty much sucks as a plinker. I'm not recoil-sensitive but it does wear me down after awhile.

[TXGunNut]

It was a 30-30, ejector barrel. JES Rebore (Jesse Occumpaugh) bored it out to 358 and chambered it for the 35 Krag, which is just the 30-40 necked out. I specified a 1-12 twist. Lee did me a set of custom collet dies for $70. Brass is easily fire formed from 30-40.

I'm a 30-40 fan and have several rifles thus chambered. The 35 is a fantastic single shot and will perform to factory Whelen levels in the Handi. Thinking about a 35 Krag Improved in a Ruger #3. [emoji1]

Wasn't me trying to shoot that bullet in a Whelen repeater.


Thanks, sounds like a well thought-out build. Longtime fan of the 30-06 and well aware of the 30-40's role in it's development. I've been a fan of the 35 Whelen (and JES) lately so was intrigued by your rifle. I can't help but think of all the 30-40 rifles out there with bores ruined by corrosive primers. I don't know if the old 30-40 Krag bolt-action rifles would handle a full-house 35 Whelen load but my hunting loads are well under max. No experience these rifles so don't know if feeding will be an issue.

[RPRNY]

TXGN, the Krag Jorgensen rifles will not handle 35 Whelen pressures. Krag metallurgy and single locking lug mean a CUP max of 40,000, or 42,000 psi.

The original load in the Krag was 220 grs at 2000 Fps, so take the bore out to 35 cal and drop velocity to 1600 -1700 and I would extrapolate that it would be under that max. But I'd want to run it through Quickload to make sure it's below a margin of error before going there ! I'd be very confident on deer and hogs out to 200 yards with this load.

[Victor N TN]

Bet spelling error Hampshire looks to me.:bigsmyl2:

I thought it looked like the Hampshire hogs we used to raise.

[35 shooter]

No, I'm using the NOE/RD 360-230 and have minimized the feeding issue but it's still an issue. I load it (3 rounds) so that the second round comes from the side that feeds well. I think the 358009 may actually feed in my rifle but I don't want to shoot that heavy a boolit. I also like the big meplat of the RD design, even if it doesn't feed well in my rifle. I seldom need a second shot but I often chamber a round after shooting game and don't want to be distracted by feeding issues while watching a critter go down.
I really like the 358009, it's a grand old boolit but it's simply more than I need here in TX. If I were going after moose or elk I would buy the mould in a minute. A certain enabler has been trying to get me to try the 358009 but so far I've resisted.
The problem with the 35 caliber is that there are so many excellent boolits but they all require significant amounts of powder and lead while dishing out recoil in no small packages. I don't think there's a better big game hunting caliber than the 35 but in must cases it pretty much sucks as a plinker. I'm not recoil-sensitive but it does wear me down after awhile.
Lol TX, try 12 gr. of unique behind a 358009 in that whelen(no filler)for a
'plinker load". Prints 1.5" or less @ 100 yds. and if i remember right, still has 600 ft. lb. of energy left @ 200 yds.
I chronoed it at 1275 fps., so no pipsqueak load exactly, but no kick either.
Too much fun!!

Not that i am an enabler or anything lol.;)

[Markbo]

I thought it looked like the Hampshire hogs we used to raise.

Remember feral hogs come.from farm stock. I cannot begin to list all the different colors and patterns I have seen on feral hogs. As many as there are different hog breeds and then some. :)

[RPRNY]

They are all, Eurasian boar, feral hog, and barnyard piggie, the same species: Sus scrofa. Appearance and coloring differ and breeding for certain characteristics can deliver more or less homogeneous coloring, but genetically they are all one species and once out in the wild for any time, feral hog and wild boar are much of a muchness.

[rhino72]

Nice hog! And thanks for the info on the 35 Krag - sounds like a great boolit round. Now to find a 'donor' rifle....

Did that hog have ear notches? It looks like the ears of the hogs that our 4H kids show here at our county fair. Could he have been a farm escapee? Should be some great meat.

[rr2241tx]

Nice hog, looks like a Durock. Did he pass the sniff test?
Durocs are red. Hampshires are black with a white band over the forelegs. But, you are correct that his body conformation has the rounded back of a Duroc. Raised a lot of hogs back in the day.

[glockmeister]

That should be very tasty eating right there! Sure will help out on the grocery bill to say the least. Take care and enjoy the pork, John.

[TXGunNut]

Lol TX, try 12 gr. of unique behind a 358009 in that whelen(no filler)for a
'plinker load". Prints 1.5" or less @ 100 yds. and if i remember right, still has 600 ft. lb. of energy left @ 200 yds.
I chronoed it at 1275 fps., so no pipsqueak load exactly, but no kick either.
Too much fun!! -35 enabler

There you go again! Do I have to go count my 35 moulds again and explain to you (again) that I don't need another 35 mould? .....that plinker load kinda sounds like fun.:bigsmyl2:
All kidding aside I've never seen a RD design that liked to go slow.

[TXGunNut]

Durocs are red. Hampshires are black with a white band over the forelegs. But, you are correct that his body conformation has the rounded back of a Duroc. Raised a lot of hogs back in the day.

My dad raised hogs as a kid and I learned just enough from him to get confused, lol. I shot a little red pig a few years ago, he certainly had the scrappy temperament of a redhead, lol.
My dad was also a biologist and I often suggested to him that it seemed to me many groups of wild hogs seemed closer to the Eurasian conformation due to more generations in the wild, he didn't think so. My other theory is that many of the Eurasian traits were dominant in some populations and after even 20-30 years in the wild they have heavy shoulders and other traits that make them look more like the fabled Russian boar than a barnyard escapee. I don't think I ever got him to agree with me on that one either. I know that at least one large TX ranch brought in some Eurasian stock to improve the quality of their feral hog herd.

[dead dog]

35 shooter do you use gas checks? What lube do you use? Do you drill your primer holes with that load?

[35 shooter]

35 shooter do you use gas checks? What lube do you use? Do you drill your primer holes with that load?
My 358009 mould has both gc and pb cavities.
The 12 gr. unique load is with the plain base version. I don't drill the pockets out as that load is almost 1300 fps. I've shot hundreds of them with that load and had no shoulder set back. I use Ben's Red lube and also the new BLL tumble lube.

That's my squirrel load in the whelen!!!
Ok lol, back to the hog hunting...sorry for the side tracking!

I really like the sounds of that 35 krag!

[TXGunNut]

TXGN, the Krag Jorgensen rifles will not handle 35 Whelen pressures. Krag metallurgy and single locking lug mean a CUP max of 40,000, or 42,000 psi.

The original load in the Krag was 220 grs at 2000 Fps, so take the bore out to 35 cal and drop velocity to 1600 -1700 and I would extrapolate that it would be under that max. But I'd want to run it through Quickload to make sure it's below a margin of error before going there ! I'd be very confident on deer and hogs out to 200 yards with this load.


Thanks, was wondering about that. Dropping the velocity to the levels you suggest would not be a problem, would just have to use different headstamp brass as I do with another cartridge, probably a different boolit as well.

[45coltnut]

Nice job!!

Where did you get that stock check pad / ammo carrier? I'd like to get one for my 1885 hi wall. Thanks.

[vzerone]

Hey, that hog, you harvesting, and that bullet are just awesome. That's one of my favorite rifle calibers too!!!! Enjoy dining on him.

[HiVelocity]

OMG! That slug would stop a moving Buick! Lol!

But, then, why worry about having something that wouldn't stop him in his tracks? And, I've never heard of a "35 Krag" rifle; I'm guessing its just a 30-40 Krag blown out to 35?

Nice hog, lots of bacon, pork chops, and sausage?

HV

[RPRNY]

Nice job!!

Where did you get that stock check pad / ammo carrier? I'd like to get one for my 1885 hi wall. Thanks.

Came off ebay two years ago. Chap in Eastern Ukraine was selling them. God only knows what ha happened to him.

35 Krag is probably our oldest wildcat and is nothing more than the 30-40 necked out to 35 Cal.

[Blackwater]

That's one BIG hawg! Years ago, one of my cousins shot one that went a bit over 600, and it made the back page of the Sunday edition of the Savannah Morning News. It was shot 19 times, mostly with shotguns, and I'm told that when they dressed it out, not many of the buckshot got through the tough gristle plate on the shoulder. This was on a dog hunt in the swamp, and my cousin heard what was going on on his CB radio, and got his '06 out, and when it came his way, that anchored the hog. He shot it one more time as it tried to get up. It was a running shot and he didn't hit it quite right. That last one did it for good. This one looked like a Russian, or at least that's what I was told. They had a picture of it in the paper, but it wasn't a very good one, really. They told the story and all the details of the whole 19 shots. Took up the entire back page, and about 2/3 of the inside of the back page.

Big hogs CAN be kinda' hard to stop, and I'd hate to have to stop a really big one with just buck shot. He had the head mounted, and it stuck out 4 ft. from the wall, and the taxidermist made it look really mean. Like they said in the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness," near the end, "... and today, if you look into its eyes, you will still be afraid." A 600 lb. anything can be tough to stop unless you're armed well, and that gristle plate on the ones that have mostly reverted back to their Russian conformation CAN be rather thick, and can absorb a lot of punishment. Looks like that .35 Krag makes some really excellent hog medicine. Good story and thanks!

[taco650]

Getting a little off topic but can't find the 358009 on Lyman's web page of rifle molds... can someone direct me please?

[RPRNY]

I don't think the 358009 mold is available any longer. It's a bit of a grail mold these days. This boolit came from a clone built, I believe, by Old Western Molds some years ago. For a Lyman 358009, you'll need to do some searching...

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/ByCaliber/The%20358009.pdf

[geezer56]

Update. This mold was a group buy run on castboolits a few years ago, and was indeed made by Dan at Old West Molds. It isn't a copy of the 358009, that one is the round nose configuration. This one looks like the 311440. It is flat as a board on the end. It won't feed through any bolt action I've tried, single shot only. I have Whelen's in Savage and Mauser, so I have tried push feed and CRF both. It works great in the CVA Scout though. NOE has the 358009 on the website, don't know if any are in stock at this time.

[dead dog]

I got one from NOE about a month ago . Have not loaded any yet, going try in my Whelen after deer season.

[LAH]

Excellent

[taco650]

Update. This mold was a group buy run on castboolits a few years ago, and was indeed made by Dan at Old West Molds. It isn't a copy of the 358009, that one is the round nose configuration. This one looks like the 311440. It is flat as a board on the end. It won't feed through any bolt action I've tried, single shot only. I have Whelen's in Savage and Mauser, so I have tried push feed and CRF both. It works great in the CVA Scout though. NOE has the 358009 on the website, don't know if any are in stock at this time.

Thanks!

[taco650]

I got one from NOE about a month ago . Have not loaded any yet, going try in my Whelen after deer season.

Is this what you got?

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=2048&osCsid=gjgnvbc4e226grf9kche5iqdj3

[dead dog]

Yes it has a round nose.

[TheGrimReaper]

Yes, I'd like to hear about the .35 Krag, too. Love the Handi's and wish I had more. Very good "snap shot"!!!! Congrats on a fine job. What a pig!

Same here too!