Nothing Like It...

So, over this past weekend I took the hog I harvested*, trimmed the fat and fascia off, and split it into portions for cooking. A rather large section of rump roast was split into two portions for making into pulled pork, while the tenderloins and backstrap were liberally seasoned. One helping of pulled pork was cooked up Sunday.

Four days from roaming the MS woods to sitting on my plate - now THAT is fresh!

This was the first time in my life that I'd supplied the meat for our dinner in a manner other than "go to store, purchase a styrofoam tray with meat on it". Sure, when I was younger we might have eaten a fish I caught when fishing with my dad on Cape Cod, but it was never the prime ingredient (not to mention, the fish I tended to catch were very small to begin with...)

There's something about being more invested in where your dinner comes from to fully appreciate how great we have it these days. It took me three nights in two states to bring home a rather small (100 pound) sow that yielded meat for five meals, with about twice as much left in MS (to be donated). Hunting as a way of providing meat on a regular basis would be quite trying.

I think I'm hooked, though. There's something absolutely primal in pitting your wits, skills and abilities against a wild animal. Even more so when you sit down to a delicious meal of pulled pork that is the end result of that confrontation. I'd like to try my hand at deer this coming fall, and maybe even take Ambulance Driver up on his generous offer to hunt pigs down his way.

In any case, I have a pretty good feeling this isn't going to be the last meal I put on the table...

That is all.

*Apparently, there is a real 1911-vs.-Glock style pissing contest in the hunting world over the use of "harvest" vs. the use of "kill" when talking about a successful hunt in which an animal's life is taken. Honestly, I don't see much of a difference; I think it's similar to the use of "firearm" vs. "weapon" - it's for the few on the fence that might bristle at "kill" but understand "harvest" better.

Letting the Pig Out of the Bag...

Those of you who are friends with me over on the book of Face have seen the news about my whereabouts this week. Suffice to say, I've managed to snag a most excellent hunting excursion whereupon I will be helping to rid the state of Mississippi of a few (hopefully) feral hogs. The good folks at Crimson Trace and Mossberg will be providing hardware, and we'll be hunting at night with infrared scopes courtesy of FLIR.


Night hog hunting. This is so cool I can barely sit still.

Anyways, stay tuned over on FB for pictures - hopefully of soon-to-be-bacon - and other events. Posting will be rather light, as I'm not certain what the connectivity is going to be like. Also, I think I mentioned night hunting, so things will be up in the air as far as when I'll be conscious, etc.

I'm both really excited and really nervous about this trip. While I've done some varminting in my time, this is the first night hunt I've been on. I've used night vision gear previously, so it's not my first rodeo there, but putting everything together is going to be challenging.

Fortunately, I like a good challenge. I figure I have a decent chance with a rifle or shotgun (they're not having us hunt with handguns. Yet.) and there may just be some ham coming home with me. Wish me luck, and hopefully there will be some fresh pulled-pork in my future.

Anyone got a good recipe for wild pig?

That is all.

Into The Woods...

So, I finally completed a hunter's ed course and got my Hunter Education Certificate over the weekend (VA offers an online course). 43 years on this planet and I'm finally going hunting. Growing up, with suburban sprawl plus MA's anti-gun attitude, I never got the chance to go hunting with my dad. I know he had hunted as a kid/young man, but in all the time I've known him he has never hunted, preferring fishing.

As I grew up, I had friends along the way offer to take me hunting here and there. Zercool offered a "Hunting 101" when he lived in NY that I wished I'd taken him up on, but couldn't make it work. Along the way, I had limited experience - mainly varmint/vermin eradication in the form of squirrels, groundhogs and prairie dogs - but I've never gone hunting. I've never tracked an animal, followed a blood trail, dressed out a kill, or any of the other tasks that make up the hunting experience.

Well, I'm ready to learn. I figure I'm a good thirty years behind the curve, so I've got some lost time to make up for. Several friends and co-workers have offered to help; I intend to lean on pretty much everyone for a bit until I get a better sense of what's going on. Of course, Virginia regs dictate calibers above .223 Rem., so I either need to move up to .308 Win. or take Grampy's Marlin 336. I can think of worse ways to hunt than with my grandfather's cherished lever action rifle...

Or, I could look into getting one of those sweet Weatherby Vanguards in 6.5 Creedmoor. I hear that round works in AR-platform rifles, too. I've had reasonably good luck with both .223 Rem. and .308 Win. out to 400 yards; it's unlikely I'd need/be able to take many shots further out than that here on the Eastern seaboard at least (and if I'm headed out west, chances are I'll be shooting with a borrowed rifle). I've thought about .300 Blackout, but honestly, the range isn't that much better than .30-30 Win. At least that would only require an upper change, though...

So many decisions. So much hardware...

Of course, there's things like skinning knives, blaze orange jackets, boots, binoculars, and probably a million other things I'm forgetting. I just started getting into long-range shooting, and while hunting is a natural outlet for this new endeavor, it brings with it a whole host of additional geegaws and must-have gadgets for me to obsess over. Even not considering the prospect of a new gun. Or two.

I can see this being a costly venture, but at least I'll (hopefully) get some venison out of it...

That is all.

Who Will Rid Me of this Turbulent Bacon?

Stretch sent this in. I think I have the answer...

Who Can Stop These Adorable Pigs?

This may seem like a ludicrous pitch for a doomsday blockbuster or a leftover gag from Babe: Pig in the City or an excuse to put even more bacon in our diet but the fact is, wild pigs have overrun the planet. To wit: Pig populations are nearing a million in the state of Florida, encroaching on urban areas and destroying an F-16 fighter plane in Jacksonville. Feral pigs are running (hog) wild in the streets of Berlin, with dedicated pig squads waging a losing battle to overtake them. They’ve become a fixture on the West Bank, after Israeli settlers, some say, released boars to destroy Palestinian croplands. There are even thousands of radioactive wild pigs wandering Europe, thanks to the tainted feeding grounds near Chernobyl.

This is an answer with a very simple solution. One word, in fact:

VEPR.

10 rounds of .308 Winchester goodness. G-d's Own Caliber. Enough oomph to take down even a feral hog at 200 yards, easy. The VEPR was good for ~ 3-4 MOA at 100 yards once the scope was sighted in - a 4" spread over a hog means bacon for breakfast. I'm good with that. The robust AK-47-based action means that it'll be ready for anything that the elements might dish out.

Ambulance Driver has offered to take me on a hog hunt. I think it's about time to take him up on that offer. I need to get my hunting license here in MA first, which I will do over this summer. After that, it's bacon-harvesting time. Hopefully. Mmm. Free range bacon...

You just know I had to post something Russian on May Day, right?

That is all.