Russian Boars

I can't remember where the first Russian boar fell, ah but it comes drifting back through a lifetime of memories in the glades of my mind. It was in Pennsylvania, Wells as I remember it.

From the beginning it was always about carrying enough gun to make a quick and humane kill. That first hunt found me with a Remington 700 in 35 Whelan with Speer 250 grain Grand Slam bullets.

For those that don't know the habits of Russian boars, they tend to stick to the thick stuff. They like cedar swamps, but they will bed down on oak ridges much like a Whitetail buck where they can keep an eye and nose on anything trying to sneak up on them. When the sun comes up and warms the beds on the ridges they'll leave the beds and head for the swamps to find roots for breakfast.

So this morning found us along the lower ridges waiting to intercept the rooters as they headed for chow. The silence was broken by the dee dee dee of a Black Capped Chickadee, and off in the distance the cluck of a Raven as he set wing on the warming air currents.

One minute it was hardwoods and snow, the next a tusker topped the ridge and was heading for the lowlands at a brisk trot. And then there was another pig, and yet another. Why there was a whole herd of them running everywhere! You stand knee deep in the snow waiting for one to stop so you can get a shot and before you know it there is not a single hog in sight and now they are in the thick cedars.

At this point it is a fool's errand to go in after them as they clearly have the advantage. So you take up a stand at the edge of the swamp, waiting for one of them to get careless and wander out in the open.

Something catches your eye about 150 yards out on a ridge, a black spot that moved! You lean the rifle next to the oak tree at your side and steady the cross hairs behind the shoulder. A half breath escapes your lungs and the trigger breaks sending 250 grains of death to flight. At the report of the rifle the hog seems to show no response. Then all of a sudden he goes around in a circle like a dog chasing its tail, and falls over.

The distance to the fallen Russian is covered quickly and before you lays a dark chestnut colored hog with a hump on its back and a set of tusks that stick some 3 inches out either side of its jaw. Wide in the shoulders with curly coarse hair that signals this as an animal that is tough from one end to the other. You try to move the animal to prepare it for field dressing and realize that it weighs more than you had thought.

And it is now that the hog comes back to life, and dirt mean! You have dropped your guard, rifle no longer at the ready. As you struggle to get back on top of the situation the hog lowers his head and charges. The blur is on you before you can react and as the pig plows into you it seems you have just been hit by a one ton truck at 50 miles per hour! One soon realizes the power of these animals.

The pig is gone, and now it is time to trail it down and finish what has gone wrong. One tends to revisit the scene at this point trying to explain what just happened. The bullet flew true, the shot was behind the shoulder as it should have been. And yet, the rooter came back to life and is gone.

A half hour later the spoor leads to a brush pile and no tracks leave the other side The choices are to go in after a wounded animal or wait it out. The rooter winds you, the brush snaps, the snow flies, and the pig erupts from the brush head lowered and coming straight at you! The rifle bellows as the distance is now 3 feet to impact and the hog drops at your feet. You quickly chamber another round waiting for him to gain his feet once more. This time he is finished.

You replay the entire event in your mind and conclude that you simply were not carrying enough gun to get the job done right. And so the quest for a firearm that will drop them where they stand begins.

Now before we rekindle old wars, let it be said that just about any caliber will kill a Russian boar, including the 222 Remington. The question becomes, how fast. After many years, many hogs, and many calibers some things became quite obvious. The two biggest factors in dropping them in their tracks is caliber size, and speed.

Without peers is the 378 Weatherby Magnum with well constructed 270 grain bullets, and for the really large Russians the 300 grain bullet of equal construction is preferred. If the bullet is delivered to the proper spot this combination will put them down in their tracks off the gun barrel and all the way out to 500 meters if the shooter is up to the task.

The rifle and caliber are not for the faint of heart. It takes a very disciplined rifleman to master this setup as the recoil is severe. A good many folks simple will not be able to tolerate the belch of the 378.

As one goes down in speed, if the caliber increases, like results may be had. The 45-70 with a 400 grain Speer bullet is very effective. For the largest of the rooters the 350 grain Hornady round nose would be a better bet as they tend to penetrate and break bones better. In a Marlin lever gun with a low power scope the 45-70 becomes a proper tool for harvesting the pork supply. Of course the range now must not exceed 100 meters as the trajectory with the big slugs at slower speeds becomes quite parabolic.

Another good combination is the 444 Marlin in the Marlin lever gun using 265 grain Hornady flat nose bullets, once again, range limitation of about 100 meters.

So effective in the bigger bores, this may be brought down to handguns if one is willing to accept the shorter range limitations that go with it. Many will argue, but I would shy away from the 44 magnum in a handgun, not for the caliber, but rather the bullets normally used in the 44 mag. The 265 grain Hornady bullet can be loaded in the 44, but the velocity is quite low.

The two top choices in handguns would be the 454 Casull, and the 475 Linebaugh. In Freedom Arms handguns that are not ported the recoil is severe. In a 10 inch barreled Raging Bull that is ported the 454 is quite pleasant to shoot. The 475 Linebaugh in any handgun is brutal on the shooter.

For those that can master the 475 phenomenal kills can be made. The very top picture is a 500 pound Russian boar that dropped in its tracks after one shot from the 475 Linebaugh. The same handgun dropped an elk cold at 150 meters with a single shot. A lot has to do with the shooter, but said, the caliber must also be up to the task.

There is a great difference between the hunter who kills clean and those who seek pleasure in wounding game animals. The later will be the very people who will end all hunting at some point in our evolution. We owe it to the game we hunt to dispatch them as cleanly as possible and as quickly as possible. Use enough gun.

Of all the game over the years, the Russian boar is first on the list in table fare. A man simply has not lived until he has feasted on a roast from this game.

A great game animal and many memories can be had in pursuit of these hogs.