Arming a Minion

[Denis]

Thirty caliber to .375.

Oops, my 7mm is too small for that.

Maybe something antique-y, loaded not too hot... 45-70, .450 Marlin? I don't know much about those.

I am partial to .375 H&H, but I have never handloaded cast bullets for it, because I have a stash of factory ammunition and bought bullets that is probably enough for two lifetimes' worth of hunting. I will say that the right loading in .375 H&H is nice to shoot - I would much rather shoot my .375's than my .270 Win for example.
I don't own one, but I know several German hunters who shoot everything with the 9.3mm cartridges (.366"). The 9.3×57mm should be not too punishing, and doesn't need a hugely long action. However, a big medium-bore rifle might be a bit much for a minor minion to carry...

What I would suggest is to go around to your local non chain tire places, and inquire. Dollars to donuts they're being scrapped by somebody, and if you offer a few bucks more, you'll have more wheel weights than you'll know what to do with.

I get a big bucket or three of scrap wheel weights from the tyre place every time I get my tyres switched from winter to summer and vice-versa. They are usually glad to get rid of them, and few breakfast pastries for the guys is all it takes... Unfortunately, the proportion of the useless non-lead weights is rising significantly, so I'm going to have to go mining the range backstop soon...

[Denis]

We aren't even making a dent in the hog population.

Sounds like I should come over and help

[First Shirt]

Bring guns. Bring friends who have guns.

[Termite]

Bring guns. Bring friends who have guns.

And if ya'll actually catch some yahoo releasing sows or un-castrated boars on his hunting lease, give him some "wall-to-wall" counseling....

[First Shirt]

Agreed, but I don't think it matters, really. At this point, we're not even fighting a good delaying action; we seem to be losing on all fronts.

In 1985, there were 11 states with huntable populations of feral swine. In 2011, there were 37, and in 2014 only three states did not report sustaining populations.

Not sure what our options are, but what we've been doing so far isn't working. Talking to a state wildlife biologist a couple years ago, he said that in order to keep a stable population, you have to remove 2/3s of them EVERY YEAR. Anything less, and the numbers will continue to increase. Don't know about ya'll, but we aren't anywhere close to that.

Around here, they've gone from novelty, to nuisance, to menace in 20 years, and are impacting both deer and wild turkey numbers.

So, yeah, Denis, come on over! Shoot all you want, they'll make more!

[toad]

Given that swine flu is driving up the price of pork and avian flu is starting to hit chickens, it might be a good idea to start a company to harvest, process, and freezer store feral pork before the population gets sick.

[First Shirt]

Given that swine flu is driving up the price of pork and avian flu is starting to hit chickens, it might be a good idea to start a company to harvest, process, and freezer store feral pork before the population gets sick.

We did. It's called "Minions-R-Us".

[Weetabix]

Hmph. MO discourages hunting feral hogs because hunting them disrupts the Dept of Conservation's control efforts. Ditto for Kansas and Arkansas. OK doesn't prohibit it. I may need to travel to kill a hog on purpose.

[toad]

In Texas they are classified as varmints. The timber companies hate them because they tear up seedlings and kill fawns, which reduce the deer populations which reduce the income the timber companies get from deer leasing. The timber companies do things like encourage their lease holder to plant honeysuckle to feed the deer and keep them away from seedlings. It's a whole lot easier to control the deer population than it is the hog population. I haven't checked in a long time, but the guys were getting were they were taking small chain saws out when the went hog hunting and just ripped out the back strap instead of trying to field dress and hump out 400 lbs of hog. The hogs are now showing up in residential areas and the state is having to make efforts to get rid of them. Heh, I enjoy reading about towns that have a strict no discharge of firearms within city limits while the hogs and coyotes eat their pets and now their kids are in danger.

[Vonz90]

Hmph. MO discourages hunting feral hogs because hunting them disrupts the Dept of Conservation's control efforts. Ditto for Kansas and Arkansas. OK doesn't prohibit it. I may need to travel to kill a hog on purpose.

http://mdc.mo.gov/your-property/problem ... og-control

Feral hogs are not native to Missouri and may be killed in any number at any time

No permit is needed to kill feral hogs except during deer and turkey seasons.

They just don't want it to become a business (and then have people encouraging hogs to support the business). Bottom line is that you can shoot them all you want on private land. You can hunt them on public land too, you just need a "reason" that is not hog hunting.

Groundhog is May to January. Coyote is May until the end of March. Seems like April would be the only no-go month.

http://mdc.mo.gov/regulations/groundhog-regulations
http://mdc.mo.gov/regulations/coyote-regulations

I think there is hog hunting at Fort Lost in the woods too, but I don't know for sure.
http://www.fortleonardwoodmwr.com/outdoor.php