Hog hunting in Pearl River WMA

Hoggin said:

I have not used Becks yet but I have some of their ammo ready to try. I've got their .308 subsonic and .223 lead-free Controlled Chaos rounds which look pretty amazing.

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Beck's subsonic .308 is what I call a "rainbow round" . At 200 yds, the sub round drops as much as a supersonic round drops at 700 yds.

Inside 100, no sweat... I'd just make sure you're zeroed and only hunting with the subs. If you mix em up with supers, you'll potentially miss based on the spot you're aiming for on the hog.

I know this because I have been testing them for similar escapades.

Just like a subsonic 300AAC 100 yd zero, also Zeros you at 300 yards with supers ( or damn close to it).

Great point. I'm new to suppressors and subsonic rounds, but right off the bat I recognized the need to document zeroes and drops. With my .22LR I have two rounds that I now use:
1) CCI Velocitor (40gr JHP, muzzel velocity 1,435 fps, muzzel energy 183 #s). This round moves fast and brings a lot of energy for a .22LR. A great hog rimfire shot.
2) Remington Subsonic (38gr HP, muzzel velocity 1,050 fps, muzzel energy 93 #s). This is my quiet round that requires precision neck shots because it's weak.
I took my Ruger 10/22 Takedown to the range and zeroed both rounds at 25 yards (they both zeroed the same at 25 yards). That's an average shot range for me at Pearl. Then I documented the +/- drop at 10 yards and 50 yards for each round (my min and max shot distances hogging at Pearl last season). Then I typed the 50, 25 and 10 yard zeroes and drops, for each round, printed it out, then taped it to my rifle stock. So When I grab that weapon (or hand it to one of my kids) I/we have a quick reference for shot placement with either round depending on how we want to hunt that day. Have not used it in the field yet, but I think it's gunna work great. A Marine friend that I hunt with has this data on his 45-70 rifle stock -- that's where I got the idea. A key point here is that my average shot at Pearl was 25 yards last season (my first season at PRWMA).

In January I went with my buddy Matt. We got to our spot, started stalking and decided to split up to cover twice as much ground with half as much noise. He took a break at one point, just leaning on a tree looking around, and a 100# hoggy quietly stepped out of the brush and layed down for a nap under a palmetto 10 feet in front of him. Just right freakin there. I heard pow, pow, pow then got a text a little while later to help him find the hog. He shot the hog three times at 10 feet with a .22LR. We never found the hog. I looked at his ammo and he was using some cheap round nose standard velocity target rounds that did not expand upon impact and he was aiming at the hogs head. So, yeah, my favorite LR hogging round now is the CCI Velocitor (Stinger is also good) aimed at the neck. That's what my boy and I used when we took 3 of 6 hogs.

My favorite ammo website: http://www.ammoseek.com

My favorite ballistics website: http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.rimfire-rifles.html

...of course, .22Magnum is preferred over .22LR for hoggin, but you're not going to shoot Magnum suppressed so noting drops for subsonic and supersonic on Magnums is not necessary. I just picked up a pretty neat Henry lever action 7+1 capacity .22Magnum with iron barrel sights. The open sights allow me to keep my off-eye open to better see peripheral activity. Under 25 yards a scope is almost more of a hindrance anyway. This Henry is small so it's more quiet to hump through the woods with. Can't wait to take it for a spin. My first lever action and my first Henry. Wish it had a stainless barrel, but you can't have everything.

Took my boys by foot this past weekend off Old Hwy 11. Only had time for a 45 minute hunt. Didn't see any hogs. Saw lots of hog signs where I hoped they would be, so that was nice. Roads and trails in excellent condition.

Since small game season opened Saturday morning I've been to Pearl four times. Twice by myself and twice with other hunters. Both times with other hunters we didn't see anything. Maybe multiple people just make too much noise or scent. Once by myself I saw a 150# sow with five 30# piglets at 125 yards. I crept in to about 40 yards. Her rear was to me. I watched her in my crosshairs for 7-8 minutes waiting for a good angle. Every time she would turn a little she would bend down to forage and I couldn't get a good shot. One of her piglets came to within 10 yards of me, spotted me, sounded the alarm and they all ran off. Could have taken a piglet easily but I wanted all six beasts. If I could have shot the sow the piglets would have come back to her and I would have had 300# of hog on the hoof, but as it turned out I went home empty handed. The other time by myself I saw a 100# boar 80 yards away. I closed half the distance and waited for a good angle. he was facing me but I didn't want to risk a forehead ricochet shot. He turned to the side a little and I put a .22 magnum in his neck. He dropped on the spot and started wiggling. Ran up to him and finished him off. When I cleaned him the esophagus was obliterated with minimal spinal damage so my shot was about 2" low. Lost most of the neck meat. Even so, that's the beauty of a neck shot... middle of the neck or a touch low and that hogs not taking another step once hit. Got 25#s of ground organic pork plus two really nice rib racks (I left the backstraps attached to the ribs). Ribs are drying and aging in my fridge now. Will smoke them this weekend. Ground pork in the freezer.

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Hoggin, let me know how those ribs turn out and what you smoked them with if you don't mind

just looked at the regs for pearl river wma and there is no mention of hogs, but other wma's mention them

quick go over from what I just read in the regs----can take hogs with proper firearm for the season I am there, I can also use a centerfire handgun during any season, correct?

I go to Pearl river WMA a lot kayaking and walking around from areas that I kayak too, and have seen hogs on many occasion and I am going to start hunting again this year with my PMR-30 and 45 auto.

Stinkysix, you are partially correct. You may take hogs during any other open hunting season. But you have to take that hog in the manner of that open season. So sometimes you can use a .45 (centerfire pistol) and sometimes you cannot.

All of October is "small game" season (rabbit, squirrel and something else I forgot). During small game season you may use a shotgun (excluding slugs and buckshot) or rimrife rifle (.22 or .17). If you have your CHP (Concealed Handgun Permit) you may carry a centerfire pistol for self defense but you may not use it to hunt with. During "deer firearm season" you may use centerfire rifles and pistols to hunt with. The calendar of what you can hunt with and when is a bit complicated but trust me it's a big deal to the game wardens. You don't want to illegally shoot a critter on WMA land unless you are prepared to face very stiff penalties (illegally shooting a deer, for instance, can get you in more trouble that murdering a human in some instances). The enforcement agents governing Pearl River WMA may be reached at (985) 543-4777 if you have questions. But do your research first at http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov. Everything you need to know is in the 2015-2016 hunting regulations.

This past Saturday morning I took a hog with a .22 magnum. When I was loading the beast onto my hitch-n-haul, a game warden drove up and wanted to check me out. He asked to see my WMA hunting license. Then he saw the .45 on my hip and asked if I had a CHP, to which I replied, "Yes, sir". He asked if I knew that I was not allowed to hunt with that .45 and I replied, "Correct, I'm hunting with a .22 magnum". He then inspected the entrance wound in the hogs neck and saw that it was indeed the size of .22 and not a .45. Then we started having fun talking about dumb ass things he has seen some people do at Pearl. The point is... know what you have to do to be legal and don't mess around. I've been to Pearl five times since Saturday (in five days) and have been stopped by game wardens three times (three different officers).

Read page 66 Wma feral hogs section, it says hunters may use centerfire handguns in addition to firearms used for season in progress, am i reading that wrong?

stinkysix said:

Read page 66 Wma feral hogs section, it says hunters may use centerfire handguns in addition to firearms used for season in progress, am i reading that wrong?

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Yes you may use handguns as long as it is rifle for deer, but if it's muzzle loader, bow, squirrel, rabbit,duck, only ect only the use of a 22 is what I understand , if it's during deer rifle you can use what ever you want, but you can still carry a handgun as long as you have a chp, and don't get cought using it to take game

why do they need to see a birth certificate for the WMA permit?

To prove that u were born. Did u forget that u were dealing with the State of Louisiana.

Stinkysix, I just spoke to an enforcement agent at the 4777 number. He said that is a poorly written sentence and you are not allowed to use centerfire pistols during a non-centerfire rifle season. That sentence states, "...and hunters may use centerfire pistols in addition...", but just before that it says, "...EXCEPT as allowed by permit...". So you may only use centerfire pistols if you have a special permit to do so outside of centerfire rifle deer season. Not sure about primitive season.

Yeah there are several things in the regs that contradict themselves, best to call and ask.

Going out there Saturday with my PMR-30 and my B MAG .17 WSM

Any limit on hogs on the WMA, did not see anything in the regs

I don't think so

No limits.
Destroy them all.
Good eatin' too.

Mike84z28, you asked how the ribs came out. I started a new thread to discuss hog recipes and put the details in that thread. Bottom line... don't sausage those ribs! Smoke um!