There are so many different ways to fill your freezer with organic, free-range pork that I’ll probably never get around to trying them all. I’ve taken them with a Bowie knife with the aid of a catch dog, drug ‘em out alive with the assistance of bay dogs, stalked them with and still hunted them from blinds and tree stands with a variety of weapons and with those same weapons I’ve intercepted them over bait piles. I’ve trapped them using steel snare cables and often more often using a cage-style trap. But after nearly forty-five years of harvesting wild pork, it recently occurred to me that I’ve never taken one with a shotgun.
That realization came to me recently after guiding a successful hunt whereby my client invited a big sow to ride the tailgate home using a Remington 870, pump action shotgun firing a load of 00 buckshot. It did the job quite well, but making the recovery was a bit sketchy as there was little to no blood trail. Probably the only gripe I can come up with. The recovery was indeed made, and he left me with a full cooler and a mighty big grin.
Thinking mighty hard and remembering as many hunts as I could, I simply cannot recall a single time I used a shotgun on one. So, what’s a man to do? I can tell you what I did; I went out and bought a new shotgun. Now, I have a couple, a tiny .410 which is my go-to gun for squirrels and rabbits, and a big Winchester in 12G, set up for turkey hunting.
I took a drive to see my buddy Dan Leon, of Golddiggers and Gunslingers to let him show me several models of shotguns that might fit my game plan. I settled on a Churchill model 12G, made by European Action Arms, pump actíon shotgun. The gun is chambered to accept either 2 ¾” or 3” shells, so after scouring the ballistic charts, I decided on hunting with 3” Magnum slugs.
Slugs are single, projectiles composed of a solid ounce of soft lead. My train of thought was that slugs would afford very obvious blood trails for a fast and easy recovery after the shot. What I hadn’t planned on was the recoil!
Each pull of the trigger, felt like it just set off a quarter stick of dynamite against my shoulder. I topped the new gun with a Simmons, Pro Diamond shotgun scope and it took nine shots to have that scope dialed in and each one more painful than the last. However, the gun got sighted in and proves to be a very accurate weapon.
The big hunt soon came, to claim a pile of fresh pork for my own freezer and black and blue shoulder and all, I carried the shotgun, which I’ve dubbed, The Mule, out to a hog infested property near Nobleton. The hogs walk up from the Withlacoochee each evening to feed on acorns beneath a trio of giant live oaks and sat in a patch of cocklebur brush and waited them out.
The first to arrive was a tall boar hog I estimated to weigh about a hundred and eighty pounds. Once he turned to afford me a broadside shot opportunity, The Mule kicked hard into my already battered shoulder and that big slug flew true, knocking the big boar off of his feet and onto his back where he lay, toes up to Jesus and remained so till I brought up the truck and loaded him up to ride home with me.
I plan on collecting a few more with The Mule, but only after I’ve finished dining on this one…. And my shoulder has a chance to heal. If you have any questions about shotgunning for hogs or maybe have a story of your own to share, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.
