The FX Maverick bringing in some more bacon!

The Maverick claimed it's second hog yesterday morning 
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This was a spot I've never hunted that had a deer feeder, specifically designed to discourage hogs. It's supposed to be high enough off the ground that the hogs can't get the food, but these hogs have figured out that they can stand on their tippy toes to hit the nozzle and get corn out. It was in a very brushy area, so I could only see the head when it would reach up to knock corn out of the feeder. 

I mention that, because I waited a good 10 minutes with hog bodies in my scope, but only seeing the head when they reached up to hit the nozzle to knock corn out. The area was so thick. Finally, I decided to try and time a shot when the biggest sow was "sticking her neck out". She reached even higher right when I pulled the trigger. This basically gave me a shot with a weird angle. It didn't matter though, because she didn't take a step 
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Fortunately, the NSA 65.5 grain(130 fpe) had enough steam to penetrate through about 8" of neck to reach the back of the skull/spine connection. This is exactly why I like the NSA slugs for hogs. They make a good mushroom without over expansion, and good weight retention and penetration. That's the perfect combo in my book. It causes damage, but still has the penetration needed to get the desired result.

I'm guessing she was around 125 lbs. That's definitely good eating size on a sow, and the first spotted one I've shot. I was after meat on this hunt, and was specifically targeting a good sow. She had a good amount of fat on her, for a feral pig too.
Now, I have a cooler full of meat on ice 
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Shooting hogs with an airgun never gets old! The Maverick is crazy quiet for the power it is making, thanks to the STO Sarissa. It is deceptively quiet with that thing. The bullet hitting the pig is louder than the gun, easily. I've had the meat on ice for little over a day, and will be getting it in the freezer shortly 
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I can taste that back strap already!

*EDIT, that's a ham on top..
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That's awesome!!! Never thought of using the Maverick for hogs but that packs a punch. Now I have to get the .30 barrel kit for it; what are your regulator settings.

Oh yeah, the Maverick can certainly handle a pig, as long as the shot placement is good. This my second with the Maverick. I'll be honest with you, I'd actually shoot .22 or .25 over the .30 for hogs, because I only do head shots. The .22 or .25 can penetrate that noggin just as good, if not better than the .30. I'm only shooting the .30 right now to get it dialed in for a deer when season comes in. The Maverick starts to get grumpy when you start pushing it real hard in .30, and you will break things trying to shoot much over 120 fpe with it. It comes down to the larger probe = more force being pushed back on the cocking assembly and the cocking pin that pushes the hammer back to cock it. It will start to put a lip on the edge of the hammer from that probe pushing back during the shot cycle. Eventually, cocking will become very stiff, and you'll also risk bending the cocking rod itself. The smaller diameter probe of the smaller bores doesn't push back as hard or require as much hammer spring. I just wanted to give that fair warning, before I go any further ;)

I'm running Huma extra high pressure regs on my gun, but my first reg is right at 200 bar and my second is at 175-ish bar. I also have a self made 15 gram hammer weight, a Huma Impact hammer spring, and a self made pin probe. I've done a few other little things too. I actually turned the power down just a little, until I find a reliable solution for running the gun at higher power levels without issues. I had it tuned to 136 fpe at one point, but as mentioned above, things failed or stopped working smoothly. However, the gun can do 70-75 fpe in .22 and 85-90 fpe in .25 without having to stress the gun as much. Both of those power levels will easily drop a hog, assuming you make the shot. Here in GA the minimum caliber required for deer is .30 with no power restrictions. I'm just trying to get fully comfortable that I can make the heart shot I need to make, accurately and consistently in .30. I generally try and keep my shots at 50 yards or less too.


 
Awesome write up and shooting and good eating coming up... Maverick is earning it's keep.

Thanks! I just finished putting all the meat up in the freezer, so some good eating will happen for sure ;) The Maverick has to earn it's keep, since I sold other guns to get it, lol.

Would like to see more photos of this


The only other photos I have are with my ugly mug by the pig, haha. What are you wanting to see exactly? I'm sure I can answer anything about it you want to know.
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Nice! congrats and thanks for sharing! Suddenly Im hungry…😁🥩👍🏼

For sure man, that will be on the grill after it hangs out in the freezer for a few weeks ;) 

Aloha Rallyshark,

Awesome story. That sow looks really healthy, its amazing how smart those pigs are to figure out how to get the corn from the feeder. Next time try and get a video of your hunt, I would love to see it.

Aloha, Keone

She was VERY healthy. The meat was in really good shape, and she had a lot of fat on her for a feral pig. She wasn't missing any meals or having to do much running. These particular pigs had never been hunted before. My buddy brought his gopro, but the battery was dead, lol. I gotta get me a camera one of these days...