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The pigs - The pigs, harvest or leave on ground for vultures?

FWIW, this is exactly the reason I keep a pair of electronic ear muffs in my car at all times, literally within reach. I can put them on and turn on the electrics pretty quickly if I have even a few seconds of time as a situation might be developing. The last time I fired a gun without earpro, it was accidedental, while dove hunting. I had finished for the day and was putting stuff away when someone across the field called out a large flight of dove coming my way. Without thinking it through, I grabbed my O/U 12 gauge and popped off a couple of rounds at them. I didn’t have my ear protection on, and it was not something I’d care to repeat. I didn’t appear to suffer any noticeable damage, but the muzzle reports were fairly painful.

My one negligent discharge was with a .44 magnum, pointed vertically, with the muzzle just a few inches from my left ear. I was stone deaf in that ear for a couple of weeks before my hearing came back, and had “buzzy” hearing in my right ear for about a week. Again, not something I’d ever want to repeat.

Abraham wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 9:55 am The pigs - The pigs, harvest or leave on ground for vultures?

Man, you got it bad!

Abraham wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 9:55 am The pigs - The pigs, harvest or leave on ground for vultures?

Something tells me Abraham and his grandkids may be dressing up as vultures for Halloween!

A 20/30 lbs. piglet is mighty tasty eating.

There is a study showing that taking vitamins A, C, and E, plus magnesium reduces noise trauma (NIHL) if taken within five days (the sooner the better). NIHL = noise induced hearing loss.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/ti ... ost-194187

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950331/

For giggles I decided to fire off some rounds with a handful of my pistols outside at our outdoor shooting range to see exactly how loud they were & if I would flinch from the sound. I wanted to get a feel for the loudness. All shot outside in the open with no hearing protection.

First up was a Beretta 92 9mm...standard 115 gr ball ammo... -------- sharp POP!low ringing in ears that lasted a split second. definitely doable with no after effects.

S&W Victory 22lr pistol and a 6" S&W mod 617 in 22lr....-------About the same more or less of that of the 9mm..--- doable with no lasting effects

Glock 23 40s&w... ------ about the same sharp, but loud POP as a 9mm but I noticed the ringing in my ear that lasted a split second after each shot was slightly louder that the almost inaudible ringing the 9mm gave me...

S&W model 10 4" heavy barrel in 38 special. standard pressure ammo, non +P------- the same effects as 9mm although it was more of a distinctive thud instead of a sharp POP. Revolvers sound differently than autoloaders.

S&W 686 357 magnum.-------I used full power Hornady 125gr XTP in 357 magnum and shooting this outside with no hearing protection sucked! The ringing in my ear sucked. The headache that followed sucked. I only shot once and if you could imagine getting hit with a 24 ounce ball peen craftsman hammer between the eyes. That was 357 magnum with no hearing protection on.

I believe environmental variables are more of an issue than the rounds. After hunting from blinds most of my life for deer, I had my then 10 year old son in my blind with me. He had hearing protectors on but I did not as usual. I assisted him in firing at a deer from inside the blind. Because of the location of his rifle and how I was situated, that was the loudest 243 I ever heard. Sounded like a howitzer going off to me. I had never noticed how loud it was before that. Maybe buck fever kept me from noticing but I think it had to do with proximity of rifle to opening he shot from.
I have noticed that some gun ranges seem to give me more "battle fatigue" Than others. Again, I think it is due to the different way sound is transmitted in different environments. I have had guys rattle my whole nervous system firing 44 magnums next to me but never noticed the pressure when I am the one firing the same rounds.

Abraham wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 10:40 am OK, what happened to the pigs?

Harvest or let lay there while you continued on your ear ache way?

Well, I said that I fired 5 rounds, striking two. The hogs were maybe 30 yards away and running. I was luck to hit two of them. Neither one fell, but they flinched hard and continued to run. The buzzards showed me that afternoon where they were. That was actually the best out come for me since my freezer is full of hog meat. I didn't have to deal with stinky dead carcasses by the driveway when I got home from work that afternoon. I have killed about 50 hogs so far this year on my property. I don't do it for sport, and I can't eat that much meat. The damage they do to the land is almost beyond description.

Lynyrd wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:42 am I have killed about 50 hogs so far this year on my property. I don't do it for sport, and I can't eat that much meat. The damage they do to the land is almost beyond description.

This just boggles the imagination. What you describe is worse than a rat infestation.

03Lightningrocks wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:48 am

Lynyrd wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:42 am I have killed about 50 hogs so far this year on my property. I don't do it for sport, and I can't eat that much meat. The damage they do to the land is almost beyond description.

This just boggles the imagination. What you describe is worse than a rat infestation.

You can't really imagine it. You have to see it to believe it. It's quite common to see 20 or 30 at a time. After they have torn up an area, you can't hardly cut hay without tearing up your equipment. It's too rough to mow. And the only way to get it smooth again is to pulverize the soil with plows or a tiller, then drag it and replant the grass as needed.

This isn't my place, but it's typical of the problem we face in East Texas. This photo was taken at a doctor's office in Palestine. We had to put an electric fence around our yard to keep them from digging up the yard and the flower beds. Our yard has been tore up like this several times. There is no way mow the yard after something like this happens without just rebuilding it.


Here's the article the photo came from.
http://www.palestineherald.com/news/loc ... d8b8b.html

Consider that they reach breeding age at 6 months old. They have 6 to 8 pigs per litter, and can have two to three litters per year depending on health condition and weather. So figure one sow will average 15 pigs per year. Half of those are female. The next year you have 8 sows that will have 15 or more pigs each. That's 120 hogs plus the 16 from last year. Now you have 136 hogs. Do the math on those numbers over a few years if nobody is trapping them and killing them. You will begin to see why my statement of killing 100 hogs per year doesn't seem so far fetched.

You might want to read this article

viewtopic.php?f=83&t=92156&hilit=hearing+protection

I took my Governor out with .410 shells and fired one round to get the idea of what it would be like to shoot a rattler. No hearing protection. I was stunned at how loud that was and how long my hearing was diminished. Even now I don't hear the weather radio alarm unless I am close. Age related or firearm related?

I decided that if I met up with a rattler I would throw the Governor at it rather than shoot it.

Hearing damage is cumulative and we all develop loss with age so do your best to protect your ears while you are young. I am not a fan of electronic muffs and I don't believe they provide adequate protection, at least the ones I tried. I flew for many years using good active noise reduction headsets but they really don't make anything like that for shooting.

Don't play games, folks. Protect your hearing because once it's gone... it's gone.

I'm lucky in that the VA provides hearing aids for me. Without help, you can easily spend $6,000 + for devices that help but can't replace what has been lost.

I’m only 24, but growing up I was “too cool” for earpro, and now my ears ring just about constantly. Now anytime I’m shooting I have at least one type of ear pro, and I really like to double up. The hog problem unfortunately won’t be solved by hunting/trapping. There will eventually have to be a systemic exhaustive plan to eradicate or highly reduce the pests. Like mentioned earlier, one male and female can very quickly turn into thousands.

jb2012 wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:27 pm I’m only 24, but growing up I was “too cool” for earpro, and now my ears ring just about constantly. Now anytime I’m shooting I have at least one type of ear pro, and I really like to double up. The hog problem unfortunately won’t be solved by hunting/trapping. There will eventually have to be a systemic exhaustive plan to eradicate or highly reduce the pests. Like mentioned earlier, one male and female can very quickly turn into thousands.

The pictures posted are definitely true of the damage. Hunting will not eliminate the problem. It is said that a sow has a litter of 6 every few months and 12 survive. We need to develop hog birth control. I always watch the videos where they try to kill the biggest boar. Seems like killing the piglets would be better and better eating. The good news is that it opens up some great hunting opportunity. The bad news is that you need some expensive gear (thermal) and friendly landowners. I need to invite some Yankees down here.