OT: 44 Mag + Laser Grips = Dead Hog

[Warhawk]

Recently I shot at an indoor range with a friend who was brand new to shooting, she bought a S&W 642 with the crimson trace laser grip. I was amazed at the difference the laser made in her shooting and the light bulb went off in my head... I decided to put a laser grip on one of my .44s and use it on our annual hog hunt.

I used my 629 Classic 6.5 inch to take last year's hog, so I decided to use my 629 Mountain Gun this year and ordered a Crimson Trace laser grip for it. The only chance I'd had to shoot with the laser was at an indoor range, with a max distance of 15 yards. It was dead on at that distance, and I decided to go for a close range shot and if I couldn't get one I would use the iron sights.



I was on a stand that would give me a short range shot, and was in the woods where very little sunlight made it to the ground. I quickly found out that the laser dot was far less visible than it had been in the indoor range, and was all but invisible in direct sunlight.

We hunted at the Langley Ranch, where you ARE going to get a shot at a hog. My son was hunting nearby, and I'd heard him shoo,t then two groups of hogs came running my way. I'd decided to go for a smaller hog this year, I BBQ pork butts and shoulders for pulled pork sammiches and wanted to try some slightly smaller ones.

One group of hogs stopped off to my right, and I had the laser dot on a nice piebald sow's head. But it wasn't clear of other hogs behind it, and since my load was a close approximation of the "Keith Load" with a hard cast bullet, I didn't want to shoot through the hog and wound the one behind it. Also, I had no backstop at all behind the hog, if I missed, the bullet would go who knows where. So I waited, like I said at Langley Ranch you WILL get a shot at a hog. In shining the laser on several hogs in the group I found that the black hogs seemed to absorb the laser light and the red dot was much less visible than on the blonde colored piebald.




Before long I saw a group of 5 or 6 smaller hogs headed my way. One was a nice fat sow and I could taste the pulled pork sammich! I was above it on a ladder stand and was looking down at the hogs. I cocked the 44, put the laser dot between the fat sow's eyes and BANG-FLOP, DRT. One of the back legs kicked a few times and that was it. The Keith bullet had entered the top of the head dead center, and exited the throat, no meat lost at all.

The smallest hog I've taken (out of 3) at 130#, but nice and fat, and hopefully it'll be good eats.



My son was home for Christmas and he used his six inch Colt Anaconda to take a nice 180# boar. This old boar was a fighter, he had lots of scars, a chewed up ear and a broken tusk. We're making sausage out of him <G>.

[Blaine]

Sounds like a mixed review on the Grips, but a darn good hunt anyway (We cannot use a laser sight like that in Washington State)

[Warhawk]

In Texas it's legal to hunt hogs at night, with a night vision scope, a full auto rifle with a spotlight and a laser.

I think the laser would really be the cat's meow hunting at night, especially on a moonlit night where you can see the game but can't see your sights very well.

I'm told that the new green lasers are much more visible in daylight than red.

An added benefit is that CCI Blazer .44 Specials (200gr Gold Dot HP) shoot to the same POI at 15 yards, and I load up with those for home defense use.

[Hobie]

I've been trying out the Crimson Trace lasers in the shop (sans shooting of course). My eyes don't always pick up the red light (I have color deficient sight, I see color but apparently not the way everybody else does). One thing I noticed is that with some grip shapes my hand doesn't consistently turn the laser on (I'm not talking about your basic on/off switch but about the grip switches). I see you have the front strap switch. How does that work for you?

[Borregos]

Looks like good eatin'

[Warhawk]

On the 629 my middle finger activates the switch when I grasp the grip. I also like that it has a postive on/off switch on the butt. I also have laser grips on my M&P 9mm, it has a recessed momentary on switch to arm/disarm the laser and the activation switch is on the rear of the grip. The web of my hand presses the activation switch when I grasp the gun, but there is no way to know if the grip is on or off without pressing the activation switch to check.

Without a doubt the laser comes into it's own in low light situations. But it was very visible in the shadows at 9am and would probably be visible on an overcast day, just not in direct sunlight.

[Andrew]

It's hard to argue with results, especially when the results are so delicious.

[AJMD429]

Laser grips may well go to 'green' lasers in a couple years, so I'll be then the red ones will get very inexpensive as the green ones replace them.

I have a couple sets, and like them alot for target/plinking use, and to get an idea where muzzles point when trying to 'hip shoot'.

I use a laser on my main deer gun - a Marlin 1894 .44 Mag and it has helped distinguish deer hide from brush in twilight.

[m.wun]

Here in Ca. they are legal to have, you just cant hunt with them.Never knew it till this year when I read
the reg. handbook.I was wondering if they make them for bows?

[Warhawk]

I first used a laser as an aiming device about 15 years ago. The laser unit itself looked like a tiny flashlight, and I mounted it using a little see thru type mount on a Nylon 66, using the rimfire dovetail mount. Once it was dialed in it was absolute death on treed coons.

Later my brother, a machinist, made a mount to clamp the same laser on a Ruger MKII pistol barrel. I killed dozens if not hundreds of treed coons, and at least 2 bobcats with that setup. I hadn't even thought about a laser for about 6-8 years until watching my friend shoot her laser sighted 642.

[rjohns94]

congrats on the set up and the results. enjoy the eating.

[kimwcook]

Good job. Love both your pieces. I've always liked the looks of the Anaconda. The Smith is just a given. Had a Cobra a number of years ago and I couldn't shoot more than two cylinder fulls and the cylinder would start to bind on the bbl. Got rid of it.

[44LVR]

Looks like good eatin'

+1

44

[2ndovc]

Love that Anaconda. I've always wanted one. I was offered a four inch barreled one for $400 before they were discontinued. Gonna cost me twice that to get me hands on one now.

jb

[WCF3030]

NICE!!
Should tast good.

[AJMD429]

Here in Ca. they are legal to have, you just cant hunt with them.Never knew it till this year when I read
the reg. handbook.I was wondering if they make them for bows?

Yep - several ones I've seen made "just for bows" and then lots of creative ways to clamp on a chunk of weaver rail and put one on that. Trajectory of arrows vs. laser is more of an issue than for bullets vs. laser, but it still gives you a good reference point.

Bushnell also makes a holosight for bows - I don't use my bow enough to justify it, and I can't get Bushnell to commit on if it would be suitable for guns, but I think I'll try it (recoil of most of my guns is probably less than a bow, and I'll bet the only difference is the reticle style and parallax stuff maybe.

[AJMD429]

Looks like a nice meat-processing area, too. Do you have a cooler?

We're trying to plan and build something along that line that would include a small hanging-shed we can air-condition to keep in the 40 degree range if there is a warm spell - especially for October bow season!

[O.S.O.K.]

Congrats! I'm more of an open sight handgun guy - but the laser would be great at night! Beats trying to see em by "LED" light...

[Rimfire McNutjob]

I was on a stand that would give me a short range shot, and was in the woods where very little sunlight made it to the ground. I quickly found out that the laser dot was far less visible than it had been in the indoor range, and was all but invisible in direct sunlight.

I wonder if you've got a 650nm diode instead of the more sunlight friendly 635nm diode. I would think though that everyone would have moved to the 635nm and that the price differential wouldn't be as bad as it used to be 15 years ago.

By the way, thanks for the heads up on the deal on Bushnell 4200's at Amazon. I bought one of the 4-16x40SF models. Once it got to 5 left in stock, the price went back up to about $480 from the $275 price. Fantastic deal at $275.

[Warhawk]

Love that Anaconda. I've always wanted one. I was offered a four inch barreled one for $400 before they were discontinued. Gonna cost me twice that to get me hands on one now.

jb

Shhhh ... If you promise not to tell

This son is a senior at USAFA, and I have another Anaconda, a 4 incher, paired up with a 4 inch King Cobra that will be his graduation present in May.

[Warhawk]

Looks like a nice meat-processing area, too. Do you have a cooler?

We're trying to plan and build something along that line that would include a small hanging-shed we can air-condition to keep in the 40 degree range if there is a warm spell - especially for October bow season!

That's the setup at the Langley Ranch, where we hunted. They do have a cooler, but typically skin, gut, and quarter your hogs immediately and you go home with a quartered hog on ice.

http://www.texaswildhoghunting.com/