Hogs and Doves the West Texas Way

First things first: Making sure my Smith & Wesson VTACII rifle was still sighted in, after the plane ride from Wisconsin to Texas. It was.

The VTACII is light, maneuverable and accurate, at home in the hunting blind or hiking through the mesquite and cactus.

An NRA Outdoor-approved outfitter, the T-Diamond Ranch has 6,000 acres of fine hog and deer habitats, an hour north of Abilene, Texas.

T-Diamond offered an array of fantastic amenities—individual bedrooms and bathrooms, awesome home-cooked meals, plus a big screen TV and a fireplace for socializing.

My third morning of hunting I dropped this 310-pound Texas boar at 90 yards with two solid hits as he was trotting broadside.

I used Remington’s new Hog Hammer ammunition, firing a 62-grain bullet in .223 Rem. My first shot drilled through 16 inches of tough boar, taking him right through his heart-lung area.

My scope was a new Leupold AR-Mod 1, 3-9x40 mm, made especially for AR-style .223 caliber rifles. It features great light transmission and an illuminated reticle.

A handy piece of equipment, the Leica Rangemaster 1600-B ranged from 25 to 600 yards for me, and can reach out to 1,600 yards. The 7X magnification also makes it a nifty little spotter scope.

NRA member George Z., of California, and his son Luke, enjoyed a good morning’s hog hunt!

Afternoons were for dove hunting. Here we’re loading up to hit the dove fields.

I shot a new Weatherby SA-08 shotgun, a 28-gauge semi-automatic. It never jammed despite wind, dust and dirt, and the 28-gauge recoil made it a pleasure to shoot.

I was able to drop doves at up to 35 yards, a tribute to the shotgun and the shotshells, Winchester Super X shells, shooting an ounce of No. 7.5 shot.

Father-son dove hunters, NRA member George D. ( r ) and his son, James (l) , from California, really enjoyed their time afield together.

New friendships were made, and new hunting stories created at the T-Diamond Ranch, with a big assist from NRA Outdoors.