It
has been almost two years ago that I tested the then new Savage
10MLII smokeless muzzleloading rifle. The smokeless
Savage added a whole new dimension to muzzleloader power,
propelling a 250 grain bullet at speeds exceeding 2500 feet per
second muzzle velocity. Since then, other shooters have been
developing loads for the Savage that approach 3000 feet per
second with no loss of accuracy. Toby Bridges of High
Performance Muzzleloading (www.hpmuzzleloading.com)
probably has more experience pushing the Savage to its limits
than anyone else, and is very satisfied with the 10MLII. Instead
of plowing the same ground here, I refer you to my previous
article for details on the Savage smokeless muzzleloader, but I
will add that I am a fan of the rifle. It is, in my opinion, the
best of the modern muzzleloading rifles, due to its superior
power, ease of cleaning, and good accuracy.
Looking
back on my earlier article, my only complaint concerning the
rifle was the trigger pull. While crisp, it was a bit too heavy
for best accuracy. While a rifle with a heavy trigger pull can
be just as inherently accurate as a rifle with a light pull
weight, practical accuracy is greatly enhanced by a good trigger
pull. Savage has now corrected that problem by incorporating
their superb AccuTrigger
into the 10MLII muzzleloader. I reviewed the AccuTrigger here
when it was first introduced about ten months ago, and again I
refer you to that article for specific details on that wonderful
trigger concept, but let me summarize by stating that the
AccuTrigger is like a breath of fresh air compared to the
triggers normally installed in hunting rifles these days.
I wish that I could install an AccuTrigger in every rifle that I
own. It is that good.
There
have been other advances in muzzleloading since that article of
a couple of years ago. Muzzleloading bullet technology has seen
the introduction of some more aerodynamic designs than were
available then. Specifically, Hornady’s new SST bullet
offers more downrange retained velocity and energy than most
bullet designs. Comparing the SST to Hornady’s own XTP bullet,
when both are started at 2300 fps muzzle velocity, the SST is
going over 300 fps faster at 200 yards than the XTP, and also
has a flatter trajectory, dropping two inches less at the same
range. This advantage means that the SST shoots flatter, faster,
and hits harder than the excellent XTP, due to the shape of the
bullet.
To
test the new Savage and the new SST bullets, we needed to take
them on a hunt. With the muzzleloading deer season not yet
opened in Tennessee, I contacted Wilderness Hunting Lodge
in east Tennessee to arrange a hunt for Russian boar. The rifles
had only been here about a week, and I wanted to be able to
publish this article to coincide with Savage’s introduction of
the AccuTrigger Muzzleloader. I was sworn to secrecy about the
rifle until November 1st, but did not want to hold the
information back any longer. I will be using the new rifle for
this deer season as well, testing its capabilities with other
bullets and loads.
Never
having hunted on a private game preserve before, I was a bit
apprehensive about the hunt. While needing to test the rifle on
game, I did not want to just shoot a hog in a pen. I was
relieved to find that the hunt at Wilderness is a real hog hunt,
with the hunting area spread over a thousand acres of steep
hills in thick woods. The area is most likely larger than that.
When God designed much of Tennessee, he realized that he could
get much more surface area to a given number of acres by making
the land vertical instead of horizontal. The topography of the
Wilderness hunting area fits into the vertical rocky hills
category very nicely.
Arriving
late on Sunday night, Cousin Melvin and I was able to
locate the lodge despite darkness and a thick fog. After
unloading our gear and settling into a room, we found that
supper had been left on the stove for us, so there was no need
to crack open a can of Spam before bedtime. Before leaving home,
we had loaded ample supplies of Spam and canned peaches to get
us through the winter if necessary, even though it was to only
be a three day hunt at most. Not knowing what to expect in the
way of meals at the lodge, we came prepared. We ended up
bringing it all back home with us, as we found the food provided
by the lodge to be both delicious and abundant. We both
slept very little that night in anticipation of the next day’s
hunt.
Waking
early the next morning, we got the rifles ready as our guides
prepared breakfast. Wilderness offers several choices as to the
method of hunting, allowing the hunter to use guides and dogs to
locate the boar, to be placed on a stand, or to roam the hills
and woods alone in search of wild boar. Me and Melvin decided to
go with the latter method, to get a better feel for the lay of
the land and to scout out the area for sign. (I do realize that
"Me and Melvin" is grammatically incorrect, however,
it just sounds better in a hunting story than "Melvin and
I"). Anyway, me and Melvin wanted to hunt on our own, at
our own pace. When I asked one of the guides to point us in the
direction of some good boar habitat, he immediately pointed to
the highest, rockiest, and furthest mountain within sight, so me
and Melvin headed enthusiastically in that direction. It was
soon apparent that we had definitely consumed too many eggs,
sausages, and hot biscuits for breakfast, but we pushed on. In
the foothills on the way to the steep climb, we saw a few hogs,
mostly feral, but we were looking for the long-haired Russians,
and decided to keep looking. On the way up, we glassed the woods
for hogs resting beneath rocks and fallen trees, occasionally
catching a glimpse of hog who had spotted us first. The
climb was rocky and steep at times, but we would stop every few
steps to scan the area for any sign of a Russian boar. Some call
this method still hunting, others call it stopping to gasp for
air. I prefer to say that we were still hunting. After a couple
of hours of still hunting and sliding on leaf-covered rocks, we
arrived at the top of the hill. I somehow felt the need to plant
a flag at the summit, but not having one with me, I chose to
follow the lead of Cousin Melvin and collapse upon a large
smooth rock to still hunt some more from a sitting position.
While glassing the hillside below, we spotted a large black
boar, probably a razorback, and decided to get a closer look.
Easing carefully toward him, I almost stepped upon a medium
sized Russian that had partially buried himself under a
fencerow. The hog and I decided to go in opposite directions, as
I believe that he was almost as surprised as I was. Anyhow, he
took off down the steep slope and the large razorback left the
area with him.
The
next couple of hours found me and Melvin descending the slope,
carefully trying to stay upright on the slippery footing. We
happened onto the scene of an exciting few moments. It seems
that another hunter had placed an arrow into the leg of a boar,
and the guides had brought up the dogs to track the wounded
animal. From our vantage point on the hill above the action, we
had a good view of the festivities. After the dogs had the
boar cornered, the hunter chose to finish the job with a rifle.
Good choice. After reaching the bottom, we hiked along the edge
of the woods back to the lodge for a huge home-cooked lunch. We
were both tired, but agreed that the morning was well spent and
quite enjoyable. We had seen a few hogs, but none of the
Russians that we were after.
After
lunch, Tony Eckler, one of the guides, informed us that
he had earlier spotted a few good-looking Russians in a rocky
area about a third of the way up on the other side the
hill that we had hunted that morning. With any luck, they might
still be in the same general area. As evening approached, Tony
and Melvin took to a ridge, and I worked along the bottom about
60 yards below them. We were hoping that we could jump some hogs
from hiding and send them toward each other. After a while, I
spotted a lone hog heading right toward me, unaware of my
position. It turned out to be a nice Russian, so I decided to
take the shot. The Hornady SST entered from the right front just
forward of the shoulder. The hog went down immediately. Tony
estimated the weight to be about 150 pounds. A few moments
later, Melvin spotted a few Russians running together up on the
ridge. Me and Tony headed that way. It was the Russians that
Tony had seen earlier that morning, with a few very nice hogs in
the bunch. Soon after we reached Melvin, he had a beautiful 270
pound boar on the ground. The SST performed perfectly, dropping
the boar in its tracks. Cousin Melvin commented that the
AccuTrigger had made all the difference, helping him to
accurately place his shot right where he wanted it. His bullet
was later recovered just under the gristle plate on the opposite
side from where it had entered. The performance of the SST was
picture perfect, mushrooming nicely while creating a large wound
channel. It was indeed an exciting afternoon, but it was about
to get better.
As
Tony was gutting the boar and me and Melvin were happily
discussing the performance of the Savage muzzleloaders and
Hornady bullets, we turned to see a really pissed-off boar
coming up the ridge toward us. Maybe he smelled the blood, or
was just having a bad day, but he wasn’t at all happy with us
being there, and was quickly getting closer. He was however, the
best looking boar that I had ever seen, strutting up the ridge
with every hair on his body standing straight up. Come to think
of it, I think that mine was too. Anyway, there stood
Melvin and me with two brand new muzzleloaders……both
unloaded! Luckily, I had a .45 Ruger Blackhawk holstered
on my left hip, and the decision was made to put this boar on
the ground. I drew and fired at a distance of about twenty feet.
The hog took off up the hill. I thought that I had completely
missed that boar, but Tony assured me that it was a good hit. He
had seen dust fly off from the impact. I quickly placed another
bullet into the hog, with apparently little effect! I was
starting to believe that this beast was immortal. Tony called in
for the other guide, Wes, to bring up the dogs, but
before they arrived, we took off on a wild ride up the hill on
Tony’s four-wheeler. We got up above the boar and worked our
way down to him. I quickly put two more bullets into him, and he
graciously did me the favor of dying. Every bullet had
completely penetrated the boar. I was firing factory 300 grain Cor-Bon
loads. Penetration was great, but the boar did not seem to
realize the he was dead! I had killed one more hog than I had
originally intended, but it was indeed a fine and definitely
exciting hog hunt. Our guides loaded up the hogs and hauled them
back to the meat locker, and me and Melvin started the hike back
to the lodge. We arrived tired, but very satisfied with the
performance of the rifles and the new Hornady bullets.
By
adding the excellent AccuTrigger to their 10MLII, Savage has
taken the most modern of muzzleloading rifles and made them much
better. They are accurate, reliable, and more powerful than any
other muzzleloader on the market. As a bonus, they can be
cleaned like any other center fire hunting rifle, without the
mess associated with other muzzleloaders.
Check
out the several variations of the 10MLII online at: www.savagearms.com.
For
anyone wanting to hunt Russian boar, I highly recommend Wilderness
Hunting Lodge. It is located in the beautiful Tennessee
hills, and their accommodations and services are first class.
For
more information on hunting boar at Wilderness, go to: www.wildernesshuntinglodge.com.
The
complete line of Hornady bullets can be found at: www.hornady.com.
Check
out Ruger's Blackhawk revolvers at: www.ruger-firearms.com.
Find
out more about Cor-Bon's line of premium ammunition at: www.corbon.com.
Jeff
Quinn
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