Haus Hunting

I’m just back from my yearly pilgrimage to Texas for ducks, hogs and deer. While there, aside from hitting daily limits of ducks, I was able to shoot a nice hog, a coyote and a Texas Whitetail. I enjoy heading to Texas each year, and hunting with Greg from Pavur Outdoors (poutdoors.com) because it’s such a fun hunt. The hunt is super laid back, and Greg is an incredible host and guide. His hunters are his number one priority, and EVERYTHING is taken care of for you, when you’re in his care. From setting up decoys in the freezing cold morning, to hot breakfast when you get back from duck hunting, to a phenomenal meal before you head to your stand, and complete transportation and field care of you and your game while you’re there, Greg does it all. I call this trip to Harmony Ranch my “redemption hunt”, because no matter how the rest of the year has been in terms of hunting, this trip always fills my freezer, and it’s a chance to see friends I only get to see once a year.

This year, as I have the past 3 years, I hunted with the Haus of Arms crew (hausofarms.com). And if you’re not familiar with Eric, Marty and now Ruth, from my previous hunts, they’re a great family I’m honored to call friends, from Colorado, and they have a little business specializing in customized single shot rifles and pistols, specifically those based upon the famed Thompson Center Encore and Contender line. They introduced me to their rifle and pistol line last year, and I was enamored with them, but unsure if I wanted to live that single shot life. Well, as luck would have it, I had recently picked up a Henry single shot in .308, and Eric told me if I didn’t take it to Texas, and kill everything with it, I was officially the worst hunter ever. So, to not disappoint the world, I left my AR’s at home, sent my Henry to Mad Pig Customs (madpigcustoms.com) and had Steve chop the barrel, thread it, and pin and weld a muzzle brake on it for a suppressor. A few weeks later…a short little, silenced single shot was born, topped off with a Pulsar thermal optic and appropriately named the Space Cowboy.

So the reason for the single shot love this trip, was in preparation for a new firearm coming out called the SSK-50. I won’t go into the history of the SSK (you can go to the SSK-50 and Haus of Arms FB pages to read all that), but it’s essentially an improved version of the best TC Contender on the market. The interface is interchangeable from pistol to rifle to shotgun to muzzle loader all with swaps of the barrel and stocks, and utilizing the same receiver. It’s an insanely versatile platform, and my order is already in for mine, and I’m excited to use it this coming year. So, in preparation, I took my Henry Space Cowboy to Texas and proceeded to slay a hog at 134 yards, a coyote at 169 yards and a buck at 99 yards utilizing the Underwood Ammo .308 with the Lehigh Defense 175gr Controlled Chaos round that I love. 3 shots 3 kills.

Ill tell you this…there is definitely a learning curve for using a single shot. And trying to reload and shoot a second animal for the first time ever, in the dark, all while trying to not drop your rifle out the window of the blind…ya…a little nerve racking. Needless to say, it was fun as hell, and really makes you concentrate on where on the animal you’re putting your cross hairs. That little Henry is a handy little rifle, and I’m looking forward to the official launch of the SSK-50 to dive deeper down this rabbit hole. Shout out to the Haus of Arms crew for keeping me honest, and making me stick with the single shot the whole trip.