I went out for a few hours early this morning. The landowner told me he had 75 hogs next to his barn a few days ago so I was excited. I drove my normal loop and didn't see much. It just wasn't the right time yet.
I was creeping down a gravel road in the truck when a hog jumped out of the brush in the ditch. This is the one area of the road where trees block my view of the adjacent field. The hog takes off down the road and I just hold my speed thinking he would run into the field just ahead of where we were and I could pop him in the field from the truck.
I got to the clearing in the trees and there were hogs everywhere!!!!!!!!! They were already at 100 yards or more and at a full run. I hopped out and started shooting. I dropped the first one with one shot, moved to the next and fired, miss, fire two, hit! I picked out a third hog and he was well past 150 yards and still running. Fire! Miss!. Or so I thought. When I walked, the roughly 250 yards, to the fence I could see him laying there.
I walked back and unloaded the ATV because the fields were too wet for the truck and they had just planted so I didn't want to make ruts. When I got to the fence to drag the furthest one back to my side od the fence, by hand, the dang thing was on its feet and guess where my rifle was...THE TRUCK! STUPID ME. I hopped back on the ATV, went to the truck, and grabbed the gun. Drove back to the hog and he was up moving. Not fast but moving.
I crossed the fence and started following him. The field was a soft, sandy, plowed field and neither of us were moving fast but I could close the gap when he stopped to eyeball me.
He could see me approaching because of the huge moon and zero cover. All I could do was jog and try to cover ground quicker than him and I was running out of field before the next road.
I closed the gap to about 70 yards, took a knee, and BOOM, WHACK!! He went down.
I never thought I would play cat and mouse with a hog, but this guy was tough. He was a little 100 pound boar. I guess my last shot, that I thought was a miss, whacked him in one of his hams and a back leg. Even after the final vitals shot he still went 30 yards.
This experience confirms a few things: hogs can see just as well as us with moonlight,the swarms of hogs are back on their winter pattern, and I need to adjust my habbits so they don't busy me on the road again.
I only took a picture of the first two. I didn't want to drag the third across the muddy plowed field any farther than I had to. I couldn't get the ATV to it. Also, by the time I even thought about taking a picture of him alone I was 500 yards away and it was 0530 and I had to get home to make an appointment at 0730. So you guys will just have to believe me on the third one. LOL!
6.8 spc, hand loaded 12o sst with AA2200, federal brass, and CCI 450 primers. Brown hog took it on the shoulder broadside and the darker one took it on the shoulder quartering to me. Went in the should and out the gut.
I was creeping down a gravel road in the truck when a hog jumped out of the brush in the ditch. This is the one area of the road where trees block my view of the adjacent field. The hog takes off down the road and I just hold my speed thinking he would run into the field just ahead of where we were and I could pop him in the field from the truck.
I got to the clearing in the trees and there were hogs everywhere!!!!!!!!! They were already at 100 yards or more and at a full run. I hopped out and started shooting. I dropped the first one with one shot, moved to the next and fired, miss, fire two, hit! I picked out a third hog and he was well past 150 yards and still running. Fire! Miss!. Or so I thought. When I walked, the roughly 250 yards, to the fence I could see him laying there.
I walked back and unloaded the ATV because the fields were too wet for the truck and they had just planted so I didn't want to make ruts. When I got to the fence to drag the furthest one back to my side od the fence, by hand, the dang thing was on its feet and guess where my rifle was...THE TRUCK! STUPID ME. I hopped back on the ATV, went to the truck, and grabbed the gun. Drove back to the hog and he was up moving. Not fast but moving.
I crossed the fence and started following him. The field was a soft, sandy, plowed field and neither of us were moving fast but I could close the gap when he stopped to eyeball me.
He could see me approaching because of the huge moon and zero cover. All I could do was jog and try to cover ground quicker than him and I was running out of field before the next road.
I closed the gap to about 70 yards, took a knee, and BOOM, WHACK!! He went down.
I never thought I would play cat and mouse with a hog, but this guy was tough. He was a little 100 pound boar. I guess my last shot, that I thought was a miss, whacked him in one of his hams and a back leg. Even after the final vitals shot he still went 30 yards.
This experience confirms a few things: hogs can see just as well as us with moonlight,the swarms of hogs are back on their winter pattern, and I need to adjust my habbits so they don't busy me on the road again.
I only took a picture of the first two. I didn't want to drag the third across the muddy plowed field any farther than I had to. I couldn't get the ATV to it. Also, by the time I even thought about taking a picture of him alone I was 500 yards away and it was 0530 and I had to get home to make an appointment at 0730. So you guys will just have to believe me on the third one. LOL!
6.8 spc, hand loaded 12o sst with AA2200, federal brass, and CCI 450 primers. Brown hog took it on the shoulder broadside and the darker one took it on the shoulder quartering to me. Went in the should and out the gut.
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