As usual I went hunting with several friends on Saturday night. The guy with the hunting rights to the places we hunt has decided to call us the "Hog Assassins" and of coarse we ride in the "Hog Assassin Machine". Fits perfectly because his last name is Ham. There are normally four of us that hunt together regularly. When one or more of us can not hunt someone else will get an invite. Lately getting regular invites is Danger Ranger from here on LSB and another guy named Terry. Our method of operations used to be find them with a Night vision scope then chase after them with the truck with all guns blazing out the windows "Redneck Style". We've had great success this way. However since I've bought a pair of thermals and a suppressor our methods have changed to Night Stalking. Last night was no exception.
We drive down the side of a very steep hill over looking a Milo filed and a cut wheat field. These fields are pretty wet and we are unable to take our prefer route of coming in downwind. From our height advantage we find our first pigs of the night in a Milo field. The fields below have several fences with a couple bands of Johnson grass running down the rows of the Milo. This really cuts down on our field of view as we loose our height advantage. Not to mention the fence line is thick with ceder trees. Since we have we have two rifles setup with thermal and one with a Digital Night Vision scope three us us will make the first stalk of the night and one will stay in the truck. Now the truck is setup with one of them LED light bars and it looks like the sun has come up when that thing is on. The plan is for him to drive into the pigs as they make a run for the expected escape route towards the hill and thick cover. The three of us cross the fence and can see two groups of pigs. We decide to head the group of 15 or so to the west of us as we will not have to walk through the Milo and Johnson grass. However they started feeding away from us. We all know that we'll never catch them. So we decide to go after the group lower down the field to the Northwest of us. There's around 15-20 bigger pigs in this group. Meanwhile back at the truck the driver can see pigs coming in front of him and behind us. We're oblivious to these pigs. As get closer to the Johnson grass we loose sight of the pigs. We punch through the tall grass pick them up again and keep heading towards them and the next band of grass. This whole time the wind has been blowing from our left out of the west. Soundly as we past through the last band of tall grass the wind shifts and it's swirling and blowing on our necks. We quickly spread out. I take the biggest group of the left Benoh takes the pigs directly to our front and Terry takes aim on these as well as a lone pig or two to the right. I shoot first and get a soild pig report! Then suddenly theres pandemonium. The big pigs on the left turn and run for the hills. I can see the pig I shot has dropped at the knees and is getting up. I shoot again and swings away and I loose sight of it as it goes down. I banging away at the rest of them. I can hear pig reports from my shots. I can also clearly hear the unsuppressed fire or the two guys to my right. I also can hear pigs running in the Milo right at me. Dammit, I can't see them! Then I hear a pig report from 10 yards in front of me as Benoh to my right has dropped a pig running right at me. Then bam, I'm hit by a Milo stalk as a pig runs right by me. I fire a couple quick rounds into the Milo directly to my left at about three feet as more pigs run by. I can feel my bolt lock to the rear so, I just hit the mag release and slap another mag in. I can hear more pigs running between me and Benoh in the Milo, but there's nothing I can do about them. Just as quickly as the excitement started it was over, or so we thought. Terry had seen a pig lone pig to his right and was shooting at it. However it was more than 400 yards away. Unfortunately for Terry there were a few strands of Johnson grass in front of him and he was blinded by his IR light shinning off of it. Then a Boar circled back in to my field of view. He was at least 250 yards away. I aimed too high and over shot him. I had a good pig and a half lead and put the cross hairs right on his back and got a solid pig report. He hind legs were down and I finished him off with a shot to the neck area. We searched for awhile but just couldn't find any of the pigs. So we left to hunt another place. Oh, I forgot my dropped mag. So we came back in the daylight to get my mag and look for the pigs.
Next place we spotted a couple pigs from a small knoll over looking a Milo field. Four of us made a stalk down to the field. Two set-up on the left of a couple ceders. Two set up on the right side of the ceders and the expected get away out of the Milo field. We're spread out along the fence line and I can only see a lone pig in the Milo. Since I'm the only when with a suppressor I shoot and kill the boar with a single shot to the neck. Number 4 of the night is down. No pandemonium this time, everyone stays quite. The guys on the far side start grunting to the pigs and we can hear them coming back towards the two of us on the left. However the two on the right can't see or hear them and stop calling. The begin shinning lights and talking. We get their attention and after a quick Pow Wow, decide to back off to the high ground. Little while goes buy and we see one pig trying to escape downwind of us. Knowing what the terrain is like, I quickly reposition to the right rear of the truck and set up for him to come out in the open. Terry joins me but is not as familiar with the lay of the land as I am. The Boar is trotting along, he knows where we are and is high tailing it for cover. However this a big open field and he only has the folds in the land to hide behind. Suddenly he's in the open and I pop off a couple of rounds at him. Dropped him for number 5 of the night for me.
Back to being quite and scanning. Suddenly we see another pig. this time Tinker and I make stalk on the pig. He's got my suppressed 6.8 withe thermal on it now. This one's easy, setup on the fence line and he shoots and kills the pig. Time is against going to another place. So we decide to daylight out here and hope to catch more pigs coming out of the Milo. Dawn is upon us and the sun hasn't come over the ridge yet. Then we see a bigger sized pig trotting through the Milo headed to it's bedding area. Terry hasn't got a confirmed killed tonight, so I we take off making a beeline for the corner of the field hoping to get there in time to shoot the pigs when it comes out of the Milo. We just make it. Howver the Boar is about 300 yards out. Terry has his Photon equipped 6.8 zeroed at 100 yards. Misses the first shot and then gets a solid pig report on the 2nd. The boar goes head of heels and is DRT. The suns shinning on us as we make the long walk for the picture.
We drive down the side of a very steep hill over looking a Milo filed and a cut wheat field. These fields are pretty wet and we are unable to take our prefer route of coming in downwind. From our height advantage we find our first pigs of the night in a Milo field. The fields below have several fences with a couple bands of Johnson grass running down the rows of the Milo. This really cuts down on our field of view as we loose our height advantage. Not to mention the fence line is thick with ceder trees. Since we have we have two rifles setup with thermal and one with a Digital Night Vision scope three us us will make the first stalk of the night and one will stay in the truck. Now the truck is setup with one of them LED light bars and it looks like the sun has come up when that thing is on. The plan is for him to drive into the pigs as they make a run for the expected escape route towards the hill and thick cover. The three of us cross the fence and can see two groups of pigs. We decide to head the group of 15 or so to the west of us as we will not have to walk through the Milo and Johnson grass. However they started feeding away from us. We all know that we'll never catch them. So we decide to go after the group lower down the field to the Northwest of us. There's around 15-20 bigger pigs in this group. Meanwhile back at the truck the driver can see pigs coming in front of him and behind us. We're oblivious to these pigs. As get closer to the Johnson grass we loose sight of the pigs. We punch through the tall grass pick them up again and keep heading towards them and the next band of grass. This whole time the wind has been blowing from our left out of the west. Soundly as we past through the last band of tall grass the wind shifts and it's swirling and blowing on our necks. We quickly spread out. I take the biggest group of the left Benoh takes the pigs directly to our front and Terry takes aim on these as well as a lone pig or two to the right. I shoot first and get a soild pig report! Then suddenly theres pandemonium. The big pigs on the left turn and run for the hills. I can see the pig I shot has dropped at the knees and is getting up. I shoot again and swings away and I loose sight of it as it goes down. I banging away at the rest of them. I can hear pig reports from my shots. I can also clearly hear the unsuppressed fire or the two guys to my right. I also can hear pigs running in the Milo right at me. Dammit, I can't see them! Then I hear a pig report from 10 yards in front of me as Benoh to my right has dropped a pig running right at me. Then bam, I'm hit by a Milo stalk as a pig runs right by me. I fire a couple quick rounds into the Milo directly to my left at about three feet as more pigs run by. I can feel my bolt lock to the rear so, I just hit the mag release and slap another mag in. I can hear more pigs running between me and Benoh in the Milo, but there's nothing I can do about them. Just as quickly as the excitement started it was over, or so we thought. Terry had seen a pig lone pig to his right and was shooting at it. However it was more than 400 yards away. Unfortunately for Terry there were a few strands of Johnson grass in front of him and he was blinded by his IR light shinning off of it. Then a Boar circled back in to my field of view. He was at least 250 yards away. I aimed too high and over shot him. I had a good pig and a half lead and put the cross hairs right on his back and got a solid pig report. He hind legs were down and I finished him off with a shot to the neck area. We searched for awhile but just couldn't find any of the pigs. So we left to hunt another place. Oh, I forgot my dropped mag. So we came back in the daylight to get my mag and look for the pigs.
Next place we spotted a couple pigs from a small knoll over looking a Milo field. Four of us made a stalk down to the field. Two set-up on the left of a couple ceders. Two set up on the right side of the ceders and the expected get away out of the Milo field. We're spread out along the fence line and I can only see a lone pig in the Milo. Since I'm the only when with a suppressor I shoot and kill the boar with a single shot to the neck. Number 4 of the night is down. No pandemonium this time, everyone stays quite. The guys on the far side start grunting to the pigs and we can hear them coming back towards the two of us on the left. However the two on the right can't see or hear them and stop calling. The begin shinning lights and talking. We get their attention and after a quick Pow Wow, decide to back off to the high ground. Little while goes buy and we see one pig trying to escape downwind of us. Knowing what the terrain is like, I quickly reposition to the right rear of the truck and set up for him to come out in the open. Terry joins me but is not as familiar with the lay of the land as I am. The Boar is trotting along, he knows where we are and is high tailing it for cover. However this a big open field and he only has the folds in the land to hide behind. Suddenly he's in the open and I pop off a couple of rounds at him. Dropped him for number 5 of the night for me.
Back to being quite and scanning. Suddenly we see another pig. this time Tinker and I make stalk on the pig. He's got my suppressed 6.8 withe thermal on it now. This one's easy, setup on the fence line and he shoots and kills the pig. Time is against going to another place. So we decide to daylight out here and hope to catch more pigs coming out of the Milo. Dawn is upon us and the sun hasn't come over the ridge yet. Then we see a bigger sized pig trotting through the Milo headed to it's bedding area. Terry hasn't got a confirmed killed tonight, so I we take off making a beeline for the corner of the field hoping to get there in time to shoot the pigs when it comes out of the Milo. We just make it. Howver the Boar is about 300 yards out. Terry has his Photon equipped 6.8 zeroed at 100 yards. Misses the first shot and then gets a solid pig report on the 2nd. The boar goes head of heels and is DRT. The suns shinning on us as we make the long walk for the picture.
