Froggerzack
Diana, TX (East TX)
I don't know if some of you guys noticed in another thread but I work for a large delivery company. About 3:00 pm yesterday I notice a very prominent first quarter moon on the rise in the east and thought to myself wow that's gonna be nice later and kept on with my usual routine and duties. I finish up my day and was almost home just after 8:00 pm when a text came across my cellphone.
Snap! I get pictures of hogs on occasion but usually at 3:00 am and almost always a loner so I don't get a chance to get out to where I hunt (which is just about 4 or 5 miles from my house). I call my hunting buddy Jim(who gets the same pics on his phone) that owns a PVS14. He says, "I've got Lutz with me!" to which I said no problem since he also owns a PVS14. I told him that I would be there in about 10 minutes after getting my gun.
I pull up to the gate of the property and dim my headlights and look out over the fields as I am unlocking the gate and think to myself, "Man, it is bright out here tonight!" First quarter moon dead overhead on a perfectly clear night. I sit there in my truck readying my gun and gear while waiting on Jim and Lutz to show when I glance out my side mirror and notice the smoke from my exhaust heading from North to South. "Great, we are gonna have to approach from the north were the camera and the hogs are located. So after waiting for what seemed like an eternity (5 minutes) Jim and Lutz finally show and we all load up in my truck.
I don't know if you guys have noticed but it's been really cold in Texas for the last week and last night was cold. We didn't get all the rain/sleet/ice that some of the guys to the west of got but the temperature still got very cold and it was already 30 degrees when we took off on our adventure. The frozen grass crunched slightly as we drove through a couple of fields lead to the power line right of way that we use to access the field that the camera/hogs are located. "Hmm.. the wind?" , I said to the guys. The field opened up a good 500 yards before them so we decided to start to flank around the edge of this pasture to avoid them winding us and ruining the hunt. We finally got a clear view of the area and lo and behold Jim says there are three hogs so we each get a hog. I was to get the one on the right Lutz was to get the one on the left leaving Jim in the middle.
We bail out of the truck at about 200 yards walking single file to reduce our silhouette. I raise my rifle to look through my Leupold VXR and make sure I have enough light to see my target. Check! All systems are a go. We finish the stalk in to about 25 yards and I raise my rifle and acquire my target on the right when I hear a muffled cough on my left. Lutz apparently was starting to have a coughing fit and was trying his best to muffle them when he coughed again. At this point the group was starting to move not running but you could tell they knew something was there and it was time for them to leave. I pulled the trigger, CRACK went the suppressor and making a THWACK as the SSA 6.8 110 Sierra Pro Hunter hit it's target hissing forth a cloud of gas obstructing my view for any further shots. Jim let loose two or three shots also which sounded like they also hit home while Lutz is still coughing never getting any shots off.
We turned our weapons lights on and start searching in the direction that the hogs ran and found my hog about 20 yards from where she was shot laying in the frozen grass.
For the guys worrying about my head I was wearing a night watch cap which I took off for the pictures as my blood had got to pumping so I was not cold at the time.
Snap! I get pictures of hogs on occasion but usually at 3:00 am and almost always a loner so I don't get a chance to get out to where I hunt (which is just about 4 or 5 miles from my house). I call my hunting buddy Jim(who gets the same pics on his phone) that owns a PVS14. He says, "I've got Lutz with me!" to which I said no problem since he also owns a PVS14. I told him that I would be there in about 10 minutes after getting my gun.
I pull up to the gate of the property and dim my headlights and look out over the fields as I am unlocking the gate and think to myself, "Man, it is bright out here tonight!" First quarter moon dead overhead on a perfectly clear night. I sit there in my truck readying my gun and gear while waiting on Jim and Lutz to show when I glance out my side mirror and notice the smoke from my exhaust heading from North to South. "Great, we are gonna have to approach from the north were the camera and the hogs are located. So after waiting for what seemed like an eternity (5 minutes) Jim and Lutz finally show and we all load up in my truck.
I don't know if you guys have noticed but it's been really cold in Texas for the last week and last night was cold. We didn't get all the rain/sleet/ice that some of the guys to the west of got but the temperature still got very cold and it was already 30 degrees when we took off on our adventure. The frozen grass crunched slightly as we drove through a couple of fields lead to the power line right of way that we use to access the field that the camera/hogs are located. "Hmm.. the wind?" , I said to the guys. The field opened up a good 500 yards before them so we decided to start to flank around the edge of this pasture to avoid them winding us and ruining the hunt. We finally got a clear view of the area and lo and behold Jim says there are three hogs so we each get a hog. I was to get the one on the right Lutz was to get the one on the left leaving Jim in the middle.
We bail out of the truck at about 200 yards walking single file to reduce our silhouette. I raise my rifle to look through my Leupold VXR and make sure I have enough light to see my target. Check! All systems are a go. We finish the stalk in to about 25 yards and I raise my rifle and acquire my target on the right when I hear a muffled cough on my left. Lutz apparently was starting to have a coughing fit and was trying his best to muffle them when he coughed again. At this point the group was starting to move not running but you could tell they knew something was there and it was time for them to leave. I pulled the trigger, CRACK went the suppressor and making a THWACK as the SSA 6.8 110 Sierra Pro Hunter hit it's target hissing forth a cloud of gas obstructing my view for any further shots. Jim let loose two or three shots also which sounded like they also hit home while Lutz is still coughing never getting any shots off.
We turned our weapons lights on and start searching in the direction that the hogs ran and found my hog about 20 yards from where she was shot laying in the frozen grass.
For the guys worrying about my head I was wearing a night watch cap which I took off for the pictures as my blood had got to pumping so I was not cold at the time.
