After a successful evening in Montague at TBR where I got my first coyote kill with the new Armasight Zeus (posted this morning), I was leaving the property and was just closing the gate when my phone chirped with a message showing that I had an email from one of my game cameras. It said, "You've Got Hog." (I borrowed that from DFWRoadkill, BTW). Cool! My property is on the way home from TBR. I could just swing by there and maybe get a hog as well. The only problem was, I didn't get any more messages.
As I drove past Horn Hill, nothing. I figured I just had a hog cruise by the camera and that maybe it would be back in the future. I wasn't going to go looking for a hog that might be long gone. So I headed out of time and toward home.
I had only gotten to the far side of Forestburg when I received another picture. The hog was still there. So I turned around and headed to my property.
Winds were out of the sound and so my only approach to the location where the hog was pictured was from the far east side of the property. I got out, got all my gear back on, and hurried across the property. On the way, another message. The hog was hanging around. Outstanding.
I followed the fence line NW until the hog finally came into view. I set up on my shooting sticks (yet again not making them into a tripod...which was why I bought them) and lined up on the hog. I had to wait for the hog to get oriented for a shot and the whole time I was huffing and puffing from crossing the property.
It was really cool. The hog was spotted. Hogs aren't usually spotted on thermal because thermal doesn't see colors. Parts of the hog simply showed significant temperature differences.
The hog was in position and I thought I was on target and I fired. The shot hit behind the shoulder in the rib cage and exited the gut on the other side. The hog took off, kicked up dirt, running to my LEFT. So he was heading to the creek bottoms I had just crossed, or so I thought. This first shot was just over 100 yards.
After he disappeared from view, he came charging across my field of view in the other direction. That was quite a surprise, but I managed to get back on him and try a second shot ... that apparently missed, possibly hitting small trees in the process. This shot was about 75 yards.
He was still in the open and I managed to properly lead him, placing the shot a few inches in front of his nose. The shot entered his right shoulder, breaking the leg, and part of it exited his chest under his neck. This shot was about 80 yards.
I tried a fourth shot as he disappeared in the woods. At the time, my sights were far back by the ham and the shot impacted well behind him. This shot was about 83 yards.
Soon thereafter, I heard a significantly loud CRASH. Either he had crashed in the thicket or had busted out and was headed to the neighbor's property.
I headed over to where he entered the thicket and saw nothing. I walked around the thicket and saw nothing. I used both thermal and flashlight, but there was no sign. However, it was very thick in the thicket (go figure) and I didn't venture in too far. I thought it best to wait until daylight before searching further.
Came back this morning with neighbor Ken, (Sir Hessian Scalper) and we searched the thicket again. He caught scent of something dead and we had trouble pinpointing it in the swirling wind but he eventually found the hog. It was in some heavy brush and I had to use loppers to free it.
Here is a little bird's eye view of the shots and where the hog was eventually found (X).
Based on bloated size, the hog was over 200 lbs., but the scale placed him at just 165 actual lbs. Neither bullet produced massive exit wounds, which was disappointing. The second round undoubtedly shattered on the humerus or deformed significantly and produced a tiny exit wound that looked like an entry wound. The first round's exit wound only looked to be about the diameter of my little finger.
All in all, a pretty successful eventing save for not finding the hog right away.
165 lb Boar
6.5 Grendel
Hornady 123 gr. SST ammo
Armasight Zeus 3x 640
UNV MDVR
Primos Trigger Sticks (tripod, used as a monopod)
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