So Ken and I went out again this morning to the fields behind his place where we had previously shot pigs together at the end of last week and each individually shot pigs on subsequent days (but mine was not recovered). We were hopeful to encounter the large group of hogs again, but also realized that they might be pretty gun-shy by now. As we learned while entering the first pasture that had cattle, the cattle had become gun-shy. They were not happy to have us visit again.
No luck in the first pasture and so we proceeded north and up onto a large dam that runs E-W that gives excellent views of several field N and S, some of which are divided by fences and some simply by groves of tree. Nothing was sighted to the E and so we backtracked W and beyond our entry point. No hogs.
As the dam taped back down to ground level at the far W end, we found a gate that allowed easy access to the large field where I shot my last hog. Using the gate beat the hell out of trying to go over the barbed wire, LOL.
This field is probably 40 acres of a park-like setting. There are large, mature oaks and groves of oaks distributed randomly throughout the field, some spaced well apart, some not. So as you proceed through the field, your ability to see in a given direction changes with distance. You may be able to see 100 yards to the west through a gap in the trees and 20 feet later not be able to see more than 10 yards to the west.
So we could hear cattle and finally spotted a few on thermal and worked our way toward them mindful of the wind. We finally got to a point where I could see cattle way off to the sound, lots of cattle, but also see a small group to our immediate west through a gap in the trees, including what might be calves or possibly hogs. I had Ken check out the animals with his Pulsar N750 for identification while I scanned other directions with the thermal scope. Ken confirmed at least one definite hog and maybe several others. He also noted they were all tight with some cows.
Using some trees to shield us from the hogs, we worked our way westward to about 20 yards from the gap in the trees and set up with shooting sticks (yes, I remembered them this time!) for a shot. The animals were 20-40 yards beyond the other side of the 'window' in the trees. This 'window' was small enough that the two hogs I was watching were shielded from view to Ken who was only a few feet to my side. Similarly, I could not see the hog that he was targeting.
We bantered back and forth four or five times about who had a shot and when. Last time we tried for a double, he said he flinched and his shot nearly scalped the hog, so this time he went first. He called it and fired and I flinched, but did not fire and my hogs disappeared as quickly as his hog.
I heard running somewhere beyond the trees and so I picked up and ran around behind Ken's position and off to his far left and saw hogs running. I got down on my sticks to line up a shot when three VERY LARGE hogs came into view, moving quickly but not running. To my surprise, they were headed toward us and I was certain our position would be overrun! Apparently about that time, they realized I was there and changed direction and I fired and hit the third on the move - THWACK!. The others disappeared, but I saw several additional streaks flash by as I heard my hog squeal. It was a brief, but intense experience and I felt very good about having stopped the hogs.
The streak circled around behind us and I picked up and moved rearward in hopes of another shot, but because of the limited fields of view afforded by the trees, they quickly disappeared, though I glimpsed them several times as they got smaller and smaller in the distance.
No idea what happened to Ken's hog. No THWACK was heard and there was no blood. With the same rifle and ammo, Ken had head shot a hog at 80 yards in the next field, but possibly missed at 40-50. All we can figure is that it must have moved at the last moment.
My LARGE hog turned out to have been a very small 52 lb boar that just looked really large through 4.5x and a distance of less than 20 yards, LOL. Turns out, this is the smallest pig I have ever shot, but at the time, with its buddies, it was a big hog! It was coming right at us!
We searched for about an hour for the possible second pig with no luck. As long as this group keeps returning, we will keep trying to meet it. So far, we have shot pigs on four of the last six mornings between the two of us...and they keep coming. That's good entertainment!
No luck in the first pasture and so we proceeded north and up onto a large dam that runs E-W that gives excellent views of several field N and S, some of which are divided by fences and some simply by groves of tree. Nothing was sighted to the E and so we backtracked W and beyond our entry point. No hogs.
As the dam taped back down to ground level at the far W end, we found a gate that allowed easy access to the large field where I shot my last hog. Using the gate beat the hell out of trying to go over the barbed wire, LOL.
This field is probably 40 acres of a park-like setting. There are large, mature oaks and groves of oaks distributed randomly throughout the field, some spaced well apart, some not. So as you proceed through the field, your ability to see in a given direction changes with distance. You may be able to see 100 yards to the west through a gap in the trees and 20 feet later not be able to see more than 10 yards to the west.
So we could hear cattle and finally spotted a few on thermal and worked our way toward them mindful of the wind. We finally got to a point where I could see cattle way off to the sound, lots of cattle, but also see a small group to our immediate west through a gap in the trees, including what might be calves or possibly hogs. I had Ken check out the animals with his Pulsar N750 for identification while I scanned other directions with the thermal scope. Ken confirmed at least one definite hog and maybe several others. He also noted they were all tight with some cows.
Using some trees to shield us from the hogs, we worked our way westward to about 20 yards from the gap in the trees and set up with shooting sticks (yes, I remembered them this time!) for a shot. The animals were 20-40 yards beyond the other side of the 'window' in the trees. This 'window' was small enough that the two hogs I was watching were shielded from view to Ken who was only a few feet to my side. Similarly, I could not see the hog that he was targeting.
We bantered back and forth four or five times about who had a shot and when. Last time we tried for a double, he said he flinched and his shot nearly scalped the hog, so this time he went first. He called it and fired and I flinched, but did not fire and my hogs disappeared as quickly as his hog.
I heard running somewhere beyond the trees and so I picked up and ran around behind Ken's position and off to his far left and saw hogs running. I got down on my sticks to line up a shot when three VERY LARGE hogs came into view, moving quickly but not running. To my surprise, they were headed toward us and I was certain our position would be overrun! Apparently about that time, they realized I was there and changed direction and I fired and hit the third on the move - THWACK!. The others disappeared, but I saw several additional streaks flash by as I heard my hog squeal. It was a brief, but intense experience and I felt very good about having stopped the hogs.
The streak circled around behind us and I picked up and moved rearward in hopes of another shot, but because of the limited fields of view afforded by the trees, they quickly disappeared, though I glimpsed them several times as they got smaller and smaller in the distance.
No idea what happened to Ken's hog. No THWACK was heard and there was no blood. With the same rifle and ammo, Ken had head shot a hog at 80 yards in the next field, but possibly missed at 40-50. All we can figure is that it must have moved at the last moment.
My LARGE hog turned out to have been a very small 52 lb boar that just looked really large through 4.5x and a distance of less than 20 yards, LOL. Turns out, this is the smallest pig I have ever shot, but at the time, with its buddies, it was a big hog! It was coming right at us!
We searched for about an hour for the possible second pig with no luck. As long as this group keeps returning, we will keep trying to meet it. So far, we have shot pigs on four of the last six mornings between the two of us...and they keep coming. That's good entertainment!
