Farmer called. Hogs rooting where he'd disced a field getting ready to plant about May 10th. Told him I'd not been over lately due to weather and wind direction. Wind good last night. Sat watching until 11pm...no hogs.
Decided to take a look at a long field a mile north. This field is hundreds of yards wide and long. About 1/4th the way from the north end is its highest portion with it sloping down to the south. With enough rain, the south half gets real muddy with some standing water. Tried walking into the field from the south (wind from the north) as among the numerous deer (peanuts were last year's crop) were 4 heat signatures that never stood up like deer. Needed to get closer for positive ID. Got maybe 50yd, and the going was too slow and noisy in the water and mud, with my steps making a slurping sound as the mud would release my boots for each step and almost falling down several times. As I decided to turn back, I saw a large sounder coming north along the dirt "road" that separates the fields. They entered the large field, but stayed along the east edge. I exit the field, go east on a dirt road at the south field border, turn north and start up the road the hogs had entered from.
Meanwhile the hogs went further west into the field. I tried stalking them, but again the field condition made stalking noisy and slower than the hogs were moving, so I turned back. Walked back to my truck a few hundred yards, got a folding chair, and sat on the field's south border. Hoped the hogs would get enough of the old leftover peanuts and come back the way they entered, with me seeing what they were doing, and moving in place to ambush them. 20 hogs of various sizes were counted.
Phoned my wife (she stays up while I'm out at night waiting for me) and told her what I'm doing, and I'll be late. Sat and sat and sat. Meanwhile the hogs slowly go west and then north to an old cemetery plot and stayed in the vicinity. I got tired of waiting. I thought if I left and drove to the north border of the field, I could come towards the hogs going slightly east so they'd not catch my scent (wind still from north, but maybe a row of trees would block or defuse my scent). When I got there, some hogs were closer to where I parked than I thought they'd be. I would call them "concerned", but not spooked, and they started moving east (2 large boars on the sounder edges went SE instead of keeping east with the sows and younger hogs, and I think those two scented me, as they snorted and took off at a trot) and disappeared around a corner, blocked by trees. As I moved east, they also kept going east until about 100yd later, most settled down and started rooting. I picked out the closest largest identifiable sow, took my preferred kneeling position and shot for her neck. She dropped. When I got to her, she needed a shot to the head (into the head, out the lower neck, and it also broke the right front leg). A loud squeal, especially where you're right there! I then heard a strange sound coming from further in the field. Finally spotted 2 small heat signatures going to the east where the other hogs had run. Figured they were 2 football size hogs (footballs as some call them). With nothing to lose, I snorted. They turned north. I snorted again, and they turned west coming towards me. About 40-50yd away they stopped, and I fired when they were lined up. 2 with 1 shot. Yes, they were young, but young hogs grow up quickly. I'll just say a Barnes 110gr black tip bullet does a J O B on a young hog. I'll not post their pic at this time.
My sow was rather big.
Decided to take a look at a long field a mile north. This field is hundreds of yards wide and long. About 1/4th the way from the north end is its highest portion with it sloping down to the south. With enough rain, the south half gets real muddy with some standing water. Tried walking into the field from the south (wind from the north) as among the numerous deer (peanuts were last year's crop) were 4 heat signatures that never stood up like deer. Needed to get closer for positive ID. Got maybe 50yd, and the going was too slow and noisy in the water and mud, with my steps making a slurping sound as the mud would release my boots for each step and almost falling down several times. As I decided to turn back, I saw a large sounder coming north along the dirt "road" that separates the fields. They entered the large field, but stayed along the east edge. I exit the field, go east on a dirt road at the south field border, turn north and start up the road the hogs had entered from.
Meanwhile the hogs went further west into the field. I tried stalking them, but again the field condition made stalking noisy and slower than the hogs were moving, so I turned back. Walked back to my truck a few hundred yards, got a folding chair, and sat on the field's south border. Hoped the hogs would get enough of the old leftover peanuts and come back the way they entered, with me seeing what they were doing, and moving in place to ambush them. 20 hogs of various sizes were counted.
Phoned my wife (she stays up while I'm out at night waiting for me) and told her what I'm doing, and I'll be late. Sat and sat and sat. Meanwhile the hogs slowly go west and then north to an old cemetery plot and stayed in the vicinity. I got tired of waiting. I thought if I left and drove to the north border of the field, I could come towards the hogs going slightly east so they'd not catch my scent (wind still from north, but maybe a row of trees would block or defuse my scent). When I got there, some hogs were closer to where I parked than I thought they'd be. I would call them "concerned", but not spooked, and they started moving east (2 large boars on the sounder edges went SE instead of keeping east with the sows and younger hogs, and I think those two scented me, as they snorted and took off at a trot) and disappeared around a corner, blocked by trees. As I moved east, they also kept going east until about 100yd later, most settled down and started rooting. I picked out the closest largest identifiable sow, took my preferred kneeling position and shot for her neck. She dropped. When I got to her, she needed a shot to the head (into the head, out the lower neck, and it also broke the right front leg). A loud squeal, especially where you're right there! I then heard a strange sound coming from further in the field. Finally spotted 2 small heat signatures going to the east where the other hogs had run. Figured they were 2 football size hogs (footballs as some call them). With nothing to lose, I snorted. They turned north. I snorted again, and they turned west coming towards me. About 40-50yd away they stopped, and I fired when they were lined up. 2 with 1 shot. Yes, they were young, but young hogs grow up quickly. I'll just say a Barnes 110gr black tip bullet does a J O B on a young hog. I'll not post their pic at this time.
My sow was rather big.