SAWMAN
Master
Went out early last PM to take a look around before dark. Got my buggy unloaded at about 1700 (sunset). Drove up into the fields and took a look around with my thermal handheld ( yep,you can use thermal during the daylight hours ) but no hogs.
Deceided to take a look at an adjacent field but it was not huntable in a safe shooting direction due to the tall,thick cotton stalks that were left after the harvest.
So drove back around to the first field and the hogs were there. It was not dark yet and from where I was at it was not safe to shoot towards the hogs. So I deceided to take the long trip around to my truck,slowly,and give it time to get dark. But the full,bright moon was gonna give me problems.
It was about a 3/4 mile trip back around the fields to the point that I could enter the field that they were in,and get set up for a safe shot. By the time that I went around,and back into the field it was dark but the moon was up bright and right in my face on my approach across the field to close the distance.
The hogs were in the feeding mode and not the "lookin' around for food" mode,to my advantage. They were rooting right down the rows for the left over peanuts.
I closed the distance at less than walking speed. Stopped to within about 75yds,got my gun on my "gunners strap",picked what I thought to be the leed sow,and sent one.
She went about 20yds and dropped. The rest made it to the wood line before I could target them. They had no idea that I was there before the shot so I deceided to repo my buggy a little closer to the wood line (150yds away) and see if they would come back. After about 30 minutes,8 of the initial 20 or so came back into the field. I targeted the biggest which was a 150-170lb boar. He dropped wherer
he stood. The rest ran but one 120lb sow stopped just before entering the woodline,and I killed her at about 150yds. She ran about 40yds back into the field before she dropped. I had hit her a little far back for the quick kill thing.
The advantage to hunting these vast fields,and targeting the hogs that are the fartherest out into these harvested fields is, you can easily spot (with thermal) and retrieve a downed hog(s).
Great hunt . . . not too cold early,was headed home by 1900 after dragging the hogs from the field. ---- SAWMAN
Deceided to take a look at an adjacent field but it was not huntable in a safe shooting direction due to the tall,thick cotton stalks that were left after the harvest.
So drove back around to the first field and the hogs were there. It was not dark yet and from where I was at it was not safe to shoot towards the hogs. So I deceided to take the long trip around to my truck,slowly,and give it time to get dark. But the full,bright moon was gonna give me problems.
It was about a 3/4 mile trip back around the fields to the point that I could enter the field that they were in,and get set up for a safe shot. By the time that I went around,and back into the field it was dark but the moon was up bright and right in my face on my approach across the field to close the distance.
The hogs were in the feeding mode and not the "lookin' around for food" mode,to my advantage. They were rooting right down the rows for the left over peanuts.
I closed the distance at less than walking speed. Stopped to within about 75yds,got my gun on my "gunners strap",picked what I thought to be the leed sow,and sent one.
She went about 20yds and dropped. The rest made it to the wood line before I could target them. They had no idea that I was there before the shot so I deceided to repo my buggy a little closer to the wood line (150yds away) and see if they would come back. After about 30 minutes,8 of the initial 20 or so came back into the field. I targeted the biggest which was a 150-170lb boar. He dropped wherer
The advantage to hunting these vast fields,and targeting the hogs that are the fartherest out into these harvested fields is, you can easily spot (with thermal) and retrieve a downed hog(s).
Great hunt . . . not too cold early,was headed home by 1900 after dragging the hogs from the field. ---- SAWMAN