The owner of TBR where I often hunt called and told me that the hogs were back. His wife had seen a bunch out on the dam. We agreed to get together the following evening to cover more property and hopefully to get more hogs. I took my usual position overlooking a single feeder, hay field, and food plot and Mr. TBR took a stand overlooking two different feeders and the dam where the hogs were seen the day before.
About two hours into the hunt I had seen 4 deer and 1 turkey. Mr. TBR had seen 5 deer and some raccoons. Then I spotted a dark shape on the far side of the food plot that had not been there during my previous scan a couple minutes prior. It turned out to be a hog that I was able to drop fairly quickly.
I texted Mr. TBR, "Medium-sized boar down on far edge of food plot." The boar didn't look that big to me at 120 yards through digital night vision, but he bottomed out the first scale and we had to get another. The hog turned out to be 264 lbs. Thankfully, Mr. TBR had a nice tractor and we hauled it up to the house because Mrs. TBR wanted the backstraps.
The shot entered 1" behind the left ear and exited at the base of the right ear, clipping the back of the skull in the process.
Something was out of sorts. It was a big boar, nice tusks, scarred body, but no smell. He did not smell like a big, old, mature boar. His shield was over an inch thick and his lower tusks over 2" long out of the gum. The problem revealed itself as we started to butcher. He didn't appear to have testicles. I was thinking he was a barr hog, when Mr. TBR showed me that the boar did have testicles, but they were not descended. That was pretty bizarre to me.
Two NICE backstraps were taken and will be the fare for Memorial Day.
The more I shoot it, the more I am really appreciating the 6.5 Grendel.
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