Sorry, no video this time. Usually before I start my hunts, I check over all my gear to make sure everything is just so, including everything having fresh batteries, wires connected, mag topped off, etc. I rolled into the property (TBR) expecting to be there all night and waiting on the sounder that had been coming in the mornings (and I did wait all night and the sounder never came). I am sure you all have your normal routines as well. You pull in, gear up, check everything, and then head out. Well, the owner of the property, Mr. TBR had told me on the way up that he smelled hogs and so I knew it was possible I might see hogs when I pulled in and so I was scanning with my thermal scope on the long drive up from the road to the house/garage/shop area. I was to meet Mr. TBR in the shop before starting to hunt. He was repairing one of the stands.
Anyway, about 150 yards from the house, I was able to see a hog under the feeder that was about 300 yards off to my east. I quickly grabbed my rifle, shooting sticks, and muffs and quietly left the truck and headed to the shop to get Mr. TBR. When I told him that he had a hog under the feeder (thinking he might want to shoot it), he gave me this incredulous look and said, "Go shoot it!" Seeing my shooting sticks, he told me just to use the archery target hay bales for a rest, which I did.
In the process of getting in a hurry, I forgot to hook up the video cable, hence no video.
Turns out, hay bales are rather itchy and pokey and getting situated on the bale was not what I expected. I finally got settled and the hog was still under the feeder. I lined up my shot, waited for him to change direction slightly, snicked off the safety, and took the slack out of the trigger. He turned and I added a bit of elevation to my hold to compensate for drop and finished the trigger pull. Boommm-thwack! And he went down right there under the feeder.
I watched him for a bit and when it was apparent he wasn't getting up, I put the safety back on and stood and turned to go back to the shop to tell Mr. TBR that we had a hog down and he had been standing right behind me! Scared me to death. He had a beer in his hand and was enjoying the show. He said, "Man, that thing sure puts'em down."
He fetched the cart while I walked down and checked on the hog. As it was still alive, I put a second round into him to finish the job. The first shot had spined the hog nicely, a tad higher than I had intended, but a good shot. The hog did not appear to be conscious, but was breathing before I finished him.
Here are a couple of pics of the hog and of the shooting location. It was about 9:30 at night when I made the shot. It is actually a pretty neat setup that Mr. and Mrs. TBR have used previously to shoot animals under the feeder from the hay bales or even their house. The feeder is backed by the back of a water retention dam which is a perfect backstop for errant shots.
Still using an Alexander Arms Grendel upper on LMT lower
Hornady SST 123 gr. amo
The boar was 165 lbs.
The distance between the hay bales and the feeder is 205 yards.
Anyway, about 150 yards from the house, I was able to see a hog under the feeder that was about 300 yards off to my east. I quickly grabbed my rifle, shooting sticks, and muffs and quietly left the truck and headed to the shop to get Mr. TBR. When I told him that he had a hog under the feeder (thinking he might want to shoot it), he gave me this incredulous look and said, "Go shoot it!" Seeing my shooting sticks, he told me just to use the archery target hay bales for a rest, which I did.
In the process of getting in a hurry, I forgot to hook up the video cable, hence no video.
Turns out, hay bales are rather itchy and pokey and getting situated on the bale was not what I expected. I finally got settled and the hog was still under the feeder. I lined up my shot, waited for him to change direction slightly, snicked off the safety, and took the slack out of the trigger. He turned and I added a bit of elevation to my hold to compensate for drop and finished the trigger pull. Boommm-thwack! And he went down right there under the feeder.
I watched him for a bit and when it was apparent he wasn't getting up, I put the safety back on and stood and turned to go back to the shop to tell Mr. TBR that we had a hog down and he had been standing right behind me! Scared me to death. He had a beer in his hand and was enjoying the show. He said, "Man, that thing sure puts'em down."
He fetched the cart while I walked down and checked on the hog. As it was still alive, I put a second round into him to finish the job. The first shot had spined the hog nicely, a tad higher than I had intended, but a good shot. The hog did not appear to be conscious, but was breathing before I finished him.
Here are a couple of pics of the hog and of the shooting location. It was about 9:30 at night when I made the shot. It is actually a pretty neat setup that Mr. and Mrs. TBR have used previously to shoot animals under the feeder from the hay bales or even their house. The feeder is backed by the back of a water retention dam which is a perfect backstop for errant shots.
Still using an Alexander Arms Grendel upper on LMT lower
Hornady SST 123 gr. amo
The boar was 165 lbs.
The distance between the hay bales and the feeder is 205 yards.
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