A Good Rest
Posted: 21 Feb 2017 21:30
My friend called and said feral hogs were again plowing up his property. With no trail cam info yet to pattern their probable time of arrival, I was in the stand before sunset. Hunting feral hogs at night is permissible here.
The location of the torn up landscape suggested hogs were entering from the woods to the north. The meandering wood line 200-400 yards away became the primary focus for scanning. With clear skies and an early rising bright full moon, the view through the binoculars looked like a black & white post card.
After a while, large black ant piles that littered the field all began to look like small hogs. Every dark area in the tree line appeared to move. At night, the safety stays on until you're absolutely, positively sure of your target. Finally, a dark blob appeared 350 yards away. Its long straight back and slow movement suggested it might be a cow. It was.
Disappointed at first that it was not a hog, gradually the small black cow gave scale to the other dark apparitions in the distance. Large ant piles now looked like large ant piles.
My friend had proclaimed the property coyote-free since he hadn’t heard their howls in such a long time. Tonight in the distance a coyote pack let their presence be known. Their intense yapping and barking accompanied the crying of another unfortunate animal. Dinner was served for all but one.
While listening to the coyotes, movement to the east caught my eye. 75 yards away, a boar was sniffing the ground as he moved farther to the north. Because the view was partially blocked by tree limbs, I had no shot.
The hog did not spook as I re-positioned 50 yards behind a fence line. The height of the fence post was a little too low for a steady shot, but it would have to do. The hog was now 135 yards away.
With a dark tree line providing no contrast behind the black hog, the red light mounted above the scope would be used. Sometimes the red light caused the hogs to scatter. Tonight the hog remained stationary as I saw the red light's reflection in his eyes.
The low rifle rest, a pounding heart, and more than anticipated excitement all yielded cross hairs that would not steady. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as I pulled the trigger. BOOM! Thunk!
The recoil raised the rifle barrel. When it came down, the hog was gone. But a quick scan with the binoculars showed the 100 lb. hog had fallen where he stood.
The location of the torn up landscape suggested hogs were entering from the woods to the north. The meandering wood line 200-400 yards away became the primary focus for scanning. With clear skies and an early rising bright full moon, the view through the binoculars looked like a black & white post card.
After a while, large black ant piles that littered the field all began to look like small hogs. Every dark area in the tree line appeared to move. At night, the safety stays on until you're absolutely, positively sure of your target. Finally, a dark blob appeared 350 yards away. Its long straight back and slow movement suggested it might be a cow. It was.
Disappointed at first that it was not a hog, gradually the small black cow gave scale to the other dark apparitions in the distance. Large ant piles now looked like large ant piles.
My friend had proclaimed the property coyote-free since he hadn’t heard their howls in such a long time. Tonight in the distance a coyote pack let their presence be known. Their intense yapping and barking accompanied the crying of another unfortunate animal. Dinner was served for all but one.
While listening to the coyotes, movement to the east caught my eye. 75 yards away, a boar was sniffing the ground as he moved farther to the north. Because the view was partially blocked by tree limbs, I had no shot.
The hog did not spook as I re-positioned 50 yards behind a fence line. The height of the fence post was a little too low for a steady shot, but it would have to do. The hog was now 135 yards away.
With a dark tree line providing no contrast behind the black hog, the red light mounted above the scope would be used. Sometimes the red light caused the hogs to scatter. Tonight the hog remained stationary as I saw the red light's reflection in his eyes.
The low rifle rest, a pounding heart, and more than anticipated excitement all yielded cross hairs that would not steady. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as I pulled the trigger. BOOM! Thunk!
The recoil raised the rifle barrel. When it came down, the hog was gone. But a quick scan with the binoculars showed the 100 lb. hog had fallen where he stood.
