Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Sorry for the long back story, but it sort of sets the tone for how the whole situation developed...
I do hog/predator control on a bunch of properties for several landowners. This particular parcel is fairly new to me. I have probably only hunted it a half dozen times. It is planted in winter wheat and so far the hogs are only grazing, not rooting. I have shot hogs here three times so far. The goal is to keep the hog damage to a minimum, but the new wheat is very attractive to hogs. They will be back, right? Keep in mind that this place is out in the sticks, about 3 miles and 3 or 4 roads/turns off the hard top. This is a very low traffic area, LOL
Anyway, we get through the gate and notice a cow in the field. There were no cattle there a couple of days prior and I took a pic in case it was a stray and to let the landowner know. I figure we will drive farther into the property and if we see the rest of the herd, it isn't a stray, right? So, about that time the landowner comes rolling up to see about the cow. The cow had broken in earlier that day, the landowner returned it next door, and the landowner had come to see if it had gotten in again. We have had about 2 feet of rain in the last two months. Apparently, fencing is down, but no idea where (rain/washout related?). We chatted for a bit and he said that we were the only ones hunting this piece of property, but as they seem to have some good deer there, his kids may try to take some deer in the next few weeks...meaning we may go on hiatus for part of deer season. In the mean time, we were to keep killing hogs. He then said he was going to take the cow back to where it belonged and we headed into the property to hunt.
We drove in about 500 yards, parked, and had gone about another 130 yards on foot when we saw pigs maybe 150-200 yards farther out in the sprouted wheat. We were trying to line up on them when my partner says that the landowner has followed us in. In retrospect, I think we should have shot the pigs first and then had me deal with the folks that came in....Anyway, this is maybe 10 minutes after we left the landowner at the gate. Odd, I wonder if he needs help with the cow. I start walking back to the vehicle coming in and see the landowner had brought a friend (second vehicle)...only to then realize the truck that I thought was the landowner's wasn't his truck and so I don't know any of these people. It is now dusk and I am trying to gesture to them to stop before they come in too far and to get them to turn off their lights....trying to keep them from spooking the hogs out in the pasture.
The first car pulls up to me and I ask if they could turn off their headlights to not to spook the hogs and the driver immediately demands, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The driver actually seemed angry with me. Calmly, I said, "We are hunting hogs. I work for ********* {the landowner}" and a bit more sternly said, "And who exactly are you?"
Mentioning the landowner's name mollified the driver who visibly relaxed and the driver explained that the landowner was a distant relative (most everybody seems to be distantly related to one another in this county, it seems) and that nobody was supposed to be hunting the property was far as they knew. That sort of fit with what the landowner said only minutes earlier that nobody else was supposed to be hunting the place. We chatted for a bit, all quite pleasant. Come to find out, a local guy in the area has been illegally selling hunts as a guide and dropping people off on various properties on the back roads, properties for which his does not actually have permission to be hunting or allowing people to hunt. They figured my partner and I were some of his hunters, or maybe him and a hunter.
I don't know how the landowner and these folks missed each other at the gate in the short window of time, but apparently they all did. That small timing issue resulted in a situation that I think could have gone south very easily. The driver showed up with the family/friends in two vehicles in order to confront the armed people they thought were poachers that they perceived to be trespassing...6 people in all came to deal with us. HOLY MOLY! This sort of had the makings of one of those unpleasant rural justice situations. Despite seeing me with rifle in hand (slung, low ready, my typical carry for hunting), they had no qualms about confronting us instead of calling the game warden, so I assume they were likely armed as well...which would only make sense...back in the sticks.
In the end, I shook folks' hands, thanked them for checking on us. They asked if they could call me to deal with hogs next time hogs start digging up their place. I gave them my number.
The hogs were spooked by all the commotion. We ended up with only one after all was said and done.
Certainly not the start to the evening that I expected given the hogs we had seen, but everyone left the property in good spirits and 100% healthy.
I do hog/predator control on a bunch of properties for several landowners. This particular parcel is fairly new to me. I have probably only hunted it a half dozen times. It is planted in winter wheat and so far the hogs are only grazing, not rooting. I have shot hogs here three times so far. The goal is to keep the hog damage to a minimum, but the new wheat is very attractive to hogs. They will be back, right? Keep in mind that this place is out in the sticks, about 3 miles and 3 or 4 roads/turns off the hard top. This is a very low traffic area, LOL
Anyway, we get through the gate and notice a cow in the field. There were no cattle there a couple of days prior and I took a pic in case it was a stray and to let the landowner know. I figure we will drive farther into the property and if we see the rest of the herd, it isn't a stray, right? So, about that time the landowner comes rolling up to see about the cow. The cow had broken in earlier that day, the landowner returned it next door, and the landowner had come to see if it had gotten in again. We have had about 2 feet of rain in the last two months. Apparently, fencing is down, but no idea where (rain/washout related?). We chatted for a bit and he said that we were the only ones hunting this piece of property, but as they seem to have some good deer there, his kids may try to take some deer in the next few weeks...meaning we may go on hiatus for part of deer season. In the mean time, we were to keep killing hogs. He then said he was going to take the cow back to where it belonged and we headed into the property to hunt.
We drove in about 500 yards, parked, and had gone about another 130 yards on foot when we saw pigs maybe 150-200 yards farther out in the sprouted wheat. We were trying to line up on them when my partner says that the landowner has followed us in. In retrospect, I think we should have shot the pigs first and then had me deal with the folks that came in....Anyway, this is maybe 10 minutes after we left the landowner at the gate. Odd, I wonder if he needs help with the cow. I start walking back to the vehicle coming in and see the landowner had brought a friend (second vehicle)...only to then realize the truck that I thought was the landowner's wasn't his truck and so I don't know any of these people. It is now dusk and I am trying to gesture to them to stop before they come in too far and to get them to turn off their lights....trying to keep them from spooking the hogs out in the pasture.
The first car pulls up to me and I ask if they could turn off their headlights to not to spook the hogs and the driver immediately demands, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The driver actually seemed angry with me. Calmly, I said, "We are hunting hogs. I work for ********* {the landowner}" and a bit more sternly said, "And who exactly are you?"
Mentioning the landowner's name mollified the driver who visibly relaxed and the driver explained that the landowner was a distant relative (most everybody seems to be distantly related to one another in this county, it seems) and that nobody was supposed to be hunting the property was far as they knew. That sort of fit with what the landowner said only minutes earlier that nobody else was supposed to be hunting the place. We chatted for a bit, all quite pleasant. Come to find out, a local guy in the area has been illegally selling hunts as a guide and dropping people off on various properties on the back roads, properties for which his does not actually have permission to be hunting or allowing people to hunt. They figured my partner and I were some of his hunters, or maybe him and a hunter.
I don't know how the landowner and these folks missed each other at the gate in the short window of time, but apparently they all did. That small timing issue resulted in a situation that I think could have gone south very easily. The driver showed up with the family/friends in two vehicles in order to confront the armed people they thought were poachers that they perceived to be trespassing...6 people in all came to deal with us. HOLY MOLY! This sort of had the makings of one of those unpleasant rural justice situations. Despite seeing me with rifle in hand (slung, low ready, my typical carry for hunting), they had no qualms about confronting us instead of calling the game warden, so I assume they were likely armed as well...which would only make sense...back in the sticks.
In the end, I shook folks' hands, thanked them for checking on us. They asked if they could call me to deal with hogs next time hogs start digging up their place. I gave them my number.
The hogs were spooked by all the commotion. We ended up with only one after all was said and done.
Certainly not the start to the evening that I expected given the hogs we had seen, but everyone left the property in good spirits and 100% healthy.