Thought I'd go sit on stand for a bit this evening. Not expecting to see the 'group' of hogs I had coming in (before the hog dogs ruined that)....and sure enough they didn't show.
But I did have a lone boar show up about 9:00 p.m.
The bait site is 100 yards from my stand and is lit up with a red LED light, but with the moon out tonight it creates kind of a twilight effect and actually makes it harder to see anything under the light.
I thought I saw a little movement way out on the edge of the light, so I picked up my binoculars to take a closer look. I could just make out the outline of a pig feeding at the periphery of the light but darting away.
Since it was all by itself....I figured it to be a 'Boar'. It was very skittish about going under/into the light....but after about 20 minutes finally moved into the light enough that I could see it clearly through the 4 power scope.
I centered the illuminated dot high on the shoulder and steadily pressed the two stage trigger. The rifle bucked and I could hear the 'crack' of the 405 grain soft-point as it made impact.
Recovering from the recoil....I looked through the scope to see a familiar scene. My hog right there....no so much as a twitch from it. I continue to be amazed at how effective a Big Bore cartridge at medium velocity can be.
This wasn't a giant hog by any means. Kind of 'lanky' actually. Still...it taped out at 44" (heart girth) and 52" from snout to base of tail. I'd estimate its weight at approximately 220 lbs., not that I care what they weigh. I'm just happy to get another one out of the breeding pool.
^^^^^ My apologies for the poor quality cell phone pics. I need to start taking my camera with me again.
Flint.