Group of four Sows and 13 football sized offspring have been vacuuming up every kernel of corn I have been putting out for the deer.
My game camera revealed three of the Sows had litters and the fourth was very heavily pregnant.
They have been visiting the bait at all times of the day, but consistently at 5:00 p.m. so it was time to put a stop to this.
I got on stand about 4:00 O’clock this afternoon, settled in and got ready for the inevitable attack of Mosquitos. They did not disappoint. Eventually, they got their fill and moved on.
About 4:30 a lone sow popped out of the brush and into the opening, took a quick look around and walked back the same way she had come from. I resisted shooting her….confident the entire group would show up later.
Just before 5:00 a large ‘cane cutter’ rabbit hopped out and I took a few pictures of it as it fed along. I was just about to snap another pic…when though the view finder… I saw the rabbit stand erect and start swiveling its ears, a definite sign it sensed something was coming.
The rabbit darted away and as I put my camera down…I could see dark shapes moving through the brush. Pigs, no doubt.
In a moment…. A bunch of piglets popped out of the brush and immediately hit the corn. The sows were more cautious and slowly approached.
The largest one (the pregnant one…I hoped to shoot) lagged way back and I wondered if the wind would hold up long enough for a shot opportunity. The stand is located a scant 40 yards from the bait site so ‘scent’ is quite a problem there.
After a few minutes the three sows to whom the litters belong….moved in to feed. I was thinking ‘surely this will calm the last sow’ and she will come in as well.
Nope! The pregnant sow just didn’t like something about the set up and would pop in and out the brush…offering only a frontal or retreating shot.
Neither of those shots presents a problem for the .458 SOCOM….since I had it stoked with 405 gr. Remy softpoints, but I still prefer a broadside or quartering shot.
So, I decided to wait and see what would develop. Finally, the pregnant sow got up enough nerve to come out of the brush and walk along a small spring fed branch.
I wanted her to cross it and come feed with the others, so I could pick a shot…but it wasn’t to be. While I was watching her through the scope…. she threw her nose up, sniffed the air and then turned to leave. So, it’s now or never!
I moved the cross hairs just to the front of her chest and pressed the trigger. Over the top of the scope I could see her rear up on her hind legs and topple over into the branch. A kick or two and she lay still.
Through my binoculars I could see the exit hole in the pig, the location of it suggesting I should have led her a bit more or been a bit faster on the trigger.
My intent was to strike the middle of the shoulder. Close….but not quite!
Note: I am aware there are some folks that will object to the killing of pregnant animals. It is an emotional hurdle for some.
I will simply say (making no apologies), I specifically targeted this animal as a practical matter of eliminating as many hogs as possible with one shot.
If I had taken one of the sows with piglets, the other sows would allow the orphaned ones to nurse (as if their own). So most (or all of them) would survive to adulthood.
We do NOT hunt hogs here for sport; it is an ongoing battle to try to keep their numbers in check.