41 Mag
Member
We got up to the farm in time for the youngest grandson(4) and I to hit a pop up the daughter had set up a few hours before. We weren't sure if we would see anything but were hopeful that one of the sounders of hogs that have been hitting the feeder would make it by. I brought my bow and my 45 Colt and the game plan was to try and get the lead hog with the bow, and hopefully not make so much racket that the others would come back to the feeder.
Well it was getting just the right time of day and things were starting to scurry around. I told the boy to keep as quiet as possible and to not be waving his hands around swatting at the little dust particles that were floating around like glitter in the setting sun. He is a good kid and understood. About 10 minutes later however, he raised up his arm and pointed right out the front of the blind and said, "Pawpaw there's a deer". Sure nuff not 15 feet away looking right at him when he did it.
Well I figure you know the rest of that story. 
So Saturday morning the middle grandson(6) and I went out. Same blind, similar conditions, only it was pretty cool. We held off hitting it at daylight as on the trail cam the hogs had been coming by between around 8:15 and 9:30 for most of the week leading up. So verses him sitting there being cold we waited until around 7:30 to head out. We were in the stand and situated when I looked at my phone it was 7:45, I told him they should be along any minute. We were having a good time watching a few squirrels running up and around the trees when I caught movement. Sure enough here they came.
Eleven of them are in the 40'ish pound range and they were keeping company with a boar that is pushing 250. That is the one I wanted to put an arrow through. Well as the smaller ones bunched up and were grubbing down on the fresh corn and protein, the big boy wasn't overly thrilled with the appearance of the pop up, and kept his distance a while. Finally he eased out into the open and presented me with a chance to get drawn. He was right on the money at 35yds and solid broadside when I tripped the release. It was like in the movie the Matrix, everything went into slow motion. I could see the fletching on the arrow start to spin as the lighted nock was showing it's trial to the target. Just as everything stabilized and was on track, the smaller hogs started to scramble. I watched as the arrow tracked directly where I had aimed, but just as it arrived the big boar turned away resulting in the arrow passing right by him. Everything went back into real time at this point and there was nothing left but a big dust cloud floating in the light breeze.
So much for hunting. We headed in to eat some breakfast and get some chores done. The wife had opened our bottom gate Friday evening and the top hinge pin broke off the post. Well no biggie, I told her, we'll just set the generator in the truck along with the welding machine and fix her right up. (Yea right, remember it's still a Monday). So we pull everything in the world out of the conex box to get to the generator, and when we did I could smell the old fuel already, and knew what that was going to entail. Long story short, we ended up building a bracket and hauling it down to the gate yesterday around 11:30'ish.
I had planned on fire forming some cases for my 25-06 AI and had 45'ish loaded rounds already in the truck, so I threw 3 in the magazine just for kicks. I almost didn't bring it, but figured on burning a little powder while we were down there. We topped the hill overlooking the back pasture and low and behold right out in the middle was the sounder of hogs just piddling around. I had shot the rifle the previous weekend and only knew it was dead on about an inch high at 100. Well I wasn't about to let a chance like this pass so I eased out of the truck, sat down and rested the rifle across both knees. I would have went prone but the angle of the hill prevented it with no bipod. So I settled the first dot down on the mil dot reticle and dropped the hammer. Hogs went every direction but mostly straight away. I fired the second and third right in amongst them but with no evident impact on any of them.
Well with nothing flopping around, or laying out we went ahead on to the gate. Turned out I had to then go back to the house and modify the bracket. When we came back there were a couple of buzzards holding a tight pattern over the area the hogs were in. After fixing he gate I headed on out there and the wife said hey there's one right there. Well sure enough it was, but it wasn't down. I didn't want to shoot it again with the rifle that close, as it was only about 40# and I didn't want to mess up the good meat. I tried several times to get a shot on it with my bow but finally gave in and grabbed the rifle and put it down for good. After which I ranged it at 375yds give or take. The first round hit it just above the knee joint effectively taking out it's front legs. The finisher was right behind he ear, and didn't mess up anything.
So after a VERY frustrating weekend I was at least satisfied that I managed to get one hog out of the deal. When we went back late to dump the bucket we also noted that the buzzards were then circling the pasture behind ours where the hogs had headed, so I might have gotten another one as well. It had been too long for me to worry about it due to the heat.
Well I hope this wasn't overly boring. I just wanted to share with some others that they aren't the only ones who have those days where you seem to touch stuff and it turns to poop. Just about my whole weekend was like that, well almost anyway....
Well it was getting just the right time of day and things were starting to scurry around. I told the boy to keep as quiet as possible and to not be waving his hands around swatting at the little dust particles that were floating around like glitter in the setting sun. He is a good kid and understood. About 10 minutes later however, he raised up his arm and pointed right out the front of the blind and said, "Pawpaw there's a deer". Sure nuff not 15 feet away looking right at him when he did it.
Well I figure you know the rest of that story. So Saturday morning the middle grandson(6) and I went out. Same blind, similar conditions, only it was pretty cool. We held off hitting it at daylight as on the trail cam the hogs had been coming by between around 8:15 and 9:30 for most of the week leading up. So verses him sitting there being cold we waited until around 7:30 to head out. We were in the stand and situated when I looked at my phone it was 7:45, I told him they should be along any minute. We were having a good time watching a few squirrels running up and around the trees when I caught movement. Sure enough here they came.
Eleven of them are in the 40'ish pound range and they were keeping company with a boar that is pushing 250. That is the one I wanted to put an arrow through. Well as the smaller ones bunched up and were grubbing down on the fresh corn and protein, the big boy wasn't overly thrilled with the appearance of the pop up, and kept his distance a while. Finally he eased out into the open and presented me with a chance to get drawn. He was right on the money at 35yds and solid broadside when I tripped the release. It was like in the movie the Matrix, everything went into slow motion. I could see the fletching on the arrow start to spin as the lighted nock was showing it's trial to the target. Just as everything stabilized and was on track, the smaller hogs started to scramble. I watched as the arrow tracked directly where I had aimed, but just as it arrived the big boar turned away resulting in the arrow passing right by him. Everything went back into real time at this point and there was nothing left but a big dust cloud floating in the light breeze.
So much for hunting. We headed in to eat some breakfast and get some chores done. The wife had opened our bottom gate Friday evening and the top hinge pin broke off the post. Well no biggie, I told her, we'll just set the generator in the truck along with the welding machine and fix her right up. (Yea right, remember it's still a Monday). So we pull everything in the world out of the conex box to get to the generator, and when we did I could smell the old fuel already, and knew what that was going to entail. Long story short, we ended up building a bracket and hauling it down to the gate yesterday around 11:30'ish.
I had planned on fire forming some cases for my 25-06 AI and had 45'ish loaded rounds already in the truck, so I threw 3 in the magazine just for kicks. I almost didn't bring it, but figured on burning a little powder while we were down there. We topped the hill overlooking the back pasture and low and behold right out in the middle was the sounder of hogs just piddling around. I had shot the rifle the previous weekend and only knew it was dead on about an inch high at 100. Well I wasn't about to let a chance like this pass so I eased out of the truck, sat down and rested the rifle across both knees. I would have went prone but the angle of the hill prevented it with no bipod. So I settled the first dot down on the mil dot reticle and dropped the hammer. Hogs went every direction but mostly straight away. I fired the second and third right in amongst them but with no evident impact on any of them.
Well with nothing flopping around, or laying out we went ahead on to the gate. Turned out I had to then go back to the house and modify the bracket. When we came back there were a couple of buzzards holding a tight pattern over the area the hogs were in. After fixing he gate I headed on out there and the wife said hey there's one right there. Well sure enough it was, but it wasn't down. I didn't want to shoot it again with the rifle that close, as it was only about 40# and I didn't want to mess up the good meat. I tried several times to get a shot on it with my bow but finally gave in and grabbed the rifle and put it down for good. After which I ranged it at 375yds give or take. The first round hit it just above the knee joint effectively taking out it's front legs. The finisher was right behind he ear, and didn't mess up anything.
So after a VERY frustrating weekend I was at least satisfied that I managed to get one hog out of the deal. When we went back late to dump the bucket we also noted that the buzzards were then circling the pasture behind ours where the hogs had headed, so I might have gotten another one as well. It had been too long for me to worry about it due to the heat.
Well I hope this wasn't overly boring. I just wanted to share with some others that they aren't the only ones who have those days where you seem to touch stuff and it turns to poop. Just about my whole weekend was like that, well almost anyway....
