Wild Hogs in my front yard.

[EddieWalker]

The sensor went off again this morning at 5:30 again. Just like yesterday, except it was the exact time the storm hit. I shined the spotlight out the window, but there wasn't any hogs. The storm blew down one of our bird feeders and that set off the sensor.

When it was light out, I checked for tracks, but there were none.

We looked around, but it was so muddy and wet out that we didn't look real hard. Just walked up and down the driveway without seeing anything.

A few hours later, at around 8am, Steph and I were sitting on the front porch watching the birds fly around in the rain. I walked down our sidewalk and looked behind the house to the deer feeder.

There were ten hogs there!!!!!!!

We did a mad dash to get on shoes and grab the rifle. They were totaly oblivious to us. The rain covered our scent and noise. We snuck up to the same place she shot her first hog. It was an easy 50 yard shot.

The biggest hog was well over a hundred pounds and out in the open.

She took the shot and missed.

They all ran off into the trees after the shot. We followed their tracks looking for some sign of a hit, but there wasn't any. We went back to the location it was standing when she fired and looked there for sign of a hit. Nothing. It was a clean miss. With the ground as muddy as it is, it's real easy to see their tracks and were they went. We followed the tracks until we could tell they left our land.

There was no blood. I didn't hear a hit, and the hog never squeeled or acted like it had been hit.

Steph isn't too happy with herself right now, in fact, she's kind of bummed out and reliving the shot over and over again. In a way, this is a good thing. No wounded animal, but now she understands what happens when it doesn't go as planned. She rushed the shot and missed.

Sorry, it all happend too fast for any pictures.
Eddie

 

[Bird]

"so muddy and wet out"

I'm jealous. We had a very impressive thunder & lightning display about 10 p.m. last night, and I see that the Denton airport supposedly had .99" of rain. My gauge had .15" this morning. So I'm watering the yard.

And Steph can take solace in the knowledge that very few, if any, hunters have not sometimes rushed the shot and missed. Or, perhaps, jerked the trigger instead of squeezed, and pulled the shot off target.

 

[wushaw]

I got 2" Bird

Eddie I wish I had your hog problem

 

[Slamfire]

I'd imagine your rifle is close to zero somewhere in the vicinity of 25 yards. at 40 feet the bullet would strike about an inch low. Of course these numbers aren't set in stone until you try it at those ranges.

I can understand the need to sleep in the nude, especially in the summer time, but I think you ought to at least put on yore boots before huntin' hogs at night. :-D

 

[EddieWalker]

Latest update.

The sensor went off just before midnight. Steph was in our bedroom at the time, so she looked out the window to see if it was a hog. It was!!!

It's allot of fun to see her exited, but this was the first time she'd actually seen this animal. It's one thing to see the tracks, it's another to see it right outside your bedroom window. She was well beyond exited.

I grabed the spotlight and shined it out the picture window in our living room. I saw the hog, but when it saw the light, he spun around and took off. I'm not sure if it's the light, or the reflection from our big window that scared it.

He ate all the seed under our feeder and has been here every day since this started. I'm still trying to figure out how to kill him. Opening the front door didn't work, so now I either have to take off a screen on a window, or sneek out the back door and go around the house. Both have their disadvantages.

Eddie

 

[HammerFour]

12 gauge with a slug would be good at that range...I would set up a light that covers that area that when the motion sensor turns it on, that way eliminate having to get a light on it...then take the screen off, have the window open a crack already...point and blast.

A simple red dot sight would work great for the at - night close range stuff......even the cheapo ones are sufficent for under a 100 yards. I don't mean the ones that project a laser pointer, just the ones that give you a red dot as your aiming point.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4241756

Of course, with the screen out, you might get some bugs...maybe a small flap in the screen, barrel sized?

 

[wushaw]

You only have to remove the screen for a night or cut a slit in it for the barrel.
If it is a scoped rifle then just use a red filter or low wattage light to take advantage of the scopes ability to gather the light and she can see really easy through it.

 

[texasjohn]

Eddie, you and Steph are going to have to get all those hogs or you will never get any sleep!!

I know... a trap takes all the fun out of it... but would work!

 

[stevenf]

John, What do you mean a trap takes all the fun out of it? Open the door and the 5 or 6 hogs you trapped wil come streaming out mad as a hornet and have fun BTW when you open the door they are quite angry you might want to be in an elevated position before ya open it. I tie my trap open in the summer because we eatem year round but about now or a month ago actually we stop trying to catchem to eat. If you really want to have fun go down to Divine, Texas and go out with some of those idiots they go out every weekend and rotate one weekend hogs one weekend rattle snakes. NO guns only a knife for hogs and a piece of pvc with a rope lasso for rattlesnakes they haven't gone a month in I don't know when without somebody going to the ER, bunch of idgits. All of my nephews and nieces make this a weekly adventure, I think they need a theater or something, maybe the Dairy Queen will reopen soon.
Steve

 

[EddieWalker]

I have thought about a trap, but as of right now, I'm stalling on it. I don't want to pay for a good one, and the cheap ones are not worth the money. I'll make one when I get a chance, but it's at the bottom of my list.

I bush hogged around the place Monday and opened it up some. Nothing came in that night, and last night we unplugged the sensor because we were exhausted and didn't want to know if one showed up.

He did. We don't know what time, but the tracks are there and the bird seed is cleaned up from the ground.

I'm really gonna have to do something about this.
Eddie