Had the opportunity to head to my lease Thursday afternoon. Go there about 10 pm. Had a couple toddies and caught a few Zeeeeeees. Got up and out about 6:30 AM. It was drizzling rain so I didn't get into a tripod overlooking a game feeder until about 6:50 AM. I had just set up a tripod and a feeder about 100 yds away in an area where there are numerous hogs. Unbeknownst to me coons had been swinging on my spinner and had managed to pull my spinner plate down about 1-1/2" from the thimble. Spun out 250 lbs. of corn in 3 weeks. So I was sitting over an empty feeder. It wasn't light enough to shoot at 7 AM when the feeder was set to go off, but I could see black shapes wondering around. By time I could get my shooting stix into place and scope covers off, they were gone. No corn, no hogs. Dang, I had missed them by a matter of minutes. I had set up this tripod in between two game trails coming out of a streambed. About 10 minutes after I'm situated, I hear a hog grunting behind me. I hear him getting closer. I look down and the sucker is standing between the legs of my tripod. I know he smelled me cause I had spilled gas on the seat of my ATV and hands when gassing up earlier. Well I've got leafy wear camo over my pistol and am in a bind. He takes off before I can draw and fire. Bummer, no hogs that morning. Friday evening I head to another spot that has become my "honey hole". I stop in there once a month. Without fail, I can catch a sounder of hogs just before dead dark. Friday night was no exception. Just before it was too dark to see my reticules without illumination a sounder came in. A boar, a sow and about a dozen shoats.
As we have a proliferation of hogs and I like to eat them, I shoot sows rather than boars whenever the opportunity avails itself. I had not had a chance to blood my Sako Carbine. Here was my opportunity. I've loaded it with 150 gr. Nosler Ballistic tips over 47 Gr. of IMR 4320. Neat load that clocks about 2,800 fps. MV out of the carbine. My first shot I place on the sow between her ear and shoulder. I hear the pop of the bullet when it impacts, so I know I've made a hit. I cycle the bolt and get back on target. Well you know the old saying, " pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered. Sure enough several come back. I wait a couple seconds and line two up, shoot and get a twofer. Not bad. Friday the 13th luck three hoglets with two shots. I like it. Here are two that I took back to skin out.



The little one will go whole on the pit. The larger one will be good for pulled pork in the crockpot. Dang I like killin' hogs.

Best


GWB

Nice Shootin' Geedubya! What caliber is the metal attached to that gorgeous piece of wood?

Andy

Geedubya, the little ones eat so well, don’t they… Did the wind affect you much? I shot three Thursday evening and then one Friday morning and that was it. No more pigs. Friday evening and into Saturday morning the wind was gusting up to 53 MPH where I was. No pigs, deer, coyotes, Nada. I figured that the wind kept the animals tight in the brush.

WTG!

Andy,
that rifle is chambered in 308 Win.

Swifter. Wind was blowing when I got there Thursday night and only increased as the weekend progressed. We had bands of showers come through about every 30 minutes it seemed, all day Friday and until say 3 PM on Saturday. Got hot Saturday afternoon, then like with you it probably got up well over 30 mph and blew until about 3AM on Sunday morning. Hot and sultry Sunday morning until about 10AM when the front blew throught. Temp probably dropped 20 degrees with strong north wind. Friday morning I was sitting between two game trails coming out of a streambed in an area that is a bowl between hills. It is somewhat protected wind was probably 15 to 20. I saw two doe early, then two hogs. I came in about 8 am and drove up to Rio Frio and took down a tripod and got all my gear from a bow only lease I was on last year. Friday night I got the two pigs shown in the pix. Saw a buck also. That spot is very secluded/sheltered. Here it is. I'm calling it my honey hole.



Saturday morning. I sat in the same place where I was Friday morning. Saw two doe crossing in front of me. Got skunked on the porkers. Saturday evening I helped my bud set up a tripod in a new area. Like you said it was blowing big time. Well over 30 mph I figure. I plopped myself down on a high spot that one can see for a mile or so in any direction, got the sun at my back and started calling for coyotes. Didn't do any good. Did that till seven when I headed for a different part of the lease that is very secluded and see's very little traffic. One of my buds has a corn feeder set up there. When I got there, there was a sounder of hogs under that feeder eating. They busted me and ran off. I had basically worked myself down the last two days. I also realized I had dropped my bud's new two-way radio. I went back to the rise where I had been calling. My bud had just drove up and said he wasn't gonna hunt that evening. Rather he was going to sit in the chair he brought, drink beer and watch the sun set. Sounded good to me.



Since I had a chair and a ditty bag with beer myself, I figured I'd join him. We ended up sitting there just enjoying the evening till around 9 PM.






So, in the wide open spaces, Saturday with all the wind, no game, but in the thick brush, life went on as usual.
Best
GWB

GWB,
Your trophy room looks a lot like mine. It just struck me about the title, “Hoglets”
In Texican that means “Hogs, Let’s Eat!”

Great Story, pictures, and one beautiful carbine. What a pleasant way to hunt too. We've had so much rain the woods and fields are full of mosquitos. Not fair, I thought the trade off for living in Ark, was no crawfish, but no mosquitos. Now we have mosquitos and still no crawfish, bummer. Can't hunt my old favorites either right now because of stupid turkey season. Want a turkey go buy one at the store, oh well.

GW:
That's great scenery, a bit heavy brush for spot n stalk hunting though, but, very nice to look at while it's greened up.

Larry:
Store bought turkeys sure don't taste as good as wild ones, they also cost a lot more. Am going this coming Fri myself. Should have gone the 14th but, life things got in the way for my partner.
George

Not to be agruementive George, but I bet that store bought turkey is a bargain compared to the wild one when all factors are considered.

As for taste I like them both, course I fry mine cajun style. I never really got the bug to chase them, although I've killed two. Springtime is just such a good time to chase speckled trout and redfish in South Louisiane.

Nice shooting and beautiful rifle!

That little one is too cute to eat.

Well Larry: No turkeys were killed, but, we did see some. Mostly hens in a bearded season, that's the way the programs written though, right?
Like GWB, we three kicked back and bs'd around the camp fire late into the night enjoying life and the beautiful scenery.
Anyone willing to post some pictures? Send me your e'mail and I'll fwd them to you.

Big green meadow with the Spanish Peaks as background, still well covered by snow.

gldwight/yaywhoo
George

Beautiful hunting spot...I am jealous!

George,
PM sent.

GWB