Finally!!! I've wanted to shoot this hog since I saw trail-cam pics of him a month ago. He was a very smart hog and would only come out after dark even when all the other hogs were coming out during daylight. I asked for some advice on getting him to come out during the day and Dave (cayuga) said that I should sling less corn and set the feeder to come one earlier in the day. That's what I did and it worked. THANKS DAVE! I checked the trail-cam yesterday morning and saw that for the last three days he had been coming out around 5PM. Being that there are crows and coons feeding on this corn also, I guess he figured he needed to come early or there wouldn't be any left.
So I went and sighted in my Endeavor. I was initially going to use the 350g Hornaday FPB's but they were giving me fits and I just couldn't get acceptable accuracy with them out of my rifle. I'm not exactly sure why... So I shot a nice group with the Shockwaves and went back home for some lunch and a shower before my afternoon hunt.
I came back and made my way to my ground blind. It had to have been 110 degrees in my blind and boy was I sweating bullets. I probably lost 10 pounds just sitting there. But I had a good wind and anything coming in front of me wouldn't be able to detect my scent. Which is a good thing because I'm sure I was pretty ripe when I came out. Shortly after I got in my blind, Mr. Boar Hog came out of the brush on the left side. I was aimed in on him but hadn't cocked the hammer yet when something spooked him. He took off and didn't return for about an hour and a half. He was going to make me sweat it out.. HAHA! When he returned I quickly sighted in, cocked the hammer, and as soon as he turned broadside I squeezed the trigger. BANG!!! and he takes off like he wasn't even hit. I was a little baffled because I knew I had made a good shot. So I gave him a little time, reloaded my rifle, drank a bottle of water, got a pinch of Copenhagen, and exited the blind.
I made my way up to where he was standing when I fired and initially didn't see any blood. Then I found some with some meat chunks in it. So I followed the blood trail back to where the brush got thick and where he had taken a hog tunnel into it. I knew how dangerous it would be to go after a wounded animal through such a small space on my hands and knees. So I waited a few minutes and listened for anything that sounded like a wounded hog. I didn't hear anything, so I began to crawl on my hands and knees following the bloods trail. I followed it about 70 yards into the brush when I saw him laying, facing toward me. I threw a stick at him and there was no response so I made my way over to him, gave him a few pokes with my rifle and declared him dead. This is the point where I screamed and felt the emotion rush over me. I WAS VERY HAPPY! He was even bigger than I thought. And now I had to drag his big butt 70 yards back through what I just crawled through. I started out trying to drag him one handed, holding the rifle with the other. That wasn't working so I had to crawl out, leave the Endeavor, crawl back in and haul him out. Once I got him out I was able to examine him and I saw that I had made an awesome shot.
Here's the first trail-cam pic I ever got of this hog...
Here he is right after I drug him out of the woods...
Some pics of his tusks...
I took these pictures myself so don't tease me too much... At least I smiled...
So I strapped him down and hauled him to the clubhouse for skinning...
Now I'll get to the damage the bullet did.... Here's a shot of the entry wound...
And the exit wound...
Entry wound with the skin removed...
And exit...
Entry wound from inside the rib cage...
And exit...
This shot was made from 76 yards (verified by Nikon range finder). I was using my TC Encore Endeavor firing from shooting sticks I made out of two saplings and some tie-wraps. The load I was using was a 250g TC Shockwave over 120 volumetric grains of BH209 and a Federal 209A primer. I don't have any complaints about the Shockwave. From the damage to the hog I would say it did it's job and I certainly had a great blood trail! This hog was just one tough SOB. Examining the insides I found that both lungs had been taken out and there was a large cut on the heart. And he ran 70 yards like that!!! I love hogs!
So I went and sighted in my Endeavor. I was initially going to use the 350g Hornaday FPB's but they were giving me fits and I just couldn't get acceptable accuracy with them out of my rifle. I'm not exactly sure why... So I shot a nice group with the Shockwaves and went back home for some lunch and a shower before my afternoon hunt.
I came back and made my way to my ground blind. It had to have been 110 degrees in my blind and boy was I sweating bullets. I probably lost 10 pounds just sitting there. But I had a good wind and anything coming in front of me wouldn't be able to detect my scent. Which is a good thing because I'm sure I was pretty ripe when I came out. Shortly after I got in my blind, Mr. Boar Hog came out of the brush on the left side. I was aimed in on him but hadn't cocked the hammer yet when something spooked him. He took off and didn't return for about an hour and a half. He was going to make me sweat it out.. HAHA! When he returned I quickly sighted in, cocked the hammer, and as soon as he turned broadside I squeezed the trigger. BANG!!! and he takes off like he wasn't even hit. I was a little baffled because I knew I had made a good shot. So I gave him a little time, reloaded my rifle, drank a bottle of water, got a pinch of Copenhagen, and exited the blind.
I made my way up to where he was standing when I fired and initially didn't see any blood. Then I found some with some meat chunks in it. So I followed the blood trail back to where the brush got thick and where he had taken a hog tunnel into it. I knew how dangerous it would be to go after a wounded animal through such a small space on my hands and knees. So I waited a few minutes and listened for anything that sounded like a wounded hog. I didn't hear anything, so I began to crawl on my hands and knees following the bloods trail. I followed it about 70 yards into the brush when I saw him laying, facing toward me. I threw a stick at him and there was no response so I made my way over to him, gave him a few pokes with my rifle and declared him dead. This is the point where I screamed and felt the emotion rush over me. I WAS VERY HAPPY! He was even bigger than I thought. And now I had to drag his big butt 70 yards back through what I just crawled through. I started out trying to drag him one handed, holding the rifle with the other. That wasn't working so I had to crawl out, leave the Endeavor, crawl back in and haul him out. Once I got him out I was able to examine him and I saw that I had made an awesome shot.
Here's the first trail-cam pic I ever got of this hog...
Here he is right after I drug him out of the woods...
Some pics of his tusks...
I took these pictures myself so don't tease me too much... At least I smiled...
So I strapped him down and hauled him to the clubhouse for skinning...
Now I'll get to the damage the bullet did.... Here's a shot of the entry wound...
And the exit wound...
Entry wound with the skin removed...
And exit...
Entry wound from inside the rib cage...
And exit...
This shot was made from 76 yards (verified by Nikon range finder). I was using my TC Encore Endeavor firing from shooting sticks I made out of two saplings and some tie-wraps. The load I was using was a 250g TC Shockwave over 120 volumetric grains of BH209 and a Federal 209A primer. I don't have any complaints about the Shockwave. From the damage to the hog I would say it did it's job and I certainly had a great blood trail! This hog was just one tough SOB. Examining the insides I found that both lungs had been taken out and there was a large cut on the heart. And he ran 70 yards like that!!! I love hogs!
