A successful pig hunt (with pictures)

[rastaman]

Hogs are my nemesis.  They usually taunt me and tantalize me and just show me glimpses of where they were.
 
 

[tippit]

Randy,
No no no...you can NOT stop there!!  Doc

[DW Dyer]

Finding some sign is always a good thing. Right?

[lilbobby]

Spit it out, Randy!

[rastaman]

This morning i hoped would be different.  i got a little later start than i wanted to, but i was out of the truck and easing thru the plum thickets by 7:45am.  
i had eased along a couple of hundred yards or so when i heard some grunting and squealing off in the distance.  i've hunted this farm for over 30 years now so i have sort of figured out some travel patterns.  i knew if they continued in the direction they were going i might be able to loop around and climb one of my deer stands before they arrived.  That was my original plan anyway before i heard the grunts and squeals.  i haven't had much luck this year catching up to any on the ground...usually a swirling wind or a snapped limb at the wrong time would do me in at the last second.  
This particular stand is on the edge of a stand of planted pines.  To the right is a plum thicket... a plum thicket that is best described as nasty!  Directly in front of the stand the woods transition into hardwoods and descend into a swampy, mucky, pig wallowed bottom.  i knew the hogs would probably come down the edge of the pines and drop off into the wallows.

[DW Dyer]

We need more!

[rastaman]

I climbed up in my stand and got hooked up in my body harness.  i remembered to switch my cell phone to vibrate just as my partner called from the hospital pharmacy....geeze, give me a break.  i got settled in and started to fidget after about an hour.  It was really starting to heat up, and i was thankful i had my thermocell cooking.  i had just about talked myself into climbing down to go check out the wallows when i heard a squeal from down the hill.  After about 5 minutes a sow about 100lbs stepped over the top of the hill.  She was closely followed by 6 little ones that were big enough to take care of themselves (25lbs or so apiece).  Another sow of about the same size as the first was bringing up the rear, and she had a serious limp.  i really wanted to try to take her out if she offered a shot.  She finally gave me a broadside at about 20 yards, and i promptly shot under her!  She took off in one direction and the others took off in another.  They only went about 20 yards though cause they couldn't figure out what spooked them.

[jcar315]

[rastaman]

After milling around for about 5 minutes the Mama sow came back by at about 15 yards.  I drew and released.  As soon as the arrow hit i thought it was a little further back than i wanted.  It was a passthru but not an in the dirt passthru.  The pig ran back down the hill about 30 yards and started squealing and spinning in circles.  She then did a 180 and came tearing past me and stopped in the plum thickets about 40 yards up the hill.  i heard her go on up the hill so i waited about 30 minutes before i climbed down and walked down the hill to see if i could find the arrow.  i couldn't, but i did get on the blood trail.  It started out fair and then got kind of sparse.  This didn't surprise me based on where i shot the pig.  The blood was dark and looked like liver maybe.  i took my time and marked blood with toilet paper strips.  i lost the trail a time or two and went back to last blood each time to find the direction.  All together i spent about 45 minutes in some nasty plum thickets and probably traveled a total of about 60 yards.  The bloodtrail  was getting a little better, and i found where she bedded and left a big puddle of blood.  This was encouraging.

[Froggy]

C'mon Randy... gotta be more bud !  

[highpoint forge]

Let her lay down and bleed out.........the hepatic artery and portal vein can bleed them out plenty fast. Still a good hit.

[rastaman]

i stepped around a pine tree in the plum thicket and there she was.  With her run down the hill and then back up the hill, she probably ran a hundred yards.  By the way the crow flies, she ended up only about 45 yards from where i shot her.  
i shot her with a Cari-bow Peregrine...48' @ 27".  i was using about a 475 grain Goldtip which includes the 180 grain Silverflame XL.  i was lucky.  i didn't do an autopsy (i used the gutless method to get her out), but i had to have cut a major vessel for her to have gone down that quickly...
Thanks for looking!

[DW Dyer]

Nice job! Thanks for sharing your experience.  

[DW]

Congratulations Randy!          

[Jesse Minish]

Congrats!

[Froggy]

 Way to go Randy... perfect size for the pit !

[Mudd]

Congratulations! Good job and good pig!

Thanks for taking us along.

God bless,Mudd

[Guru]

Congrats bud    

[vermonster13]

I love second chances! Well done Randy!

[Cookus]

Congrats and good shooting!   Sauerkraut and pork?