In honor of the Marlin Big Bore forum, on this hunt I took my 444SS equipped with Burris SpeedDot 135, NightBlaster light and
premium hand loads of H322 and Hornady 265 gr. :wink:
The wild hawgs are beginning to be a problem here in Central Oklahoma now and an old friend of mine gave me permission to hunt hogs on one of his places where the hogs are just decimating his Bermuda grass pasture. Sooo, since I am the boss :wink: , I took Thursday afternoon off and loaded up the 4-wheeler and took off to hawg country. It didnt take long to find out just where those pests were a rootin
EVERYWHERE. Some places looked like small bombs had been exploded.
Friday continued to be an off day :wink: and I did a thorough search of the property from the vantage point of the 4-wheeler. I discovered that them hawgs are staying mostly on the property immediately to the north where there is a HUGE pond dam right up against my friends south fence. So, the south portion of my friends property is easy pickins for those old hawgs.
Soooo, on Friday I two areas of very fresh rooting and dug a couple of fairly deep holes with the post hole diggers, filled em up with corn, topped em off with molasses and strawberry jello (sweetened) and left.
Saturday morning early I called my friend to see what he had found when he went to feed and he told me whatever I had put out for bait had sure has heck worked because there was a huge place worked up overnight by them old hawgs right where I had baited. This is 50 yards from my ambush spot no less!!!
Well now my blood is pumping and out I go to bait up again in preparation of the Saturday night hawg hunt. I decide to ask the wife if she would like to ride along as I get soft hearted this time of year and feel like I neglect her (hunting you know). She accepts and we pile in my (was new) Chevy PU. We have a nice 40 minute drive out into the country and I get us thru the gate and we have to go across a low water crossing (concrete). Me thinks she would like to stop in the middle and enjoy the rapids on the left and the nice pool of water on the right. NOT!!! :cry: Jeeze, I had no idea that crossing could collapse with us in the middle of it, according to her. I decided then and there I would not share with her a magical trip across the old trestle bridge. I aint too stupid!
We get to the corral and I get out and open the gate into the pasture, drive thru, shut the gate and notice a new and fresh rooting area immediately to the left so I turn left and drive the few feet over to it for her to see. She and I both admire the destructive capabilities of the hawgs for a bit and I put the truck in reverse and back up. Bang and a real sudden stop. I look back and have been interrupted in my reverse action by the corner post. I wonder how much the tail light assembly for a 2005 Silverado is gonna cost me?
Sometimes life gives you one in the butt, you know? Ah well, a sacrifice for the hunt.
We drive on over the rooting craters to the baited spot and, sure enough, my friend has described it perfectly. Those hawgs had decimated the area. Sooo, I get out the trusty old post hole diggers and start to dig. After about a foot of digging, craaak! One of the handles broke. Another sacrifice for the hunt. Filled the hole up with corn, topped it off with molasses and strawberry jello and commenced to drive a t-line fence post into the ground. I have modified these posts to accept a magnetic LED (red) light that I can attach to the bottom of a feeder or now, a fence post. I decided to show the wife some more destruction. We hadnt driven another 50 yd when she said she sure with I wouldnt drive my truck across such bumpy property. :cry: I didnt ask her what pick up trucks were made for you know. She would have said for hauling corn, post hold diggers, fence posts and our 5th wheel. Maybe she will let me buy a Hummer next year?
I drove her a modest 5 mph back across the pasture to the infamous corner post, picked up all the little red pieces of plastic I could find (super glue might work) and brought her back to town. WHEW
OK
I have attached the LED light to the post and am waiting in my ambush site. My chosen site is in a corral that is lined with galvanized roofing strips wired on horizontally and where I sit in my canvas chair (w/arms) I can just see the light around the edge of the strip. When the hawgs appear I can just ease up and rest my arm and rifle on the top pipe of the corral and blast away! Am I stoked. What is that heifer looking at as it is getting dusk? Is she looking at the post and light? Yep, she is. She seems hypnotized by it and very gingerly takes a tentative step toward it. Then a younger heifer joins her in the gazing at the strange new phenomenon. As it gets dark these two girl have closed the distance between themselves and this new found amazement to about 25 yds and I cannot see anything but two dark spots against the Bermuda grass.
Dang, but I sure wish I had put on some thick socks to wear with these low quarters rather than no socks as my toes are getting cold. It has been dark for about an hour and I see something going up the post and it is illuminated by the LED. It comes back down and goes back up for a while. Since I have the SpeedDot on the 444SS, is no power, just a red dot and I cannot make out what is running up and down the post. Crap, it is one of the girls scratching on it. Jeeze Louise!!! After another 30 minutes or so I see the light sway and think OH NO, and she tongues the LED off the post. Crap, but the heifers look good with the light illuminating them from the ground. This light show goes on for a while until I hear a crack and the light is no more.
At least I brought another pair of pants and flannel shirt. Brrrr. But my face and ears are cold with that north breeze and this low area next to the creek. The trusty bandana takes care to that but the brown jersey gloves dont do much for these arthritic fingers. Another sacrifice for the hunt!
Well now I am shivering and have had enough of this!! I dont care if Hawgzilla is about to come out of the brush at 50 yd. I am taking up my post, digging up my light and leaving the girls to play with themselves!!
I shine my trusty little 3LED light across the corral fence and about 20 yd away is this BIG black bull looking right at me and his eyes are green. Now I am a city boy for sure and I aint about to climb over that fence and race the bull to the post. So I yell and Haaaa and Hooooo and when I break out the Surefire and shine the bright white light into his eyes for a while he decides to retreat another 10 yds or so. I climb the fence and he decides to advance that 10 yd I had gained. Of course I am a bad ass with my .44 Mag on my hip so I shoot on into the ground and he retreats the 10 yd again and watches me watch him as I try not to fall into the rooting holes on my way across the 50 yd rooting minefield, get my post, light and navigate the minefield back again. He stood his ground but I made it back to tell this story.
Sometimes you just gotta sacrifice for the hunt.
Dave
