Play That Funky Music White Boy

Have you ever wondered why relaxing outdoors, either at the beach or just out in the woods is so much better than relaxing at home in front of the tv? Don’t get me wrong I enjoy relaxing at home in front of the tv, just ask my wife, she’ll tell you so. But even my wife when I’ve taken her hunting finds she is able to get some serious relaxing time when she is outdoors.

After getting some big storms coming through the area last night and this morning the weather man said it was supposed to clear up so I called Johnson and asked if he wanted to try our luck in hog hunting. As we started walking Johnson said make sure your phone is on vibrate”. You never know We walked through the woods and could see evidence that a lot of rain had come through the area. A tank that is located in the woods that normally is bone dry, was filled to the top. We found some fresh hog tracks and followed them but we never found anything so we decided to sit up front where Shawn has had some luck knocking down some hogs. Johnson wanted to try his luck at some long distance shots but since I didn’t have the right gun to make some long distance shots we decided to keep it within 200 yards.

So we set up in the field about 200 yards from the spot we’ve been watching the hogs come out from and now started the waiting game. Nice and quiet out here on this nice cool day. The wind was out of the north, northwest at about 10 to 15 mph with gusts probably up to 20 mph and with no humidity in the air, it was cold. As we sat in the field looking around, the winter oats the rancher had planted was growing pr

etty good. It was about 4 to 5 inches tall and as the wind blew across the field you could see the blades waving back and forth with the wind, and it was hypnotically putting me to sleep. As I sat in my chair enjoying the breeze and the grass waving lullaby my eyelids started to get heavy, but that wouldn’t last long because off to my left ( where Johnson) was sitting I heard the all to familiar ringtone of “play that funky music white boy”. Really? That’s your ringtone? I looked over at him and he was frantically trying to get to his phone in his pocket while I laughed. After hanging up with his daughter (Frances) he looked at me and said “that’s her favorite tune, it reminds her of me”.

Somewhere around 1815 hours Johnson glanced over his left shoulder and saw 8 hogs sneaking up on our position. Johnson alerted me and I could se them moving pretty fast and I was in a bad position to shoot. They moved closer and the wind was moving from us to them and sure enough as soon as they got our scent they turned heading away from us starting to run. I told Johnson, I don’t have a shot, you shoot, and he fired hitting a white or tan pig as it turned to run. I could hear the whack, then see the bullet impact the back of the hog as it ran through the field. We searched the field but never found it, so does that count as a hit or a miss?

I guess it really doesn't count as a miss. I think!!!

We've all heard the term “buck fever”. Well it seems someone had “hog fever” last saturday. Along on this hunt was me, (of course), Johnson, Shawn, T, and a new hunter by the name of Angel. Angel works with me and I’m trying to put him in front of a hog so he can knock one down. We stopped at the local Bill Miller to grab a bite to

eat and versed Angel on what to expect. We also told him, there's no pressure but if you miss, well everyone is gonna read about it on my blog. After lunch we headed to the happy hunting grounds and after chronographing some new reloads we headed to the back of the property. Johnson and T wanted to the back of the property like last week, while Shawn, Angel and myself sat by the tank waiting for the hogs to show up. It was only about 45 degrees, but the wind was constant about 13 mph, and sitting on top of that tank the windchill seemed to be in the 30’s. Right before 1800 hours, I could see a group of hogs coming into the field from the wooded area which is 500 yards away. Shawn and Angel could see them also,

and they were looking through their scopes and I was looking at them through my binoculars. We watched as hog after hog kept coming into the field totaling 15. I asked Angel if he could make that shot since it was over 400 yards, and he said no, then I asked Shawn if he could make that shot, and with sort of a grin and smile he said oh yeah, I can make that shot. Since we were trying to get Angel a shot I took Angel underneath the barbwire fence behind us and we walked eastward to the next field. There Angel would go under the fence and walk towards them in hopes of getting a shot. I would stay at the fence that separated the two fields in case they ran my way. Shawn was on the tank and I could see another group of 10 hogs coming into the field while the first group was at the opposite end of the fence that I was standing at.

Angel had worked his way into the field when Shawn fired his 7 mm mag, and about two seconds later the distinct sound of that round hitting the hog could be heard over 500 yards away where I was at. WHACK!! The two groups took off back where they came from and they were gone. Well, we thought they were gone. We met Shawn in the field as we walked towards the area where we thought the pig he hit was and sure enough we had one dead hog. Another long distance shot from 489 yards, now that's one heck of a shot with a constant 10 to 12 mph

cross wind.

This is where the fun begins. Before I walked back to get my jeep I told both Angel and Shawn to use caution and be alert, and keep your ears and eyes open because that big group of hogs might come back. I got back to my jeep and since it had been raining the last couple of days I put it in 4wheel drive and headed back. As I approached along the fence line it was still daylight but the sun was falling quick. I could see Shawn and Angel dragged the hog to the fence but I didn’t see them. I looked into the field and could see them about 60 yards from the fence kneeling down, but looking towards the fence. I stopped and it was then that I could see the large group of hogs about 50 yards to my left in the next property. This was going to get interesting since the hogs looked like they wanted to come back out, and it was getting dark. I turned the my jeep off and sat there looking at the hogs. They were looking at me also and I guess they got comfortable with my jeep because now they were moving towards the fence and they were gonna come out into the field again where Shawn and Angel were kneeling in.

We were getting ready to have a standoff with 2 hunters in the field 50 yards away facing about 25 hogs getting ready to come into the field to eat, and I was gonna watch the show about 50 yards off to the side. Too bad I didn’t have some popcorn and an icee cuz the show was starting. The first hog poked it’s head through the fence and looked around, then continued into the field. Then one by one more hogs worked their way into the field straight towards Shawn and Angel. I could hear the music from Clint Eastwoods movie, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Ten hogs were in the field and I told myself, self it’s a good thing you’re sitting in the jeep because if them hogs charge, there’s no way you’ll outrun them. Then, KABOOM, now hogs are running everywhere, with 2 going right towards the gunfire. I could see Shawn stand and the two hogs turned going to the left, KABOOM, one hog tumbles, what a shot, he got it on the run. Within 3 to 4 seconds of the first shot all the hogs ran back into the treeline and were gone, but Shawn now had 2 hogs. That was some fast action that took place in front of me. I asked Shawn if Angel got

the hog and he said no. What happened? Shawn said “he had his rifle on safety”. huh, safety???? What the..... Hey guys, all I can do is put you in front of hogs, you gotta shoot them. Don’t get me wrong, I surely believe in safeties and it’s good to use them, but when you have that many hogs working their way towards you, one important thing is to take it off safety. It’s like sitting on the toilet and realizing their isn’t toilet paper. That stinks! I guess technically it doesn't count as a miss since he really didn't shoot. Does it??? Oh well, there will be a next time.

Sometime during all the action we had in the field we were in, Johnson texted me and said he also had shot a hog where they were at. Three hogs for the night is not a bad night.

Johnsons hog weight 119 lbs.. The first hog (white socks), Shawn shot at 489 yards weighed 150 lbs, and it’s back legs looked like it had white socks. The second hog he shot weighed 153 lbs. Johnson picked up a scale online that is rated up to 500 lbs, and we hung each hog up, weighing them if you’re wondering how we figured their weights.

By 1900 hours we had 3 hogs knocked down and we decided to wait a little longer in case they came out again. Greedy huh. Well they never came out again so we called it quits at 2200 hrs, but what an evening it was. Maybe next time Angel.

T redeems himself

I’ve shown pictures of different hog hunts with different hunters , and I’ve talked about how destructive on the land these hogs are. Here are a couple of pictures that show the field these little critters have plowed through. These critters can tear up a field overnight.

On this day we got out in the field early, since Carlos and I had worked the night before reloading a new load for my 45-70. Shawn brought his chronograph machine and we metered the load and I think it’s gonna work for what I need. Besides Carlos and Shawn, also Mark Johnson, and “T” were here and we were looking to knock down some hogs tonight. Johnson wanted to head to the back where he had knocked down his 2 huge hogs on new years eve so he took “T” with him. You might remember

"T" from an earlier POST. He might look a little green, but tonight he was gonna redeem himself after missing last year. Now I wasn’t there since Carlos, Shawn and I were watching the field in the front. It turns out we should have been where T and Johnson were at because we didn’t see a thing.

Johnson tells me they make it to the back, and because of the north wind blowing pretty good they went a different way so they wouldn’t leave their scent. Johnson sets “T” up facing a trail where we’ve seen a really good amount of traffic where the hogs have been crossing, and then he picks a spot about 10 yards behind “T”. After sitting and waiting for a few hours, Johnson said he is able to see a hog moving in the field just to their left. Johnson looks over to “T” but “T” hasn’t seen the hog yet so ever so quietly in a whisper calls “T”. Johnson looks to the left and the hog is still moving. “T”......silence as “T” is looking somewhere else, another call, “T”, but nothing, and then Johnson looks at the ear muffs on “T” ears. No wonder he can’t hear him. Johnson starts to get up and make his way quietly towards “T”. Johnson said he started waving his arms and hands trying to get “T” attention, but “T” was a no show. The hog caught Johnsons

movement and glanced at him and he froze. Once the hog started walking again Johnson slowly made his way towards “T” who caught Johnson moving in his peripheral vision and looked towards him. Right about this time the hog was making his way underneath the fence into the field they were sitting in and Johnson said “shoot the hog” as he pointed towards it. It was then that “T” looked back, saw the hog, raised his ar-15, aimed and fired hitting this hog. As you can see in the pictures, this guy has some good sized cutters. Congrats to “T” on his first hog kill and we’ll have to discuss ear muffs in the field before the next hunt. If you're wondering why there's so much blood, well that usually happens when you shoot them.