Back at the lodge I had some down time where I slept a bit and poked around on the computer. I don't lollygag very well, so being forced to once in a while is not a bad thing.
Soon enough, I was ready for hunting. Claude and Denis showed up and Rick took all of us out.
Claude and I were dropped off on nearby stands on opposite sides of the road. I was at the Pet Cemetery stand, passing by it as I quietly made my way in.
The stand was a box blind about five feet off the ground. To get in was something which was not quite a ladder and not steps, being somehow worse than both. It was not confidence inspiring while carrying all my hunting crap. But once inside, I was able to get situated and comfortable very easily.
It was an absolutely bluebird of an afternoon with bright sun, cool temperatures and a bit breezy. There was lots of noise from critters scurrying about; I'm quite sure most were small birds and squirrels, but gosh they can make a lot of noise sometimes.
At some point I noticed two small deer way over to the left. I watched them as they milled around. What were they doing over there?
The went back into the pines and came out a few times as the afternoon went on, always staying far away.
As the sun started to sink lower, it became kind of annoying since it was so bright and the stand faced southwest. I had to adjust myself and the camo fabric to not be blinded.
The deer started to make their way over to the corn. At almost the same time, I started to hear pigs to my right in the trees. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen; who would blink first.
The two deer got to the corn and several more deer came out to join them in munching. The sun started to slip below the treeline - a blessing, but also this meant shooting light was sinking quickly.
I heard noise to my right and saw three pigs right on the edge of the field. They weren't huge and no shot - at least not anything I was willing to take. The pigs blinked and ran back into the woods. They must have gathered reinforcements since a few minutes later a few different pigs came out. These pigs pushed the deer off the corn, running a wide circle around them.
"Good," I said to myself. I brought my gun up. Almost instantly a whole wad of pigs ran onto the corn. "Crap," too many. With all the pigs in a big wad there was no way to get a clean shot at the head of just one.
I left my gun up, trying to figure out what to do. Sunset. Thirty minutes of shooting light left. Facing the remaining light there was some glare in the scope complicating the picture. I kept watching through the scope. The hogs weren't monsters, but were a tender eating size. I had briefly seen a larger one and heard more pigs to the right, further complicating any decision.
Every once in a while a pig would separate, but pigs constantly dance - too fast for a slow human. The minutes ticked down; I had memories of the previous year where this same issue meant no shot.
This was a very long (at least 20 minutes) time watching and waiting to get a clean shot. Finally one out front was facing to the left and I saw a clean head with nothing behind it. I was rock steady and squeezed the trigger. At the shot the pigs scattered, running a wide circle close in front of me.
I said a small prayer and looked through the dim light back through the scope. I saw not one, but two pigs doing the 100-yard dash on the ground. Uh Oh...
I kept watching. If the "back" pig wasn't hit great it might get its feet under and skedaddle. Within a short amount of time, both stopped moving. At least they didn't die alone...
I texted Rick and watched and waited. It was too dark to see, and I second-guessed if there were really two pigs? If I overthink before shooting (I do), I'll do so again after (I will).
Sitting there in the dark, I heard noise. The pigs came back. They were indifferent to their friends, now quietly sleeping on the corn. They noisily ate corn.
Rick texted me to slip out so we could bump them off quietly by driving in. I went back to the pet cemetery and waited what felt like a really long time. I heard several groups of hogs while waiting there in the dark. There were at least a few different groups of them nearby.
We drove up and Rick and I quickly loaded up two pigs. Both were under 100 pounds, but would be great quarters for the smoker. I was a bit surprised that both were fairly clean head shots; the hogs must have been lined up with the back pig also with a messed up lower leg. No doubt the bullet had broken up by that point in its travels.
Back at the lodge, Rick cleaned and quartered the pigs. I drove to Dollar General and got a few bags of ice, then went to Denis' house where he and Claude graciously shared their chili. I felt bad for leaving shortly after, but I was losing steam quickly.
Quite a day.
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