[MikeG]

Well, nothing got killed on opening weekend except that our hawk-eyed lease manager saw a bunch of pigs in the road feeding on cattle cubes on Friday night. I didn't witness the carnage but it's a believable story and I think he got two of them. Unfortunately, he must have shot at them incorrectly as they ran into the pasture I hunt in, instead of across the road where we don't hunt. So, while his shooting skills are unquestioned, his pig-herding skills may need remediation....



In honor of that moment, I have pictures of some critters that I was involved in the killing of some time back. Little bits of "evidence" abound on the ranch and make for a delightful surprise now and then and I found two pig skulls last weekend.

The front skull, you may note, is missing part of the brain case (as well as the snout - really - what eats pig snouts?). It was found about 200 yards away from where I dumped the hide and carcass of a pretty good sized pig last winter. The coyotes must have had a heck of a tug of war....

The location, and missing brain pan, strongly suggest it was the pig that I shot in the head with a .338 Win Mag. Needless to say it was a one-shot stop and my son and I had quite the adventure getting it back to camp. It was a pretty big pig and I got maybe 80 or so pounds of meat. Probably a 200 pounder or close. I forget the exact numbers on the meat but it was more than you really want to clean, let me assure you.....

The back skull was from one I shot 2 or 3 weeks ago about 45 minutes after sunset. We could not find him although he had just run about 80 yards down a game trail and expired. It was darker than heck and we just did not have good enough flashlights and couldn't figure out which direction he ran. Note the greasy spots on the back of the skull; he needs a little more cleaning up, yet! Probably about a 125-150 pound boar. I'm sure the coyotes thoroughly enjoyed cleaning up his carcass as this was all I found.

 

[MikeG]

A couple more sunning on the shed roof.......

The one of the left, (skull and jaw) was from a pig I shot in August and retrieved from the buzzard buffet in October. It is in pretty good shape except for the .44 cal hole in the forehead. That pig's last mistake in life was to stand right in front of my Super Blackhawk. For some reason his snout must not have tasted very good as nothing chewed it off This one will probably go to one of the teacher's at my son's school. For some reason they are quite enamored of pig skulls as I have given away 2 or 3 to rave reviews?

The next one over was, we think, from a pig my wife shot on Mother's day, and found in October. It ran less than 100 yards but again it was darker than heck and we just could not find it. Lots of thick briars and poison ivy and once they disappear into that, well, something else is going to eat it. It was the first one she shot that we could not find, but I think I lose one every 5 or 6 shots maybe. If you don't DRT them then the odds go down and her little 6mm just doesn't leave blood trails. Something always eats them though and sleeps with a full belly

The two on the right are from the post above.

Enjoy!

 

[kdub]

Probably, more like their siblings are chewing on them, Mike!

Well, looks like you and Tom are TRYING to keep the pigs in check, but Tom says its a losing battle. If you guys were on the lease on a daily basis you could put out some hawg traps to control them. Guess I'll just have to dab my gear into the fray in January and see if we can't leave a few more skulls around for you to collect!

Sorry to hear no venison taken this weekend, but you still have until Jan 2nd to take care of that.

 

[MikeG]

Could be. I suppose we should all chip in and get our esteemed lease manager a tax stamp and some class III hardware? Now that would be some serious carnage to clean up...

 

[tpv]

I heard that-
Nothing like coming through the gate on opening week-end.
Thought I'd use the 280 this weekend.
Friday night I had a shooter buck less than 100 yards from me, big ten point, but its not season until Saturday morning. Saturday morning, same stand, does and young bucks. Thats the way it goes. We all saw a lot of bucks, including pig shooter, but nothing worth mounting.
The rancher spilt cattle cake along the road that afternoon, and when I left to go to my stand, there were pigs all over the road. This one and another caught the brunt of the slaughter. This one got kneecapped through three legs from 200 yards away. The other was shot somewhere, dont know since he ran off to harrass MikeG's feeders.
Lotsa time to kill a deer.
Good Luck to all.

 

[kdub]

Gee, maybe we'd better take up that collection for the Class III, Mike!

Now we know what those hogs go for - cattle cubes.

Good luck for next weekend, guys.

 

[MikeG]

Heck yeah I am going to have to get some cattle cubes for the next dedicated pig hunt! Maybe after deer season? Never thought of that....

One of my friends swears by molasses as bait.

Think one of those GE Mini-Guns would look good on top of that cart?????

That picture is of my favorite kind of pig - a dead one! I will let you know if Hop-A-Long shows up at any of the feeders.....

 

[tpv]

Opening week-end is always exciting and I never want to miss one, but its not the best time of the season to hunt. For big bucks, the last two weeks of the month are better around Thanksgiving time.
This year, because of the diabetes, I will shoot a doe for the freezer. My doctor, who incidently fell out of his tree and broke his leg while bowhunting, says its the best meat I could possibly eat. So, I must follow his directions to the letter.

 

[Shawn Crea]

Sure like hearing about your varmint escapades, and the pics are priceless!

 

[MikeG]

I guess we are fortunate that there is stuff to shoot year-round, and some of it is even edible.

 

[Chief RID]

I am loving this guys. Thanks, and keep em coming.