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The Annoyed Man wrote:Flint, why didn't you try and take him with your SOCOM rifle instead of the pistol? It seems like you would have had less risk involved.

Ever try to run with 13 lbs of SOCOM and a camera around your neck?


Just kidding. As long as the Boar didn't pop the stop off the end of the snare or kink the cable, I was going to be alright. The pistol was just easier to take in and use in close quarters.

I was trying to get some pics at the same time, but never got anything that wasn't blurred. It was still too dark in that lane when all this was going on.... and honestly, I couldn't make myself stand completely still whenever he would make a rush at me.

Just a big "wuss" I guess.

But, I do plan on using the SOCOM, because its no more "Mr. Nice Guy" this year!

I have a bunch of Barnes 300 gr. TSX's loaded up, also some Remington 400 gr. soft points and a handful of Hornady 500 gr. rn soft points. I could load up some 600 grain rounds, but I'm hunting feral hogs, not Water Buffalo.

nmsu wrote:Love the arrow..

Its all in jest.....of course.

Then again......not EVERY hog finished at the top of his class.

I'm working on one right now that must have been Valadictorian... though. I've got over 200 pot holes in one pasture that has occurred over the last 10 days. The tracks seem to indicate a single hog (probably a boar), but he won't "pattern", even with corn being put out nightly.

The hog doesn't come in every night....(but will come in consecutive nights sometimes). Never comes in from the same place, so I can't get pics or determine where set up to shoot him, or set a snare.

Frustrating!

TheArmedFarmer wrote:I wonder... it's been a couple months since you bagged that boar. Did you ever get the sow?

Lead sow never showed up again. We have taken seven more hogs since then (5 of them boars), I just don't post much hunting stuff here.

sneedb82 wrote:.45ACP to the head? Make for a swift kill?! LOl

He did some pretty hefty damage to those stakes. What did he tip the scales at? 325#? Smart boogers, but not quite as smart as those Alpha Sows.
Wish I was in your neck of the woods (pun intended) to help you take that sow. Good luck getting her in there. I'm sure you will, but it'll take some patience (but not too much... she might drop those little ones first!!! OH NO!!!)

Keep at em Flint. I enjoy reading your posts throughout the day and week... especially how some individuals react to them as well. Take care.

Oh... BTW, I'd love to go on one of your "safaris" for you and take pictures instead of you trying to take pictures and shoot at the same time :)
LOL

Roger that!

If I'd had my pick of the two...I would have preferred to have gotten the Alpha/Lead sow.

Boars can be difficult to harvest because of their solitary nature. They are not dummies by any means...but can't "hold a candle" to a sow that has been around for awhile.

Anyway, got the boar:



In this pic, you can see just make out the “Mohawk” (or ridge of hair) along his back. This is an indication of the “Russian” influence we are seeing more of around here:




I wish had gotten a picture of him when he was all bristled, but I was doing a lot of backing up.

Now we’ll see if we can get the Alpha Sow. I have my doubts about catching up with her, she has mastered survival.

He definitely wasn’t playing around. He tested my equipment…and I was a bit worried he might pop the “stop” off the end of the Berkshire lock. I use stout springs attached to the ground anchor to help absorb the impact….even so, this guy did some damage:






I always use swivels on my snare extensions to avoid having a hog “twist off” or put a kink in the cable . Though they worked as intended, this hog still pretty much ruined the snare and the extension:



Continued next post:

At the second “flash” it was “game on” and he made a charge. The snare held…. and jerked him 180 degrees. At this point he went back under the fence and started “woofing and growling”.

He would watch me from the other side of the lane, his head pressed up against the bottom wire:



Every time I would move the least bit, he would shoot out of the brush and charge straight at me. He did that 5-6 times before offering this one shot opportunity:



Continued next post:

Boar screwed up this morning.

I had to move a couple of the snares (fine tune the set up), because the boar “busted” me on one of the fence crossings. I noticed from several of the game-cam pics, he was getting a little careless when feeding at the bait site.

In a few of the pics…. he was walking between my “hog-gauge” and the brush that grows along the fence line. I set a snare at that location….and BINGO.

I always check snares early in the morning to keep the animals from becoming unduly stressed. This morning…I was met with a low hanging fog right along the fence-line/lane in which I have the snares set.

That’s NOT a good thing….because it makes seeing your “catch” very difficult.



I parked my truck away from the bait site, got my camera and my .45 and slowly walked up to the set. I thought I heard some movement before I got completely up to the area…so I creeped up to the lane and looked to the other side. Spotted Mr. Boar waiting for me in the brush:




I took one quick pic, and as soon as the flash hit him…he came under the fence into the lane. He stood there for a couple of seconds….just giving me the “stink eye”:



Continued next post:

Dan wrote: Why can't you take a shotgun out to that tree stand and just blast the boar with a slug or buckshot?

I could.

The firearm used would not be an issue at this point (I could just use a rifle).

The problem now...is that the Boar and Alpha Sow are not coming into the bait station until 3-4 O' Clock in the morning. These are smart hogs.




I want to get rid of these last two animals....but frankly...I don't hate them so bad that I am willing to stay up that late....only to "maybe" get a chance at them.

I put out some snares yesterday....so we'll see how that works. I rarely use snares, but this is a special circumstance. These two hogs are very smart. I would not be surprised if it takes me awhile to get them.

TheArmedFarmer wrote:Great story. My heart was beating a little stronger just reading about your adventure, especially imagining sitting up in that stand with the boar right under you. Very nice.

flintknapper wrote:As soon as her butt cleared the doors, I tripped the trigger and the whole pen exploded.

I bet it did!!! Video would have been priceless for that event.

Do you mind me asking how much the saloon door cost you?

$270.00

You can build one (assuming you can weld) for much, much...less, but this one had all the features I like and is very sturdy, so I just bought it.

I had to weld up a few items to make a trip mechanism in the back of the trap...but no big deal.

TheArmedFarmer wrote:Congratulations on successfully catching 17 of them! That's very impressive. Good luck with finding that boar and his sow.

Yeah, actually I DIDN"T get the two I really wanted.

The boar and the alpha sow would not go in the trap. The way it worked out...I had to take what I could get while I could.

We had a North wind here yesterday...so I decided to set up a tree stand and manually trip the doors. The wind was blowing from the trap out into an open pasture (perfect).

The hogs came in about 30 minutes earlier than I was expecting, it was actually light enough that I could have taken video.

Even though I always wear rubber boots when visiting the trap, the boar immediately picked up the faint scent left behind...and began back-trailing me.

He was "growling" the whole time (something they do to denote displeasure), it’s not an alarm to other hogs...but more like a warning or a show of dominance to anything around.

I had the boar and two sows still outside the trap. It was obvious the boar wasn't going to enter...but I wanted to wait as long as possible for the sows to make up their minds.

The boar followed my trail right up to the fence line and the tree I was in (he was directly under me). He stuck his head through the barb wire fence as if he was going to enter the lane and get behind me. I could see him slobbering on the wire as he stood there growling.

In a minute...he turned around and trotted out into the pasture still growling. Now...he starts to a make a half circle back toward the lane which will put him directly behind and downwind of me. He is definitely going to "bust me" at this point.

Luckily, one of the sows decides to go into the trap at this juncture, so it was a race to see if she would get in the trap before the boar winded me and "woofed" his warning the rest.

As soon as her butt cleared the doors, I tripped the trigger and the whole pen exploded. I'll try to get some video next time so everyone can appreciate how strong these animals are, they really rocked the pen and most of these hogs are little ones.

I might be able to lure the boar back in later with some "sow in heat" scent, but he is smart one...and will never enter a trap after this.



The alpha sow...I don't know about. If I have any chance at her..it will be in the next few days. After that...she will probably move on (even wiser than before).

So, while I managed to catch the majority of this sounder, I failed to catch the "brains", making it that much harder to take them out.

But, thats we have so many of them. They are very smart.

These pics were taken tonight from a tree-stand I set up about 15’ from the end of the trap.

Instead of using the normal trip wire…I rigged up a cord running from the trigger directly up to the tree-stand. That way, I could manually trigger the gate when most of the hogs were inside.

The boar that was with this group (and the alpha sow)…would not enter the trap. The boar circled behind me….and I had to go ahead and trip the gate before he busted me.

Still, 17 hogs is not too bad. Maybe the boar can be shot out later if he comes back.





I will retrieve the game-cam pics tomorrow.

CainA wrote:and "dispatch" = "kill"?

To me dispatch means to "send out" or mail or something along those lines.

-Cain

If you'll give me your mailing address, you'll have your answer in a few days.

dis·patch also des·patch (d-spch)
tr.v. dis·patched, dis·patch·ing, dis·patch·es

1. To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business. See Synonyms at send1.
2.
a. To complete, transact, or dispose of promptly.
b. To eat up (food); finish off (a dish or meal).
3. To put to death summarily.

NuBer92 wrote:Is a hunting license needed to harvest hogs or what about hunter safety?

Yes..a hunting license is required except: (A landowner or his agent(s) may dispatch hogs causing damage/depredation) without the need for a hunting license.

Yes, a recognized hunter safety course must have been completed for anyone born after 1971.

Could have caught these last night, but I think I'll wait a day or two until the entire group is more comfortable going right into the trap.