Ever since picking up my Model 97 last year around the holidays, I've been itching to get her out and broken in properly...goal achieved!
I was hunting a tripod stand overlooking a duck impoundment planted in milo and Japanese Millet...as you can imagine, the hogs were having a field day with the plot, and when I snuck in with the thermometer registering 95 degrees and a full moon, I fully expected the action to come right before dark...WRONG. Slipping up to the edge of the head-high milo, I could hear the hogs out in the field already. Watching the tops of the swishing milo, I eased up the first couple rungs of the ladder and looked over my shoulder. Wow - I want my .475JDJ now, or at least one of my Casull's! The largest hog I've ever seen on the hoof is less than 30 yards distant, and is now curious about the bear-like creature climbing the ladder. 4 hogs are visible within 45 yards, and with the wind blowing the exact wrong direction, they begin to start easing out of the plot, knowing something is up, but not spooked. I waited until they moved on off, and continued my climb into the stand.
It wasn't long, as the squealing hogs in the swamp let their hunger get the best of them. The first visitor back was a spotted boar - he feeds to approximately 25 yards and is clearly visible in the millet...and the dilemma starts. Should I shoot now, or wait for more animals to come? It's still early, and a muffled shot in the swamp might not scare off additional animals. Easy decision - the Power Muffs slide into place, the 41 rested on the shooting rail of the tripod, the hammer comes back...shooting the 210 GDHP's, I decide with the bullet, the range and the rest, the ear shot is the way to go. The crosshairs settle just below the ear, and squeeze, squeeze...BOOM. Hog piles up right there, kicks feebly for a few seconds, and lays still. And the internal celebration starts!
Once I stopped congratulating myself, the hunt mode kicks back in and I'm on full alert again. Approximately 45 minutes later, I hear another animal approaching - a bigger boar steps into a visbile area of the plot, nearly 50 yards distant. He feeds a little closer, and the cycle starts again...Muffs in place, gun on rail, hammer back...crosshairs just below the ear, and hold on. Maybe I'll wait and see what else comes into the impoundment. It's closer to dark, and a shot now would certainly be the end of the the hunt. Just about that time, 2 does come into view just off to the side of the boar. Hmmmm.
The biggest doe is in the lead and feeds into a lane 40 yards away, her yearling feeding some 15 yards behind. As she hits the lane, she apparently hits my scent stream as well, and stops. Head goes up, she starts to wind, raising her head higher and higher. No amount of Scent Killer is going to save the day now, as I expect a thorough amount of foot stomping followed by the most dreaded noise in the woods - WHEEEEWWWWWW! With hammer back, and gun pointed in her direction, there's only one thing to do...she's standing in the chest deep, hog trampled milo, facing towards me, the crosshairs settling nicely on the white target just beneath her chin...squeeze, squeeze...BOOM.
At the shot, I see a deer bound off for the woods. Did I miss her? The yearling is still standing where she was, I hear a deer blowing in the woods...must have. Kicking myself for being cocky with the gun, I start assembling my gear and climb down to take advantage of the now fading light. Maybe I hit her, I KNOW I felt good about the shot. And there she lays in the deep milo, not a step or twitch away from where the Speer hit her.
I go over to the boar next, and he's bigger than I realized (220lbs), making the last hog that I saw an easy 300, and the one I saw when I climbed the stand, I shudder to think. One things for sure, I'll be carrying a bigger hammer this Saturday!
