This past lease trip, just as I was getting into bed a pig came into a setup with a favorable wind. I couldn’t resist. I loaded up and headed that way. It was lightly drizzling and pitch black. I was able to get into range without issue and had a decent crosswind. The boar was milling around at edges of the light and behind a tree. He popped out a few times but was around 25 yards and not at a great angle. I opted for patience. After a couple of minutes he turned broadside about 22 yards out. I came to full draw and triggered the light on my bow for a little extra illumination. The pin found his shoulder and I wrapped my thumb around release… release breaks and arrow lands with a cracking sound. I see the pig wheel away with the lighted nock sticking out maybe 8”. I backup about 50 yards and set a timer for 5 minutes. The rain is getting heavier and I know my hand is going to be forced.
I go look for blood at impact, nothing. Not my favorite way to start. I walk to the far side of clearing where I last saw him and there some small flecks of bright red blood. Ok that’s better. A few feet further the back half of my arrow. It looked like I had 18” or so of penetration based on blood on the arrow. Experience tells me he’s dead nearby. Experience did me dirty. I sneak forward another 5 yards putting me into another clearing, I hear the pig standup and shuffle off. So it’s going to be one of those nights. I dropped a gps pin on my phone and high tailed it back to camp. I returned with my dog. The rain was still going and getting worse. When I parked the cart I realized my phone got left in camp. Well time to figure out how good the new Apple Watch is for navigation. I drop a waypoint on the cart and then on the feeder, and then send Bowie after the pig on the end of a long tracking lead. I give him plenty of line as I know this is about to be a chase. The pig had laid down within 50 yards and I know it wasn’t a gut hit, he’s hurt and I want to keep him moving and bleeding. Bowie is having a super easy time following and about 50 yards later I see the pig get up and steady himself. I launch a .40SW round his way from 30 yards one handed while restraining Bowie, who knows might get lucky. Pig shuffles off. Bowie and I take off after him. He heads into some thicker cover. I pull Bowie up short and keep pistol in hand. We ease into thicker stuff, I see the pig standing broadside on the trail 25-30 yards in front of us. I sling another hollow point his way. He disappears to the right. Bowie and I slowly approach the spot where he was and Bowie is instantly confused. It’s where multiple tunnels through the thicket come together. Rain is really coming down now. Bowie tried a path and circles into another clearing. He makes a few circles and appears to have lost the track. It’s getting late, we are soaked and I have to be up at 5am to hunt again. I call it. Now to find out if I can get back to feeder using just my watch. I think I vaguely know where I’m at, well I was totally wrong lol. Fortunately my watch takes me back to the feeder easily. We head back to camp, and I wonder if I just really botched the shot. My immediate reaction had been it was a tad low and forward, but should have been a dead pig in 50 yards. Maybe I saw it wrong in my memory though.
The next day during my lunch break I needed to run and change the feeder time and dump a bag of corn in it. While doing that I would see if I could spend 10 minutes looking for evidence of the pig. Found him in five minutes probably 20 yards from where we lost sight of him. He had a broadhead hole clean through both shoulders. I just stared at the wound trying to figure it out. He had run about 200 yards with a hole clean through his chest. I have no explanation.
If it hadn’t been raining I would have given him 30 minutes and I think he’d probably been dead in that first bed. Made for a fun but exhausting night.
I go look for blood at impact, nothing. Not my favorite way to start. I walk to the far side of clearing where I last saw him and there some small flecks of bright red blood. Ok that’s better. A few feet further the back half of my arrow. It looked like I had 18” or so of penetration based on blood on the arrow. Experience tells me he’s dead nearby. Experience did me dirty. I sneak forward another 5 yards putting me into another clearing, I hear the pig standup and shuffle off. So it’s going to be one of those nights. I dropped a gps pin on my phone and high tailed it back to camp. I returned with my dog. The rain was still going and getting worse. When I parked the cart I realized my phone got left in camp. Well time to figure out how good the new Apple Watch is for navigation. I drop a waypoint on the cart and then on the feeder, and then send Bowie after the pig on the end of a long tracking lead. I give him plenty of line as I know this is about to be a chase. The pig had laid down within 50 yards and I know it wasn’t a gut hit, he’s hurt and I want to keep him moving and bleeding. Bowie is having a super easy time following and about 50 yards later I see the pig get up and steady himself. I launch a .40SW round his way from 30 yards one handed while restraining Bowie, who knows might get lucky. Pig shuffles off. Bowie and I take off after him. He heads into some thicker cover. I pull Bowie up short and keep pistol in hand. We ease into thicker stuff, I see the pig standing broadside on the trail 25-30 yards in front of us. I sling another hollow point his way. He disappears to the right. Bowie and I slowly approach the spot where he was and Bowie is instantly confused. It’s where multiple tunnels through the thicket come together. Rain is really coming down now. Bowie tried a path and circles into another clearing. He makes a few circles and appears to have lost the track. It’s getting late, we are soaked and I have to be up at 5am to hunt again. I call it. Now to find out if I can get back to feeder using just my watch. I think I vaguely know where I’m at, well I was totally wrong lol. Fortunately my watch takes me back to the feeder easily. We head back to camp, and I wonder if I just really botched the shot. My immediate reaction had been it was a tad low and forward, but should have been a dead pig in 50 yards. Maybe I saw it wrong in my memory though.
The next day during my lunch break I needed to run and change the feeder time and dump a bag of corn in it. While doing that I would see if I could spend 10 minutes looking for evidence of the pig. Found him in five minutes probably 20 yards from where we lost sight of him. He had a broadhead hole clean through both shoulders. I just stared at the wound trying to figure it out. He had run about 200 yards with a hole clean through his chest. I have no explanation.
If it hadn’t been raining I would have given him 30 minutes and I think he’d probably been dead in that first bed. Made for a fun but exhausting night.
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