Sometimes a great varmint hunt doesn't entail a lot of shot opportunities or even long shots.
After having double hernia surgery in early May, I finally got the clearance to start ghog hunting so I went out on Saturday, my first real opportunity for 2020, where I could roam the fields.
I hunt six farms on a regular basis. After visiting all of them on a recon mission I discovered that I'm unable to hunt four of the six due to bean fields too high, corn too high obscuring available hay fields / tree lines, and heavy planting of corn / wheat wiping out hay fields. Of the two remaining farms, opportunities are limited to one large field and three small fields. Very depressing for an avid ghog hunter.
The days of long continuous hays field are gone in my area.
So I end up at this farm that has one large field and one small one. There is no shade in the large field and its in direct line with the afternoon sun - brutal to say the least in this heat were are experiencing in eastern PA so I opt for the smaller field which has some shade with plans to check the larger field later. At 73, I'm not as tough as I used to be.
I set up by 5:00 PM. The configuration of the terrain is poor in the sense I have to shoot up at an angle making it difficult for me to obtain a stable position shooting off my cross sticks. Further complicating the situation - I have no idea if there are any holes in this field since I missed the spring part of the season and the hay is a little high. So I decided to walk the field. I find two fresh holes - dug out - fairly large.
I return to my set up position hopeful.
Two hours pass - I see nothing. It's hot a hell - bugs eating me alive.
Every 30 minutes or so I roll over the hill to check the large field - nothing there. At about 7:30 I see one at the far hole - 182 yards away. He's standing but then quickly drops down and I lose sight of him.
Ten minutes later one appears at the closer hole, 164 yards away. He's edging out of the hole, stops an sits. I place the Browning A Bolt, Varmint Stalker, 223 Rem on the shooting sticks. Center the cross hairs on his chest and send a 50 Nosler BT. He disappears. Hay is a little high so I'm not sure if I got him especially since the angle is so steep I can't rest my other elbow in my knee which results in a less stable position. Don't see any tail "death wiggle" or hear the classic "thumb" either. I resist the urge to go check - want to see if that other guy comes back out.
At about 8:10 the other guy emerges from the hole but doesn't stand. He crawls around feeding. Again, less than an optimum position to shoot plus his profile is slightly obscured so I wait. I finally get a clearer profile and send another 50 Nosler BT. I hear the classic "thumb" - he's down for sure.
As the sun sets I walk up to the holes - got the first one (164 yards) - perfect shot in center of chest. Inspect the second hole and as expected found the second hog (182 yards) - perfect behind the shoulder shot. Both hogs monster class - the second is female not male.
Icy on the cake - haven't hunted with the old "A" bolt since 2014 and wanted to give it a try since it's kind of a compromise between my heavy varmint and my light weight stalker rifles. This Browning has a 24" medium weight contour. Very accurate, in the 1/2 moa range but the trigger is not good and there are no after market triggers available that I know of so it's a case of "adapt and overcome."
Really savored this hunt even though I only got two shots and the modest distances.
After having double hernia surgery in early May, I finally got the clearance to start ghog hunting so I went out on Saturday, my first real opportunity for 2020, where I could roam the fields.
I hunt six farms on a regular basis. After visiting all of them on a recon mission I discovered that I'm unable to hunt four of the six due to bean fields too high, corn too high obscuring available hay fields / tree lines, and heavy planting of corn / wheat wiping out hay fields. Of the two remaining farms, opportunities are limited to one large field and three small fields. Very depressing for an avid ghog hunter.
The days of long continuous hays field are gone in my area.So I end up at this farm that has one large field and one small one. There is no shade in the large field and its in direct line with the afternoon sun - brutal to say the least in this heat were are experiencing in eastern PA so I opt for the smaller field which has some shade with plans to check the larger field later. At 73, I'm not as tough as I used to be.
I set up by 5:00 PM. The configuration of the terrain is poor in the sense I have to shoot up at an angle making it difficult for me to obtain a stable position shooting off my cross sticks. Further complicating the situation - I have no idea if there are any holes in this field since I missed the spring part of the season and the hay is a little high. So I decided to walk the field. I find two fresh holes - dug out - fairly large.
I return to my set up position hopeful.Two hours pass - I see nothing.
It's hot a hell - bugs eating me alive. Every 30 minutes or so I roll over the hill to check the large field - nothing there. At about 7:30 I see one at the far hole - 182 yards away. He's standing but then quickly drops down and I lose sight of him.Ten minutes later one appears at the closer hole, 164 yards away. He's edging out of the hole, stops an sits. I place the Browning A Bolt, Varmint Stalker, 223 Rem on the shooting sticks. Center the cross hairs on his chest and send a 50 Nosler BT. He disappears. Hay is a little high so I'm not sure if I got him especially since the angle is so steep I can't rest my other elbow in my knee which results in a less stable position. Don't see any tail "death wiggle" or hear the classic "thumb" either. I resist the urge to go check - want to see if that other guy comes back out.
At about 8:10 the other guy emerges from the hole but doesn't stand. He crawls around feeding. Again, less than an optimum position to shoot plus his profile is slightly obscured so I wait. I finally get a clearer profile and send another 50 Nosler BT. I hear the classic "thumb" - he's down for sure.
As the sun sets I walk up to the holes - got the first one (164 yards) - perfect shot in center of chest.
Inspect the second hole and as expected found the second hog (182 yards) - perfect behind the shoulder shot. Both hogs monster class - the second is female not male.Icy on the cake - haven't hunted with the old "A" bolt since 2014 and wanted to give it a try since it's kind of a compromise between my heavy varmint and my light weight stalker rifles. This Browning has a 24" medium weight contour. Very accurate, in the 1/2 moa range but the trigger is not good and there are no after market triggers available that I know of so it's a case of "adapt and overcome."
Really savored this hunt even though I only got two shots and the modest distances.
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