The fifth weekend of eight that the A zone General season for deer was a busy one for my family. Unfortunately it didn’t involve any hunting! I did manage to shoot a round of field archery with the folks from Sonoma County Bowmen at their range at Lake Sonoma.
The next weekend my daughter Erin and I were invited to my buddy Cal’s place for deer with a chance of hogs.
Well we saw lots of game driving in the night before, and with rain forcast for Saturday night the fog was particularly damp and humid all night and morning. We were pegged by a small buck bedded in the tall grass and he bounded off before Erin could get a bead on him.
We found a high point to glass from and at about 9:00 am pigs began to show up among the folds , trees and brush of the hillside 300 yards in front of us. They were working in our direction and kept dissappearing in the terrain, and wild oats. After nearly an hour of this, one good sized pig fed out on the opposite hillside and I gave Erin the green light to shoot. I saw dust fly above the hog and he took off like a track star with no indications of a hit.
When the shot went off the whole basin erupted with pigs running everywhere. That included Erin’s target hog. He ran the length of the ridge and disappeared back into the tree line that he first emerged from. We took up the trail to look for blood but there was not a speck, not for 200 yards we cast about looking for sign.
After 20 minutes we determined there was no blood, I peeked over the back side of the ridge and saw black bodies moving in the grass. I ducked back and motioned Erin back up to the ridge line. I got her set up on her sticks as four weaner size pigs meandered along a fire road below. One shot from her 7mm-08 and the lead pig started turning in circles as the three remaining confused porkers ran back into the basin they had just come out of.
After the dust settled we dropped down the hill where her hit pig ran, and found him expired 20 yards from the site of the shot. Erin’s aim was true as the 140 grain Cor-Loct entered at the right shoulder leaving a trail of destruction allthe way throughto a small exit behind the left ribs. The lack of Exterior blood was in stark contrast to the work the bullet did internally, destroying itself, in the process.
The pack out was quick, but I wanted the photo op to show the Badlands 2200 pack in action.
So it was a productive weekend for Erin. We slept in the next morning and listened to the rain as we drank coffee and hot chocolate. That evening we dined on wild rice and wild pork tenderloin.
