Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

I went out Friday afternoon in search of a good buck, since Saturdays lately seem to feature a lot of gunfire and neighbors on ATVs riding all over the place. This evening it was quiet - and not even the ever-present breeze was blowing. I was forced to retreat to the box blind and use a rifle instead of my bow, but with deer season winding down I needed meat in the freezer. I left the bow in the truck and settled into the blind, propping my rifle in the corner. I had hoped that deer would come in early, but nothing moved as it got later and darkness began to creep in. It was well after sunset when a single (nice) hog crashed out of the brush and started to check out the corn. He wouldn't settle down because something still in the brush was making him very nervous. It must be an impressive boar to make this guy act so skittish. I put the crosshairs on him and nearly fired, but then he bolted into the brush again, and part of me hoped a truly massive pig would come out and offer me a shot.

I had seen an impressive boar with this one and a dozen other pigs a week before, and he made this guy look small. Black and slick, he looked like a massive lumbering farm pig, but what was most impressive was his growling. When a boar discovers danger, he summons up a surprisingly loud growl from somewhere deep within (usually as he runs away), in what I assume is a threat/attempt to scare away the danger. A week ago Mr. Big had growled as he stood in the brush and his friends ate corn. At 30 yards from my tree Mr. Big literally had the limbs shaking when he would growl, and he did it over and over again, pacing back and forth in the brush. It was as if a Harley was parked down there, belting out that glorious thunder from straight pipes as a new owner refused to stop twisting the throttle. I sat there hoping for a clear shot at him and all the while I could not wipe the grin off my face. He never gave me a shot that night, but he sure made an impression! I really wanted Mr. Big to show himself now that I was in a better situation to take him.

As it happened, the first pig came back and began to eat, still eyeing the brush as if the giant hog would come out of the brush at any second. After a few minutes I decided to take the one that was offering me the shot since it was nearly dark, and a pig on the ground is better than a giant hog "what if". I had guessed this guy might weigh about 150-175lbs, and I could see that he had some good cutters. While he was running around and nervous, I could also tell that he was very wide and heavy bodied. He should make fine eating. Great. I'll take him. I settled the crosshairs just behind the base of his ear (trying to avoid damaging the skull) and slowly added pressure to the trigger.

At the shot, his knees gave out and he dropped straight down, and over several seconds he slowly listed to one side. Wow, a .243 can do a great job if you hit the right spot! The big pig's end was anti-climactic compared to an archery kill, where I usually have to wait a while and then grab a flashlight and a stick and go crawling into the brush to follow a (long) blood trail. I'm not complaining about this ending...

As you can see, the boar turned out to be just a little larger than I had guessed, and it took all I had to drag him 20 yards to a spot that would offer a nice background for a photo. I ended up putting a rope around his neck and using the truck to drag him to a suitable location so I could claim the porkchops and those big hams. The photo doesn't do them justice, but his cutters are nearly four inches long, and his molars were worn nearly to the gum line. This was an old pig and would make a very nice european mount. The skull is wrapped in plastic awaiting some free time on a Saturday for me to work some magic, but for now it can safely sit there in the freezer. Stripping the meat and deboning it without anyone to help turned out to be a long job, but it also made for a memorable ending to what was otherwise a pretty slow deer season. Cool stuff!

[wallhanger]

Its a sad time of year. The end of football season and hunting season. Well I guess its time to think about fishing again.

[deputydawg]

Very nice pig!!! Gonna make a great euro!