I took my dog out with me hunting Friday evening. Walked up on this one right before dark. There was a lot of brush between myself and the hog, making it hard to get off a good shot. After sizing up the situation, I saw an opportunity to take out a front leg. It has been raining and snowing for a while now, making everything a sea of mud. I thought if I took out a front leg, he might run, but he wouldn't get far. So I decided to take the shot. The hog began running my direction, then veered right. He ran down a shallow draw, and then back up the other side into some brush. Total distance covered was maybe 100'. Then he stopped. I was able to close and finish him with a follow up shot very quickly. First shot was about 40 yards, second at about 15, using my .223 with handloads.
About 2 hours later, I was out coyote calling and ran across three more. One boar was so big, I thought it was a yearling. He got out of spotlight range before I could get my gun out of the case. Maybe next time.
Here's a pic. The first shot is the one showing up low on his front leg. He was quartering toward me when I shot. The second shot is the higher one. He was quartering away from me, and the bullet should have ended up hitting his spine/brain.
Got this one Friday night...
