I've been trying to get this one sow for over a month. She has consistently smelled me and alerted the other hogs. Twice she has prevented me from getting a shot. She is by far the oldest sow of the group and the biggest.
She last busted me on a Saturday morning followed by the next Friday night. On Saturday night I finally had a good wind for my treestand and I made sure all of my clothes were as scent-free as possible as I have to make a 35-40 yard shot due to the thick growth in this area.
Two other sows came in first with about 13 piglets. I could still hear movement in the swamp so I waited. A few minutes later she came out. She kept running back to the swamp but eventually stayed. I waited to get a good shot on her forehead and shot her with a 3" remington copper solid from my H&R single shot. The bullet entered her head and exited to kill a piglet behind her (by accident but so much the better). Both dropped where I shot them.
First two pictures areof the two pigs where I found them.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r281/genrock01/hunting/100_2014.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r281/genrock01/hunting/100_2015.jpg
Next picture of the hog lashed to a 2x4. It took two of us to carry her (all 137 lb) the 500 yards out of the swamp. (gun on my back is a mossberg 835 I grabbed due to some coyote activity in the area and it was getting dark)
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r281/genrock01/hunting/100_2017.jpg
For the cheap beginning hunter a single shot is an easy way to get started!
The one thing that has been strange has been that every other time that I have shot a hog from this group they have moved to a new spot. Now that the old sow is dead they are still hanging around this area. I'm hoping to kill the last two sows this next week.