I got this little shoat Sunday, 26 April. I spotted a sow and about 6-8 little ones entering a pasture about a quarter after seven, and started stalking them down the treed fence line. The sow was extremely wary, much more so than I'm used to. I guess she was in 'mother mode' and protecting her litter. The wind was strong and in my favor, so I didn't expect any difficulty. Usually feeding pigs are looking down and don't notice me sneaking along the tree line 70-80 yards away. She picked me out quickly, stared at me for several seconds and then went back to feeding. However, after about five or so more seconds she looked at me again (I was kneeling next to some brush, trying to act invisible) and decided she didn't like the situation. She snorted and started trotting off, and the litter followed dutifully. They headed across the pasture and into the woods on the other side. Dang!

I headed over to near where they'd gone and settled down. About 30-40 minutes later, they came back out. I was sitting in a canvas chair waiting, again about 70-80 yards from them. As soon as they came out I slipped out of the chair and ducked behind it, thinking I'd use the chair as a shooting rest. The sow spotted the chair and again decided she didn't like the setup. She went back into the woods, but the piglets weren't as concerned and stayed in the open. The sow poked her snout back out and I considered taking a shot, but couldn't really see enough of her to be confident I'd hit her well. BTW, the shoats looked big enough to survive, I wasn't thinking they'd perish if I shot the sow.

The sow finally stepped out and turned toward me. I put the crosshairs on her head thinking that might be the only shot I got, but she turned away and re-entered the brush. Then she grunted and called her litter. They started heading for the brush, and bunched up a little as they went in. I figured I'd better take what I could get, so I lined up on a small pig and shot. The bullet entered the ribs on the right side and exited through the neck/throat. I could hardly have done better if I'd tried! The bullet missed the stomach and intestines, but went thru the liver and lungs. The piglet dropped on the spot. It only weighed maybe 35 pounds at the most, and I got maybe 15 pounds of meat from it even after cooking the bones and picking off small chunks for stew. Still, it should be nice and tender.

I shot it with my trusty .303 Enfield No. 4 Mk1 rifle. Made in 1943, it's older than I am. I generally use a 150 grain SP bullet.