Not that I shot another Hogzilla or anything, but this boar I shot Monday was the biggest hog so far for me. I went out to my friends' property around the middle of the day with the idea that I'd do a little work and then go hunting. First I trimmed some branches that have grown over the car path to the back of the property, then I checked the game camera. The raccoons had pulled the battery wire loose again so I fixed it up and then decided to walk around. There's a small, intermittent creek that runs through the back area, and I though I might spot a hog wallow. I had driven and walked all throughout this area last year with no success, but there's a little more water in the creek this year. Not that it's flowing, but there are some wet spots. Central Texas is in severe to extreme drought conditions so water is scarce.
Sure enough I got lucky today. I hadn't walked more than a quarter mile before I saw a bunch of trails through the grass that I figured were probably made by pigs. Cows and deer tend to stick to a single route, but these wandered all over in numerous directions. As I got close to the creek I could see a muddy spot which was covered with tracks. I kept going to see exactly what type of tracks they were, when suddenly this big hog stood up just a little to the left and in front of me. I'm not sure who was more surprised, but I think I came out on top since the pig is in the freezer and I'm sitting at my computer drinking coffee this morning. He had been lying in the water under a tree. He didn't act real excited, I suspect he was big enough to think that he could handle just about any predator. Also, there were some cows grazing nearby, so he may have figured I was just another cow. He walked out on the other side of the creek, turned a little to give me a better shot, and I dropped it with a bullet behind the head. It was probably no more than 50 or 60 yards away at that point. I think I broke the spine, because he squealed and went straight down. I crossed the creek and found him still wriggling a little, but his back legs weren't moving. I put a couple of 9mm bullets into his head to quiet him down, and that was the end of it for him. His future appearances will be on the menu.
