Last week I sighted in the 48 .20 cal with Predators and today was her first hunt with her new diet. I haven't been to the duck farm in a while and the temperatures have been getting much cooler lately so I didn't know if the G-hogs were still above ground and active, but I figured I'd give it a try.
I got to the farm, got suited up, cocked and loaded the 48 and headed off to hopefully find a G-hog. I slowly worked the wooded edge of the farm, staying in the shadows as much as possible and moving very slowly. I had worked my way 1/2 way around the farm when I suddenly saw my first G-hog. It was a huge dark brown G-hog that had just come out of his burrow,,, only problem was that he saw me at the same time I saw him and it was a standoff. We stared at each other for a few seconds and he turned around and went back down the hole. Oh well, at least I knew the g-hogs were still active. I moved off and continued my search.
As I approached a small open field I suddenly saw a light brown patch that appeared to be moving. I looked through the scope and sure enough it was a medium sized g-hog grazing. He was about 45 yards away from me and hadn't noticed me so I decided to try a stalk. There was a mound of dirt with thick grass growing on it directly between the g-hog and myself,, so keeping the mound between us I crouched down and started to slowly close the distance. I got within 25 yards when all of a sudden I noticed a second g-hog feeding about 10 yards away from the first one. All of a sudden the first g-hog must have sensed something because he stopped eating, looked my way and then waddled into some thick grass and disappeared down a burrow that I didn't even notice was there. I figured the second g-hog would get spooked by the first one running off but for some reason he didn't. He just kept on eating. I moved another 5 yards closer and got into a shooting position. The next time the g-hog put his head up to take a look around I was gonna take him out. Well, didn't take long,,, after perhaps a minute or so the g-hog stopped eating and raised his head to look around. I pulled the trigger and sent the .20 caliber Predator on it's way. A split second later I heard that "POP" and saw the g-hog slump down on all fours and start quivering. I quickly loaded another Predator and ran over to the g-hog. The predator hit him hard right behind the eye and there was blood pouring out onto the ground. He did that death quiver that they do then it was all over. The 48 had finally taken her first g-hog. I carried the g-hog back to my truck, laid him in the shade and then went off to find another one.
As I was slowly working my way along the stream and woods that border the western edge of the farm I suddenly saw some movement about 70 yards ahead of me. I put the scope up and took a look. Yup, it was another medium sized g-hog that was standing on the other side of the 3 foot high chicken wire duck pen fence and he was staring at a cluster of grain feeders that were on the other side of the fence about 10 yards from him. He hadn't noticed me but there was no way I could approach him until I let him get to one of the feeders. I slowly unfolded my backpack folding stool and sat down to wait him out.
I sat there for 30 minutes waiting for the g-hog to get up the courage to cross the fence and head to the feeders. Finally he made his move. He looked both way, almost like he was crossing the street, then in a flash he went under the fence and appeared on the other side. I watched him waddle his way to the closest feeder and he crawled 1/2 way inside it. I quickly moved to my right about 15 yards which put another grain feeder directly between the g-hog and myself. The ground was very wet so it was easy to make a quiet stealthy approach. Keeping the grain feeder between me and the hog I slowly made my way to the grain feeder I was using for cover. I peeked over the top and saw that the g-hog still had his face buried inside the other feeder sucking up grain. All I could see was the back 1/2 of his fat body sticking out of the feeder. The distance between us was 10 yards. I had him :)
I kept the cross hairs on the g-hog and waited for him to show his face. I kept the scope on target for what seemed like an eternity but he finally pulled his head out of the feeder to take a look around and that was my moment. The pellet was away and slammed into the sweet spot with a loud 'POP". The g-hog rolled over onto his back and his tail and legs started to twitch. The predator made a nice clean hole in the side of his head and there was a steady stream of blood pouring from the wound and pooling up on the wet ground. G-hog #2 was down for the count. :)
I was tempted to stay and try for another one but I still had to get home, take pics and clean my harvest and since it wouldn't be long before I'd lose daylight I decided to just head home and take care of business. I proudly took some pics of the 48 with her first "real" game then got to the job of skinning and cleaning. Hope ya like the pics..... Man,,, I love this rifle... :)
Jeff
