Disco Bags a G-hog

[longislandhunter]

It was gloomy and cloudy today with periods of light rain on and off but around 5:30 I decided to head to the duck farm and see if I could get in a quick g-hog hunt while the rain was holding off.  I was going to bring the Trail XL but at the last minutes decided to bring the .22 Disco instead so I grabbed a container of the Beeman FTS pellets that the disco likes and headed for the farm.  

As I pulled into my usual parking spot I immediately saw a good sized g-hog climb out of a grain feeder and run for cover.  Well, I knew I wasn't going to get him but it was a good sign.  I loaded a pellet into the disco and headed off to find a brown, furry target.  I knew I didn't have much time before the rain returned so I began working the wooded edges of the farm near my truck.  I did manage to see 3 more g-hogs but they all saw me first and scooted down their burrows.  By the time I had worked my way 1/2 way around the farm I could feel tiny drops of rain.  Not wanting to get the disco wet I decided to just head back to the truck and call it a day.  

I was within sight of my truck when all of a sudden I noticed a good sized g-hog out in the open feeding in the grass.  He was feeding about 10 yards away from a large pile of dirt that the farmer had dumped in the field and since he hadn't noticed me I decided to make a stalk, using the dirt pile as cover.  My plan was to keep the dirt pile between us as I made my stalk and then once I reached the dirt pile I intended to peek over the top and hopefully the g-hog would still be there and give me a shot.  I have used this technique with these large dirt piles before and if you are very quiet and careful the tactic works well.  Once you peek over the top of the dirt pile you only have a split second to take your shot but if you're quick you will get your shot.  

It was very easy to move quietly since the grass and ground were wet from the earlier rains and before I knew it I was standing at the base of the dirt pile.  Now came the moment of truth.  I disengaged the safety, shouldered the rifle and slowly peeked over the top of the dirt pile.   The g-hog was still there and had just taken a mouthful of grass when he suddenly realized he was being watched.  He canted his head to the left to take a look at me but it was to late..... the Beeman FTS was on it's way and it slammed into the side of his head with a loud "POP".  At the hit the g-hog rolled over on his side and started quivering.  I quickly reloaded and approached him but he was down for the count.  The FTS had hit him just below his left eye and exited on the other side of his head.  I took a few pictures with my cell phone camera, retrieved  the g-hog and headed for the truck.  I got back to the truck just before the rain started coming down fairly steady.  

On the drive out of the farm I spotted 2 large rabbits easily within range and while I must admit that I stopped at put the scope on them I let them be as of course rabbit season is closed.  I'll come back in November and try and find them again.   Hope ya like the pics.....

Jeff

[dk1677]

Nice work Jeff! Nice pix too!

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Dave  

Jeff

[Kevin R]

Love it!  Great shooting and pics!  He never saw that one coming!

[Furseeker]

Jeff great shooting and the photos make the story interesting too. Is that #2 for the year for you? This should be just a few of many to come, I'm sure.

[Perry50]

Jeff, the photos and captions really make the narrative come alive. Good job and nice shot!

[longislandhunter]

Thanks guys, I really enjoyed that short hunt  

Dave, yes, it is #2 for the year so far.  Judging the from the burrow activity I've seen as well as the ones I've seen above ground it should be a  good g-hog year  

Jeff

[airiscool]

Good hunt Jeff. Another for the freezer and scouted-out more to come.

And WOW, that cell phone of yours takes some realy nice pictures. What phone is it?

Paul.

[shadow]

Great account, shooting and pic's bro and the call of the G-hog get's you again hehehe. The resident who had the Bandit, Country Rat and G-hog problem last year stopped in and asked me if I come back over there, their all back he said.   Ed

[longislandhunter]

Ed, sounds like you have some serious pest control to get done    Lookin forward to those pics and stories brother  

Paul,,,, the phone is the Motorola "Droid".  It has a built in 5 mega pixel camera that has all the features that my regular digital camera has.... crop, zoom, edit, etc.  It also uses a  memory card that can store an amazing # of pics, can be removed if you want to use it to make pics in those machines they have at Wallmart and drug stores.  You can of course also connect it to your p.c. with a USB cord and download pics to your p.c. which is what I do.    Oh yeah, I forgot,,,, it also takes great videos as well.  It really is amazing.    Those pics are actually not that good due to the lighting and such,,, on a good day the phone/cam takes pics that are actually better than my regular digital camera.  I don't even bother to use the regular camera anymore.  

Anyway, thanks for the comments guys, glad you liked the pics and hunt  

Jeff

[jake]

great shooting jeff!

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Jake  

Jeff

[atchman2]

Great stalk!  That is a pretty impressive story.

[dw33]

Nice shooting.

[JOHNNY QUEST]

Nice shootin Jeff..I always love your duck farm stories...