After a couple of possum kills and 3-4mos of rest, Timmy's Diana 350 .22 was back in action today.
It all started yesterday when I spotted a big G-hog. Actually I kind of scared him and it caught me by surprise when I walked out of the house. It ran to the hill behind the house where there are approximately 14-15 G-hog burrows. Again later yesterday I went out to the car and it was in the shade at the end of the lawn in the backyard and disappeared into some thick brush.
Today around 11am I was in the porch trying to get a Grackle when I see the same big G-hog come down the hill. He stopped half way down. I had it in the crosshairs for a couple of secs but I did not take the shot. I had the 850 .22 which I normally shoot birds and squirrels with. I decided not to take the 27yd shot and the G-hog went down a hole behind one of the biggest trees on the small hill.
I went back inside to give it somespace, and about 30min. later I spotted it outside the tool shed eating my grass. It was on the other side of the shed and about 28-29yds out and getting farther away. I had the window closed and was contemplating how to go about getting a good shot, when the neighbors kept going in and out next door and across the street and it kept making a run for it down the hole every few min. I decided to set up a quick shooting stand right outside my garage door in the driveway before it came out again. I placed a table out and a cardboard box with weights in it, plus my small trusty shooting pillow on top of it and made a rest. I then put 2 tall garbage cans 3" apart in front of the table for concealment. The plan was to shoot through the 3" gap as soon as I saw the G-hog come around the outside corner of the shed from a hole that has been there for many years.
Around 3:30pm the G-hog surfaced. I was upstairs looking at him through the window. I went downstairs and through the garage made it to the chair and table under cover of those 2 big garbage cans. I had left the 350 .22 in position balanced and pointed at the tool shed. I got the G-hog in my crosshairs about 18yds out. The G-hog was half way out of the hole looking around the corner the shed and seemed to be eye-balling me as he had probably detected some movement. I aimed behind the eye and squeezed. The G-hog just backed up and went down the hole like he wasn't hit. I forgot to compensate for the POI drop because the 350 was zeroed at 30yds! I had also left it cocked for 2hrs and I don't know what that did to the spring if anything at all. Another thing was I had re-zeroed it the day before with JSB 14.3gr Express and forgot to shoot at 15, 20 and 25yd targets, as I was also testing out Superdomes and Beeman FTS pellets. So I had no idea how low the POI was 12yds short of the regular 30yds targets. I was hoping I had not injured the G-hog and that he wouldn't die under my tool shed.
We had my son's B-day party at 5pm so the wife was fricking out as usual. I jumped in the shower and got ready and around 4:30pm I checked the windows again. There it was again on the other side of the shed sticking its head out from around the corner. It was just looking to see if the coast was clear and did not seem interested in eating. A car went by and I lost sight of it. I used that opportunity to quickly raise the window and took position with the 350 .22. This time the distance was about 23-24yds and I planned on aiming a little higher this time since the gun was zeroed at 30yds.
About 3-4min. later after I was in position I see its head and neck come around the corner again. I placed the crosshairs behind its eye and a little high almost on top of the skull and without wasting any time I squeezed. The G-hog jumped forward and then rolled around on its back with feet up kicking and it was over in a few seconds. Unfortunately it was another female but a big older one. I don't know why they are so attracted to the tool shed. Maybe they are move there to give birth? That tool shed has reared quite a few young G-hogs. Maybe they return to the place where they were born to give birth? I doubt any young ones escaped me though unless it was like 4yrs ago or more. I 'm sure I will never figure this one out.. This G-hog dwarfed the last 2 I got earlier this month. The head was also very large. It was a bloody mess but the pellet hole was distinct and visibly 1" behind the eye just a little lower from where I was aiming. The 14.3gr JSB Express left the muzzle at ~810fps and from the looks of it, it was a passthrough under the ear on the other side due to the angle.
I went and snapped a few pics quickly and cleaned up the crime scene as Ed would say, and 10min. later the first guests arrived. Just made it!
The last ones just left around 11pm which is why I am posting this late at night. I don't know where all the male G-hogs are at. All 3 were females so far this Spring. I did take quite a few males last year. Maybe I shot them all? This one might have been pregnant too. It was a good sized one and weighed 13.8lbs as you will see in the pics - if I can post any
Almost raccoon sized but not the biggest one I 've shot.
