Condor's first kill..

[only1harry]

31 days had passed without been able to shoot any fur and I was climbing the walls.  I had been saving my Condor's first kill for something special..  

I had been stalking a large female G-hog and her young which was quickly approaching adulthood for a couple of weeks.  I discovered them digging a new hole about 6-7yds past the edge of my lawn on the slope of the treed hill behind my house about 3 weeks ago.  I 've never seen them feed on my lawn so I had assumed they were going up the hill and feeding on that grass up on top where I have no visibility and no rights to that property.  I knew they were going to be very hard to get because their burrow is at a spot where it's very dark under the cover of heavily leaved trees and the sun rarely gets through.  There are also several other (unoccupied) burrows a feet away, all being about 12-14ft apart on the slope of the hill so they could be looking out for me or spot me from any of those while I have my eyes on the newly created one.  To make matters worse they have spotted me already on the 1st day when they caught me by surprise so they know what I look like and how I come at them.  In the last 2-3 weeks they 've been popping their head up always looking at the house and scanning the windows.  Now these g-hogs do not have a pattern like the others like coming out around the same time every day.  They will only come out when the neighborhood is completely quiet and that would be any time between Noon and 6:30 in the evening.  I also observed on other thing.  They only come out when there are birds around singing, even if they are Starlings or Grackles making noise.  I think that gives them a sense of security hoping that it's safe to surface since there are others out there enjoying the day.  I had one other g-hog that did that..  I will miss him :)  

I haven't seen the big one in 2-3 days but spotted the young one today and observed it come out of the hole (w/binoculars) for the first time and run up the hill to eat the grass on that guy's lawn.  I know keep the window open and I stand way back in the dark room with the binoculars so they can't see me.  So it hurt me to discover that they have been using me and my property for room & board and go feed somewhere else!  I think it's because of all the pressure I 've been putting on them and the 1st encounter we had when I found the young one eating in my back yard and the big one digging.  It's time to pay the rent!!  :-)  
 
After he gets out of sight on top of the hill I get into position.  As I 'm trying to focus the scope the young one must have seen me through the thick brush at the top (where it's also very dark) and ran down the old trail back to the burrow.  I leave the 45" long Condor balanced on a thick pillow at the window and go back to work for an hour thinking I blew it but you never know..  I finish work around 5:30 and go back to the window to check and again the young g-hog runs downs from the top of the hill straight to his burrow.  This tells me he 's really hungry and all that stalkign and harrassing I 've been doing to them is keeping them from feeding regularly.  I almost gave up but left the gun at the window again and went to start dinner because I knew my wife & son would be arriving soon.  I go back to the window around 6:10-6:15 and I hear noise on the hill again.  Back down he runs to the burrow so I know he keeps an eye on that window the whole time even when he 's at the edge of the neighbor's lawn on top of the 15ft high hill feeding.  It's apparent he can see me through the thick brush..  
I 'm looking through the scope at the (dark) top of the entrance of the burrow (could not see the actual hole - it was further down) with the A/O adjusted to 22-23yds, and thinking the g-hog won again and I should be packing it in for the day, when up comes his head!  He only puts his head up a little so he can see but at the same time as to not expose his head too much, he leans to the right slightly as he 's checking me out with his left eye so he can look up without exposing himself anymore than he has to.  This is the first time I 've seen a g-hog do that with their head.  It's usually always level or straight..  I 'm thinking I 'm not going to let this opportunity pass by.  The angle is perfect as I 'm shooting down from the 2nd floor, and his head leaning sideways should help the pellet go through his fuse box instead of going down and possibly come out too low on the other side.  

I only aimed for 1-2secs and squeezed the trigger in fear of him going back down again for the day.  I see dirt flying up behind the G-hog from the impact of the 21gr Kodiak hitting the opposite side of the g-hog hole right behind him.  I don't see the g-hog anymore through the scope. I was like no way!  I can put these Kodiaks in the same hole shot after shot so I hadn't lost hope.  As usual my negative thoughts spoke too soon.  A sec. after the pellet left the barrel I see him doing a couple of spastic moves and jumping up and as he did that, I caught a glimse of his head which was all red.  Finally a 31 day fur dry-spell is over.  The persistence and stalking paid off.  The death dance was quick so I walked over to snap some pics and found blood splatter all over the entrance of the burrow and the surrounding area.  Notice how much deeper the actual hole is and how they built a wide "high wall" around it.

The pellet hit between eye & ear and exited the base of the ear on the other side - actually higher than the POI as I had suspected because he was leaning his head back to the side to look up at me (sideways) so it worked out perfectly.  That thing you see at the bottom of the ear that may look like a bug or a slimy leech is a clean hole the Kodiak made when it exited after hitting him with 46ft-lbs of (muzzle) energy or at 990fps which is the lowest setting on my Condor.  This young 6.5lb g-hog was #17 for the year so he was special since they are very close to extinction on my property.  I 'm looking forward to meeting his lovely mother in the coming weeks :)  I know she 'll be as challenging as her son or better.  I hope she 's proud of him, hehe
 

[longislandhunter]

Simply outstanding Harry  !!!    Fantastic pic too !!  

That Condor looks awesome lying next to her first kill,,,, just doesn't get any better n that.  

Jeff

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Your the BEST Harry!! Nope,, that "Hog" aint "Frozen",,,,, I still suspect you may have been "dipping in" to your wifes Red Lipstick,, or maybe your personal stash of Red Spray paint?? LOL!! Cant Ya turn that "Beast" down to like negative 5???  Shurly that may bring it down to bout 25 ft. lbs. WAY TO GO HARRY!!!!! The thing is,, you shoot many differant guns,, like me & many others here,, you have spent a considerable amount of time learning about them all & POI. pertaining to them all. Not many Folks like you around Harry,, I have MUCH respect for you when it comes to Hunting with airguns,,(You know what Im talking about) Nice shooting Harry,, GREAT story as always,, GREAT PICS.!!!!! Tim.

[shadow]

Very nice work Harry, great shootin and pic's and I see your getting after the new renter's quickly. The Condor is all full of herself with that first notch on her stock with more to come I'm sure.:) Ed

[only1harry]

Thanks guys.  I was starting to wonder when the Condor was going to get "baptized".  I 've had her for about a month now and had to cancel the celebration a couple of times and turn away the guests :)  

Tim:  It's the engineer in me, I can't help it.  I 'm always thinking of the geomentry/angle, trajectory and all that.  As you probably remember my first g-hog of the season back in April had a pellet exit the other side by his jaw shot from my "big" springer - a little too low, because I 'm always shooting from a high point, and I didn't recover him "right away"..  so I 'm trying to avoid that from re-ocurring, that's all, especially when more than half their body is already down the hole :-)  
Thank you for holding me in such high esteem when it comes to airgun hunting buddy, hehe.  Still, I think when I bag a fox like you did, I may be worthy of graduating to your level :-)

[JOHNNY QUEST]

That was a great story.. Nice presentation and pics.. Congrats on the first blood...

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

I pitty one that comes in your range Harry!!  Take my respect for you FULLY Harry,, you have more than earned it!! Like yourself,, I try to diligantly learn all I can about my little "BB Guns", pertaining to accuracy,, thus relating to humane kills on game I may be hunting at the time. You are too HUMBLE  My Friend!! Besides,,,,, how do Ya not Know I imported that Fox "Frozen"?? LOL!! No Harry,, I respect Folks like you & Jeff more than you realize. (Shure dont mean to exlude others here!!)Opps,, wife is home,,, GOTTA GO!!  Tim.

[hotrod2112]

Great shot and a great gun!!

[stormXT]

It's funny. I almost wish i had nice critters like that to shoot in my yard. My wife would have a fit if she seen that making holes and would be begging me to shoot it. Very nice shot.

[fatback]

Great Shooting Harry!!! congratulations on the first kill.  Great account of the hunt and pics. I really like that condor, sweet shooter

[ten4copy]

Love the details.  Nice hunt!!! ... hmmmm... Condor huh?... (note to self) "Put Condor on Christmas list".

[gamo2hammerli]

Harry your patience paid off. Nice recounting of your hunting story, PCP Condor and G-hog. And of course excellent shooting.

[only1harry]

Thanks guys.  

Chris:  I 'm glad you like my Condor because I think you have some of the nicest springers in your collection, practically legendary guns..  

Hey guys, as much fun & adrenaline rush hunting g-hogs provide, I don't think you want them on your property.  When I bought the house, the previous owner had let them dig holes under the foundation, so I think I know why it has developed hair cracks all throughout and cracks in the walls and ceiling inside.  The house keeps settling funny and I have to re-adjust the gutters to drain (flow) properly.  Not enough dirt under the house to support it after the last owner let them run amock under the foundation.  After I bought the house I noticed he had filled the holes in the front and back that were up against the foundation.  There were also holes <20ft from the house in the front yard that were unoccupied at the time.  Those could possibly run all the way back under the house.  I have also had sewer problems and the plumber said many times they are caused by g-hogs digging under the sewer pipes.  The problem has always been with the pipe in the back yard that runs a few feet behind the shed where there are 4 g-hog holes, and then turns to go out to the street in the front.  In '95 when I moved in I had never seen a g-hog before and didn't think much of the holes when I was walking around inspecting the property.  The best thing is to find someone or a field that has them and hunt them there, not on your property.  Be thankful you don't have them.  But if you do, have fun and save your $ for repairs! :-)

[kiwi]

I,m really starting to take a dislike to you guys. You seem to have two meany things to shot at.
Bunnys/possums/quail/magpies is about our lot. Rats! well you very rearly see them, not in abundance here,
O yes and ducks "but dont tell the department of conservation DOC"

One peed off  kiwi

[only1harry]

I wish I had some bunnies to shoot at but can't complain :)

BTW, did anyone notice the new "bling-bling" on my Condor?  I got a custom polished aluminum bolt from a guy that makes them on the Talonairgun forum.  Now he 's making even nicer ones.