Pumpkin Eater

My farmer tells me there’s a ground hog eating his recently planted pumpkins and really wants him gone. So I go over to the farm about 6 pm to check out the field to see what’s going on. (6 is significant because the farmer has told me in the past that he usually sees a different hog while coming down his driveway on the way to the house, right around the same time most days). Within minutes, the pumpkin eating hog pops out of the weeds at the edge of the field and catches me with my pants down, i.e. no gun in hand. I try to make my way back to the truck as quickly and quietly as I can. As I’m getting into position he spooks and leaves. Busted! Nuts! I’ll get him tomorrow for sure!

I decided to go back to the farm the next morning to get my ambush of hay bales put together, only there are workers there unloading more hay so I go back home with the intention of coming back later to set up the hide. I get there about 5:30 in hopes of spotting the hog by the house, but no deal. So while I’m sitting in the truck, here comes a tractor down the driveway. I pull out of his way and he goes straight to the barn where I was headed to set up the hay bales. Well, whatever element of stealth and surprise I may have had is not gone with all the activity taking place.

Anyway, after the worker parks the tractor and is looking around the pumpkin field, I set up my hay bale hide so I can see the entire field including the spot where I saw the hog the previous evening. He leaves and I settle in. An hour goes by and nothing. In the meantime, I’m always looking in other directions just to see what I can see to pass the time. It’s now almost 7 and I spot something in a field that’s 180 degrees from the pumpkin field. I pull up the glasses and it’s a hog bookin it somewhere. I range the distance at 230 yards, pull up the 22-250, but he never shows. Skunked again. I’m pissed!

But, as I look to the right in the direction of the farmhouse, I see the hog the farmer has been telling me about. Unfortunately, he’s at the crest of a hill and any shot would head straight for a main road in front of the house. So, I just watch him for a while. Pretty soon he trots across the driveway and disappears. Okay, what do I do? I’m frustrated with not seeing the pumpkin hog, so I take one more look for him and decide to go after the driveway hog.

I grab the gun, jump in the truck and head to the front of the house from the far side, opposite from where the driveway hog disappeared. I drive across the front of the house looking, but there’s a small rise I need to climb to get a view to where he was headed. As I crest the hill looking for where he should be, I look to my left and there he is, poking his head out from under a shed showing head and shoulders only. I put the gun out the driver’s window and let fly a 55 grain hollow point straight to the mark at about 60 yards. When I drive over to the victim, I see the shot was a little high and it caught him in the neck, severing his spine. Forgot the Savage is zeroed for 200 yards and shoots high at shorter distances.

Although I had the camera with me for a change, for some unknown reason I decided to just heave the hog under the shed head first and book it back to the hide for one more chance at the pumpkin eater.
It’s now almost 7:30 and light is going fast. I get maybe another fifteen minutes, but he’s a no show. But while I’m sitting there I decide to go back for driveway hog to take some pics. I drive up to the shed, walk over, get down on my knees and look under the shed. The hog is staring at me. He’s definitely dead, but I know I threw him in there head first! Did he come back to life and try to get out, or did one of his buddies try shoving him out before he started to stink? I’ll never know. Your guess is as good as mine.

Here are to photos. Hope you enjoyed the story!

[img width=600 height=450]http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq237/dbohman/IMGP6018.jpg[/img][img width=600 height=450]http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq237/dbohman/IMGP6019.jpg[/img]