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Hog Hunt Bust, but Came Home with a Coon

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ezana4CE
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Ezana4CE

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We went out trying to luck up on some hogs since it recently rained. My hunting partner has been in need of some recreation and just seems to legit love being in the woods. What I mean by that is once he sees me with a gun, gun case, or gun bag he gets excited. Last night he got so excited that I could hear him scratching on my truck which isn't unusual when he wants to hunt or go for a ride, but this sounded different. I know how he sounds scratching the bumper. When I turned my cell light on his front legs were over the top of the tailgate and he was trying to push up off the bumper and the face of the tailgate using his hind legs. I told him to get down and that we'd be leaving shortly. Even though I fussed at him I was smiling in the dark at his enthusiasm. That would’ve made for an entertaining photo, but I was sort of irritated and concerned he might slip and mess up a leg or something.

We ended up getting to the property after 10pm. While walking towards an area with known hog activity, my dog just took off into the woods. I didn't hear anything and I wasn't watching him closely because he was behind me. After he bolted I stood on the trail just listening to the activity. I heard leaves rustling and then a growl. The growl didn't come from my dog, but it sounded familiar. Then I heard crunching and thought, "an armadillo." So now I wake up my thermal scanner to pick up the action. I'm seeing parts of my dog. He ended up turning sideways where I saw an animal hanging from his mouth. I let the scanner dangle from my wrist, turned on my headlamp, and looked for a way into the woods. I ended up encountering woven briar branches around saplings and bushes creating a thicket inside of the tree line. Eventually I found a way around the briars and got into the woods. I caught up to my dog handling this armadillo.
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I let him go for a while since he initiated the encounter. I didn’t want to discourage him so he wouldn’t lose this enthusiasm when I need to take care of nuisance dillos so I let him work. When I saw that he released the animal, circled it and then went to grab it again in a non-vital area I commanded him to let it go. We weren't there to hunt dillos and he hasn't figured out how to kill them quickly without my help. I didn't have a reason to shoot it and there was no point for it to continue to suffer so it was best to let it go. It didn't seem injured beyond mending. My dog listened reasonably well and didn't touch it again as it scampered off.

We ended up arriving to one area where there had been some activity. I saw several rabbits, more armadillos, and some deer. I observed these animals and I came across a buck I saw a couple of years ago that I dubbed "the fugly buckling." I first saw him on a trail cam with a screwed up looking rack. It still looks messed up. If I can find that photo I’ll add it. I think it was a video though. I need to get him out of there this year if I can. Those are some bad genes IMO. I watched him watch us trying to figure out what we were as we stood still watching him (the dog sat). As he sat there still winded from tangling with the dillo, he sounded like he had COPD and just finished a 5k run a half hour before. I need to get him in better condition. Eventually Fug Buck bedded down and we moved along without rousing him. It was a dimly lit night with a small part of the moon peeking out between some cloud cover, coupled with wet earth it was relatively easy to move at a decent pace without making a lot of noise. Other than gas wells, occasional dog barks, owls, night birds, frogs, vehicles, or gunshots in the distance, it was pretty quiet.

We moved to another part of the property and saw more of the same. I was able to locate some livestock with my thermal which was good news to the owner because we thought one was lost or dead. I heard coyotes on the other end of the property and really wasn't interested in pursuing them. I've heard several that sounded like they're on the place, but do not see more than a pair at a time on camera. I'm also not seeing calves lost, deer remains, or many bones in the woods. I'll still be monitoring them. Anyhow, I observed more animals and got some good exercise in walking and practice stalking. I took the opportunity to work with my dog since hog activity seemed slow. There is a hot spot that we didn't go to because I need to work with my dog some more on his discipline and I wasn't hearing much of anything. Him taking off like he did with that dillo can cause an issue while pursuing hogs, so it's not a bad thing we didn't find any. The funny thing is once I switch on a light or shoulder my rifle he's ready to chase something. This is very dangerous for a dog, especially an inexperienced one hunting pigs and hogs. We may go again this week. He's learning. As we started making our way back to the truck I spotted movement in a tree. We were headed that way anyway so I got within a good range to concentrate my headlamp on the tree to see what's was up there. I didn't know if it was cat, possum, or coon. Eventually I was able to cast a direct beam on it as it tried to scoot around the trunk and climb higher into the canopy. Once I saw the tail, I knew and wanted to see if my dog took interest.
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I didn't see him sniffing around the tree, but once I lined up my rifle mounted torch with the animal he was focused on trying to figure out what was up there. I couldn't get a bead on the head so I moved around and was maybe 15' - 25' away from the base of the tree. I switch on my IR and placed the Vector Continental 5-25x56mm FFP reticle on its chest while standing with beneath the tree and took an offhand shot at it vitals beneath the left shoulder. I had to wing the shot with my holdover because only the center dot is illuminated. At 10 yards I needed 4 hashmarks to hold over. It hit a branch or two on the way down and the dog took off towards the base of the tree. As the coon did its death dance in the damp soil and leaves (basically moving its rear legs like it was sprinting on its back and side), the dog watched curiously sniffing and circling it. Judging by its reaction, my shot was on the money sending 140 grains of Griffin Airgun Ammo lead smashing through its ribcage. It was no match for the Benjamin Bulldog M357. As it stopped twitching my dog grabbed it. I let him investigate, smell and bite it before asking him to bring the coon to me. He ended up carrying it to me and dropping a couple feet in front of my boots.
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I tried to trick him into carrying it back to the truck, but he didn't seem to go for it so I carried it. I don’t blame him. It may be between 18-25 lbs by the way it felt. I didn't weigh it.
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I cleaned it almost three hours later. I was tired and didn't feel like taking photos. I saw the entry wound through the ribs, but wasn't so clear on the exit. Maybe the top of the ribcage towards the spine. I couldn't tell. I missed the heart, the wounds were limited to the thoracic cavity. There wasn’t a lot of blood in there, but I did see a chunck of a lung that was blown off and was just loose in there like jelly. I’m unsure why it died so fast. Maybe I was just tired and overlooked something. The organs looked healthy, but it smells funny. It's in the fridge so I may look at the holes in the carcass this evening. I may take photos later if I'm thinking about it. It was a decent outing. No signs of hogs destroying property isn't a bad thing for the owners, but makes for a lackluster night of hog hunting. I'm good with it.
 

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