Not the best pic, as I was traveling light without extra flashlight and camera with flash. I've got a routine: look at a smaller crop field first, sit at large crop field, and then checkout a large non-crop planted field as I am leaving to go home. Farmer is naturally concerned with his crop fields, and although this year has been SLOW for seeing crop destroying in his crop fields, as-in nothing killed damaging crops, he wants me out there, and we all figure my presence and scent is helping to protect the crops. If that is what the farmers and owners want in order to give me permission, that is what I'll do.
So I stop on my way home and look at the large planted pine field. 11 heat signatures...maybe too many for deer, yet they are not moving much like hogs. OK, walk hundreds of yards and it's hogs. No little ones. They are not moving much, as their noses are buried rooting up the soil. Slow stalk through dried weeds and sticks. Close enough through my thermal. (Turns out I'd pushed the wrong button while calibrating the screen and the thermal was now on 4x total instead of its native resolution of 2x...so hogs looked closer.) Picked closest one and fired. Down he went and then tried to stand back up, getting up on 2 feet, so I quickly shot again, and that was that. When it took longer to walk to him than it should have, that's when I found the thermal on 4x total instead of 2x. This is number 40 taken by hunting. I do not count hogs trapped.
I cannot thank my mentor of several years enough for what he taught me. It may seem like I've killed many hogs for NW Florida, but I think much of it is simply being able to be out there so many times and only a 5-10 minute drive to the areas. I don't post the myriad majority of times I see no hogs. It is darn hot out there now-a-day and mosquito repellant is a must!
So I stop on my way home and look at the large planted pine field. 11 heat signatures...maybe too many for deer, yet they are not moving much like hogs. OK, walk hundreds of yards and it's hogs. No little ones. They are not moving much, as their noses are buried rooting up the soil. Slow stalk through dried weeds and sticks. Close enough through my thermal. (Turns out I'd pushed the wrong button while calibrating the screen and the thermal was now on 4x total instead of its native resolution of 2x...so hogs looked closer.) Picked closest one and fired. Down he went and then tried to stand back up, getting up on 2 feet, so I quickly shot again, and that was that. When it took longer to walk to him than it should have, that's when I found the thermal on 4x total instead of 2x. This is number 40 taken by hunting. I do not count hogs trapped.
I cannot thank my mentor of several years enough for what he taught me. It may seem like I've killed many hogs for NW Florida, but I think much of it is simply being able to be out there so many times and only a 5-10 minute drive to the areas. I don't post the myriad majority of times I see no hogs. It is darn hot out there now-a-day and mosquito repellant is a must!
