Pigs still live in Gause

Went to Gause mid-day, rolled around in some bull nettle while fixing some pipes in the ole' hunt'in shack and then drove around to scout things out.

Main ranch appears to still be hog heaven, up close to the road and along to southern woodlot, not so much at the sandy creek bottom where they used to frolic and play near the doc's house.

Spoke with the new ranch and after hearing that the North Ranch was running rampant with pigs and seeing the light failing we headed back to Jeff's place.

Went in through the North gate near the working pens, drove past the newly deeper pond, past where I shoot the VW sized pig and up the the haybarn with a good view of the lower pastures, seeing nothing we drove through the gate to the left when we saw something running away and to the right, it got to the top of a hill and stopped to look back, it was a large pig, brown with a white chest and belly, Jeff was carrying his .222 and since the beast was both large and more than 125yrds away I laid the .270 across the hood.

Jeff's hood is curved so my cross hairs did not sit vertical but rather ran from about 2:00 position to 8:00. Anyway, the middle is the middle so I squared up and fired at the sow as she stood quartering away.

At the shot the sow took a hard left turn and ran with just a little stumbling across the long hill top, I followed in the scope angry at missing as I worked the bolt and when she stopped a second time I put the cross hairs on the broadside shoulder and gave her the business. She ran a little circle as animals with only one functional front leg often do and went down flailing.

Closer examination without all the hair and skin proved the animal had two bullet holes, the first a little too far back and the second through both shoulders and a lung.

I know if I was a critter living in a redneck haven like Gause I wouldn't be running around on the tops of hills, the low areas between seems a little safer, at least until the sun is completely down.