Stealth Hogs (long read)

So over the weekend I had a chance to get to my father-in-laws lease to spend time with the family and enjoy the sights of Mason county in the summer. I figured I'd take the 6.8 with me and do a little hog hunting while I was up there. I basically planned to hike and check watering holes/bedding areas at dusk and dawn. I honestly wasn't expecting to get anything but figured I'd just try. Saturday morning I'm walking along a trail in an area of dense brush, my wife had decided to join. At the end of our little walk I decide to take her to an area where we had just put up a new tower. This tower is overlooking a feeder but the feeder hasn't been throwing corn since deer season. As soon as we turn the corner we come up on a group of five pigs just tearing up the ground. I'm taken back, how come I didn't hear these guys? We were approximately 40 yards away and there was no wind. I finally get my bearings and fire a shot, knocking down a good sized sow. We head back to camp and we tell everyone about our adventure. High fives were exchanged, mother-in-law was upset that I killed Babe, and beers were a drinken! I went to bed happy and full. The next morning I'm awoken by my father-in-law. It's about 7 in the morning and I have a significant headache. I look to him in a confused state and say "what? What's wrong?". He has a intense look on his face and whispers (there was other people sleeping in the room) "there are 10 hogs outside". I shoot up out of bed like a confused kid on Christmas. I run to the car and grab my AR. I slowly head to where he is pointing. To my surprise there is a group of ten pigs wallowing in a shallow creek not 20 yards away from the cabin. Again I pause, these hogs are as silent as a rock! If I wasn't staring at them with my own two eyes, in my pajamas, I'd have no idea that they were there. I lower my AR along the fence line a connect with a sow. Instantly after my first shoot I lock on to another hog. Pow!! Another sow goes down from a shot to the neck. I guess the dense mud had slowed them down but it seems as if the hogs were moving like molasses. They make a run for it, I aim and pow another one goes down. I think I must have connected with the shoulder because I watched the last one limp away into the brush. The whole thing must have lasted 30 seconds but to me it lasted an hour. I left that morning. I was very satisfied but confused. During both my occurrences I had not heard a peep come from the group of hogs. In my excited state had I developed some sort of cochlear nerve palsy? Have the hogs in mason county evolved into some super silent breed of swine? I don't know why I didn't hear them, I just know that I didn't. Has anyone else ever encountered the silent hog? Or was this all a dream?

I hunt walk and stalk. I've had sounders run smack dab into me a few times and I didn't hear a thing. Don't now how they do that but it gets exciting real quick.

I have got Ninja hogs at my place too. NO sound whatsoever, and they only come out in total darkness. If I don't see them in my xsight, I would never know they were there.

50/50 for me

I've had pack of 10 or more come in to eat and they were in complete silence

I've had 2 young boars come in and made all kinds of grunts/snorts/squeals

they know they're only 20 yds away from the cabin that's why they're stealthy

Huh, didn't know it was a common thing. I may just have to take another trip and see if this is going to be a reoccurring theme

whins it comeing out on video

Where's the pics?

My experience has been the same as the others. Sometimes you here them, sometimes you don't.

50 % of the time they sound like a freight train coming, 50 % of the time they are ninjas

I was showing my buddy my night vision scope recently. We'd been out around sundown without seeing anything, and on the way back in I suggested we stop at a pasture and allow me to demonstrate the NV scope. I got out and fired it up, and made a quick sweep of the pasture without seeing anything of interest. I then handed it to him and explained the controls (IR light on/off, intensity) and let him go. He starts scanning, pretty impressed with what's visible, and suddenly he says "I see hogs!"

He hands the rifle back and points out to the southeast — I take a look and sure enough there is a sounder that had just entered the pasture moving away from us. Neither of us could hear them, even though the wind was coming from the south. Unfortunately they were on their way somewhere and moved out too fast for us to get into position for shooting.

We never heard a thing. Sometimes that's how it works.

I was in Bosque County turkey hunting one morning and I got up to move spots, walk around the corner of the tree line and bam, 10 hogs not 20 yards from me rooting everything up and I never heard a sound! That is until my trusty sidepiece fired that first round then things got interesting!