Despite getting to hunt with two really nice guys and enjoying their company for the evening, Saturday night was probably one of the worst hunts I have had in a while. Most of the hogs we saw were Houdini hogs that would mysteriously disappear on us. One group walked behind a small grove of trees in the middle of the field and never appeared on the other side and weren't in the grove. It was like when they disappeared from view, that they were beamed back up to the mother ship. Weird.

We finally got on a group of muggle (Harry Potter reference) hogs that apparently had no magical powers, though they were protected by clouds of the most viscous, blood thirsty, aggressive, and tenacious mosquitoes I have encountered in many years. Despite having sprayed down before starting our stalk and in my case, multiple layers of shirts, we were eaten alive. I stopped counting at 30 bites on my face, arms, and chest. I have no idea how many were on my back. One even got me through my baseball cap on top of my head. John's plan was to take meat home with him, but that idea faded quickly.

On top of that, I had two malfunctions where the Hornady SST ammo that I am going to have to sort out. One of the malfs cost us a hog and the second malf was covered by Dave who shot a hog I could not.

Even through all that, 6 hogs down still wasn't too bad of a night. I will definitely be trying some new gear before hunting that lowland pasture again.

Way to make it happen despite all the obstacles !

6 less pasture plows. Well done.

Hate Mosquitoes!

'Carpe Culicidae'

I have a dedicated Hog Stand on my property that is a low area with a lot of vegetation and a spring fed branch.

From April until about December the Mosquitoes are so bad....we have named that stand "The Blood Donor".

It's a good hog stand...but you pay a heavy price certain times of the year. It doesn't matter if you douse yourself in DEET, take a ThemaCell or try to cover yourself with clothing, they are unrelenting.

You guys did a pretty good job...considering the conditions.

Well ya had fun. Mosquitos are rough this year even around the house. What was the source of your malfunctions?

Blood donors is right, flint. We all finished the night a bit anemic. I was waiting on the nurse to show up with some OJ

Rick, not sure on the malfunctions. Hope to work that out tomorrow. It isn't going to be an ammo issue. I suspect it may be a gas issue. I will check the cycling and see where the cases are ejecting and if that is at the heart of the matter.

Nicely done.

You've convinced me to stay in the air conditioning and safely behind the mosquito screens.

I'm lucky being the guy mosquito's just about won't bite.

I would bet they bite you just as much, you just don't react to their bite, similar to some who don't ever "get" poison ivy/oak...you just don't react to the stuff.

Thermacell

Thermacells are nice. I own a couple. They don't work in the wind. That is because they work by heating up a pad with a chemical that cooks off into the air to form a cloud around you. That cloud does not stay in place in the wind.

Almost the same with poisen ivy, once a year I will get a slight reaction to it and the rest of the year it has no effect on me. Lucky I guess.

Poison oak and poison Ivy have no effect on me but skeeters think i am an open bar blood bank.

DNS let us know if it is gas system or clogged gas tube. Hard to correct if factory ammo is not burning clean and stopping stuff up can't change powders.