Accidental Double

I did decide to put a feeder out at the little farm I hunt. Got it put out last weekend...way too many hogs going on. Checked cameras this morning and they were coming in around sunset, sunrise, all hours of the night, even a couple of daytime forays over the past few weeks.

Got out there about 715 as my feeder is set to go off at 730 and 800. Property next door were having lots of fun on motorcycles and ATVs. They lasted way longer than I thought but quit about 8. About 815 a sounder came to the corner, one of two places they come on. I put a little stalk on using a small mesquite as cover but the landowner has company and now they're leaving. Pigs move off to the west, in the trees, towards the other access point which is where I have a camera and the feeder. I move that direction and wait. It's about 830 now and pretty dark. I can see them but truthfully it's a little fuzzy. I'm at 80 or so yards. I get a nice enough bead on a large black pig and my fire stick belched. The sounder runs into the trees and I see nothing. I had a solid steady shot. I get up to where they were under the feeder and there's a pig there. One of the sounder spots was DRT. No sign of the black one. I use my flashlight looking for blood. As I approach the tree line a guttural growl emanates from the darkness. A sick pig. I contact the landowner who brings his razor for protection and we go into the trees. No pig but its pitch dark now. Re grab the spotted boar and drag him off. He was maybe 175. No cutters but he was a fat, squat dude with quite the large pair. He must have been behind the other. He literally did not move. Shot was through the spine behind the head. Gonna go back to try to find the other tomorrow.

No bueno on the recovery for #1. Dead pig #2 only had 2-3 " penetration from the 308, no exit. Forgot knives so not sure how much bullet went through #1.

Good fun anyway

If im in the stand I allways line 2 up intentionally and have many times taken 2 with one shot. I usually gut shoot the first one. Had 2 small grandsons in stand couple years ago and did it and the one behind let out about a 2min squeal before expiring and the boys were looking at me wondering what was going on.

Good hog down anyway. Hope you find the first when you go back.

I hope I don't get myself into trouble with this post.

I have never before read of a hunter who shoots an animal in the gut on purpose. Is this commonly done? Is it because the pigs are problem animals? I guess shooting through the gut means no large bones are hit which increases the chances of the bullet going straight through the animal into another animal behind it. When I was in my teens I once killed two impala with one shot but that was by mistake and I was taken to task about it. The way I see it, intentionally gut-shooting an animal or taking a shot at an animal when there is another directly behind it are big no-no's even if the animals are problem animals. I think it is better for our image as hunters to minimise unnecessary suffering of the animals we kill and thus we should always strive for a clean one-shot kill.

Then again, we don't have the feral pig problem here in SA ... yet, so perhaps I would see things differently if we did?

Yes - people gut shoot pigs with the hope of killing them and really dont care where they off to. Very much different than anything else where we promote good shot placement. With pigs - it's kill as many as you can

@cos. This is my 4th double. Only one was intentional. It was almost dark and the only night vision was my Vortex and my antique Squintatronix 5000.

Nice one!