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Sam and I are conducting an AAR right now
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AAR as follows
On the 25th of May on a scouting trip into a new area of my lease we identified massive amount of hog sign in a recently logged pine forest, trees are planted in rows about 10 ft apart and allowed to grow until of suitable size, anywhere from 10-30 years, the rows themselves can be open or thick palmetto and scrub under brush and it varies a lot.
The area is a large oval clear cut in between two sections of pine, think multiple rows over many many acres. After walking the area I knew it who be an ideal place to ambush some swine from an elevated position I just needed to bring them in regularly, I returned on the 27th by myself and dug 3 holes each about 2.5 deep into the ground with a post hole digger and shovel, I utilized my standard recipe of Cool-Aid tropical punch and corn plus water in a bucket in the sun for 48-72 hours, it gets ripe fast in the FL heat. I poured about 2-4 cups of corn in the bottom of each hole and covered them both with dirt and then a few ounces of corn over the top to waft in the breeze. I dug a final hole and up righted a pine log and strapped two cameras to it facing the 3 holes.
On 29 May I returned to check my cameras, but before I evened looked at it I knew hogs had hit the area. Each hole was cratered out about the size of an impact of a 120mm Mortar where they had dug for the corn, the camera revealed a sounder of 7 pigs, 1 boar, 2 Sows and 3 piglets. And they were hitting it early in the evening. I called up Norecoil and laid out my plan, as I had a feeling it was going to be an easy and quick night. I wanted to take the boar and at least one preferably the alpha sow from the sounder.
On 30 May we geared up, we both prefer the 300blk round for its ballistics and availability and compatibility to our existing AR platforms. We also both use ATPIALs and Aimpoints, if you have to ask it's because they work and don't let you down either on a hunt or over seas.
We rode in and staged the vehicle somewhere in the neighborhood of 500-600 yards from where we were hunting and walked in about 2000. I wore a set of Sentinels I had Martin from TNVC build me a while back, and Norecoil was utilizing an Omni7 PVS-14 from Willsoptics. We crept into our stand and waited, straining our ears and eyes in the ambient light the sunlight was gone by 2045 and we switched to nods. We didn't have to wait terribly long as a loan whitetail deer strolled in and circled the area in our view, just as it got to where it could smell the corn Myself and Norecoil simultaneously detected movement at our 1oclock breaking from the cover of the pines, a loan decent sized boar hog.the hog approached and spooked the deer, as the deer spooked and runs off, the hog is also startled and runs a short distance away, yet still in our line of sight. We both knew he was there for one thing, sweet fermented corn and he wasn't going far. So we waited and as he headed back I told Norecoil to smoke him with a head shot when ready. He drew closer and became even more visible and gained a new bit of bling, that would be the IR laser tracking him and indicating the impact point. He slowed and finally halted in the open at about 50-60 yards and Norecoil let him have it before he even got close to the corn. He dropped like a bad habit, instant death, kicked a few times and that was that. We ended the night and were home by 2330 with Norecoil getting some primo back straps. This was a large hog, somewhere around 175lb but certainly not the largest we have taken. In Feb Norecoil dispatched a 350 pounded with a headshot from 125yards with his 300blk. 110 grn Barnes work extremely well we have found, as do the 125 Noslers. It was an easy night and the wives were happy we got home safe and in a timely manner. I'm planning on going out again really soon as I have a sounder of 8-9 hogs still hitting the area. I hope it's ok with VIc I post this but check us out on FB at Facebook.com/SilentSolutions