The smoking hog

Jeff in TX

Got bored this evening and decided to go out jump on a 4-wheeler and do a bit of critter watching. We haven't had rain in over 2.5 months and the dirt has turned to dust. Came to my back corner stand and saw a huge hog under the green flood lights of the feeders. I didn't bring a rifle just out critter watching. Through my binoculars I watched him feed. Each time he took a breath a breathed out his snout he would blow up a huge cloud of dust. Almost looked like he was smoking under the feeder.

I always find it interesting just watching critters do what critters do in their natural environment.

early

I saw a bull elk and biggest mule deer buck I've ever seen while sitting at this years camp reading and enjoying the stillness of twilight.

I've enjoyed visits with a wide assortment of critters while hunting. The bears while I was sleeping were a bit much but heck they live there.

snake284

Jeff in TX wrote: »

Got bored this evening and decided to go out jump on a 4-wheeler and do a bit of critter watching. We haven't had rain in over 2.5 months and the dirt has turned to dust. Came to my back corner stand and saw a huge hog under the green flood lights of the feeders. I didn't bring a rifle just out critter watching. Through my binoculars I watched him feed. Each time he took a breath a breathed out his snout he would blow up a huge cloud of dust. Almost looked like he was smoking under the feeder.

I always find it interesting just watching critters do what critters do in their natural environment.

Damn, thought you had shot one and were smoking that dude.

bklysen

Jeff in TX wrote: »

I always find it interesting just watching critters do what critters do in their natural environment.

I am soo with ya...

On the bow stand one eve I had a chickadee hop on to my nocked arrow, bow on my lap and watched him scoot the length of it, jump on to my shoulder and pull on the loose, tag ends of my gillie suit. Next eve on the same stand, heard faint rustling of leaves directly below me, saw a mouse rolling one of the chestnuts I brought out that I had scattered for squirrels. Must have taken him an hour to move it 10 feet, but when he was finished I'm sure he figured he'd just put up a winter's worth of good eats.

Never saw any deer, but it was a great weekend of hunting.

Jeff in TX

bklysen wrote: »

I am soo with ya...

On the bow stand one eve I had a chickadee hop on to my nocked arrow, bow on my lap and watched him scoot the length of it, jump on to my shoulder and pull on the loose, tag ends of my gillie suit. Next eve on the same stand, heard faint rustling of leaves directly below me, saw a mouse rolling one of the chestnuts I brought out that I had scattered for squirrels. Must have taken him an hour to move it 10 feet, but when he was finished I'm sure he figured he'd just put up a winter's worth of good eats.

Never saw any deer, but it was a great weekend of hunting.

Yepper, it never gets dull watching critters do what critters do, especially at night when I watch them under the green flood lights. My wife and I have a running joke when I go out to go hunting for an evening. She'll say are the loaded shells in your clip or are you hunting clipless! I've been known to just go critter watching though I usually always have a clip with loaded shells in it just in case some monster buck shows up! Some of my best hunts come from what I saw and not what I shot.

I was watching a squirrel on a stump eating an acorn. Something caught my eye and I saw the hawk just as it folded it wings, leaned back as his feet and talons extended and snatched that squirrel right off the stump. The squirrel was helpless as the hawk beat it's wings and lifted up through the tree tops. Just an unreal sight to see!

snake284

I have a cousin who lives in Austin and she and her husband who's now deceased, had a ranch up out of Lampassas. Years back he had dropped her off that morning at a blind at a place they called Deer Valley. She was sitting there with her .243 and out walks a mountain lion. She said she watched that mountain lion. She didn't shoot it but watched it play jumping and climbing trees and such for about 10 minutes. Then she said it disappeared as fast as it showed up.

The wildest thing I've ever seen was two turkeys that came out at my deer feeder and were strutting around doing a fan dance. I wouldn't have thought this was very special except it was in November. Down here they don't do that stuff except in March-April. Both of them were fanning out their fan of feathers. It was quite a show.