Collateral Damage on a Short Pig Hunt

Went after a boar that had been visiting my place. The rains has passed through a few hours earlier and the temperatures were down about 25 degrees to the low 40s and it was due to get into the low 30s. So I hoped the pig would be out and after my corn.

I hiked in and passed one feeder to my west about 35 yards away through some trees and circled around to the north to the next feeder about 50 yards north of it where the hog had visited recently. No signs of live hogs and so I went west by the feeder and into a small grove of trees behind it where I have a pop up blind/tent. There is a small trail in the small grove of trees and it ends at the pop up tent that is tied off to various trees to keep from blowing away in higher winds such as we were having (20+ mph).

So I get to the pop up and have gotten one leg over one of the tie down lines in order to get to the door and look south to the far feeder and see a big gray pig underneath it. I prefer to make rested shots but was rather stuck with no good rest, straddling a tie down line, partially exposed if the hog looked my way, and no way to go prone. The tent was too flimsy to use as a rest, but I did manage to steady my weak hand on the tent support while resting my rifle on my weak arm. I sighted along the top edge of the tent but made sure I was not shooting into the tent. I was clear by a good three inches.

I got my shot, found the pig a short while later about 50 yards further south in the woods from the feeder where I shot it. It was a pregnant sow with 5 piglets inside - a good pig to get! However, in staging gear at the feeder, I looked back to the pop up and it didn't look right. On inspection, I had blown out the front corner of the pop up with the muzzle blast of the rifle. Sometimes it isn't enough to just have a clear trajectory for the bullet, LOL. So this has become a rather expensive hog...

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I still haven't found the missing fabric.
 
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I remember that years ago, one of the gun magazines had a story about a similar occurrence. The rifleman used the his convertible top to steady his rifle for a shot at a distant antelope (I think), with the same results...muzzel blast blew a hole in his rag-top. Likely more expensive than replacing your pop-up blind.
 
Glad you got your kill. But I have 2 questions
1. Can you do anything with the fetal piglets?
2. Whats up with the angry bird?
 
You definitely CAN eat fetal pigs. Meat doesn't get much more tender than unused muscle.

Angry Bird is the modern electronic game patron saint of hog hunting...and a gift from my daughters for good luck. I can throw it at the pigs when I run out of ammo, LOL.

You don't have one?
 
I put some pretty good powder burns on my G'pa's pick-up hood as a lad ..... muzzle blast can damage more than your hearing.....

Deregulate suppressors NOW!
 
Rem 788 .308
Silver State Armory loaded with 150 gr. Sierra Match BTHP or Nosler Accubond bullets
Pulsar N550 Digisight
TNVC Torch Pro IR illuminator head on a Surefire M951/2(?) body
backup Luna Optics IR laser illuminator
bipod

The Pulsar is nice as it works as an okay daylight scope (which my shot was) and a very functional night visions scope (comparable to Gen II+ to Gen III capabilities).
 
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