So today we did a one day hunt,left 04 in the morning and drove back at 17:00 tired I am. The client today shot a w/Hog at about 180 m, shot went off and I heard the hit. The pig just spun around and ran off, there were 3 of them. It just ran like nothing was wrong, a obvious miss. They went down the hill into a valley and up otherside of valley, Cody thought to count them and called "only two came out up otherside".
So we went to fetch it where ever it fell in the valley, it was not to be found, gone, no blood. The client started talking about a miss and hearing it hit the ground behind animal etc etc, like they always do when there is a wounding. "I am sure it must have been a miss, it would not run so far if it was wounded, etc etc"
I said it sounded like a gut shot, far back.
Cody disappeared out of sight with the dogs and the client " said that he had never heard of a animal running so far wounded". We saw Cody far away,like a ant on far side of open velt and headed to the bakkie to drive closer to where Cody was headed. I was now starting to accept that it was not likely we were to get the animal, Cody was far, far from shot start. We lost Cody in the bush and had to drive up down to try find him.
A moment later Cody appeared frantic, he found the pig, it was still on the move but he had run out of ammunition (the client had passed Cody his rifle at the start of the tracking with just 1 cartridge in it :-X )
Off Cody and I ran after the pig again, dogs tracking and us panting. The dogs got back on the pig and to my surprise they bayed the pig very well for their first ever meeting of a live animal in the bush. Cody was nervous to shoot so near his dogs and handed me the now loaded clients rifle and I shot at the pig -50 m, miss. IMPOSSIBLE. Reloaded shot again, miss - not possible, I do not miss - more so twice. I felt a tugging at my side and Cody had my 9 mm and was in onto the pig, a few shots and the pig was dead.
I looked back to where we had come from, where the pig had run and where it had died, 10 m after crossing a farm track (lucky for us a 10 m drag). After loading the pig I zero'd the odometer and and using a straight line measured along farm track to nearest point across from shot taken, 1.6 km. It is likely the dogs tracked closer to 2.2, 2.4 km. I am soooo impressed.
The animal was shot side to side just in front of the hind legs, and I missed at 50 meter, that rifle is far out - client sais he went to the range yesterday to check scope for the hunt, it was perfect!
The client is a real nice person, really nice guy, but I do not know so much about that rifle being spot on, good to go.