This is a picture of one of the two hogs I got last night. The last two times I've come down to the Haun Ranch for hog hunting, we've shot a hog within 1 hour of going into the field. This trip makes three. I arrived to the ranch around 8:30. It was already dark by the time I got out to my spot across the road. It was too dark to drive without headlights, as I usually do by the full moon. It was about 50% moon illumination, but overcast. I parked my Jeep in the opposite corner of the pasture and walked in from there. There was no sign of hogs at the hanging feeder. It didn't surprise me because I was arriving well after they would have gone off. There was no corn under it, though. Something must have eaten it already. On to the barrel feeder, which the hogs can push around to dispense corn 24/7. This is where I usually find them late at night. I got to within 75 yards of the barrel feeder, but I still could not detect any hogs. I did a 360-degree sweep with my night vision scope and much to my surprise, there was a large group of cattle in the middle of the field. They couldn't be more than 100 yards, but I could not see them at all with the naked eye. Then it started to pour. I was far enough from my Jeep that there wasn't much use in trying to seek shelter there. I figured I would just use my body and my hat to try to keep the rain off my night vision scope, to protect the delicate circuitry inside. Then it started to let up a little bit, and I worked my way closer to the feeder. I got to within 50 yards, when I thought I might have detected the slightest degree of movement. I could not see anything there without my scope. I put the scope to my eye, and my pulse quickened. I could see a hog at the feeder, plain as day. He was pushing the barrel around in a circle around the post it was tethered to. This rifle was so heavy that I needed to assume a steadier firing position. If only I had brought my "steady sticks". I went prone, but the grass was too tall for me to see. I thought to myself: Did I waste too much time? Is he still there? Has he detected me yet? I came back up to a sitting position. I could see him looking straight at me. I'm not sure if he heard me or if he saw my scope's illuminator, which looks like a dim red light. He ran around the feeder, but went back to feeding. I took the first steady shot I had available to me. PSSST! -- THWACK! I could hear the bullet hit flesh because with the suppressor (silencer) and the subsonic ammo, it sounds like a loud pellet gun. The sound of metal thumping on flesh was immediately followed by a horrific squeal as the hog flopped down. The bullet entered the near shoulder, passed through the chest cavity, and smashed the shoulder bone on the opposing side before stopping just under the hide. The bullet didn't expand at that low velocity, which allowed it to penetrate deeply. The hog bled out quickly. The round's ballistics are roughly comparable to a .45 ACP FMJ. Terry's wife was kind enough to take this nice picture late at night. I ate a sandwich, then headed back out again to the other part of the ranch. The back pasture was hard to recognize. The grass and sunflowers had grown very tall. I guess they haven't had any cattle back there lately. I cut out my headlights and drove the last several hundred yards by flashlight. With a hill separating the feeder from my Jeep, I figured the noise wouldn't disturb them. I shut off my engine and listened. I could already hear them. It sounded like they were on the feeder. I walked up to the blind which was about 50 yards from the feeder, but I could only make out a black thing motionless under the feeder post. There was tall grass and a depression that obscured my view. I thought it could be the barrel, so I move in closer. I would take a few steps, then peek through my NV scope. This time I saw a little piglet running around by the feeder. My heart rate jumped. Momma's near. I had to be sure that I took one clean shot and that I selected the Momma hog or there would be a price to pay. And there was nothing between me and them except about 15 yards worth of darkness and some weeds. I could not see them at all with the naked eye. My Jeep was on the other side of the barbed wire fence, and I couldn't figure out how to get into the blind in the dark. I couldn't be sure how many hogs there were in there, either. All of the sudden, they all scrambled away. I figured they must have caught wind of me or something, although it was calm. I was pretty close. I figured I had been compromised, so I started walking right up toward the feeder to see if there was any corn in it and size things up. I was just standing around at about 5 yards, when another small hog came back out for the feeder. I think he saw me and started moving away. He stopped for one more look, right before making it to freedom in the tall grass. He never made it. The bullet entered behind the right ear and exited behind the left ear. He dropped immediately. This one was a breeze to clean due to his small size, but it will be worth the effort when we dine on the tenderloin medallions. -Mike