Arming a Minion

[Weetabix]

Excellent. I must investigate this.

[First Shirt]

On private land, you can bait them (check the local rules to be sure, but it's legal here), and a whiskey hole works well. Sometimes they respond to a varmint call (especially popular are rabbit squeakers and distressed fawn bleats) but be ready, and have your back against something solid, because when they do come in, they do it fast and surprisingly quietly.

[First Shirt]

I'll do this with SM1, because she's proven that she can play the game. I can't think of anyone else I'd trust to do this with. (Although SM2 is gonna get her chance this year.)

I'll ensconse the other shooter in a good, 3-sides covered, position, then move up about 25-50 yards from their position, and start working the varmint call. If it's gonna work, it will work fast. The hogs will come in fast, and quietly. Last year, SM1 nailed one that was 20 yards from me, coming in fast enough that he covered the distance from 50 yards to 20 yards without making any noise, and barely giving me time to get the big .45 Colt moved into his area. Fortunately, she's a cool hand and a good shot, or it might have gotten awkward. That particular one was a boar that weighed 226 lbs. field-dressed, and if he'd gotten into my lap it would have been ....problematic.

I may never get to Africa to hunt Cape Buffalo. Not sure that I've missed much, though.

[toad]

From what I've heard if you are out walking around and looking for one, shoot it but it doesn't drop right away they have a tendency to circle and try to come in on your flank as you follow the blood trail. A buddy found one in position but it had pooped out from the blood loss. He could see it still breathing so he gave it an insurance shot.

[Denis]

If you look now at the Aimpoint Sights webpage http://www.aimpoint.com/

there is a link at bottom right to a free video entitled "Wild Boar Fever 5" - you need Flash working, and they ask for an e-mail address. If you don't mind going on their mailing list, the 20-minute video is rather good. It's really a teaser for Hunter's Video DVDs.

[Erik]

From what I've heard if you are out walking around and looking for one, shoot it but it doesn't drop right away they have a tendency to circle and try to come in on your flank as you follow the blood trail. A buddy found one in position but it had pooped out from the blood loss. He could see it still breathing so he gave it an insurance shot.

A lot of animals will do this. Moose sometimes circle back and watch their trail, but usually not to attack, just to see if they are followed. If you follow them too soon you'll spook them and they'll take off for miles. Hunters I know says that if they wound a moose, they'll give it a head start of maybe an hour to make sure it settles down and get weak from the blood loss before they track it down. I think they do the same for hogs as well.

[First Shirt]

We've been lucky, I guess, not having to track one. But the rule is "shoot it, run the bolt, and get back on target." And whichever minion is shooting, the other is backing them up, which means that at least two of us are backing up the shooter.

The second rule is "leave it lay for 30 minutes before you do ANYTHING!" I'll risk a little spoilage, to keep from getting a minion chewed up. But that's just me.