In the old days in Gainesville, Bob, Fred and I spent quite a bit of time hunting. We all needed the food, and we liked to hunt. We often went out to the forest near Newberry to try our luck, but the live oak and palmetto forest of the west coast near Steinhatchee was the gold standard. For starters, the locals didn't hunt pig there because the pigs fed in the tidal flats at low tide. Locals claimed they tasted fishy. They didn't. There were lots of them around so we though it would be an easy kill. It wasn't. We went well armed. I had a 9mm pistol and a 30 cal m-1 carbine, Bob had, I think, a 410 with slugs and buckshot, and Fred had a lever action 25-20.
We got into the forest at dawn and moved slowly to the interior. Very noisy place to sneak. The floor littered with dry palm fronds and oak leaves. We were about 40 or 50 feet apart, moving in a line, and entered a thicket typical of the area. Very dense vegetation from the waist up and clear below, probably reflecting the periodic flooding. We were well inside the thicket when pigs erupted around us and scattered in all directions. They were literally running around past our legs. We all started shooting at once. Sounded like a war zone. I emptied the m-1, put the gun down, drew the 9mm (hollow points) and emptied that mag. Suddenly it got quiet. Somebody called out and we all answered in turn. No pigs got killed in the process. No blood, no squeals, no nothing.
The miracle was that none of us got shot either. I fired 13 or 14 rounds, the others probably at least that many. Very bad hunting technique, and we discussed this gambit over beer many times. Later that day we tried our luck with squirrels. I missed a few with the m-1 (probably just as well, they were hollow points too) and I don't remember what the other guys got. My dinner that night probably was something frozen.
We got into the forest at dawn and moved slowly to the interior. Very noisy place to sneak. The floor littered with dry palm fronds and oak leaves. We were about 40 or 50 feet apart, moving in a line, and entered a thicket typical of the area. Very dense vegetation from the waist up and clear below, probably reflecting the periodic flooding. We were well inside the thicket when pigs erupted around us and scattered in all directions. They were literally running around past our legs. We all started shooting at once. Sounded like a war zone. I emptied the m-1, put the gun down, drew the 9mm (hollow points) and emptied that mag. Suddenly it got quiet. Somebody called out and we all answered in turn. No pigs got killed in the process. No blood, no squeals, no nothing.
The miracle was that none of us got shot either. I fired 13 or 14 rounds, the others probably at least that many. Very bad hunting technique, and we discussed this gambit over beer many times. Later that day we tried our luck with squirrels. I missed a few with the m-1 (probably just as well, they were hollow points too) and I don't remember what the other guys got. My dinner that night probably was something frozen.
We were successful on other occasions, including the time I shot two shrinking pigs at the same time. Another tale for another time.
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