I pulled up my 243 and Josh and I shifted positions in the tree stand. The ditch stand is definitely the smallest (most narrow), and therefor we have to do some maneuvering to get a shot. Josh slid into my seat and I propped myself on his lap while I leaned across the stand. It took us a minute or so for me to get into a position that was comfortable.
"Wait a minute and I'll get my video camera."
"Absolutely not. If this pig walks away because we were waiting on you I will be devastated. Forget the camera."
I know Josh loves to get as many hunts on video as possible, but there was no way that I was going to let this opportunity pass me by. I had waited for way too long.
"Wait till he turns broadside."
"Shh. I know."
"Just place your cross hairs behind his ear."
"Josh seriously, stop talking."
I can't even tell you what else he tried to whisper to me before I let a few choice words fly that finally quieted him. I need total quiet in order for me to concentrate on what I am doing. This would not be the best time to give advice. He promptly put his fingers in his ears and waited for me to fire. It was as if the hands of time slowed down. The pig kept turning from left broadside to right broadside giving me perfect shot after perfect shot. The problem with having exactly what you want right in front of you, is that it causes you to panic that you are going to miss.
Enough. It was go time. I took a deep breath, lined up my cross hairs, and squeezed on the exhale. The pig promptly dropped to the ground. I practically threw my gun at Josh. (This is common practice for me after having to shoot a prior pig four times before it stopped moving I am a little skittish.) I prefer to have Josh ready to take the second shot if needed, plus I hate watching until it stops moving.
"Just wait fifteen minutes and we can go get it." (Totally not normal practice for us. He normally makes me wait until we are finished hunting at either noon or dark.)
"I'm okay, I can wait." (I am literally dancing around in the tree stand and smiling so hard that my face might crack open.)
"No, we'll go in a few minutes."
We climbed out of the stand and drove the ranger down the road to where my pig was located. Josh checked to make sure we were safe, and then lifted it's leg.
"What does that mean?" (Relax, I know the difference between boys and girls but I was stunned that this was actually happening.)
"It's a boar, not a sow!"
"OH.MY.GOSH."
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I never thought I would be so happy to hear the words, "it's a boy" in my entire life. I was/still am in total shock that I have finally harvested, not just a boar (which we are mounting!), but an oreo colored boar at that. The exact animal I have coveted since I began hunting. Jarrid aptly named him a "boareo," and it stuck. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to harvest the one animal on my list since day one. This is such an awesome feeling! I hope this post does this story justice, but in case it didn't, I'll post some videos I took immediately after this happened.
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