Your browser does not support the audio element.
No wonder deer weren’t coming to Mike Waters’ most dependable spot.
On Saturday evening, Waters, his son Braden, 12, and Kaitlin Compton sat in their favorite stand hoping to bag a deer on opening day of the alternative firearms deer season. Waters said that deer had been scarce at a spot that has provided a lot of venison and its fair share of antlers. Waters attributed it to the heat, but an unexpected visitor gave him an alternate theory. A very large feral hog trotted out to feast on the corn thrown from Waters’ electric feeder.
If you don’t get the game you want, shoot the game you’ve got. A feral hog isn’t classed as game, but it is legal, and it is a pest and a menace. Braden shot the hog, which Mike estimated to weigh about 300 pounds.
“I knew some hogs were there,” Mike said. “It was about 6:30 (p.m.), and that old beast comes out. He was probably about 90 yards away.”
Braden dropped it with one shot from a 350 Legend rifle.
Gawd-a-mighty, Braden is some kind of a shot,
“Gawd-a-mighty, Braden is some kind of a shot,” Mike said. “That big joker just collapsed. He kept trying get up, but there wasn’t no way. He never moved 2 feet after Braden shot him.”
With Braden’s sports schedule, the Waters family shoehorns hunting time wherever it can. This hunt took place after a baseball tournament in Benton.
“We ain’t been seeing that many deer,” Mike said. “We got there about 4:30, and we were just sitting there together in the stand just enjoying time together.”
Braden sat in the shooting chair
Braden sat in the “shooting” chair. Mike sat behind him in a folding chair from which he has chronicled much of Braden’s young hunting life.
“They grow up so quick,” Mike said. “I take pictures in the same place to show how he’s grown.”
Mike said his remote camera has photographed a sounder of hogs numbering about 15. Most are piglets accompanied by a pair of large sows. The boar appeared to be a free agent.
He was all by hisself, Mike said
“He was all by hisself,” Mike said. “That big ol’ stud boar hog ain’t got many ‘people’ hanging out with him. You know how it is. Sometimes a wad of hogs will come out, and you wait for the big one. When he came out, there was no ifs, ands or buts. Braden was going to shoot it.”
Hogs are wary and nervous. They don’t see well, but their sense of smell is acute. A sounder has a lot of snouts sniffing for danger. A solitary pig is on its own, and either the wind wasn’t in its favor or it disregarded the signals the wind sent.
“I thought he was going to bust us out,” Mike said. “He kept looking looking toward us. It took him about a minute before he turned broadside. When he finally turned sideways, he hit the dirt.”
Not wanting to get charged by a wounded
Not wanting to get charged by a wounded pig with impressively large tusks, the Waters crew watched for a while to make sure it didn’t revive. After a respectful wait, Mike crept up to inspect.
“Braden had that 350,” he said. “I said, ‘You keep that rifle on this hog. If he moves, you let him have it again.’ “
For insurance, Mike also carried a pistol.
“They’ll go in the brush, and then you’ve really got a problem,” Mike said. “When I got to it, I knew it was dead.”
That’s when Mike realized how big the brute was.
The bullet never came out, Mike said
“The bullet never came out,” Mike said. “It disintegrated the lungs and probably the heart, too, but that big ol’, heavy bullet never made it out the other side.”
Of course, that was the end of the deer hunt.
“That hog stunk so bad, we knew we weren’t going to see nothing else,” Mike said.
Evidently, news of the hog’s demise spread through the deer population. Mike said his camera photographed a nice 8-point buck Thursday morning.
It took them awhile, but they’re coming back,
“It took them awhile, but they’re coming back,” Mike said. “There’s a big ol’ mama hog over there I’d like to get, a black and white one.”
In the meantime, young Braden holds the family record for biggest hog.
“I’ve killed a bunch of hogs, but only 100 pounds at the most,” Mike said. “I’ve never come close to shooting anything as big as Braden’s.”
Mike said that Braden at 12 is already a better marksman than he is, and he is also maturing into a fine hunter. He will probably be the one to break his own record.
Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans. Donate today to preserve the quality and integrity of local journalism.
