As usual, I'm behind updating my blog! So a quick update to get myself on a roll and later something more fun..
2012 ended with a bang..and a miss! Yep, two smallish hogs, lined up on a trail and running away from me. Very short yardage, a rushed shot forgetting to hold low and I think I parted the hair on the first one's head! They hit the afterburners straight into the brush and I think they might still be running. I've been hunting since, many times, but nothing noteworthy to report.
All this hunting with my evil black rifle has led to me missing my bolt actions! Not that the AR isn't great at it's job, in fact, as noted above-it does it's job better than I do mine! That little rifle is so fast to bring to bear that it's practically become an extension of my body! Like my body, the rifle gets a little banged around at times when running through the woods trying to head off groups of hogs, always on a mission to find food. Consequently, it bears the marks of being used to push brush, bouncing off trees, or hitting those low hanging limbs I can't duck quite far enough to clear (being tall can be difficult). It's been dropped, tossed to the top of a steep bank when I suddenly realized gravity was getting the best of me (if you knew what was below me you'd understand that move), sweated all over through the summer, had blood spattered on it from a few really close range encounters, dust blown on it from high speed atv rides, sand from going up and down a zillion creek banks, and even had iced tea spilled on it when a cup broke in my truck. You probably wouldn't expect me to admit this but... I've never cleaned it. NEVER. Oh maybe every so often a wet finger to rub a mark off the barrel, and of course the lens cloth on the Eotech and magnifier, but that's it. The thing just keeps on ticking. I can't think of a better rifle for the short range, heavy brush hunting that has become my 'normal' hunt. I love it.
Of course, I do long for a canyonlands hunt with long ranges and hopefully an exotic critter like an aoudad or axis deer to pursue. That's where my bolt actions would shine. I guess it's the type of hunt that I long for more than using my bolt actions. I've always been like that with my toys-each one serving a purpose. That dang AR just keeps hogging up the hunting action by being good at everything I've used it for so far. Well dang. I guess I'll pull it out of the safe and go for another brush bustin' hog hunt!
