Oh, sorry, that was another time.

Actually the day started off semi-cool and overcast but cleared off and warmed up right quick. We had driven in to the far enclosure. We all got through the gate and over the wire without any issues and Oliver, our guide, was giving us a thumbnail game plan for the morning hunt. With the basics out of the way, we started up the hill. In this part of Missouri, everywhere is up or down some sort of hill...much of it semi-steep with bare, rock strewn ground.

We were just short of the crest when Oliver stopped and pointed ahead. I was second in line and struggling to see what he was singling out. All I could see was a log and an opening just beyond it apparently devoid of any creature.

It turns out, I was looking over top of a sleeping hog which was laying in front of the log, in a nice patch of sun. When this finally sunk in, I could describe it for Melodie who was right behind me on the climb.

Oliver asked if any of us was interested. "It's a pretty good hog.", he whispers back to us.

Melodie asked me how to shoot it and I told her, "See his ear sticking up? Put one right behind that." She kind of shook her head and allowed that she'd try.

She soft footed it up the hill a little, moving from tree to tree, until she got to about 20 yards. In all this time, "Sleeping Beauty" hadn't stirred more than an occasional ear twitch. I was expecting him to bolt at any moment and was ready for a back-up shot.

To digress a moment, Melodie is very, and admirably, safety conscious. To this end, she was carrying her Winchester with the hammer down and the safety on ('94AE with cross bolt safety). We had drilled a bit on the fact that she'd need to both thumb the hammer back as well as push the safety off. I think the adrenaline may have been pumping just a wee bit by the time she got all lined up.

She steadied herself against a tree and took careful aim. She pushed the safety off and squeezed the trigger. Nothing. No click. No nothing. She looked over to me and mouthed, "What???" I pantomimed pulling the hammer back. She mistook it for working the lever and jacked another round in. I gave her a thumb's up and she went back to aiming.

A moment later, she again squeezed the trigger and that hog never got up. The last thing through its' mind was a 265gr cast 45 caliber SWC. Perfectly placed!

Here's my boar hunter and her prize: