Them Ghogs are definitely some tough critters to kill indeed. Great job on finally getting the job done on that one, it sure is nice to have more than one shot when you're shooting at a ground hog cause they're very unpredictable . . . . even when you get a great shot to the head like you did !!!
good shot...and great forensic study !!
Excellent job on the quick follow up shots finishing that g-hog. As the others have said they are definitely a tough critter to put down for good. Over the years I've been amazed many times just how tough g-hogs are. Anyway, good shooting, great investigative efforts and skills and thanks for sharing the hunt. Well done.Jeff
Yep G-hogs are very tough. Good shooting. You got him at the end and that's what counts. The POI is a bit low and did not hit the brain, or just nicked it, which is why he started heading for the burrow before he expired. But the trauma and internal bleeding did him in. It was a lethal shot, but one that takes a little longer to take him out. For this reason I always try to shoot high into their skull between eye & ear and always have excellent results. They don't move much at all from where they drop, and "rolling over" is not normal after a good brain shot. Head shot yes, but not "brain" shot. When you see a G-hog roll over get ready for a 2nd shot. 99% of the 300 G-hogs I have taken never rolled over. The rolling means the brain was not taken out. Rolling over is a defense mechanism for a G-hog. I did have 1 that I took a follow up shot after rolling over because the burrow was only 2 feet away, but the other one did not need it because he was rolling and dragging itself away from the burrow so I did not take another shot. It just ended up ~8 feet away from the spot he got shot. It looked like it might get away at first, but then slowed down and expired due to excessive bleeding. Both times the shot was low on the skull, very similar to your POI. The only other time I had one roll over a few times it ran down the burrow after it rolled over enough and it realized there was no predator around attacking him. He died later in the burrow and started stinking. Another G-hog pushed him out to the surface a few days later, and I was able to see that my shot was in the chest/vitals instead of the head because I had a loose adjustable windage screw on the RWS adj. scope mount. The 21.1gr Kodiak had gone through his chest but it didn't phase him much at the time. That was in 2007 and the last G-hog "I lost", even though I recovered it later with the help of his buddy, who I thanked with some lead shortly after Harry
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