The good news is that I've finished my report. The bad news is it's an epic (3 pages single-spaced; too big for the forum.) Maybe NBK and Papi will want to post it on the main page, but here is an abbreviated version:
For those who might not know it already, telling a self-respecting hunting guide that you want to work for your shot is like telling the chef at a Thai restaurant that you like your food spicy; either way, you are going to feel the burn. We had an absolutely marvelous 2-day hunt and even though I walked till my legs gave out, Neil and Jack worked much harder than I did. Their attention to detail, knowledge of quarry and habitat was amazing. Neil’s intimate knowledge of the maze of hills on some of these ranches is especially remarkable considering that he now guides on nearly 200K acres. And although they obviously were fully committed to seeing me have a “successful” hunt (i.e. take a pig), they never seemed impatient when I blew a stalk or a shot. I've worked with a lot of great teachers and mentors, and I can tell you that it is rare to find the combination of commitment and patience that these gentlemen displayed.
Long story short, the pigs were scarce and I blew the small number of good chances I had. But at the end of the hunt as we started walking down the slope to the truck, there lay a pig who had not been disturbed by the riot and shot that had occurred barely a hundred feet from where it lay. Somehow this pig had slept through the whole episode. About 200 lbs and a distinct calico pattern, it hadn’t been among that original group that had scattered at my botched stalk, and must have been sleeping there the entire time. It lay at the foot of a rock pile about 35 yards to our left. I couldn’t see if its eyes were open or not, but I stepped to the left to get out of its line of sight and took aim. The shot entered through the cheek and exited through the far shoulder blade. The pig went down hard. In the last minute of the last hour of our hunt, I had meat for my freezer. I felt relief that at long last I’d held up my end, but to be honest I learned so much and had such a great time on this hunt, it had already been a success many times over.
