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Well it turns out that the TBG boys were having a group hunt on the Chickasawhatchee WMA which is pretty close to where I hunt anyway so I decided to stop by for a few days on my way home.
The Georgia guys told me that the Chickasawhatchee is the second biggest swamp in Ga. The WMA is just under 20,000 acres.
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Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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I got there around 1:30 PM on January 1. I talked to a few guys who were around camp and they told me that I was in the right spot. I heard about a hog and a nice eight point that had been killed in the previous two days so I was pretty excited about the prospects of getting into the swamp. Just as I was finishing setting up camp, these two jokers showed up.
My wife looked at me a little funny when I told her that they were shooting and hunting buddies of mine. You couldn't find any nicer guys than Danny Beckweth and Chuck Evans.
Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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There is some gorgeous habitat on the Chickasawhatchee. One spot that is of particular beauty is called the Seven Bridges Road. I don't want to say anything bad about the people in this area or their ability to count, because the 25 or so TBG members in attendance were all fine fellows, but I am fairly certain that there are only six bridges. Maybe one of them washed out before I got there.
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Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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Danny gave me some general information about the place and I set out to explore about 4:00 PM. I decided to drive for an hour and try to get a feel for the lay of the land. I would try to find a promising spot by 5:00 PM and spend the rest of the time until dark hunting for pigs.
Narrowing down a place to hunt is a bit of a challenge. The whole place fairly screams, "HUNT HERE!"
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Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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As my self-appointed deadline for making the transition from driving to hunting approached, I found an overgrown logging road that looked promising. From the road it looked like just a big wet area, but I recognized the evenly spaced openings as old ruts from heavy equiopment and bet on the fact that it would offer me a fairly clear and quiet access into the swamp as well as an easy way back out of the unfamiliar territory.
The nearest place that I could park was several hundred yards away. After parking, I walked back to the logging road and forced myself to slow down and begin to still hunt as soon as I stepped off of the main drag.
Hog sign was evident almost immediately.
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Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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I hadn't gone more than 75 yards down the logging track when I heard some movement in the brush to my left. Peering through the pines, briars, and other scattered underbrush I made out the legs and then the bodies of two hogs as they fed quickly through the woods. They were only about 45 yards away, but there was just no way that I was going to be able to catch up with them.
After they fed out of sight, i continued down the logging road scouting and still-hunting as I went. The sign just kept getting better and better. About 300 yards off the main road, the logging track was intersected by another more recent skidder trail. I looked down the new road and noticed that there was a clear field of view for about 100 yards or more.
I turned down the new road and quickly found what I was looking for. Right in the middle of the hottest hog sign I had seen was a stand of oak trees that was still dropping acorns. Conveniently located in the middle of the oaks was a large fallen log that would help break up my outline.
I decided to spend the rest of the evening in that spot. I put my back to the oaks and faced the fallen log. The fact that I was also looking into the wind made everything perfect.
This is my field of view from my stand. It is 14 yards from where I am standing to the clump of oaks in the center of the picture. I know because I paced it off later.
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Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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Looks like hog country to me!!! Good luck!! Daren
-------------------- "Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to it's actual length"~Thomas Hardy Posts: 228 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Nov 2008
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As the magic moments before dark crept by, my confidance in the spot continued to grow. My ears were the first to tell me that something was coming to me through the swamp. A few minutes later, my eyes confirmed what my ears had told me. A large black form was moving steadily in my direction. I knew the hog was going to come my way and just as firmly, I believed that I was going to shoot and kill it. I have never been that confident in the way any previous hunting scenario has ever been set up. It just felt perfect.
The beast came steadily in my direction, but stopped occasionally to root in the mud for acorns. At 30 yards I recognized the fact that it was a big sow. She stopped when she was about 20 yards away and eyed me for a second and the continued on. She stopped again right in front of the oaks featured in the picture above and eyed me again. A few seconds later she put her head down and turned to her left presenting a quartering away shot.
Without hesitation, I drew my Black Widow recurve and sent a Gold Tip arrow tipped with a 100 grain steel insert and a 125 grain Wensel Woodsman through her ribcage. She whirled and ran through the swamp and I heard her splash down just out of sight.
I looked at my watch and it read 5:47 PM. I had been on the ground for less than an hour. With darkness fast approaching and a sense of confidence in the shot, I waited just five minutes before slowly walking towards the spot where I had heard her go down. She had only made it about 40 yards before expiring.
Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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I drug her about 150 yards back towards the road. Then I took a break and carried my stuff out to the road. I was lucky enough to run into some helpful guys who helped me drag her the last 200 yards out. I would find out later that she weighed in at 167 pounds.
Left to right below are Clay and Rusty Thompson, me, and Chris Ward. Greg Clark also assisted, but he is not pictured.
Traditional Bowhunters Of Florida Charity Shoot January 26, 2013. State Championship Shoot March 1-3, 2013. Come shoot with us! Posts: 4676 | From: weirsdale, fl | Registered: Mar 2004
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Was this public land in Florida? Awesome hunt, looks like fun!
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St. Joe River Bows Oliverstacey Strings Swafford Knives Michigan Longbow Association Posts: 4190 | From: Michigan | Registered: May 2006
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great story i bet that was sweet. Congrats ![[Not Worthy]](graemlins/notworthy.gif)
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