Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: pdk25 on March 18, 2013, 02:20:00 AM
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A little while back I made a post looking for people who might be interested in a hog/javi hunt in South Texas. No takers other than my hunting buddies Cameron Graham (vanilla gorilla) and Dustin Newer(toehead). We all met up at my place last Wednesday night after work, and headed out in Dustin's truck a little after 9 pm to save on gas rather than driving separately. We were headed to a ranch that I had previously hunted with some success 2 years ago using the LHA Hyestani 'Faith' bow that was destined for the St. Jude's auction. Here is a link to that hunt, for those that are interested.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=100449;p=1
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We were pretty tired when we got to the ranch, but we arrived in good spirits and quickly saw a hog and javelina near the ranch house, so our spirits were high. I had a nice picture of the sunrise that was taken when we arrived at the ranch, but I am having some difficulty loading it. I guess I will take a break until I can figure that out, but in the meantime I will leave you all with this. Courtesy of Dustin Newer.
(http://i.imgur.com/FgtRMJe.jpg)
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Ah, there is that sunrise pic.
(http://i.imgur.com/YIwQOI5.jpg)
We were waiting in the driveway for the ranch owner to arrive and open the gate, so I unloaded some gear from the truck and got dressed just to be ready. It wasn't too long until we wer inside, signing waivers and getting maps of the ranch.
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Keep it coming.....
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After getting our gear unpacked and our room set up, the 3 of us departed for our respective stands for the evening. I went to the same spot that I had shot 2 hogs on a prevous trip and settled in. We had agreed to not stay past 10 pm, because we were all pretty tired and would have been up for around 40 hours at that point. I only made it until 9 pm, and hadn't seen anything, when I went to pick up Cam with the truck on the way back to camp. I should say that their are multiple feeder stations that consist of a combination of a poly barrel with a small amount of corn inside and 1/2" holes drilled to let the corn out, which is tethered to a T-post with a chain. There is also a small amount of soured corn poured on the ground with a heavy paving stone on top. All of this is lit up with a green LED for hunting into the night, as these hogs don't move around much in the heat of the day. There was an unseasonable hot spell, with temps in the 90's and not any shade to be seen. Here is what one of the setups looks like after it has been hit by a hog. Easy to tell from a distance that it has been hit, and the deer and other critters can't tip the barrel easiliy.
(http://i.imgur.com/izcyttA.jpg)
It was a little bit of an ordeal to find my way back to Cam's spot in the dark, with criss-crossing roads and not many landmarks that I could recognize. The GPS really saved my bacon and I finally picked up Cam a little after 9:30.
OK, Cam. I think that you should take it from here for awhile.
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:campfire:
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:bigsmyl: :bigsmyl: :thumbsup: :campfire:
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That first evening I sat at the end of a pipeline road that looked like it stretched from Beale Street to oblivion. I swear when I looked down it with my binos, I could see the curvature of the earth. I had such a tough time judging distances on the pipeline roads and sendaros being that I'm used to hunting the hills and bottoms where visibility may only 30 yards!
As I glassed the road, daytime slowly turned to dusk, the breeze cooled, and critters began to stir. Scaled quail and bobwhites played follow the leader in and out of the scrub along side the road, a whitetail doe casually munched on corn only 30 yards away, and rabbits made sweet, passionate love in the middle of the road. It was indeed a beautiful evening...
When the first star showed itself, I packed up and moved down the road to where the feeder was set up and situated myself in a dry creek bed that acted like a pit blind, about 70 yards from the feeder. Cover was sparse around the feeder, so I situated myself a distance away so I could glass the feeder from a stalkable distance. My plan was to wait until a giant greasy hellpig came to eat, then sneak up from the creekbed, close the distance using what cover i had, and then ruin his day with a 150gr VPA 2 blade. That was the plan anyway...
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Unfortunately, no hogs showed. But I was still enjoying myself. Sitting in the dark watching rabbits make sweet love is still better than sitting at home on the couch listening to 2 pitbulls pass gas, then look at me like I'm the one who did it.
At 9:30, I see headlights coming up the pipeline road. Pat had came to pick me up. I throw my gear in the truck and hop in the truck to go pick Dustin up.
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:campfire: :campfire: :coffee:
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That's it?
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Nah I know that ain't all , that's a little vanilla for you gorilla :dunno:
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Another story to hold me over til fishing season. :pray:
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Originally posted by pdk25:
That's it?
No, that's not it! I had to see a few patients...I'll pick it back up in a short bit...
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Gonna be worth the wait boys and girls, I promise! :coffee:
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:campfire:
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OK. So me and Pat are motivating around the ranch on the way to go pick Dustin up. We are cussing and discussing how our first hunt went, plans and tactics for the morning hunt...stuff like that, when we drive by one of the feeders.
Pigs! Everywhere! Running around like 3 year olds at walmart on the 1st Saturday of the month!
Pat drove past the feeder and killed the truck as I eased out and pulled my bow from the backseat..
The pigs were still heavily involved in the corn, so it wasnt hard to slip up to them, using a big mesquite tree for cover. The pigs were going bonkers under the light, running back and forth, the way pigs do when they are competing for food.
I singled out one a real brute of a red pig and began my draw as he started to isolate himself from the pack, picking up corn the rest of the sounder had missed. When he came to a stop, i hit anchor and focused on where I wanted to bury my broadhead. Then I cut the arrow loose....
Gotta go see a man about a really big horse...back in a flash..
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3 of my favorite sounds are as follows:
1) The sound of an ATM as its kicking out cold hard cash.
2) Any Van Halen album before 1984.
3) The sound a pig makes as life leaves its body.
When the arrow struck home, then continued out the other side, the hellpig flopped onto his side, cursing loudly and kicking up the dust, sending a creepy haze underneath up the light.
When the pig ceased live, we walked over to admire my kill. It was a perfect shot, and a clean, quick kill. Pat helped me load the hellpig up into the back of the truck, and off we went to pick up Dustin and get this boar I killed cut up.
Dustin and Pat has the pics. Hopefully they can post em up for me...
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:clapper:
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Unless Pat gets it up first, ill slide them in tonight when I get home
Lets just say my reaction upon viewing the BEAST on the truck rack was one of shock and surprise.
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I'll take care of that.
The best pics that I have are from the the processing room where Cam is straining every fiber of his being to hoist the beast into a position for skinning.
(http://i.imgur.com/nCPc99h.jpg)
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Here is another pic
(http://i.imgur.com/S1qQHc1.jpg)
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Cam made a perfect heart shot on the critter. I was more than happy to let Cam take the first shot. He is a better shot than me, and I don't think that I could have done as well as he did.
(http://i.imgur.com/LJZ06EO.jpg)
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When we had pulled up toward the feeder, the larger hogs had scattered, and I recommended that we pull further along and sneak back after the larger ones came back. Cam was having none of it, he had the pig fever and needed to drop the string as soon as he could. Great job on this. We pulled up to pick up Dustin, and I will let him describe his evening.
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Like you said Pat, it'd hard to NOT hit the heart on that pig!
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Ok my reaction!! Cam and pat roll down the road toward my set up around 1030 pm. I had hogs on me all day but they were smart and I am not very but more on that later. As thy roll up I look in the back expecting to see hog carnage deluxe from the veteran pork pounders but the bed was as empty as nanci pelosi's head. We had installed my cargo rack in the hitch to be able to carry all our gear. So I peaked over the corner of the truck and looked at about 3/4 of the rack, satisfied there was no pig I asked about their evening. "Nilla got one!" Pat exclaimed with excitement "we'll...half a pig". I asked "we need to go track him or what? :scared:
I almost died laughing so hard. No offense to 'big Nilla' but I was not expecting to see that Monster!! We all had a goo laugh and right then I knew we were goin to have an outstanding hunt from then on!
I will post my stories later this evening with some pics and strategies.
I experienced a lot of firsts on this trip that really made it special...more on that later too
Still pulling thorns and needles out of me, as you guys know when you hunt south Texas your gonna get in some 'sticky' situations!!!
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Great story and sounds like a real good time.
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I will bounce ahead to the next mornings hunt for me and let Dustin talk about the first nights hunt a little later.
We all headed out a little after sunup with the goal of walking the roads looking for javelina. A couple of the ranch roads had been corned the previous evening, and the ranch owner was going to drive around and fill feeders and re-corn the roads starting a little after 9am. We decided to drop a little corn on or near those roads and dropped Cam of near where he was hunting the night before, as there were recent javelina sighting in this area. Dustin and I continued on to another area that held javelina.
We saw a nice smaller road that we decided to drop some corn, and in the process crossed over the wide sendero that I had shot a javelina on the previous year. We had nearly finished putting corn on the sendero and went to turn around, but when we looked behind us, there were already javelina in the road feeding. We thought, this is gonna be easy. Yeah right, lol.
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:laughing: :laughing:
Heckofa shot on that beast!
Must have shot him out of self defense:)
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The sendero ran primarily east-west and the wind was predominating out of the south around 12-15mph. That is normal for this time of year in TX-OK. To the north of the sendero was incredibly thick and nearly impenetrable cover where the javelina were hanging out. Here is a pic of some common cover in the area. Picture this times 3 thickness of spiny stuff in this area.
(http://i.imgur.com/7PCDunk.jpg)
As long as the javelina were in the sendero we could chase them without getting winded and we had several unsuccessful stalks that morning until the activity shut down near noon, probably because of the unseasonable heat.
We made some mistakes that we hope to learn from in the future. We put too much corn out, so the javelina came out in groups but didn't travel very much and were clustered around facing multiple directions. It made if very difficult to sneak up on the from the relatively open sendero. You needed to really hug tight to the cover not to get busted, but it was not to be. They would head into cover for no apparent reason, or other times when things didn't seem right. Problem was, that you couldn't tell where they traveled inside the cover, and they might mover laterally and wind you. By putting corn down sparcely you could get them moving in a direction more rapidly/unaware, and you could either wait for them to come to you by backing into the cover(difficult) or circle around and quickly come up from behind. In any case, it was a great time trying to get into shooting range. We probably didn't get any closer that 35 yards other than when we tried to close the gap one time when the headed into cover and got busted at around 10 yards, but you couldn't even see them there.
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I will let Cam tell his story of the first full morning hunt, but I am going to jump ahead to my evening hunt in the interest of not dragging this out too long. Dustin will be able to fill in the details of their hunts up til when we met up at the camp on friday night.
In the meantime, here are some pics that were taken along the hunt. I didn't take any pics, but Cam was the man with the camera for the most part, and did a find job.
(http://i.imgur.com/w8bcNbT.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/TsaiQ6E.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/tm3cGej.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/1L8FYhq.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/BMIVInN.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/FbSemUa.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/GE7NuKB.jpg)
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Okay,
We all took a little break in the afternoon before heading out to our spots. Dustin walked to his preferred spot for the evening, and I dropped Cam off a little further along the road where he wante to setup, and would work his way back to the ranch in the evening/night. I drove to the more remote section that I hunted the previous night to hunt, because I had alot of confidence in this spot.
It was a pleasant evening with the wind gently blowing in my face and keeping the small gnats and flies from really being annoying, although there still plentiful. Evening came and went without a sign, but around 9:30pm I had loud grunting coming up the road to the east in a race to get to the feeder under that hazy green glow. Dustin took this nice picture later in the hunt to show how eerie things look under the green feeder light.
(http://i.imgur.com/EPRgUVD.jpg)
Anyway, there were a couple 80-90 pounders in the group, and several more probably pounds or so, but there was a large sow that come in grunting up a storm, and darting around the perimeter of the light checking for danger while the others fed.
Eventually the barrel got tipped and the large sow was running the smaller hogs off, but settled in broadside right in front of me at no more than 10 yards away, and likely a little less than that.
I drew back and didn't take long with this opportunity. I released and heard more of a grunt than a squeal, and they all took off to the west/southwest. It happened so fast that they only thing I could really see was sparks flying as my broadhead ricocheted off of the paving block that was directly behind the hog. I didn't know how far behind the hog that it was, but I couldn't imagine that I could have hit the paving stone and hit the hog in the vitals. Maybe I hit low in the leg? I was pretty dumbfounded as to what happened, as it is hard to track a fast arrow in the dark at that range. I waited until 11:15 or so before I went to check for blood, hoping that the group might come back since that has happeded in the past. That didn't happen this time.
I stepped through the brush, and saw blood right away in a linear band from where the hog had been standing, but the blood was soaked up in the dry sandy soil, almost making little blood balls. I tracked it to a trail going into thick cover only around 15 yards from the feeder, but I was having trouble finding blood in the this dry soil. I was pretty sure that I must have hit low, so I was pretty disappointed in myself when I went back to camp to meet up with the guys. I decided I would hunt javelina for a few hours in the morning then go look for my arrow and check the area for more sign.
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Pat and Dustin kicked me out of the truck about 8am that morning, and from about 8:05 to 10:00, I was stalking javies. It was nonstop. Problem is, about 30 yards was about as close as I could get before getting winded, or they just decide to slip off into the brush. But there was no lack of game on the pipeline that morning. At one time, i actually had to figure out if i wanted to stalk a big male javie that was 50 yards to tbe east, or a lone boar hog that was 75 yards to the west! (Got winded on both tho...dang wind just kept swirling.)
The action eventually slowed down about 10am, and I was able to get some much needed stress relief by hunting rabbits in the brush till Pat came back.
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It wasn't a waste of time for Cam. He was able to score on this fine rabbit. The rabbits down there are not very large, so once again Cam made a great shot.
(http://i.imgur.com/tZNdepG.jpg)
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It is Saturday morning that Cam is referring to in his post, and I don't know when Dustin will be posting, so I will continue on from my perspective.
Dustin and I headed out to look for javelina in the same area as the day before, but I wasn't having much luck for a few hours, except for seeing a few deer and I was a little preoccupied thinking about the night before. I met up with Dustin later and he told me that he was seeing some javelina, and I corned the sendero for him before leaving to check on Cam and go to look for my arrow and check for more blood from the prevous evening.
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Sounds like a lot of action. Can't wait for the rest. :campfire:
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My hunting buddy and i were there in Feb. He got a javelina, me ). We didn't try for hogs, and they were a lot there. But living in Texas, hog are not out thing, having hunted them most of our lives.
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Cam told me about a great morning that he was having, but since he hadn't seen anything for 45 minutes or so, he was up to help me look for more sign from the previous night. We got to the area and all of the blood along the road was gone. The wind had blown the sandy soil away, but I had left some marks at the end of the trail and knew where the hogs had headed. I didn't have real high hopes, but wanted at least to find the arrow. I looked down and was finding real good blood in no time, and said as much to Cam. He responded by saying, " Uh.. Pat". I looked over and he is pointing at a beautiful pile of black! Much to my surprise, the hog is laying not 10 yards from me. It probably hadn't gone a total of 40 yards after being hit. I couldn't believe it after the sparking on the paving stone. I guess that with the hog being so close, me standing above it, and the rock being a few feet behind the hog, that it gave me the false impression of a low hit. I will admit that I was a litte paranoid about high hits from Texas hogs in the past that hadn't bled very well, so I was aiming pretty low to begin with. It ended up being a nice heart shot and the hog weighed 130-140 pounds or so.
On a side note, I was using my Morrison ILF that is 82# @ 29" using the same arrows that I used for Asiatic Buffalo, but with a Big Jim Big 3 broadhead on the front end. This is the 3rd hog that I have had a pass-through with this head, although the second one was far back and through the guts and this one didn't have shield to speak of. The first one did, though. Touched it up with a file and crock stick, and in about 2 minutes it was as sharp as it was the first time I used it. Even the paving stone didn't do any serious damage. I found the arrow around 20 yards or so past the paving stone tangled up in some brush.
Here is a picture of the exit hole, directly opposite from the entry.
(http://i.imgur.com/RkYRtEi.jpg)
Here is a picture of me and my tracker/photogropher with the hog. Sorry about the goofy look of my hat. It was windy and the brim flops around.
(http://i.imgur.com/3G0jnz6.jpg)
And here is a picture of the some of the backstraps that the 3 of us ate for supper that night.
(http://i.imgur.com/IIqchks.jpg)
Oh yeah, Cam was he grillmaster as well. Fine job, and it tasted great.
I am going let the other guys get caught posting before adding anything else. I am not trying to drag this out, but want everyone to be able to post on this thread. Nobody want to see 3 separate threads for the same hunt.
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For me, a lot of the hunt is the preparation and planning that takes place in anticipation of the departure. I had been shooting longbows pretty much exclusively since November of 2011 when I purchased a GW Flannagin. Fast Forward to summer of 2012 I know have a couple Liberties and some Howard Hill longbows. I got the Hills after getting into the HH big thread an really found then to be a pleasure to shoot. I say all of this to say this, the last animal I had killed before this hunt was a hog with my ballistick in Sep. 2011. Since switching to longbows and makin my own wood arrows I had not sealed the deal in over a year and a half. To say my confidence was down would have been quite an understatement! However, being a deciple of the great Tred Barta, I was not ready to give up on my longbow/wood arrow quest! I have a sticker on my truck that say "never give up"!
So when I answered Pat's call to arms against the demon swine of south Tejas, I had a decision to make.... Which longbow. I have settled on a beautiful Virgin Wesley Special that really handles the cedars well. I sharpened up some 160 grain grizzly from Zipper with my KME sharpener. When I say sharp I mean Ron would himself be proud as I was literally able to split hairs with them. All told this set up was drawing 52@29" smooth baby and I mean 5 land of bamboo smooth. My homemade tapered cedars were inspired by a SelfBow o Shaun Webb's I saw last year on a hunt in west Texas. They came in at 570 grains total. I considered this my "lite" set up as I also brought a 56@28" Redman that has some signifcnt age and history reflected in the darkened yew andant scratches and ding in the wood. My arrows for this are 725 grain hard rock maple shafts from Forester. These are as indestructible as carbon! These bad boys cary 200 grain Kodiaks just as sharp as the grizz.
I have hunted Texas hogs before, and know just how nasty and evil they can become when provoked, was on the hunt with buckster when he was taken down by a wounded bore. I have had I dispatch a big bore a close range with his teeth chomping inches from my throat as he came to life as I was pulling an arrow from his chest to use just in case.
At one moment during this hunt all this came flooding back to my mind. Yeah it's just a pig..... Brother that "pig" looks pretty dang deadly when your on his level with the only thing separating the both of you God's fresh air and a pointy piece of sharpened steel glued to a painted cedar stick! Sure I wasn't facing down a 2,000 pound Kodiak brown Bear ala Fred Bear, but for a moment in time I think I could relate!
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(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/20742B44-4E77-4363-9D28-FA8C024ADE89-2993-000003B453674356.jpg)
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mounted and ready for the hunt
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/CF301E13-F3F0-453F-8A74-2640DCC2441D-2993-000003B438DDAC3A.jpg)
loaded for bear....well, javy and hogs
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/E5A6F9B5-B5EF-4F1C-BA93-70C3B7789082-2993-000003B43E45CF34.jpg)
WE'RE HERE
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/027F310E-913E-4D87-BC76-646D9541956E-2993-000003B321A7BF91.jpg)
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The first night, I had decided to hunt the closest stand within walking distance. After Pat and Cam left out I got my stuff headed to my stand. The wind was a strong cross wind blowing from the South. Karl had told us that the pigs like to circle the feeding area before coming in due to hunter pressure. So I picked a spot I thought was cross wind from the barrel, got a nice ground blind all set up and set my bow down to settle in for the evening hunt. I keep a small turkey feather as a wind indicator and noticed it blowing right to the drum from my right to left. DANGIT, how did i miss that.
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/C27F9B12-DAB5-4183-8D8C-1BD846C10F0D-2993-000003B3A70CC214.jpg)
luckilly there was a tripod stand in a perfect position from the barrel. So i packed up my seat and haversack and crossed the road.
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(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/7BBE00D6-35DF-4538-8B02-814AF8560290-2993-000003B3FE4564B2.jpg)
you can see the tripod from the blind I made. I got everything moved across the road and as I was climbing up into the stand and setting down I looked up to see about 15 pigs coming in from upwind of where I was just setting. yeah they would have got downwind eventually but I believe I could have killed one had I stayed put. Needless to say they saw me grab my bow and went back into the mesquite and prickly pair from whence they came
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I had pigs coming in the rest of the evening, in all i bet I saw 7 more after the initial group of sounders. They were all following the same path coming aroudn the feeder and onto the road then back toward the big water hole behind me. None had got within bow range and some winded me as they got down the road toward the water. I had already decided to move down the road the next evening.
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I shoulda take the time to shoot one of your Hill bows, Dustin. The more I looked those things over, the more I liked em. Plus, you said they come in handy for dragging hogs!
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Yeah, I really wish that I had taken my HH Rogue out with me more on that hunt. Those arrows that Dave Sisamis made me were flying great, even in a strong crosswind.
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don't worry NILLA, next time we get together ill have a whole assortment for you to choose from. I got a little 66' Wesley Special that has your name written all over it brotha!
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After the first night I had a good idea of what the hogs were doing, instead of coming to the corn during the day, they were skirting the feeder, doing a scent check and heading to water. I have hunted hogs for a few years now but I sure havn't stacked up the pork like Pat so I solicited his expertise and opinion on my set up BASED UPON what the hogs had done all evening the night before. Here is what we came up with...put a ton of corn in the bucket and on the ground to keep them longer, move back down wind from where they were emerging from the thick brush and hope for a passing shot on the way to water. Worked for me so Pat was gracious enough to help me set up the tripod and cut shooting lanes and check my cover while I allowed for clearance with the 68" stick.
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(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/B17DBE13-927C-4BA5-9A35-8F9C9A4E1AA2-2993-000003B35E1109C2.jpg)
Here is the view from the road, the pigs were coming out of the area in the upper right, the brushy spot, coming down the edge of the road and crossing a trail right where I was standing to take the pic, to go to the pond I assume. NO cattle or horses on this ranch, only wildlife.
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/2BDC8D0E-D3AC-43B0-88FD-E315A86BDF5A-2993-000003B36CC543C9.jpg)
the trail
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View from the lane I WANTED THE PIGS TO BE IN
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/10A942BF-519F-4E7B-9E4D-A84AD756391C-2993-000003B353EA0CBF.jpg)
Unfortunatley they came from the trail! Two great looking boars, probably 150-175 pounds come up the trail crossed the road and right in front of my tripod at about 20 yards. I was WIDE OPEN on that side and didn't dare move, when they finally got between me and some cover they were at a steady pace and didn't stop for a shot. I couldn't ever get my bow up and into position for fear of spooking them from that open side.
No worries, figured the night was young and I always heard hogs off to my left so it was a matter of time. Right after dark I heard soft grunts right in front of me, it was too dark to see but I could hear the pigs not far at all. They were sucking air like a Cow when I heard that terrible growl they use to give you the BIRD just before they turn around and go back to where they came. I looked up at my feather and it was doing it's best zig zag to and fro, the wind had swirled as it died down, and that was that for the night.
Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice and I'm listening to Pat...I had a plan for night 3 that I knew would work
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The next morning I got some stalks on Javy but never closed the deal, as stated earlier, the dang brush is so thick you just cant get through it to stalk, got to within about 50 yards and just could't go any further wtihout them seeing me, which they did. I really believe if I had 1 or 2 more days we woudl all have been taking home Javy snacks for the freezer.
I do want to say that reading the Pig PAradise thread with Cade and Guru and Terry Green was an inspiration to move forward with the mission at hand, get my frist ever long bow and wood arrow kill. I really enjoyed the inspiring tale of the lucky penny and guess what! I was telling Pat how much I wish I had a lucky penny for the night and he just so happened to notice one on the floor?! HMM seemed kind of fishy but what the heck I figured can't hurt, a little MOJO from the Pig PAradise Thread perhaps?!?!!?! I picked it up and put it in my pocket while we discussed the evenings strategy over beautifully grilled, melt in your mouth pork steaks! Great work on the grill Cam!
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Sounds like fun. Nice Hog Pat...Not as much daytime movement as our February hunt? Looks like the heat was more of a factor too.
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Oh ya Pat thanks for clearing up the whole hat thing. It looked Victorian.... Glad thats all cleared up.. :D
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Victorian, huh. That is one way to put it, lol.
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We had spoke with Karl that afternoon, and he had asked if anyone hunted the close stand, I said I had again and he confirmed that it had not been hit that night. At first i thought this was bad news as I knew they were coming in and scented me. However the more I thought about it the more my opinion began to change. That area was covered in Pigs, I saw over 20 in less than 2 hours on the first day before sunset. They live there, and they missed an easy meal the night before. I knew I had a chance if I played my cards right and had some mojo on my side, my lucky lincoln head penny, and some help from Pat.
We both agreed that the best bet was to move the tripod or just set on teh ground as far downwind from the main water trail as was safe.
Pat was again gracious enough with his time to help me move the tripod again, however I had a feeling those pigs live not too far from that feeder, so I declined and took off toward the area. I wanted as little disturbance as possible. Luckilly the little 6' tripods are very light and easilly manuverable. I hope to get the plans from the ranch owner and get some made up for my lease here in Oklahoma to tuck in some Cedar trees where I cant a tree stand but I digress. I got into position for my last night on the ranch...little did I know it was about to get PRIMAL! :eek:
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:campfire:
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This was one of my only out of state bowhunting trips where I didn't end up in womens clothing in a truckstop bathroom.
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Originally posted by toehead:
...little did I know it was about to get PRIMAL! :eek:
Like loinclothes and cactus toiletpaper!
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lets just say somethign was about to get stuck.and from the look in his eye it was just as easily me as him!!!
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Originally posted by The Vanilla Gorilla:
This was one of my only out of state bowhunting trips where I didn't end up in womens clothing in a truckstop bathroom.
NICE! lol..
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not that we didnt try to get you there big nilla :scared: :smileystooges:
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You can call me Nilla Wafer.
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Ok back to the hunt...
The previous two night I had stayed until 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. but the hogs that came all came before 9:00p.m. so thats the time I told myself I was going to stay until. If nothing had showed by then, I still had time to get back to the lodge, pack up my things and get one last shot at the Javies. at 8:45 I lowered my bow (it was barely a 6' tripod so I just leaned the bow against a tree and hung my quiver on a limb and settled in for the last 45 mintues, enjoying the strong breeze and the clear night sky, reflecting on past and present hunts and planning the javy strategy for in the morning. I had contemplated going ahead and getting down but something told me to stick out the last 15 and call it a night.
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Just as I was checking my watch to confirm the end of the night, I heard the distinct sound of corn crunching...could it be? I noticed the barrel didn't look right, a quick glance with the binocs confirmed hogs, a lot of Cam sized nuggets, a couple of larger pigs, and one real bruiser. :D
The plan Pat and I had put in place over the previous two afternoons was working out perfectly, I guarantee the pigs had circled downwind of the feeder by at least 50 yards and confirmed no night visitors before descending upon the corn!
Pat had suggested putting in more corn in the barrel to keep the hogs there longer for a potential stalk. We put in another 25 pounds in the barrel and probably another 5 pounds spread around the area. This would later prove to make all the difference in me getting a shot or going back empty.
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as I climbed down and began my approach, I was taken aback by the sheer violance of the scene. This was a true giant of a beast, towering over the 120 pound sows like they were pigliets. As Pat and Cam stated, the bait light casts an almost spooky glow, almost iluminating the pigs. The dust looks like smoke in the light. The scene was especially hellish when combined with the demonic sounds the pigs were making. The boar was imposing his will and anger on anything that got in his way. He would literally throw the sows out fo the light, then go to the barrel, tossing it what looked to me like 4 feet in the air, then he would toss the little sounders, the whole time the dust rising off of him , in the green glow lalmost like he was smoldering.
For a moment all the close calls I have had, the one's I've heard of first hand and all I have read about in books and websites came into my head in one primal screem of insanity. The danger almost acting as a polar force, pulling me toward the dull green chaos and violance.
This was a truly unique experience for me, I can't really describe it but it was sureal for a moment as I caught myself in an almost hypnotic gaze, slowly moving forward with only wood, fiberglass, steel and feathers to take the beast.
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I love the way this story is unfolding!!! Can't wait to see what happens next! And from fellow Okies, no less!!
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:pray:
I had stayed in the road to reduce noise and really watched his attitude and body language while I closed the distance. I knew I had all night to get there based on the amound of corn Pat and I had placed the previous afternoon.
I think I was so in awe of the visual and audible display that I didn'tn even think about my sihlouete against the mesquite line by the moonlight...
When I got to about 20 yards he turned his attention toward me!
:pray:
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At the same time that this is going on, I was hunting a stand that I had not hunted before. For a variety of reasons, I was late getting out that afternoon and didn't get a chance to go to my preferred location, and against my better judgment had decided not to hunt the stand that I shot my hog out of. The wind would have been perfect for that stand, but the layout of where I was hunting and the direction of the wind put me far away from the feeder and in a relatively open area.
I decided that I would need binoculars to see the stand and waited until dusk to get them so as to avoid getting seen on my way to and from the truck. On the short walk I nearly stepped on a large rattlesnake, which quickly coiled into a ball 4-5 feet from my rattling away. I jumped away doing a poor version of a pre-St. Patrick's Day jig. My heart was pounding in my chest. I have always been a little afraid of snakes, and was worried about them withth 90+ degree weather that we were supposed to have. Ironically, I had purchased my first pair of snakeboots prior to the hunt but wasn't wearing them because nobody was seeing snakes at that time.
Originally I had planned to walk the roads toward the feeders and look for roaming or feeding hogs, but now I was too scared to do this under the moonlight. I opted to wait it out at this stand until a little after 10pm with low expectations. At around 10:15 I left after not seeing anything. I decided to drive to check the feeder that I had shot my sow from the night before, and the barrel was tipped and empty. Crap. If I had hunted that stand I would likely have had a good shot with my HH Rogue. I really want to kill something with that heavy bow using the wooden arrows that my buddy Dave Sisamis made up for me, but I guess it will have to wait.
I headed back to camp, where I saw Cam and Dustin waiting outside for me.
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Sorry Pat I need to catch up.
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So there we were in a primal Staredown. For I moment I froze, then as his attention was diverted by one of the sows, I quickly dropped to my knees. As soon as I did all I though to myself " hope he doesn't think I'm another hog and come looking for a fight". It was tense, his body language and demeanor were now focused on me again. His 1000 yard state right into me as he weighed his options and I weighed mine.
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Then I heard it, that damn sound that is the bane of every hog hunter who gets close enough to hear them breathing. He didn't wind me no way, the wind was 15-20 from him to me. I could smell him like the stench of hell.
He had been through this dance before and knew how it would turn out I imagine. With a long growl he turned and walked into the mesquite. Damnit!
The sows were now also on alert although the little pig nuggets were eating for all they were worth.
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The sows disappeared in the same brush the rhino pig had seconds earlier. The little piglets were now getting nervous and one by one they slipped away. There was one or two stragglers that took the opportunity of no competition as I eased up on my feet and slid over to the edge of the road and mesquite. I knew they would come back.
I was still downwind of the pigs, I could still smell the boar as I knelt just outside the circle of ghoulish green haze the pigs had occupied a few seconds earlier.
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I was within a few steps of the barrel and had ample light to make out the details I needed for a good shot as one by one the little sounders came easing back into the hazy light. I could sense movement to my left and saw some big dark shadow but he never would come in.
I now had a decision to make, see how many piglets I can shiksabob and go for the worlds most efficient shot to kill ratio, or wait out the sows.
Keep in mind I am in the middle of a 16 month no kill spell and am still wanting to bloody up a longbow and home made cedars for the first time!
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It always amazes me how those little pigs will line up shoulder to shoulder and feed almost like a giant pug nosed vacuum cleaner!
Luckily there was still plenty of corn on the ground from the spillage that occurred during our filling of the barrel the day before that the piglets were too busy gobbling up corn as my fingers began to tighten on the string while I eased and canted the Wesley Special into position for a shot.
As I began to ease the string back on the little ones, movement caught my eye through the circle of light.
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Great read, thanks for sharing!
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Originally posted by toehead:
I could smell him like the stench of hell.
Did it smell anything like our bunkhouse the evening we grilled the back straps?
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Worse! Smelled like that bathroom after you and pat took turns punishing the toilet!! :smileystooges: :campfire:
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It was a sow, she was nervous for sure, bouncing in and out of the light. Easing back in the brush and then coming back into the open.
There must have been 12-15 of the piglets around the bucket now, making her a little less uneasy. I was just waiting for her to commit. Eye level a few steps away, my mind and body went into automatic pilot.
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She was doing her best to keep one eye in me and eat but it was too much. I knew I had her when she started rolling the barrel. It was just a matter of time and being patient for a good shot angle.
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She finally got broadside, the only thing between me and her was fresh air and 5 little cam cam pigs. She was tall enough to get a clear shot mid lung without risking a deflection off one of those precious piglets ( oh soo cute with their little round noses). I picked a curl of silverish/white hair mid way up her body line and the next thing I know all hell breaks loose!
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I had went subconscious, something that has only happened To me twice before. Both times the last thing I remembered doing was picking a spot. It happened on my first whitetail My first blackbear with a recurve. Both resulted in spectacular hits with very short blood trails.
I was to get lucky this night, although no blood trail was left to follow. Maybe it was the lucky penny :dunno:
I could not see the arrow hit or fly, the reaction to the shot was one of explosion! A hard wet THUD, followed by a hard drawn out squeal and an explosion of hooves
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She spun around made up half the ground between her and I faster than most of you can read this. She fell down within an arms reach of me kicking her feet the whole time. I thought she was going to die right then, but she caught her self upright and was gone in a flash. I looked up a the barrel and there were the 5 precious piglets all sprawled out flat on their bellies like they knew what the game was tonight! My first though was damn I shiksabobed some after all! Then they just stood up, look around and turned and walked away! I did a quick scan for any potential collateral damage and saw none.
So now the fun begins! Time to find this pig in the cactus, mesquite and rattlesnake country!
I knew I hit her good from the sound and reaction. So I had high hopes of a short recovery.
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My hopes began to fade fast after about an hour of searching had only turned up a small clod of blood right where se fell down! I was lucky in a sense that this was such a well used area there was a network of tunnel like trails in the brush. I had been in my hands and knees walking out everyone as far as I could until I was we'll over 100 yds from the bait light.
The bait light was a life saver in the brush, as it always gave me a point of reference to go back to and to gauge distance.
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In my limited experience with killing hogs with broadheads, a well placed shot will yield a dead pig easily within 100 yds with few exceptions.
That's why I never looked on the adjacent road when I first noticed it while walking out one of the trails.
It appeared to be well over 100 yds from the light but I am now convinced the darkness and shadows played havoc on my depth perception. So I kept walking the brush hoping I would find this pig, knowing she was dead somewhere close.
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To say I was getting discouraged would be an understatement! I knew this Hog was dead, no way did she take a hit that hard and react the way she did on a marginal shot! I knew she had to be in the area, but I also knew a dead pig on the run doesn't necessarily follow trails! In the adrenaline dump after the shot, having the pig come so close, and having to walk back to the tripod to get my light ( for some reason I left it in my haversack) I couldn't remember hearing any crash or brush. So I kept on following the trails for about another half hour when I came back to the road.
I told myself maybe she did cross the road? You could at least I'd some tracks and maybe get lucky and spot a drop of blood. It was my last hope.
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That's when I remembered the penny! :bigsmyl:
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:campfire: great story guys!
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I told my self "boy it would be good to get lucky one time and find that pig laying in the road"
"What are the odds", I said in my head. Out of all that thick, nasty, unforgiving, no blood showing terrain and cover, that she gave up the ghost in the road?
Well, it had been an hour and a half of pushing, pulling, scratching, crawling, straining and struggling to locate her, so I figured why not, I had the lucky penny go for it, and broke through onto the road. :pray:
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Well???? Was she there????
Oh, wait....here it is.... :coffee:
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As I broke out onto the road I shined my light to the left, nothing...I started to look for trail openings in the other side as I made my obligatory swing of the flash light to the right...
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NILLA!!!! it's coming brotha BE PATIENT :thumbsup:
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Originally posted by toehead:
As I broke out onto the road I shined my light to the left, nothing...I started to look for trail openings in the other side as I made my obligatory swing of the flash light to the right...
Not to micromanage your story, but you should look to the left before stepping out into a roadway. Coulda been a car coming.
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haha hence why I looked left-then right-then left again...oh wait, what was that to the right?!?!
BY GUALEE THAT DAMN PENNY WORKED!!!
THere she was not 3 foot onto the road piled up dead!
I couldn't believe it! I got lucky for once! :archer:
she was about 200 yards down, not far from where I had noticed the road walking out the trail the first time.
Close inspection showed a high lung hit with bubbly foamy bright pink blood still oozing out of the entry wound.
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/58057217-6E43-441D-B3F0-C99CA8593ADA-2993-000003B32729FD1D.jpg) as I found her
All of the blood that had left her body was soaked up in her hair, nothing I saw hat hid the ground anywhere but where she fell. That's the problem with the high lung hit on hogs.
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/image.jpg)
One hot, sweaty, scratched up, worn out, relieved and HAPPY BOWHUNTER! this was taken as soon as I found her. Cam took some great shots after we got Pat involved....HOOK LINE AND SINKER.... :laughing:
plenty more to the story I promise
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I didn't know the road was there initially and didn't know where it lead, but I figured it had to meet up with the main road going to the lodge, so after I took some self pics, I dug out my trusty dragging rope I've used so many times before to drag her to the intersection so we wouldn't get lost and loose valuable butchering time when I got back.
The problem with South Texas is the only damn limbs are MESQUITE and mesquite aint exaclty a great stick to use to drag your pig, so I used my mint condition Howard Hill Wesley Special :scared: Let's just say it aint so mint any more :bigsmyl:
I must have drug her 300 yards down the road with the light in my mouth when I saw water! DANGIT!
I had to drag her across the brush onto the feeder road, so I did....
I was on foot as Pat had taken the truck to his honey hole. As the coyotes howled I took of my hat, my haversack and grabbed my stool and did my best to cover the pig to discourage the coyotes from munching my newly procured hams and headed to the lodge....
I figured we would mess with PAt a little since I knew he was going to be wore out and probably ready for bed when he came in....
Pat do you mind interjecting here brotha :help:
:campfire:
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Man, I am happy for you! What a great outcome after all that effort! OUTSTANDING!! :clapper:
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Dont mind at all. As I said before, when I pulled up at the ranch both Cam and Dustin were waiting outside. I don't remember exactly what I said, because I was pretty tired at this point. I figured they either got one or needed help tracking one, and they indicated the latter.
We piled into the truck after I got my good bright light. I was lamenting not having the light with me the night that I shot my hog, and was really glad to have it with me this time. As we pulled onto the road toward the feeder Dustin started baiting me by asking what it was that was on the road up ahead. Was it his hog? As we got closer I could see a folded chair and said as much, disregarding his comments about the hog. Not sure what he would have done had I seen the hog folded chair was concealing.
We got out and Dustin starting showing me where the hog went down, and there was plenty of blood there, but nowhere else. He showed me where it went into the brush, and I started going in, light in hand. I saw about 20 sets of tracks going in multiple directions, and questioned Dustin about it. He said he had been all over in there. I am not sure what I said, but I was for sure thinking that I wished he hadn't done that on a sparse blood trail, but proceded forward. I found some blood and said loudly, 'I got some blood here'. Then Cam chimes in from around 30 yards away back on the road 'I got blood here. You don't think that thing circled around all the way back here. I backed out to the road hoping to pick up the track further along, and there was Cam and Dustin with sheepish grins on their faces next to the hog easily seen from this direction. The boys really got me. I was really glad Dustin was able to recover his nice sow, and also glad to not have to track in that thick brush. It still was pretty late by the time we finished, and we didn't really have time to get adequate rest and still get our gear packed up and head out for a morning hunt, so this was the end of the hunt for us. I really had a good time, but next time I would probably prefer to have at least one extra day of hunting. Not sure if Cam has anything to add about his last day of hunting, but it was a really good time that I wish some other tradgangers could have experienced with us. Maybe next year.
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Here is a picture of the happy hunter.
(http://i.imgur.com/qdAqQX9.jpg)
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(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/dustinnewer/07005609-20a2-43ef-8ef4-673f72511d5e.jpg)
the happy trackers
NOTE: I'm 6'2, 250 and these guys dwarf me! it's nice being the "little guy" on a trip!
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Terrific guys. I was one of the ones that had to pass this hunt because if Spring Break time with the family. I'm sitting up here at the Holiday Inn in San Antonio with visions of piggies affixed in my head!
Well done & felt like I was there the whole time!!
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Well done guys!! Great story and pics! Wished it wasn't so far to drive :)
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This was definitely a fun hunt. I am looking forward to going again.
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Dustin, we don't dwarf you. I think you may have been a little behind us in the pic. One thing you can tell from that picture is the one with post-shot adrenaline. The other two looked pretty darned tired.
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haha ok maybe not DWARF me.. I really appreciated you guys coming out to help with that hog and staying up in the cleaning shack giving me assistance! I got the front shoulders ground up, the back hams vacuumed sealed and ready for a smoker, and about 1/4 of the back strap and tenderloins in the marinade right now for supper tomorrow.
PDK and "big NILLA" are great guys to have in camp and I am very thankfull for the opportunity to hunt with them! We had a great time and any time Pat or Cam need someone to go on a hunt with them I hope they remember the little guy and give me a call!
I remember what I told pat when he drove up. "I think I gut shot one, it was hard to tell because there was a big wad of hogs around the barrel and I just figured I'd let one fly in amongst them and see what happens" I said it with a straight face too!
we were pretty wore out
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Great tale guys. I had the pleasure of hunting with Cam and Pat last year. they are good people.RC
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Robert, I always miss having you around on hog hunts. So much to learn and so little time.
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Man, I miss Texas! Been a couple of years now for me - can't let that trend continue!
Great hunt, and better story telling. You leave no doubt that ya'll had more fun than anyone could ask for, and that is what it's all about. Nice to put some bacon on the ground in the process :thumbsup:
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Great story telling guys! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Great stories and pics!
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:clapper: GREAT STORY!!! Congrats guys, and thinks for taking us along!
Bill
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Great story guys, thanks for taking us along on your hunt. :bigsmyl:
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:goldtooth:
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Good stuff fellas...congrats to all!!
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Great story, thanks for sharing.
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Great story! Thanks for sharing. Congrats on some nice pigs too!
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Good times