More South Florida Adventures

[beaunaro]

The last weekend in March found Todd and Deb Gregory(four time visitors from New Hampshire), Kent Zocher, our two time Osceola slayer, and Vince Smith with his son, Ethan, all happily sipping coffee at 5:30 each morning at our usual Flying J meeting spot, anxious to share hunting stories and get out there after some wild pigs n turkeys.

Everybody were serious hunters, and worked hard at it.

Todd had a tough go of it this trip...hearing a number of intelligent swine nearby, but just not able to pull the string back on one.

He and Deb got up early, were as scent free and quiet as any guests we've had,but it just wasn't to be.

They even sat from 9:30 PM till 1 AM on their last night having noted several 150-200 pound boars on  night camera photos at the baited fence crossing. They had been voraciously devouring the corn there. One of those big guys came around downwind and growled at them for a good 10 minutes but wasn't about to risk getting in front of one of Todd's arrows.

They were good sports, and we did a bunch of bowfishing after everybody else had gone home. It was great fun and Debbie is hooked... having requested Todd to build her up a bowfishing rig when they get home. The three of us also enjoyed lunch together several times in the great Florida weather.

Todd was great help on his final morning, coming out early to help me set up a new hunt site. Thank you, Todd.

Vince, from Nebraska, is on the Compton's Board of Directors, and his goal was for Ethan to harvest a hog.

Ethan did not let him down and took home a great eater on his last evening in Fort Pierce.

Todd and Vince had built him a natural ground blind out of native materials one morning while I attended to corn and camera duties.

He and Vince had planned to sit late as well,but did not have to as a group of four pigs came right in to Ethan almost as planned...they came from behind him but thanks to his quick thinking and the good cover he was sitting in, he managed to get off a great shot and the hog only ran 50 yards before expiring in full view. You gotta love those tracking jobs, and it looks to me as though Ethan had a good mentor on his hunting and shooting skills.

The two of them build some nice bows back there in Nebraska and plan to have some for sale at this year's Comptons gathering in Michigan.

Come by the youth sign up area and Vince will show you his "Lonesome Wind" products.

Ethan and Vince cleaned the hog all by themselves and I was very grateful not having to make another trip out that evening.

I almost forgot to credit Vince with his hog, taken on his first evening in town. Although we did not recover it, it most certainly died as evidenced by the circling buzzards.

The two fellas from Nebraska did a great job on the hogs and had about a thousand shots at fish in the nearby canals as well.

Nobody misses more fish than I do, but we all had pretty close to the same results this week.

It was great to have all these enthusiastic and happy hunters in camp this past week and we all celebrated Kent Zocher's great Osceola as well.

I know Jim will post some photos here as soon as everyone sends them to him...myself included.

[longbow fanatic 1]

[Sean B]

Great stuff Irv, wish I coulda made it down this year!!

[tarponnut]

 
Kent Zocher and trophy tom.

[tarponnut]

 
Vince and Ethan building a ground blind.
The results!

[beaunaro]

Todd, Vince, Kent,...if you have any photos you would like to share, please do so.

[beaunaro]

Sean,

Although I keep thinking of the fun we had last year, there is always next year.

Would like to do a bear hunt with you sometime too.

Hope all is well.

Come visit WI this Fall.

Sit in one of my trees.

[Limbhanger]

Hey Irv,
  I'm an idiot and have not been able to successfully post pics!  However, I just sent a few to Jim that he should be able to throw out there.  It was great meeting Todd and Deb, Vince and Ethan, and I wish that we'd have had more time to hang out.  Looking forward to our next adventure together!

[tarponnut]

 
 

[Birdbow]

Thanks, Irv for the kind words and to you and Jim for a great time. Never having bowfished before, it was a hoot for Deb and I  and we'll give it a try up our way. It's HUNTING and even though we didn't get a hog that's the way of it, especially with trad gear. That boar growling at us in the dark while sitting in a flimsy ground blind certainly got the pulse rate up - especially Deb's (lol). Look forward to getting back down again.

[daveycrockett]

Sounds like a great time!  

[Lonesome Wind]

Thanks for a fantastic time Jim and Irv.
As some of you know from the column I did for the last issue of Compton's "Walk in the woods" this hunt was a reconnect trip for my son and I. We were inseperable hunting partners until he became a teenager then an unseen wedge was driven between us until this year. This new longbow we built together and this 3200 mile road trip to chase pigs has helped us to reconnect.
This was a hunt for WILD pigs, no 300 acre fence where the pigs run from feeder to feeder, and the hunting was top notch.
We got our first chance at these Florida hogs on Friday evening and I had to wait until just about dark to get my chance. The sun went down at 7:30 and this big black boar come from downwind of me at 7:55. As he came walking straight in to 15 yards it was just barely light enough to see him and he turned quartering away I figured it wasd my only shot so I drew and released.
I knew I hit him but it was to dark to tell where. He squealed and spun and IO heard him crashing through the Palmettos. I walked to the truck and grabbed my cart and coon light and meet Ethan at my stand. We searched for two hours but only found my broke off arrow, about two inches behind the broadhead, and never a drop of blood. We hun ted the same field the next morning and I went and looked some more but found no sign of the boar.

I have got to get some sleep for work tomorrow but I will post the rest of the story here tomorrow.

[Lonesome Wind]

Thanks for a fantastic time Jim and Irv.
As some of you know from the column I did for the last issue of Compton's "Walk in the woods" this hunt was a reconnect trip for my son and I. We were inseperable hunting partners until he became a teenager then an unseen wedge was driven between us until this year. This new longbow we built together and this 3200 mile road trip to chase pigs has helped us to reconnect.
This was a hunt for WILD pigs, no 300 acre fence where the pigs run from feeder to feeder, and the hunting was top notch.
We got our first chance at these Florida hogs on Friday evening and I had to wait until just about dark to get my chance. The sun went down at 7:30 and this big black boar come from downwind of me at 7:55. As he came walking straight in to 15 yards it was just barely light enough to see him and he turned quartering away I figured it wasd my only shot so I drew and released.
I knew I hit him but it was to dark to tell where. He squealed and spun and IO heard him crashing through the Palmettos. I walked to the truck and grabbed my cart and coon light and meet Ethan at my stand. We searched for two hours but only found my broke off arrow, about two inches behind the broadhead, and never a drop of blood. We hun ted the same field the next morning and I went and looked some more but found no sign of the boar.

I have got to get some sleep for work tomorrow but I will post the rest of the story here tomorrow.