1st Annual Boeuf Hog Hunt

[DanielB89]

welp, the first annual Beouf hog hunt happened this past weekend.  I will let everyone tell about their own experience there and share whatever pics they have.  


Overall, the hunt was a blast.  There were 12 tradganger's there throughout the weekend and a LOT of good food, camp fire, and great times!  Of those 12 guys, there was one from Alaska and one from Ontario.  Though no animals were harmed in the making of this weekend, there were several hogs seen and a few shots fired, and we had an absolute blast!  I think everyone saw a hog except Pat and Darren(he is cursed)!  

As you have seen from pictures of different areas at wild things, etc, the water levels have gone crazy and are limiting the hunting ground, the same happened in our location.  In this particular block of woods the woods are typically 1 mile deep with thickets all on the back border.  Due to the water level, the widest wooded area was around 700 yards deep, under half of what it usually is.  We just did not see hogs like I have typically seen, in the past!  There was one pack of 10 seen, but that's usually a small pack, in my opinion.  I have seen some packs out there that ran close to 40 pigs, and those were no where to be seen.


Hopefully the guys will chime in soon with whatever pictures and stories they have.  Can't wait to share a camp fire with these guys again next year.

[buckster]

I got there a day late and didn't get into the pigs, but saw a lot of sign.  But... the time killed was awesome!

I was able to see some of my old hunting buddies and make some new ones.  Thanks for getting this hunt organized Daniel.

[Hackbow]

Daniel is correct, in that I am seemingly cursed in seeing hogs while hunting. Out of ten or twelve different outings, I've yet to catch a glimpse of one with the exception of a quick scouting trip with Randy (crittergetter) when I didn't take a bow.      

HOWEVER......I am beyond blessed to have shared many camps with many Trad Gangers over the years. In fact, this hunt in Louisiana is the eighth state I've been able to hunt with other TG'ers. Even though the species and terrain may differ, the incredibly high quality of the individuals is consistent.  

Daniel put together a great affair in which the early rain and cold temps could not dampen anyone's spirits. His infectious and youthful exuberance led the group admirably. And along with his local buddies Joe and Cade, it is gratifying to see that the future of trad hunting has some capable standard bearers.

It would be very easy to list everyone by name and expound upon their contributions and character. But it would also be very long and would need to be sent off to a publisher for binding. Suffice it to say that every single person contributed greatly to the hunt, the atmosphere, the campfire and the food table.

If I have to be "cursed" by not seeing pigs in order to share camps with men like these, then bring it on! Much gratitude to Daniel, his father-in-law Larry for sharing his camp and to the entire crew for making this a wonderful weekend!

[awbowman]

Although I didn't stay the weekend, I too had a great time meeting the people there.  It's always good to share a camp with my good buddy Kip, if he's involved, you can bet WE WILL EAT WELL.  

These TGer's make you feel like you have known them for years.  Had a blast and looking forward to this being an annual event.  Thanks Daniel for putting this on.  I'd like to see photos of what I missed.

BTW, I do think Hackbow is cursed!

[fnshtr]

Sounds like I missed a great time! Hope someone posts some pics!

Congrats to all on a great hunt.

Wayne

[John146]

I echo all the thanks to Daniel for lining up this hunt. It was a great time with like minded hunters and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. So I guess I will share from that perspective-the different parts of the entire hunt.

Preparation

Like many of you the hunt starts way before arrival at camp and I was excited about this hunt from the time I committed to going. I have bumped into pigs on my way out while hunting deer on a WMA but I had never purposely targeted them, spot and stalk, before. Daniel had suggested leafy wear so I broke out some stuff I had not used in years. I also had not tent camp in years so I was digging into all my old elk hunting gear to get ready. I hunt mostly alone and had not hunted with a group of guys in quite some time. This hunt really reinforced that although hunting solo has its benefits, there is really nothing that compares with sharing a hunting camp with good folks.

Camping

As we got closer I was impressed by everyone's willingness to chip in and do what they could to make the hunt come together. From a food perspective folks just jumped in and committed to providing what they could and it was over the top! Breakfast Burrito's every morning with hot coffee, Rice and Gravy, Gumbo, Smoked Wild Pig, Sandwich fixing's galore, Hog and Deer Chili, and the best snack you could imagine - Smoked Salmon from Alaska!  

Although the rain made the campsite kinda sloppy we got into a routine that seem to work for everyone. We had a cooking/eating area and a great fire every night and morning. It was cold the whole time and Marty from Alaska and Joe from Canada were able to use their Alaskan and Canadian hunting clothes down in Louisiana. Go figure!!

The most frequent way that you saw Marty's Smoked Salmon - almost gone!!!

 

Smoked Wild Hog!!!

 

A bunch of hog hunters chewing the fat!

 

Marty, Pat, Randy and Darren.

 

Kip and Joe, who shared a Bear Camp before, reunited in Louisiana

 

[John146]

The Hunt

One thing you find out really quick around Daniel is that the dude LOVES to hunt. I had went up early to set up the canopy's and tarps and Marty showed up soon after. When Daniel got there it wasn't long until he says, "I can't take this anymore! Let's go hunting!"

The rain that would last all of Thursday night was coming down but we slipped our rain gear on and headed out. The camp site is literally 50 yards from the WMA. Daniel and Marty went down one trail and I went ahead to another one after getting some directions from Daniel.

It was perfect stalking conditions with noise from the rain fall and the wet forest floor. I went about 1/2 mile and all of sudden I see two deer standing 50 yards ahead. The biggest doe was about 135 lbs. and she did not know what the other doe had gotten up for so she wasn't looking my way. When she turned her head I side stepped behind a big oak tree and nocked an arrow. I then kept the tree between me and the 2 deer. It looked like they could not see me but about 5 steps into the deal the smaller doe busted and took the big one with her. It was really cool to get that close on two deer in open woods though. I was pumped up !!

Another 1/4 mile and I saw flood waters in the woods. Daniel had said the flooding was serious and he was right. I started making my way to the waters edge and I was almost there when hundreds of ducks took off. I have never seen that many ducks in flooded timber before and it was a sight to see. Mallards and Wood Ducks were everywhere and I think they were eating the floating acorns in the newly flooded timber.

I made a circle back toward camp and passed by a hog trap in the woods real close to camp. It was a trap that Daniel's Grandpa put in the woods by permit with the WMA and the next morning their would be 7 pigs in that same trap I had walked by. When they went get those hogs out of that trap - well let's just say there was a whole lot of squealing goin on!!

[John146]

The Hunt - Friday Morning

We ate a good supper and more guys started arriving throughout Thursday night. Pat from Oklahoma, Randy and Darren from Texas, Cade from right down the road... Because the rain was coming down still, some opted to just sleep in their vehicles but we finally all hit the sack hoping daylight would bring clearing skies as forecast.

Friday morning, Myself, Pat and Randy went down the trail I went down the night before and we split up at different points to cover more ground. About 2 hours into the hunt I was near some flooded timber and was going to take my pack off to see where I was on my GPS. I no sooner turned to unsnap my pack and I hear splashing behind me. I turned to see an 80 lb. pig running in my direction.

I grab my bow while he is closing the distance and turned every time he would get behind a tree. He had obviously been spooked and was heading somewhere but that somewhere seemed to be coming right at me. About 40 yards out he started veering away and then circled back the way he came without offering a shot. I started following him hoping he would slow down but he just kept running. I stalked in his direction but never saw him again. I was excited to have seen my first pig of the hunt and was hoping he would run into one of the other guys.

[Caughtandhobble]

Sounds like a great time was had by all. The camaraderie is always worth the trip when trad hunters are involved. I will try to make this hunt one day.    

[John146]

The Hunt - Friday Afternoon

Randy, Marty and I went to a place called Wallace Road to hunt. It was so flooded that you could see open water 100 yards from the main road.

Wallace Road

 

After discussing strategy we split up and I took the waters edge within the timber. All of the sign up to this point had been covered by the rising water in the woods so any sign found would be fresh and about 250 yards into my walk I came upon an oak tree with some serious rooting sign under it. I slowed down and began to intently watch ahead of me. 30 yards further and I see 2 big black hogs in the distance. I guess them in the 175lb range and they are feeding away from me. The wind is making some noise and it is consistently in my face. Daniel had said only move when they are moving or eating and that's what I was doing as I close to about 50 yards. I notice something about 40 yards out and its about 20 piglets!        

These guys were about 10 lbs. a piece and running around feeding, butting heads with one another; all kinds of stuff I had never seen before. After a few minutes the 2 hogs started moving off and the piglets ran to them. Then they both laid down and the piglets started nursing! Very cool and a perfect opportunity to close the distance!

Now I know some guys might have backed off at that point seeing the piglets nursing but I am not one of those guys so I crept ahead. The hogs got up and went back to feeding and ended up under another oak tree in the midst of some short bushes which blocked their view somewhat. I crept to 25 yards with the aid of a big oak between me and them undetected, waiting for a shot through the brush.    

One hog started working her way into a small gap with just a couple small branches. The other pig decided to go around the back of her and circle back toward me. When the first hog began to feed into the gap I moved my bow arm up and the other pig noticed the movement. She stared at me for about 15 seconds and went back toward the other pig disturbed but not spooked.     The guys had told me they were good at picking up movement and they were right.

The first hog stepped into the gap so I drew, shot and watched my arrow hit a small branch and deflect up over the hogs back. A loud whack and they were off running away from me. Using my bino's I saw them about 100 yards ahead start to slow down so I was hoping for another chance. As I neared the location of the hogs when I shot I saw what made the racket. My arrow lodged in a tree.     :(    

I was disappointed with the miss but I had just made my first stalk on a wild hog which was cool and a memory I will not soon forget.

[John146]

I crept up further to find the hogs out in the open flooded timber just standing there. When I looked through the bino's I noticed the piglets on a hump of dirt about 20 yards from the hogs. I decided to wait and see if they would come out to feed again but after an hour they were still standing there looking in my direction. I was about 60 yards away from them at this point.

I backed off and circled into the woods and waited another 1/2 hour at a distance that I could only see them through my binoculars but they never came out so I decided to stalked ahead and see if I could locate another hog. Saw some more sign but no more hogs as my Friday hunt came to a close. Three hogs spotted and all of them were where the water met the dry woods. Maybe a pattern was developing.

[pdk25]

Keep it going, hog whisperer.

[John146]

The Hunt - Saturday Morning

Some of the guys decided to go hit some new area so I went along. Joe, Kip and myself took an area to hunt and worked our way east and then turned back north into the wind spread out about 70-100 yards from each other. Joe was down by the water and we were all hoping we would cross paths with some hogs. We worked some good looking territory and ended up in a briar thicket that looked more like deer cover than hog but seeing as I don't know anything about hog hunting... We stalked through the thicket as quiet as possible and a nice deer jumped up ahead of Kip with its white tail flagging.

We hit a bayou that we couldn't cross so we joined up to strategize. We used the opportunity to grab a quick bite and a drink. It turned into an enjoyable visit about armadillos (which Joe and Kip had just seen)and various other subjects that reminded me how neat it is to hunt with other men who enjoy this lifestyle. So we did what any group of crazy Trad Hunters would do..

We took a selfie!!

 

[John146]

Well, after our "siesta" we decided to get back in the action and started working our way through some new area. Joe stuck to the waters edge and Kip and I got out in the woods a bit. We decided to just meet back at the truck at 2 pm so that everyone could hunt at their own pace and explore.

A little while later I see Kip coming my way and turns out some more flooding had pinched him in toward where I was which was great because it seemed that near the water was where we needed to be. Kip and I were walking along trying to head in a direction that would get us back to the road we had walked in on when Kip stopped and looked intently toward the flooded timber. He then said it was a bird he saw but about 10 feet further I looked and saw a pack of black hogs running parallel to us. Well, we hit the deck where we were standing and 6 big black hogs in the 125-150 lb. range are running through the water. It looked like they were going to just pass us at about 60-80 yards out so I decided to start grunting at them with my mouth.  

[awbowman]

Like being there!  Keep it coming Todd

[pdk25]

I don't have alot to add as far as hunting stories.  I didn't think that I would get there until friday morning, but was able to drive throught the rain on thursday and get my tent setup during a break in the rain.  Didn't get rained on durng the hunt, and temps were cool, but not terribly so.  I was one of the unlucky ones that didn't run into any hogs.  The habitat looked great, but the high waters seemed to have the patterns shifted a little.  The second morning of the hunt I ran into a good amount of relatively fresh hog sign, which mostly followed the water edge, but Darren and Marty got pinched into a narrow funnel with me, and I knew that Randy had already hit the area as well, so I backed out and looked for a place to cross the water, but really there was not way.  I ended up driving home on sunday, in hopes of chasing pigs at my house.  I sat by a feeder, but nothing came in by the time that I headed back to the house.

[pdk25]

I will say this much.  This was a really good group of guys at camp.  A real pleasure to hunt with.  And there was a ton of great food that people brought.  Everyone raved about the breakfast burritos that came from Texas, and the gumbo the Louisiana guys fixed up, and then there was the slow cooked pork from Daniel's hog.  Nobody went hungry, that is for sure.  I brought a pot of venison/pork chili, but I don't think it was as much of a hit as what the others brought.  I did get to bust out the RADA wheel sharpener to show a few guys how I use it, so hopefully that made up for something.

Looks like a great time!!!

Bisch

[pdk25]

A few other things to mention.  Some of you probably don't know it, but Daniel is a very good shot, so if you see any kills at longer distance, it won't be a matter of luck.  And his Hill Country Bow and Centaur shoot almost silently.  I am sure that it is partially due to the strings that he makes.  I saw them, and they look to be high quality work.  Even though I know that there weren't any hogs killed during this hunt, everyone seemed to have a great time, and anyone that has these guys in camp in the future will have a great time.

[Kip]

Todd really covered that days hunt much more eloquent than I could and the other hunts I made did not produce any sightings.After we missed the hogs we seperated and with all the water I had to keep adjusting and ended walking my butt off(got lost) but came out by the trucks.Fun hunt met as always a great bunch of trad hunters from all over ,everyone just meeting talking about past hunts.I have always enjoyed meeting bowhunters the best people like Joe Caba who I met at another hunt and I was lucky to have him at my house this time and my tent.I really don't remember how long since I tent camped maybe 20 years but was fine for an old fart.