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Author Topic: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete  (Read 5605 times)

Offline Ray Hammond

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Seeing as how Terry Green and I had such a successful time three weekends ago, and saw such numbers of porcine invaders - I decided that another trip was called for on Mother's Day weekend.

My wife, and my own Mother, were both preoccupied and traveling that weekend anyway on what could be called "hen parties"- in other words, boys weren't welcome anyway...so I had a free shot so to speak!

Grabbed a guy I knew could pull a hog being he was a strapping fellow who is a certified pipe flinger and welder of all things round- Mike Mitchum- aka Squirrel Bait, and we beat a path back to the Savannah River basin for some swine population reduction patrols.

When we arrived, it looked like we had selected an unbelievable weekend..as the temperatures had dropped the day before our arrival to the mid seventies with a steady breeze...February weather in May!

more to follow in a little bit.
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline BONE

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2006, 04:00:00 PM »
Hurry-up Ray,I am waiting ---Bone

Offline Jumper

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2006, 04:09:00 PM »
Oh here we go again!   :D   Another long drawn out tale. But you got me already, tell on sir!    :bigsmyl:
"With God, all things are possible"

Offline Van/TX

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2006, 05:02:00 PM »
:bigsmyl:    :bigsmyl:  I love it....Van
Retired USAF (1966 - 1989)
Retired DoD Civilian (1989 - 2009)
And drawing Social Security!
I love this country ;-)

Offline Ray Hammond

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2006, 05:42:00 PM »
Just being in this place with its close formations of tall, straight pines and small gatherings of stately oaks- their beards of gray spanish moss moving gently in time with the currents of the northerly breezes is reason enough to venture here.

And the river swamp? With its vast sections of rolling sand hills and creek beds covered in palmetto, live oak, water oak,giant cypress twice the size of a standard pickup at the base, a mix of some white, red, and chestnut oaks, its a hunter's paradise.

No cell phones, no television, no traffic-just the slow steady rhythm of life moving by at its own pace, like the dark waters of the Savannah River.

Wildlife abounds:

the raucous cry and the crazy tarzan-vine -swinging flight( ala Spiderman for you youngsters) of the pileated woodpeckers, those black and white 15 inch jackhammers of the big pine woods.

The noiseless, graceful sliding flight of the scissor-tailed kites over marshes and fields

The high-gliding of bald eagles, specks at high altitude usually, and the screaming, circling flight of red tailed hawks searching out squirrels below

Armadillos scratch and dig in the duff for hidden morsels, and rabbits- cottontail and marsh- seemingly every predator's menu mainstay, abound in every thicket.

Coyote, turkey, raccoon, possum, otter, whitetail deer, each playing out its own graceful and perfect existence, and they help to make this place the closest thing I know to heaven.
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline Frenchymanny

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2006, 06:05:00 PM »
Can't wait for the next part... And yes we have a cold spring, here too, in the mid 50!

Thanks,
F-Manny
Coureur des Bois
Big Jim: Buffalo Bows 62" 60@27 & 65@27 ThunderChilds 56" 62@27 & 62@27 Desert BigHorn 59@27
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With a sturdy bow, a true shaft, and a stout heart, we journey forth in
search of adventure.

Dr. Saxton Pope

Offline knife river

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2006, 06:42:00 PM »
You've even got scissor-tails where you hunt hogs???  What a contrast between species -- a real "beauty and the beast" scenario.  Can't wait to hear more about the hog hunt, but throw me a bone and talk a bit more about the kites!  There's nothing more graceful with feathers than a swallow-tail.
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Offline Terry Green

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2006, 07:34:00 PM »
Tell it Ray!!!
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Offline Ray Hammond

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2006, 08:03:00 PM »
The swallow tail kites mate in the early spring here.. March, perhaps, and one can see them flying together- jousting in an odd sort of way, as they approach one another, tumbling, rolling, rising up and separating only to come close again and again in midair, until satisfied in some unspoken yet equally powerful way that the other is "the right one" - and its off to build a nest and spend the next several months catching more frogs and other kite prey than one would think possible, all to satiate those beautiful downy chicks!

They don't come by the name Kite by accident- they look for all the world like a child's kite, swishing back and forth silently and effortlessly as if tethered to a  fixed point at ground level.
 
There's another sort of creature here, beautiful in the way a big cat stalking its prey can be beautiful: simple, powerful, malevolent, a near perfect form created solely for the purpose of catching and eating anything that comes within reach of its gaping jaws: the alligator.

A fourteen foot, eight hundred pound monster was our "prize" this day -gliding easily off the bank into Blue Lake (named for its perfect reflection of the robin egg colored southern sky seen when one wanders the elevated, meandering dirt two track along its northern edge.

There are wood storks from Florida nesting in the big cypress trees around Blue Lake- when the wind gets up the stork babies are often blown out of their nest to the water below- easy pickings for these cold blooded killers of the cypress-stained waters of Blue Lake.
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline Squirrel Bait

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2006, 08:06:00 PM »
Just wait , here comes the attack of the pigmy boar!!! I'm glad Ray went ahead an done this ,I can't type a story worth a crap.
If you've never been in the woods at daylight, and seen the world come alive, you haven't " Lived".

Offline Ray Hammond

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2006, 08:11:00 PM »
Wild orchids, lillies, and a host of other flowers have splashed their vivid white, yellow, and lavender flecks across the landscape- it won't be long now though and it will be too hot and they will disappear.

Then one can look to the wet areas for another kind of color- newts and salamanders dressed in their black wetsuits splotched with blue, yellow, orange, and red. Beauty is everywhere, and here you have the time to take it in.

And don't forget the wood ducks by the hundreds, and water birds like anhingas, blue and black crowned night herons, and the snowy and american egrets, all working the wet areas for tender morsels.

I reflected on all of this as Mike and I made a quick run in my truck around the perimeter roads just to get him acclimated to his surroundings.
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Online Charlie Lamb

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2006, 08:14:00 PM »
Get some Ray!!  :thumbsup:
Hunt Sharp

Charlie

Offline Squirrel Bait

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2006, 08:14:00 PM »
Let me introduce myself, Hello I'm Mike "DRAG UNIT" Mitchum
If you've never been in the woods at daylight, and seen the world come alive, you haven't " Lived".

Offline Ray Hammond

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2006, 08:21:00 PM »
As you can see, Mike has decided to change his handle. You will see why in a minute.

We landed back at the camp, and turned the walk in cooler on, got our gear unloaded, and began setting up our bows, putting some final touches on the broadheads, and got our ThermaCells started up.

In a few moments we were "going for a walk".
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline Van/TX

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2006, 08:35:00 PM »
Quote
ThermaCells    
What's that?  I don't get out much   :wavey:   ....Van
Retired USAF (1966 - 1989)
Retired DoD Civilian (1989 - 2009)
And drawing Social Security!
I love this country ;-)

Offline Terry Green

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #15 on: May 22, 2006, 10:10:00 PM »
Van......those are the ultimate skeeter deterant...repelant...keep away...get back...bug off units.
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Offline Ray Hammond

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #16 on: May 22, 2006, 10:31:00 PM »
I am not sure if you can do this on this site..but everybody ought to have one of these, Van. If you hate mosquito repellent as much as I do...you'll never go without one. I haven't bought DEET products in 5 years now because of them.

 http://hunting.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=hunting&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mosquitorepellent.com
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline Ray Hammond

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #17 on: May 22, 2006, 10:45:00 PM »
Just in front of the camp is a 6 acre rectangular field of bahia grass (looks like thin winter wheat)bordered on two sides by a very thick cutover and replanted pine plantation. The pines are approx. 10 feet tall, and in between the rows of pines are blackberry vines, and lots of pigs!

The cutover holds water, which contains crayfish, salamanders,a few snakes, rabbits (yes, pigs eat rabbits if they catch them)and when berries are on the vines, you are talking about ice cream to a pig- they absolutely go mad for blackberries.

I always check the far end of this field for pigs- it rolls downhill from the view of the camp, its close to the thick pines, and its where the pork enters the field in the afternoon.

Mike and I split up and entered the field, working methodically right out of camp toward the far end. It probably seemed a little silly to Mike but I have the benefit of lots of experience on this place, and I know that all too often there have been big sounders of pigs out in that field in the evenings working that bahia grass, so we were hunting!

We kept hearing something, but the wind was a little bit noisy, and we weren't sure. Then Mike signaled that he had spotted something moving, but wasn't sure what. I was closer to the location as we worked our way in, and at about 15 steps from the edge of the thicket it exploded with two racing forms running across a little thin area under the pines, moving to a trail that headed toward the heart of the cutover. PIGS!

Mike and I looked at each other and silently chuckled- this was a good sign getting into game so quickly out of camp...what? maybe 10 minutes or less?

Then we heard it- a very upset pig was grunting and fuming from within the thicket. I couldn't see but I could definitely hear that someone was very unhappy about something and it was beginning to dawn on me that WE were what he was upset about.

It got louder, and louder- I couldn't see it, but I could hear it getting closer and louder and more demonstrative with each grunt- he was angry. Angry we had awakened him? Angry we had chased off his buddies? Who knows...but he was mad, and he was coming! I drew back part way and waited...and about 10 feet from me this nose popped out of the undergrowth and gave a very big grunt.

I didn't feel the draw, or the release- all I saw was the arrow flash past the edge of the snout and enter the neck past its cheek, and the pines exploded with a pig screaming and running into stuff...then silence. It was over, just like that.
“Courageous, untroubled, mocking and violent-that is what Wisdom wants us to be. Wisdom is a woman, and loves only a warrior.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Offline beyondmyken

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #18 on: May 22, 2006, 10:50:00 PM »
Dang it, I didn't want to stay up this late waiting for your next post.

Offline Terry Green

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Re: Mothers Day Weekend Pork Reduction Maneuvers- story complete
« Reply #19 on: May 22, 2006, 10:54:00 PM »
:bigsmyl:
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'An anchor point is not a destination, its  an evolution to conclusion'

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