Well, it's later. Wife says finish it now 'cause we got things to do.
Everyone got back to camp sometime around 12 pm and we had breakfast. Barry and I decided to forget the heat of the day and get after them. We took a long walk around a square and got split up. I didn't see anything but Barry had a game of cat and mouse going with a hog.
That evening we headed out and got set up. It didn't take too long before the thunder started rolling. As dry as it had been, a good amount of rain would be a good thing. I was working around my square and ended up right in front of an old cabin right when the lightning and rain broke loose. A quick slip up under it and I was sitting pretty for the storm and storm it did. Lasted about an hour and I saw lightning strike trees and had one big tree come crashing down behind me. Squirrelbait drove up in the truck worried about all that lightning but I told him I'd stay and wait it out. He asked me if I thought the other guys would want picked up. I told him I didn't know about Pat and Barry, but I knew Mike would want to stay. I walked back to my cozy shelter from the storm as Squirrelbait drove off and kinda laughed at the thought of Mike ducked down under some little pine tree getting drenched. I knew Mike was hunting an area that had NO place to get out of that driving rain. Better him than me. What are friends for!
The storm lasted about an hour and I got back after them. As I walked up the back road, I spotted hogs feeding in what was basically about a three hundred yard long wallow boardering the road. I snuck up to the edge and got some cover so I could try and locate where they all were. Just about that time, a hog comes trough the pines right in front of me at about 15 yards. I drew back and let fly... right into the dirt.
Now would be a good time to let out that for the past few months I've been fighting the old Short-Draw Syndrome, Target Panic, whatever you want to call it. I'd been worried about it coming on the whole time up to the trip and I pretty much just made it a reality. Psyched myself out so to speak and that shot just about crushed me. Never had that happen before on an animal, just targets.
That pig ran off without much commotion and all the others, about a dozen of them, paid no attention. I snuck up on another and fought to get the bow back. I released and the arrow caught some grass just in front of the pig, driving it down. The arrow hit the ground right under him and they all took off. All I could do was shake my head. I'd just missed two pigs within five minutes at distances under 15 yards. Man let me tell ya, that's a heart breaker.
I looked up and here comes Patrick walking down the road from the top. He's walking along and all of the sudden he stops and pulls out an arrow. He draws back and... I'm not gonna tell ya, he can. What I will say is, the story ends with, "RRRRREEEEEEEEEETTTTT" which is about the most awesome sound in the woods!
I got back to camp and, quite frankly, was a little down on myself. Ain't no way to explain that feeling when your shooting takes a dump except to say, "IT SUCKS". Them boys Ray and Squirrelbait got ways of cheering you up though. It was after 10pm by then, so I can't talk about it.
Sunday morning came with the usual "good morning" from Ray and off we went. Mike and I were working a road through the swamp when I spotted pigs rooting up the bend. I slipped up into the woods and came out perfect right on top of them. There was a big ol sow, maybe 200 plus about 15 yards away. I squatted down, fought the bow back and shot... right under her. The fletching slapped her when it hit the dirt and she ran straight at me, blazing by me at about a foot away. The others in the group, Mike said there were about eight of them, started rooting like crazy. It almost seemed as if they wanted to get every last morsel down before whatever ran off that big girl got to them. About a hundred pounder worked up into a shooting lane and I drew back and let it fly right into another missed opportunity. They all got out of there with that one and that was that.
What can you say... They can't all end on a good note. What can be said is Ray Hammond is operating a first class hog hunting experience that is worth way more than he's charging. One blown stalk and four missed shots on a weekend hunt and that's just me. The other three have their own stories to tell! That is an incredible amount of action in such a short period.
I haven't talked enough about Mike Mitchum. As for Ray, it goes without saying that you can expect nothing but the best. I had talked to Ray on the phone and email so I already knew he was a great guy and one of the best to be hunting with. Ol' Squirrelbait on the other hand, I didn't know a thing about him. I guess I'll just sum it up by saying I really like that guy. Don't be telling him that though 'cause we don't want to stroke his ego none! It just don't get any better than having them two on a hunt with you. Kinda makes me sad to type about it while knowing it's gonna be quite a few months before we get to hunt with them again. I ain't no girly man mind you. That's just the way it is with both Mike and Ray. Top notch and none finer. I can't wait to get back down there.
AS for photos... I plugged my camera in with the wrong charger and blew the thing up. We're gonna have to wait for Patrick to post because he was a picture taking animal. We do have pictures of the end results though that'll have to wait until the others get their stories up.
Topic: Hoggin' Adventures with Ray Hammond at Hog Heaven- June '08 (Pics) (Read 8734 times)
