south of SC Hwy 3/Made it home with no broken arrows but blood on some

[Don Batten]

leaving now. gonna spend a weekend of R&R with a couple of buddies. We gonna Be between South Carolina Hwy 3 and Georgia. Be back monday or tuesday. DB

[Guru]

Have fun, take pix, and good luck buddy    

[Red Beastmaster]

Between Rt3 and GA. Just the thought makes me smile. One of the neatest places I've ever been. I'm going back in the Fall.

[TimZeigler]

Bring your Therma Cel!

Have a great trip Don!

[tippit]

That's a great place to hang out for a few days.  I'd say it's gonna be hot...but I believe Boston is just as hot today...weird winter/spring in northeast.  Have fun!

[leatherneck]

Good luck Don. Have fun!

[WRV]

Best of luck & enjoy

[Benjy]

Good luck Don, don't forget your thermocell and your snake boots! It's been warm for a couple weeks.

Benjy

[RC]

Skeeters are fierce here. Take a thermacel and have fun.RC

[Don Batten]

Skeeters Were fierce. Storms were fierce. Just got home . Had a good visit with an old friend and dodged the rain just long enough to get out in the swamps and cutovers. I'll be back tomarrow with a story or two. Got to unload gear, make some room in the freezer and get ready to watch the heels try and pull another one out.

[Guru]

[sunny hill archer]

Yeah Boy!!!!!!!!!!

[Don Batten]

Well, my tarheels came up short(congrats to jayhawks fans) so I'll tell some .

Jet Mathews was the first person I ever saw shoot a bow that impressed me. I'd heard his name mentioned around when I was a kid, but never met him until I was grown, married and getting ready to get out of the army in 84. I was intrigued by the bow and asked alot of questions about it. He was more than helpful and I got a bow and we started shooting together some times. He  was living in Raleigh then ,and I at Ft Bragg.  About the time I got out of the army, he sold out his half of a production company that booked bands up and down the east coast.
, nantucket, molly hachet,  doc holliday, etc)'
He moved back down to Clubfoot Creek where his mom lived and as luck would have it, Me and my wife moved there as well. We got to hunting and shooting togather and formed a great friendship. Till this day, he is the best ive ever seen at going into a patch of woods and picking a tree to put up a stand to kill a deer.

I know , get on to the pig hunting. But you got to bear with me a  few.

Jet and I went to Alberta in 92 Elk hunting. 6x6 or better area. We saw shootable bulls every day but no shots. 15 days up there and all kinds of game spotted. When we got back, I moved and got really busy building houses and jet got busy as well in the marina business. We kinda lost contact and didn't hunt to gather much. I had 3 young sons and coach little league for 9 years.

Fast forward to 2005. My youngest son Will showed a real interest in recurves. WE started going to some local 3d stuff. A fluke, I ran into Jet and We got to catching up and he told me about this pig hunting that he was doing now that was the bomb. We'll He didn't have to beg and me and Will were down there with him . That was about 5 years ago. It was a lease he was in that was set up by a guy he had met by the name of Cory Mattson.   We road down and got an education in pig hunting.  

It's not what most folks think it is. (shooting fish in a barrel). I will go out on a limb and say that shooting a 300lb truly wild boar on a feeder of some sort, or even stalking, is like killing a 5 1/ 2 yr old  whitetail.
Took me three times down there to shoot my first pig. I had a great hunt that time (best yet) shot and recoverd 4 in two days.

Ok, back to the present. Me and Jet left my house thursday and ran down to his beach house in Charleston for the night. Next morning we were up and headed to the pig camp.
Weather was looking kinda iffy and we stopped in fairfax and got some corn to feed the road.  We headed down the hill in the afternoon in hopes that the rain would hold out for us.
 
I climbed up in the "Birds Nest" and settled in.

I promise not to drag this out, but I got to have some family time.

[A.S.]

   

[wooddamon1]

[Guru]

Looks like a 300gr. VPA on the end of that arrow about to go to work    

[DGF]

 

I'm going to enjoy this, I can tell allready.

Dan

[Don Batten]

Yes a 300 grain terminator.  About 10 min on stand and 10 to go before the feeder went off, I heard some movement to my right. 3 football size pigs ran in and started bobbing for corn in the water. The wind was in my face and soon the sow was sneeking around the thick area and checking for corn. She offered a killing shot but was really poor and skinny and Jet had told me that they had been letting sows with pigs walk but I could do what I wanted. While trying to decide, the wind died a little and I felt the dreaded breeze on the back of my neck. the gig was up and they went away . The feeder went off and nothing else came in. I only sat for about 15 more min. I could hear thunder back to the NW and the wind had did a 180 and was blowing harder. I got to my feet and looked over to the road and saw Jet. I got down and we hot footed it back to camp and made it to the camper just as the bottom fell out.
 
A good place to hold up during a storm, complete with AC and SAT TV.

[Don Batten]

We checked the local Radar and, It looked like we had about 30 to 45 min before this batch of rain moved through and then a small break in the green before another moved though.

Soon as it tapered off we were back down the Hill. We parked the stealth?
 
Stealth pig recovery and feed vehicle.
We parked at the top of the hill and walked about 75ys down the road and were in the pigs. they had found the corn and also ,I guess knew they only had an hour or so till more rain. We heard a group chomping on corn and move closer. a few must have spotted us and blew out. Jet put me out front and another 100ys, I spotted a black outline in some thick broom straw. I closed the gap to around 12 yds and was trying to pick out a hole to get one through. Then I thought, Hell this is a 700grain arrow and that is broom straw. Well I could see a tiny opening by what I thought would be a shot in the vitals. I drew down and let her rip. the pig ran about 3 steps, did a 180 and ran back to where he was and turned and ran into the thick. Jet came on up and I said, It looked a tad high but sounded like I hit him. We eased up there and saw this
 
Arrow looked marginal from where we were standing. I told jet to head up the road and I would hang back and give it a few before looking. He went on his way and I walked over to the arrow and then looked to where the pig had made the 180 and saw this.
 

[Don Batten]

I decided to give him a little more time and headed up the road . I got almost to the slew and It started to breeze up and I could hear thunder again. I turned around and headed back to try and find my pig before the rain hit. I got on a good trail and about 15yds into the briars I saw this.
 
I looked for a few more min up the tunnel and couldn't see anymore blood. then I remembered a few pig trails Ive been on. I started looking straight right and the left of the direction of travel. back left an toward the road I saw this.
 
nice eater. I grabbed him up and took about 5 steps and was back on the road. My kinda recovery. It was starting to spinkel so I ran and got the stealth, picked up the pig and started easing down the road to meet up with Jet. It was full dark now but the sky was being lit up by lightning . I soon ran Into Jet and we turned around and got on back up the hill. Got the pig cleaned and cooked some ribeye steaks and It rained most of the rest of the night. Day one down and one more to go.