Florida Hog Adventure

[Izzy]

Wow!!! Looks like a fine, fine hunt. Cant wait for the DVD.

[longbowben]

Now thats funny chasing off the horse.Looks like a great hunt.

[twitchstick]

Great stuff thanks for sharing!

[tarponnut]

Well said guys. (CJ,I like the foam seat comment, too funny)That horse always gets the last laugh, though.
As far as shot opportunities go, weather has played a factor on a couple of hunts, too.
When temps. drop 40 degrees in a day the hogs don't want to "get out of bed".
As an aside, no hunting license is required for hogs(on private property), the season is year round,too.

[bill langer]

I have been fortunate enough to hunt hogs for 2 decades now. Jim and Irv have as good or better a hog operation as I have hunted. Wild free range hogs hunted smart. Period.
Would recommend them to any traditional bowhunter.

Mike and I ended our hunt like we started, with a steak dinner. This time Jims partner Irv who had just arrived from Wisconsin joined us at Cowboys. Irv is a great guy, sincere, honest. Reminds me of my Dad. Lots of laughs, a couple cold ones and plans of our next hog hunting adventure...A True South Adventure.

[Sean B]

Awesome Bill, I'm going down for part of my wild turkey slam.  Maybe I'll have time to get on some hogs. Youre really making it tough to wait till March.

[bill langer]

Hey Sean
Good luck on getting one of those long legged swamp chickens. Oh and let me personally congratulate you on the monster bear at Tonys on the Black Widow hunt. What a monster!!
Is Kent Zocker joining you on the turkey hunt?? Jim said he was hunting with him this year as well?
Good Luck, Bill

[Sean B]

Thanks Bill, That was a great time.  Kent wasn't sure which days I was going, but he booked a few days before I heading down.  We may get a day to hunt together.  Eric Port will be there with me to go after hogs.

[bill langer]

Really Sean... What are the dates again?? I may need to sneak down...

[Sean B]

Ill be down there on the 19th, 20th & 21 of March.

[bill langer]

Ooooh...middle of the week...tough that time of year... Gearing up for the construction season...my bread and butter...good luck!

[Sean B]

Yeah,  I work weekends, mid week works for me, thanks.

[tarponnut]

Thanks for the kind words Bill.

We have a few spots available in Feb. and mid-April, May. Mid March and early April is turkeys mostly.
Thanks.
Will have some new pics up on the web-site later.

[Izzy]

Hey Jim, you still offering any Hog/Baby Tarpon combos?

[Missouri CK]

Nice work Bill.  Cool pics.  Mike looks as grizzly as ever!

Congrats to you both. Night hunting for hogs is a gas!

CK

[Dirtybird]

Great adventure guys.

[tarponnut]

A week after Bill and Mike's hunt, Irv guided
C.J.Lacoste from Michigan at the ranch.
Here are a couple of perfect eater sized hogs he took.I will let CJ tell the story.
 
Izzy,
Always chasing baby 'poons but the spots are quite a distance apart.

[bill langer]

Good work CJ.
Been texting Irv, he's sitting the canal crossing that I sat the last night of our hunt, nothing so far...

[bill langer]

Irv's done for the night. No hogs.

[killinstuff]

Jim always makes fun of my photos because they are not the hero types. Just dead animals with a bow on them and my stories are rather boring. The first pig I got sneaking through the woods in the morning looking for a pig I shot the night before. First night out I sneak in on my stand and a boar is under the feeder cleaning things up. 5 or 6 football size youngsters are buzzing around wanting in on the corn. The boar catches me move and tears out of there.  The sow of the babies was in the brush and does the same. It's now a pig free zone. I get up in the tree, get settled in and set up my light as the day turns to night.  At about 7 I catch a nice pig coming in from my left and I stand up. He's now 8 yards out and i turn my light on him and drill him in the shoulder. One unhappy pig as he bolts. Now some guys might not agree but I'm not a big fan of shoulder hit on pigs. The only pigs I've ever lost were hit there and there was little or no blood. 10 minutes after I shot the boar a coon comes in and I shoot him.  I get down and look for pig blood and my arrow. Nothing. I weave back and forth out to 50 yards and nothing so I backed out. Next morning I sit another stand til 8:30 than go look for my pig. I find nothing. No pig no blood no arrow. Not a big fan of that shoulder shot. The arrow was 675 gr sitka spruce with a 225 gr Tough Head broadhead. So I'm sneaking around and start seeing pigs in the woods. There are tangerines growing in there and hogs clean them up. I see the blonde hog rooting around 25 yards out but in brush. There's a softball size hole half way between me and the pig and I slip an arrow though to its mark, mid pig going forward. Great shot and the pig is dead in 30 yards.

That night I'm in Jims double stand and start seeing small pigs at the feeder. The horse comes by and they head for cover. Just at dark three come back and vacuum up the crumbs when a fat 40 pounder comes in and starts picking on the little guys. SOOO, I shot him.  Short track to a dead boar.

Sunday morning I had another fair size boar come in and as you can see, no pic.  Not a good story because he is still there being a hog on Jims lease but with a limp.

Like always, had a great time and Erv and Jim have a good thing going. I saw maybe 30 different pigs from Friday night til SUnday morning. Many fast growing seed pigs for the future. Thanks Jim and Erv.

CJ