Texas Success- Great hunt down south

[toehead]

not that we didnt try to get you there big nilla      

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

You can call me Nilla Wafer.

[toehead]

Ok back to the hunt...

The previous two night I had stayed until 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. but the hogs that came all came before 9:00p.m. so thats the time I told myself I was going to stay until.  If nothing had showed by then, I still had time to get back to the lodge, pack up my things and get one last shot at the Javies.  at 8:45 I lowered my bow (it was barely a 6' tripod so I just leaned the bow against a  tree and hung my quiver on a limb and settled in for the last 45 mintues, enjoying the strong breeze and the clear night sky, reflecting on past and present hunts and planning the javy strategy for in the morning.  I had contemplated going ahead and getting down but something told me to stick out the last 15 and call it a night.

[toehead]

Just as I was checking my watch to confirm the end of the night, I heard the distinct sound of corn crunching...could it be?  I noticed the barrel didn't look right, a quick glance with the binocs confirmed hogs, a lot of Cam sized nuggets, a couple of larger pigs, and one real bruiser.       :D    

The plan Pat and I had put in place over the previous two afternoons was working out perfectly,  I guarantee the pigs had circled downwind of the feeder by at least 50 yards and confirmed no night visitors before descending upon the corn!

Pat had suggested putting in more corn in the barrel to keep the hogs there longer for a potential stalk.  We put in another 25 pounds in the barrel and probably another 5 pounds spread around the area.  This would later prove to make all the difference in me getting a shot or going back empty.

[toehead]

as I climbed down and began my approach, I was taken aback by the sheer violance of the scene.  This was a true giant of a beast, towering over the 120 pound sows like they were pigliets.  As Pat and Cam stated, the bait light casts an almost spooky glow, almost iluminating the pigs.  The dust looks like smoke in the light.  The scene was especially hellish when combined with the demonic sounds the pigs were making.  The boar was imposing his will and anger on anything that got in his way.  He would literally throw the sows out fo the light, then go to the barrel, tossing it what looked to me like 4 feet in the air, then he would toss the little sounders, the whole time the dust rising off of him , in the green glow lalmost like he was smoldering.  

For a moment all the close calls I have had, the one's I've heard of first hand and all I have read about in books and websites came into my head in one primal screem of insanity.  The danger almost acting as a polar force, pulling me toward the dull green chaos and violance.  
This was a truly unique experience for me, I can't really describe it but it was sureal for a moment as I caught myself in an almost hypnotic gaze, slowly moving forward with only wood, fiberglass, steel and feathers to take the beast.

[Fattony77]

I love the way this story is unfolding!!! Can't wait to see what happens next! And from fellow Okies, no less!!

[toehead]

 

I had stayed in the road to reduce noise and really watched his attitude and body language while I closed the distance.  I knew I had all night to get there based on the amound of corn Pat and I had placed the previous afternoon.
I think I was so in awe of the visual and audible display that I didn'tn even think about my sihlouete against the mesquite line by the moonlight...

When I got to about 20 yards he turned his attention toward me!

   

[pdk25]

At the same time that this is going on, I was hunting a stand that I had not hunted before.  For a variety of reasons, I was late getting out that afternoon and didn't get a chance to go to my preferred location, and against my better judgment had decided not to hunt the stand that I shot my hog out of.  The wind would have been perfect for that stand, but the layout of where I was hunting and the direction of the wind put me far away from the feeder and in a relatively open area.

I decided that I would need binoculars to see the stand and waited until dusk to get them so as to avoid getting seen on my way to and from the truck.  On the short walk I nearly stepped on a large rattlesnake, which quickly coiled into a ball 4-5 feet from my rattling away.  I jumped away doing a poor version of a pre-St. Patrick's Day jig.  My heart was pounding in my chest.  I have always been a little afraid of snakes, and was worried about them withth 90+ degree weather that we were supposed to have.  Ironically, I had purchased my first pair of snakeboots prior to the hunt but wasn't wearing them because nobody was seeing snakes at that time.  

Originally I had planned to walk the roads toward the feeders and look for roaming or feeding hogs, but now I was too scared to do this under the moonlight.  I opted to wait it out at this stand until a little after 10pm with low expectations.  At around 10:15 I left after not seeing anything.  I decided to drive to check the feeder that I had shot my sow from the night before, and the barrel was tipped and empty.  Crap. If I had hunted that stand I would likely have had a good shot with my HH Rogue.  I really want to kill something with that heavy bow using the wooden arrows that my buddy Dave Sisamis made up for me, but I guess it will have to wait.

I headed back to camp, where I saw Cam and Dustin waiting outside for me.

[toehead]

Sorry Pat I need to catch up.

[toehead]

So there we were in a primal Staredown.  For I moment I froze, then as his attention was diverted by one of the sows, I quickly dropped to my knees.  As soon as I did all I though to myself " hope he doesn't think I'm another hog and come looking for a fight".  It was tense, his body language and demeanor were now focused on me again.  His 1000 yard state right into me as he weighed his options and I weighed mine.

[toehead]

Then I heard it, that damn sound that is the bane of every hog hunter who gets close enough to hear them breathing.  He didn't wind me no way, the wind was 15-20 from him to me.  I could smell him like the stench of hell.  
He had been through this dance before and knew how it would turn out I imagine.  With a long growl he turned and walked into the mesquite.  Damnit!  
The sows were now also on alert although the little pig nuggets were eating for all they were worth.

[toehead]

The sows disappeared in the same brush the rhino pig had seconds earlier.  The little piglets were now getting nervous and one by one they slipped away.  There was one or two stragglers that took the opportunity of no competition as I eased up on my feet and slid over to the edge of the road and mesquite.  I knew they would come back.  
I was still downwind of the pigs, I could still smell the boar as I knelt just outside the circle of ghoulish green haze the pigs had occupied a few seconds earlier.

[toehead]

I was within a few steps of the barrel and had ample light to make out the details I needed for a good shot as one by one the little sounders came easing back into the hazy light.  I could sense movement to my left and saw some big dark shadow  but he never would come in.  
I now had a decision to make, see how many piglets I can shiksabob and go for the worlds most efficient shot to kill ratio, or wait out the sows.  

Keep in mind I am in the middle of a 16 month no kill spell and am still wanting to bloody up a longbow and home made cedars for the first time!

[toehead]

It always amazes me how those little pigs will line up shoulder to shoulder and feed almost like a giant pug nosed vacuum cleaner!  
Luckily there was still plenty of corn on the ground from the spillage that occurred during our filling of the barrel the day before that the piglets were too busy gobbling up corn as my fingers began to tighten on the string while I eased and canted the Wesley Special into position for a shot.  

As I began to ease the string back on the little ones, movement caught my eye through the circle of light.

[KillerBee]

Great read, thanks for sharing!

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

Originally posted by toehead:
 I could smell him like the stench of hell.  
 

Did it smell anything like our bunkhouse      the evening we grilled the back straps?

[toehead]

Worse!  Smelled like that bathroom after you and pat took turns punishing the toilet!!      

[toehead]

It was a sow, she was nervous for sure, bouncing in and out of the light.  Easing back in the brush and then coming back into the open.  
There must have been 12-15 of the piglets around the bucket now, making her a little less uneasy.  I was just waiting for her to commit.  Eye level a few steps away, my mind and body went into automatic pilot.

[toehead]

She was doing her best to keep one eye in me and eat but it was too much.  I knew I had her when she started rolling the barrel.  It was  just a matter of time and being patient for a good shot angle.

[toehead]

She finally got broadside, the only thing between me and her was fresh air and 5 little cam cam pigs.  She was tall enough to get a clear shot mid lung without risking a deflection off one of those precious piglets ( oh soo cute with their little round noses).  I picked a curl of silverish/white hair mid way up her body line and the next thing I know all hell breaks loose!