Hog Wild @ Wild Things '13 - the Truth and nuthin' but the Truth

[rbcorbitt]

Back in, folks!  Thursday PM I chose to sit in one of the many new blinds that Andrew has set up with feeders (I believe the total is around 17), as I had walked my butt off that morning.

Plenty of pig sign everywhere and more squirrels than one could count.

   
View from the 15' stand - approx. 12 yards from feeder.

Very relaxing evening.  Right at dusk, I heard pig noises on the other side of the road.  Talking about squirrels scattering!    

[rbcorbitt]

Oh yes, forgot to mention that each hunt participant also received a really nice hardwood base leather strop that came from Steve at Simply Traditional, and a really neat commemorative long sleeve performance tee shirt donated by AllanBlock.com/Blue Stone Block!

Thanks so much!  

[sticksnstones]

Hey Bob, that was a Hammock Seat right?  I set mine up in the tree in front of the porch one afternoon so everyone could try one out.

It's very cool when you've got a bunch of trad hunters together so we can compare different gear that works for our needs.

I was glad to bring a few things, and I am very appreciative for the things I learned last weekend!
Thom

[Guru]

Miami Vice and cigars...two of Terry's favorite subjects!!

This is very enjoyable fellas    

[rbcorbitt]

Yep, Thom, sorry about that - old age - Hammock Seat!

Looking forward to trying mine out!

Here is one of the excuses for spider bite/snakebite "medicine"      
 

No snake sightings, but with the temperature up near the 80's on Friday, a couple of the group heard a gator roar.  Fun stuff!

[David Mitchell]

Where's da' pigs?   :confused:

[Sam McMichael]

The truth and nuthin' but the truth? Remember, this is a HUNTING story, so truth is automatically suspect! However, it is a very good story - or set of stories, as the case may be. Congratulations to all you guys. It seems like a very great trip.

[rbcorbitt]

Ok, a wrap up for me!

Saturday found Bud and Todd working our way through a section of swamp down from Blue Lake where I had close encounters with critters of the hog kind in future trips with Ray.

We were all working towards the left-hand road off the turkey foot.  I had just crossed a slough about 8-10' wide with about 10-12" water in it when I heard splashing ahead of me.

I look up and see multiple pigs coming my way.

I plant my feet, nock an arrow and get ready.  At approximately 18 yards to my left, approximately 12 pigs ran by at a fast trot and splashed through the slough that I had just crossed.  I bleated, grunted, whistled - I did every vocalization that came to mind - just trying to get one to stop long enough to send a personalized 300 grain WereWolf tipped arrow via my Centaur their way.

The group consisted of approximately 8-9 piglets (I lost track in all the commotion) about 16-18" tall at their back, what looked like two sows and one, VERY definitely a boar (had a lot of stuff swinging from his undercarraige        ) and a very visible set of cutters.

Remembering advice that I had gotten from Ray, Mike, Terry Green and Andrew, I aggressively took pursuit, but they never broke stride.  I trailed them as best that I could, and later Bud and I connected with one another.  Apparently this was the same group of pigs that he bumped my way.

Exciting stuff!  

Actually, the hogs did cross within about 75 yards of here!

At lunch that day, I played around with the Jackal prototype that South with Stalker had sent us (60", I believe 52#).  With just minimal adjustments to brace height and nock height, I had the bow dialed in shooting my standard VAP 400's with 300 grains up front.  Love the grip design        .  Smooth and quiet and would really zip a 595 grain arrow with authority!

That afternoon, Bud and Brian and I worked through the stretch of pines where Brian had seen so much sign and had his close encounters that morning.  Pig sign everywhere!  Pig tracks, pig scat, pig beds.  They apparently where holing up in the Phragmytes (sp) - the tall grass that grew inside the pine thickets.  Talk about thick!

That night Andrew and his cousin, Doug, treated us to a good old Low Country oyster roast.  DELICIOUS!  I honestly do not think I have eaten more oysters in one setting in my life              


All in all, a great time spent with great TG members in a first class facility!  100% first class folks and facility!!

[rbcorbitt]

One last post.
 
Harry (modestly) accepting his trophy!    

[awbowman]

I love hunts when the top priority doesn't have to be killing something.  SOOOOOOOO calming!

[smokin joe]

I will finish my story.

I continued stillhunting the arc of the bulldozed road around the old clear cut. It was still early in the morning and the rain had stopped at sundown the night before. The hog tracks in the mud were telling me that there had been tons of hogs active here since the rain stopped. There were literally tens of thousands of fresh tracks there in the mud.

About two thirds of the way around the overgrown old clear cut I saw a corn feeder in the distance. The weedy clear cut was to my right and there was a patch of hardwoods with standing water to my left. I was going so slow that I was hardly moving. I had never seen a place that had so much sign and so many fresh tracks -- that is, until I got close to the feeder.

The area around and under the feeder was torn up as if someone had been through there with a giant roto-tiller. There were tracks, signs of rooting and wallows -- and the water in the wallows was still roiling and swirling with mud. I could not have missed the hogs by more than an hour or two.

I continued on around the clear cut moving slowly and listening for hogs. In all I took three and a half hours to walk around the clear cut.

It was an exciting morning to know that I was into so much hot sign the whole time. The hogs were there, I was too. Would I get close enough or be at the exact right place at the right time?

I decided to let that spot cool down, so in the afternoon I hunted in another spot in on of Andrew's new tree stands. I saw tons of birds and a few squirrels before dark.

Saturday morning Terry Green and I went to a section near the clear cut. The sign was fresh there too. We followed trails and came upon a wallow. The water in the wallow was freshly stirred up. The tracks were fresh. There were imprints of hog hair in the mud that had not even started to soften. The trails out of the wallow were still wet. We couldn't have been more than 30 minutes behind the hogs that were wallowing there.

The wet trails out of the wallow were all going toward the clear cut.

Terry and I were pretty confident. Fresh hog sign headed to a place where I had seen fresh sign the day before. Working with the wind in our favor we hunted the perimeter of the clear cut. The sign was like the day before, but we did not see or hear hogs. We decided to hunt right through the chest high weeds in the old clear cut.

In the clear cut we could see where the hogs had been tearing up logs to get to bugs and grubs. And we saw lots of hog beds, but no hogs.

Back to the the lodge we went for lunch and a strategy session.

I hunted alone that afternoon and had a mexican standoff of a stare down session with a huge doe at about 40 yards. She finally had enough of trying to figure out what i was and just trotted away without acting alarmed.

The hunt the next morning was delayed by rain. When it cleared up I went out and found the pelvic bone of an armadillo and the lower jaw bone of a hog. Unexpected and unusual trophies of a memorable weekend.

It was a great weekend of hunting, wonderful accommodations and the best people I could imagine. The hogs gave me lots of exciting moments, but I was just a step or two behind them all weekend. That's hunting.

 Wild Things is a beautiful place.

[Terry Green]

Yeah...Joe and I had a good LONG hunt that morning, 'everything but a dead hog'....not 300 yards into our hunt we found brand new sign, and followed these hogs for some 400 yards and like Joe said, we mush have just missed them when they got to the wallow as it was recently destroyed and the trails leaving the one side we wet and covered with lots of sloppy soaking mud.

Don't know how in the world we didn't see one.  With all the FRESH sign I figured we'd get run over any second.


I really enjoyed hunting with Joe...what a pleasure.  We hunted hard and smart, but just couldn't but our eyes on any, and the strange thing is, we didn't even hear one squeal in any direction.

[Nattybumppo]

Ok... I'm back in... Been traveling a lot lately. Tough to jump in and out and play catch up...

Thursday afternoon for me wa spent back in the White Oak stand. Wouldn't you know it. The SAME boone and crockett grey squirrel showed back up. This time I waited and waited and waited till he got under the feeder.Easy shot.

It seems to me that the squirrels on the Savannah river seem to possess magical qualities. They levitate faster than any arrow I shoot.

I missed.

But about 15 minutes later here he comes again... Other side of the feeder this time. Well...

I swear they are magical. I missed.

That evening when Andrew and Terry picked me up all I could report was shamefully that I lost the battle of White Oak stand. I retreated.

However I redeemed myself later when Andrew laid out that Rib roast... I'm just saying guys... I've never eaten like that in a hunting camp.

[Terry Green]

Just to back up a bit...I got there late Friday afternoon, and the only one in camp.  I've been to this property many times but stayed in the other camp.  I was not expecting the beauty or layout that was on the horizon before me.

I remembered what a guy told me when I took him to a place like this once...."all you need is a front porch and a bologna sandwich"...well, there was a front porch, so the sandwich was all I needed.

     

I took several pics, that Thom now has on the Wild Things web site in the guest photos section.  The bridge was calling me to cross and explore....so that's what I did.

     


Found a smattering of sign, and the water oaks were a plenty, there wouldn't be any hungry squirrels this winter for sure.  I also ran across this interesting find.....

The Tee Pee Stump....

   

View of the cabin from across the bridge after I returned an hour and a half.....

   

[Terry Green]

Yes...the rib roast was INSAINLY good.

When I got back Andrew was in the cabin and he welcomed me into camp and we had a great conversation.  He's really looking to make Wild Things a premier hog hunting destination in the south no doubt.  We were his 1st big group and he did pretty good, and he learned a few things about how to streamline food prep and placing and picking up hunters.  He'll have it down soon and it will be even better than what we had....which was nothing to complain about for sure.

Over time, he'll even start to fine tune annual patterns and stand locations.  He is very interested in hearing about improvements.  I'd like to personally thank him for the invite to join this group.

During my surgery rehab...I'm going to try and make it back over when there's no hunters in camp and take a good look at all his set ups.  That will be some relief for me being I wont be able to hunt for a while.

Thanks again Andrew.    

[Terry Green]

Oh....I have another hunt to tell about Todd 'nodillakilla' Herndon.    

[Terry Green]

The 1st monring I was there I was up eaarly and started helping Andrew getting breakfast cooked....Andrew had made two pots of coffee....sort of.  One he forgot to put the grounds in and we ended up with a pot of hot water.

The other pot Andrew thought he'd not put water in yet but he had, and proceeded to flood the floor with water.

I said to Andrew....

"Sometimes you gotta have your coffee before you can make coffee"  

Todd got a kick out of that quote.

I think there's a few more quotes yet to be spoken of.    

[Cyclic-Rivers]

[Izzy]

Awesome hunt fellas. Can't wait to get there.

[MCNSC]

I will be down that way  (not at Wild Things) next week. Been trying to pick up a few pointers from this thread as to where the pigs are hanging out. Any pointers as to what kind of cover they were in. Of course it was warm last weekend, so does the weather effect where the pigs hang out?
Also, the accommodations at Wild Things look greatly improved got to get back there some time.
Thanks.