Well, myself and three fellow Ohioans just returned from Hunt Wild Things in Estill, S.C. Before I begin, I will say that this was not my first experience hog hunting. I've hunted hogs in Florida, over dogs, using a knife and killed gobs of em. After this experience I will never hunt pigs in that manner again. Quite honestly, after this I don't think I would hunt hogs any other way. So, that being said, we booked a three day hunt and arrived last Thursday. Upon arrival in Estill we were met by Andrew, who owns and hosts the camp. After purchasing our licenses we followed Andrew to the camp, about ten or so miles away. When we arrived at our camp we were very impressed. The accommodations are top notch and seemingly brand new. We stayed in a bunkhouse with two well equipped bathrooms, eight bunks and a rather large lounge area with a fireplace. We were the only hunters in camp that weekend so we had it all to ourselfs.
The main lodge which is where we ate, was a remodeled boat house and old general store, over one hundred years old, that used to sit on the Savanna River boat landing, nearby. Apparently Andrew had the two buildings moved onto the property and joined them together to make a large kitchen, lodge area that was quite rustic and impressive. There was also a large fireplace outside, near the pond, with chairs to sit and enjoy your favorite beverage.
After getting acquainted Andrew provided a satellite map and gave us a layout of the property, which is several thousand acres, bordered by the Savannah river, to the west. We could hunt in one of the several stands over feeders, or spot and stalk. In the morning, after a fantastic breakfast, we were transported by Andrew to whatever location we picked out. If we wished he would pick us up around noon for lunch and then take us back out after, to hunt till dark. Andrew also offered to pack lunches for us, if we decided to stay out all day. Three of us decided to stalk and one of us, an older gentleman, decided to stalk part of the time and utilize a stand the rest.
In my opinion, and the opinion of my comrades, our group found stalking to be the best. As a matter of fact we got onto hogs every day, bunches of them, by stalking. It is however not easy and we had more success as the weekend went on, the harder we worked and deeper into the swamps (off the sand roads) we went. If you would rather walk the roads and glass for pigs, or prefer to just sit that's fine, however, in my opinion, the harder you work the more chances you will get. To illustrate, our older friend, in his sixties, that couldn't walk as much got onto one hog, although it was a massive one. The rest of us got onto dozens. I shot at two and missed both times. (definitely the indian not the bow, as they say) My buddy, who is relatively new to trad archery shot several times as well and was able to shoot one large sow, although I believe it was a bit high and unfortunately we did not recover the animal. I don't believe the animal was in any mortal danger based on what I observed after it was hit and the blood trail was scant.
Keep in mind that this was after we had walked several miles that morning, glassing the swamp. After a couple of hours we found about fifteen pigs rooting, about two hundred yards into a hardwood swamp area and then snuck up on them. On a scale of intensity, for me, it was a ten. The anticipation was overwhelming and by the time I got close enough to take a shot my heart was coming out of my chest and I was shaking like a dog crapping razor blades. After that experience I have no desire to hunt pigs sitting in a stand, over dogs, ect. at all, whatsoever.
I found pigs to be much like deer, in that the large males are much more wary and alert than the females, even the ones with babies. On the last evening, as it was getting dark, my buddy and I stalked up to a feeder, which was between a hardwood swamp area and pine grove. Pig sign everywhere you looked. When we got about twenty or so yards my buddy signals for me to stop. We try to creep forward and two massive pigs take off from the feeder, into the pines. The area was a large water hole, very thick, with chest high vegetation which did not allow a shot from our spot. One of the pigs, the biggest I had seen, was a rust color with dark blotches on it. Afterward my buddy told me that when he first walked up in the rather low light, he wondered to himself why someone would dump a big rusty oil drum next to a feeder. Well, that oil drum turned out to be the pig.
To summarize, we will be going back to Hunt Wild Things again, hopefully next year. The food was amazing, the property afforded plenty of shots at pigs if you are willing to work for them, and Andrew's hospitality is second to none. I really can't say enough good things about his service. If I could offer any advice I would say good binoculars, compass and or GPS, a day pack, good waterproof footwear that is relatively light, (I wore Mucks) and if you choose to hunt like this a fitness regimen about a month prior to the hunt that is somewhat specific to hunting would be a great idea. Nothing crazy, just some sustained cardio, which I do none of. I stay in pretty good shape with weight lifting and I am a relatively strong guy but that really doesn't mean diddly squat as I was flat worn out and sore after the first day. Hope you guys enjoy my review.
Topic: Hunt Wild Things (Read 258 times)
