Mike Mitchum, AKA squirrel bait AKA drag unit and yours truly went on a little steam bath hog culling expedition this weekend.
When we planned it we did not have the expectation of 98 degree temperatures and 100% humidity but when you live in the South you play the hand you are dealt, or you give up on a lot of trips. I guess its like living up North and dealing with cold...hey, buck up and get out there, you know?
Anyhow, we arrived, got our gear together and decided where to spend the first evening's hunt.
Mike thought he would try Terry Green's favorite first afternoon spot- THE CROSSROADS. I chose the area around Blue Lake...a perennial favorite of mine because if there's any water on the place that seems to be the area to find it.
to be continued...........
Ok...that'll do for an appetizer...wheres the main course?? :D
OK Ray lets get on with the story; I know it will be a good one.
Well I'll tell yall the Black Mamba Silvertip struck first. I would tell you about the 300-350lb sow , but that willhave to wait.
tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, ok we are waiting patiently for the ret of the story here. must be getting a hog ready for the smoker is all i can figure....
No smoker but there are tenderlion cutlets on the grill as I type this. Well it all started like this , ooppps got to go there done, Dinner Time!!! Ray tells stories better than me anyway.
I think it's time for a "zero tolerance policy" here. :D
ya know, I knew a girl in high school like you two once.....
LOL Brent I knew a couple of em... :knothead: Come on guys where are the pics and story.?
Sorry...been looking for three hours for the dad blamed USB card reader for my camera- ITS AT WORK!!!
Story gonna have to wait for pics tomorrow.
I'll tease you a little more.
We couldn't even start out till around 6pm..just too hot. But with it getting dark around 830-845 pm that was plenty of time to get soaked walking around.
Scissor-Tailed Kites, scarlet tanagers, Indigo buntings, painted buntings, wood ibis, great blue heron, turkeys, a bobcat- all in the first hour of walking toward my spot.
In between wildlife sightings and cruising toward my destination I imitated a russian sub- by doing what US submariners call a "crazy Ivan"- just shut down in mid stride and listen for any sound of enemy vessels, or in my case-hogs, around me. It was frankly just too hot for them yet though.
I piddled around, took my time looking at my feet as much as my surroundings, searching for a piece of man-worked chert. The property was a quarry for native americans for hundreds of years- most of the stuff we find is just broken chips and leavings- they carried off the fine materials to work later, but we do luck up once in a while and end up with some nice pieces and lots of pottery.
Around 730pm, thunderheads scattered around the horizon, the sun moving lower, and the temperature starting to drop all signaled things should be getting better.
I worked slowly past all the wet places near Blue Lake, eliminating them one by one until I reached the last set of puddles, and then I heard it: bubbles!
Hogs grubbing around for morsels in water blow bubbles- its a very distinctive sound. I homed in on their location and noticed the high grass moving erratically, back and forth- I knew something was about to happen.
I drew an arrow out of the quiver and placed it on the string, and got ready. The wind had been a steady cross-wind but just then I felt it on the back of my neck!
Instantly the bubbles stopped, a choppy grunt was uttered, and a hog stepped into the dirt road, giving me the evil eye!
I drew and released in one motion- the arrow was moving perfectly out of Mamba- my new black risered Schafer Silvertip TD recurve- when the hog leapt from a standing stop to move across the road and down slope to the edge of the swamp and Blue Lake. But the arrow was just a little too quick- it was like a slow motion movie with the hog leaping - they always do that- looking like the horses in Native American paintings- front and back legs moving in a big arc under the hog - at least that's what they look like to me and it's my story- anyway, the arrow hit the hog in the middle- right through the spine- instead of where it was headed- on the point of the shoulder- and dropped the 100 lb pig like a stone into the ditch on the far side of the road.
I quickly dispatched it with a second arrow and everything went still. I spent the next 5 or 10 minutes listening to the sound of a flock of turkeys rising to roost, and an alligator grumbling somewhere off in the swamp, while I calmed myself from the rush of adrenaline that always comes when I'm in close quarters with game.
How are the bugs in conditions like that down there? They would eat you alive in WI in that kind of heat. Man call me frosty but I would take a deer stand in 10 degree weather over that anyday for hunting. That is bike riding weather or watching cuties at the beach as far as my vote goes! :bigsmyl: Congrats on the hunt though! BBQ time. :campfire:
:bigsmyl: :clapper: MORE Please
Way to go Ray. Looking forward to the rest of the story. :thumbsup: :campfire:
this is getting good :bigsmyl:
Great story Ray!
You guys are tough to hunt in this heat. I was hot enough working on a bow in front of the fan in the garage. Great story.
Bowdude- one word- ThermaCell. Greatest invention of the 20th century. No bug problems with one of those strapped to your pack.
I walked back toward camp, to get the pickup/camera so I could move the hog to the skinning shed. I was moving pretty quick, due to the heat and a couple mile walk ahead of me- I didn't want that pig to spoil.
As I approach the crossroads area where Mike is hunting I hear a very upset hog begin 'talking' to his bunch and the rough translation was- "hey, we are not going that way any more- follow me or DIE!!!" and he turned 90 degrees left, took his bunch of about 12 hogs with him paralleling my line of travel but 75 yards or more in the thick woods.
I continued on, looked for Mike, and there he was - he was working on that bunch further down the road to the left where they had run to, in getting away from me.
Good, I thought, he will see some action for sure..and I beat it to the truck, and retraced my steps back to the pig. I still haven't figured out how to use the self timer on my camera so the best I can offer is a picture of the hog with my Schafer sitting in the road, as it was getting pretty dark by this time and I was in a hurry to get it snapped and then load up.
On the way back I met up with Mike and he related his close encounter with the mob and how they made it around him without offering a shot opportunity.
More to follow...
Nice story so far Ray...I especially like that Alligator grumbling...that'd be cool as you stand over your prize!
Nice goin Ray! Can't wait for the pics and more of the story! We'll add another chapter next spring.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ray Hammond:
Scissor-Tailed Kites, scarlet tanagers, Indigo buntings, painted buntings, wood ibis,
Wow those are some great sightings. Dianne would have loved that. We had a Scarlet Tanager land in our waterfall the other day. First one we've ever seen around here and only the second one we've EVER seen.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/theferret111/2007_06040008.jpg)
We've never seen a painted bunting.
Observing wildlife is one of the best things about being a hunter. Being able to identify them adds to your enjoyment in the woods.
Very cool.
Congrats on the porker. :thumbsup:
Very nicely written, Ray! :thumbsup: Look forward to the pics!
Well we took the hog to field dress and put in the cooler.Then it was off to find something to eat, that was an adventure in it self. Mr . Hammond , can you please tell me your order again, I've seem to forgot what I was doing here?????? :knothead: :knothead:
yeah...it only took 4 repeats at the drive thru speaker, and three repeats to the supervisor to get a happy meal...yikes...our public education system is broken and it can't get up,I'm afraid!
The birds are great there, Mickey. We have about 30 varieties of warblers- prothonetary, myrtle, a bunch even I can't remember without my books- that was one of the things I was looking forward to most in going to Africa was the bird life.
Oh, I forgot-when I got back to the downed hog there was an owl feather laying across her nose- a tail feather in fact. I took that as a good omen for the weekend..a fellow predator was on the prowl and came to check out my skillz!
:bigsmyl: :campfire: :coffee:
Glad to hear you two had such a great time...you both certainly deserve it. Looking forward to seeing the pics.
Missed ya'll saturday but I wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to hunt hogs either.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e322/rayhammond123/rayhog61107.jpg)
My new huntin' buddy for a day! Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal. Notice the ears of this hog?
That's a big clue when you see one of these big hogs in the paper...look at the ears. A hog that makes its living in the wild, getting chased by wild dogs, coyotes, bobcats, gators, whatever- their ears are alert and moving all the time,and look like those of a german shepherd.
The ones that live in a barnyard?? Floppy, lean over, look stupid, cause they get dumbed down by living the easy life. The barnyard version doesn't need ears, except to hear "here, pig, pig!!! Sooooooweeeeeeeeeee".
MMMMM BBQ... :clapper:
Wow,Hoss. More story, please! :) Ya got that whole "ferret" thing going on with only 3 arrows, too! Assumin ya shot and broke one! :notworthy: :)
Doc Nock ..looks to me like he was planning on shooting multiple hogs :bigsmyl:
Warblers are tough to tell apart..kinda like sparrows. Just enough similarities to confuse ya. Warblers is cool.
Nice Job Ray.. Looks like you and Mike had a great time.
Great hunt guys :thumbsup: and thanks for sharing it with us! I sure wish I had pigs to hunt! But my state don't! Ray thats a great way to break in the new Silvertip!
Brent
Ray, did you use those new fangled broadheads? You remember, the huge ones that made you giggle like a school girl cuz they got so scary sharp??? :coffee:
Yeah , He had the big, giggle like a school girl broadheads. But, How many arrows he had was a story in itself. I've tried to tell him to get a back quiver so he don't run out of ammo!!!
yep..had to use two on that one hog, and she broke them both.
I only took 4 broadheaded arrows with me and I had two stuck in that hog- one in the spine, and one buried up in the right shoulder where I shot her from the rear all th way up through, then she broke the shaft off flopping around...and so I headed into Saturday with only two Abowyer 190's.
Great story! I'll never look at my dog's pig ear chewing toy in the same way again. Thanks for FINALLY giving us that photo. I didn't think I could take it anymore.
(http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e322/rayhammond123/mikehog61107.jpg)
This goes with Mike's Saturday story....
Ray, you gotta post a pic of those Abowyers the way you sharpened them. Just thinking about them makes me queasy. :scared:
I trust you have a pic of the damage they cause... :saywhat:
Way to go Mike and Ray. I know both of you had a great time this past weekend.
Ray,
I agree with beach, would love to see a picture of those broadheads.
BBQ, yum yum!!!.... can't get no work done for dreaming about hunting hogs. thanks for sharing the story.... i can't think of a better way to pass the time while waiting for my next adventure.
actually, though I like the Abowyer heads, the reference to 'flying butcher knives of death' is what I call Mike's broadhead of choice- the Ribtek 190.
It's at least 3 1/2 inches long and looks like he taped a kitchen knife on the end of his arrow. That and the fact that we were discussing a movie called "House of Flying Daggers" so there you go!
very cool guys!
Mike, we are waiting for your Saturday story, brother. Don't forget to tell em about how tough it is to get your butt out of bed in the morning, and how you took a 4 hour nap in the afternoon...and, and, and :campfire: :goldtooth:
Ray,
I recognize those arrows!
Nice to see those arrows I sold you are getting a workout. They always look better covered in red in my opinion.
yep, Brian...those are some of my favorites. they show up real well in the dim hours of the day, too.
Thanks
Congrats boys...ya'll had a time at it which makes it's special. I miss my hogg hunting days when I read stories like these... tear em up!
joey,
all you got to do is name the dates, brother. I don't think we have anything to compare with your brute you got at Paradise..but hey, that's a once in a lifetimer anyway.
Come on over.
My Gosh ,yall gotta give a man time to get off work. Specially , after a weekend of hog dragin.
O.K. Where do we start, 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning 85 DEGREES!!!!!! We decided I needed to go where Ray went the afternoon before. So we split up , Ray said he'd give me about an hour and half, then come to the other end to pick me up. I walked at a good pace down the road to get to where I was going, watching the birds and other wildlife, All I know is they were pretty , I can only tell a cardinal from a blue jay, so I can't give names. I hit the back road and switched into stealth mode. At the first intersection I put the sneak on a big ol' strip head turtle,He was as big around as a basketball. I think he saw me coming, but he never did run. Then something caught my eye as I passed him by, 200-300 yards ahead , was 2 big black pigs, one was a good 200 lbs. , I tried to get to them as fast as I could but they had already made it to the safety of the nastiest, thickest briar pacth they could find, so instead of taking a chance in spooking them I just kept on walking. I hunted the whole back road without the sight of anymore pigs but did get to see some deer,armadillo,one of them white water birds fishing in the swamp , and them big birds flying overhead, that Ray told me they wasn't goose!! there were something else. Back to where Ray was supposed to pick me up in 1 1/2 hrs., 2 hrs. later I start walking back to camp. I make it back around to the main road that heads to camp, My feet are killing me, look up here comes Ray in the truck with the A.C. , he's been to town, but he did bring me something to drink from Hardee's . So we head back to camp grab a snack and a nap, I just got way too comfortable, I got un-comfortable 4 hrs. later.
Come on Mike,,, tell the rest!!!
O.K. time to get motivated we get ready to head out 98 Degrees , 100% humidity. We decide to go back to where I was this morning. We check the wind, perfect for the front side, we get to the cross roads , check wind still perfect, we get to where we're heading the wind is wrong!!!! We need to go in from the back side, get to the back side the wind ain't perfect but it will have to do. It was actually bad but we would have to walk by them for them to wind us. I take the lead becuase as usual I always let Ray shoot the first hog, yeah Right!!!! We've gone about a 100 yards, Ray and I both think we hear something, but just ain't quite sure. We're easing along, and out of nowhere there are pigs in the next waterhole, I try to figure out which one is the biggest, try to do it fast becuase we're fixin to get busted! I decide on the one closest to us I thought it was about 100 lbs. I draw and release , he drops , I hit a little high, the blade caught the bottom of his spine, Then he raises up to run I can tell he ain't no 100 lbs. so I send another through the boiler room. So Ray says he's going to get the truck, leaves me for my moment alone with this 200lb prize. I say my thanks, and procede to drag him to the road in 98 degree? 100% humidity. We load the hog up and start back toward camp to the cooler. We're on the road heading back to the main crossroads, we look up to see this 350 lb sow crossing the road in front of us. We both say WHOA!!! and just keep on driving because she had kicked in the after burners, we knew she would have to wait for another day. Don't go nowhere cause it ain't over yet!
Over an hour... :knothead: :help: Where is the rest of it??
:campfire:
:campfire:
Well I reckon Ray is doing Honey-dos, he was going to tell this part. We decided not to go back after them after we put my hog in the cooler. We decided to go get a shower and get some feed. After we ate and drank 2 gallons of sweet tea, we were headed to bed. We awoke Sunday morning to the same thing, 85 degrees at 6:00am. We pulled into camp to the site of 1/2 doz. footballs running around in the field. We got ready to head out deciding we were not going to mess with the little ones. We headed to the field where Terry killed the big sow, the wind was perfect so we split up, I went around the field to the other side, with Ray staying behind to give me enough time to get around there before he proceded to envade the field. As I got to the other end I noticed 2 deer feeding through, so I decided to let them pass, but she spoted me , and took off snorting. I figured the gig was up, but Ray was in tight on 3 big boars out in the middle of the high broom sage field. He said they didn't pay any attention to the deer. Back in a minute the yougins calling.
So as I came around and started down the back up against the pines , I noticed Ray was in pounce mode, arrow on the string ready to go. Ieased on a little farther till I was about 40 yards from Ray. I still haven't heard even a twig snap or one single grunt, so I didn't know what was going on. About that time Ray starts his draw, I see him beardown and release , then I hear a snap as his arrow hits the one of a million twigs standing in the field. I have to leave it here for Ray , I can't say no more.
Man that is awesome. Congrats on what sounds like a great hunt. I will be patiently waiting for the rest of the story.
Good times in SC. Congrats to ya both!
Ray, Sounds like you need a little rest now...maybe just relaxing in an old tree out of the heat ;) Doc
3 members of a bunch of hogs I call the "Gang of Seven" were in the field, digging up dog fennel roots..the place looked like someone had walked in there with a grocery sack full of hand grenades and just threw them all around! I got to within 18 yards of them and waited till one offered a broadside shot- I was in total concentration, bearing down on where the arrow should go- and did not even 'see' the reed like plant that was half way to the pig. The arrow zinged off it and went to the right of the pig's face.
Well that did it- as you would suspect- all three jumped, ran about 10 feet and stopped stock-still for maybe 7-10 minutes- don't think any of the four of us even breathed much. One was staring right at me. The other two were just listening with very alert ears for any sign of danger.
Finally the wind swirled and that really did it- they started moving out. I rushed to place an arrow on the string and drew, fired, and the arrow went over the back by about 4 inches! Drat.
We retired from the battlefield, my tail between my legs for missing- and went to the skinning shed to spend the next 1 1/2 hours cutting up and wrapping meat for the trip home.
It was a great time and as always I really enjoyed being in 'the wild woods' again with a good friend and great hunting companion.
The scenes played in my head while I read your stories, just like a movie with subtitles. The crossroads, the fennel field, the no-man's-land of blackberry thickets -- great places on a wonderful, maybe even magical, piece of property. Great stuff, guys! Thanks! :wavey:
great story guy's... Thanks for sharing.
Squirrel bait, you better watch ole Ray, he's been a hand at this for awhile. You don't know this but he's training you to be his future hog dragger!.........Great Story telling Guys!. ..i even felt the smell of mosquito dope in the air here in my office.
Good read...congrats :thumbsup:
Mike, I recognize the bow...sure am glad to see some blood on it bro :thumbsup:
Great stories, thanks for taking us along.
Congrats guys :readit:
joebuck, What you talking about future hog dragger? He's been using that same hernia story for 4 years. He already calls me "DragUnit".
Joe, yeah I still had Ol'Ugg with me, but I grabbed " Cooter" this time he just loves them big Ribbies.
Terry, I probably would post more if I could figure out how to rig a ejection seat for the boy , it's hard to get him to quit playing them stupid games. Since his Playstation broke ,he's took over the puter.
I just read this whole story in one sitting and was on the end of my chair. Great story guys and congrats on two nice hogs.
I'm sittin here in my airconditioned office readin this thread and I got a real case of hog fever commin on. Stepped outside and it went-a-way. Came back in and got it agin. Funny how that fever just comes and goes. Great huntin story!