Hot Mess Hog

June 17, 2016 - Another Friday night at the lease with my husband hunting hogs...the only problem was neither of us have had any success on the new place while hunting with each other; all of our kills had been while hunting with someone else so we were eager to break the curse of the new lease. It was hot...105 degrees hot and I was at the "4 Doe" spot sitting in direct sunshine while Donald was at the "Dirty South" spot enjoying some much needed shade.

It was just a few minutes into the hunt when I received a text from him saying he just shot a small sow, only to be followed with another text that he shot a small boar too! I was pumped for him and wanted to join him to share his success but my hunt had just started. As he cleaned both hogs and put them on ice, I sat patiently waiting on hogs to show up and the sun to go down.

As the hours passed, I was debating how long I wanted to sit. The last feeding is at 9:30pm so I text Donald and said to come pick me up at 11:00pm. At 10:55 I began slowly packing up my things...backpack, camera, tripod, water & Gatorade, arrows, & bow. I stood and put my backpack on, grabbed my bow and turned around to fold up the chair. As I took 2 steps towards the road I heard crunching coming down the road! My first thought was to text my husband not to come pick me up yet because he would spook the hog. I slowly crept back to my spot and waited for him to come into the feeder. He was a solo boar and I knew he would be on edge.

The next series of events took place over 20 minutes but required an incredible effort to not ruin the hunt and provides the name of this blog...Hot Mess! First, I had to get an arrow nocked and my release back on because even if nothing else came together I could at least get a shot on him. The boar went behind the feeder, I didn't have a shot and he wasn't moving from that spot for a while. Knowing I had some time (hogs tend to eat every kernel of corn before moving on to the next pile, unlike deer who tend to graze a bit more) I wanted to get my backpack off but my water bottle in the side pouch still had some ice in it and setting it down would make too much noise. I tried to sit back down in the chair to release my backpack there but I felt my Thermacell dangling off my backpack and knew it would clackitty clack clack on the metal frame of the chair. So I decided the backpack would stay on, I just needed to buckle the chest strap to distribute the weight for a good shot.

Could I even attempt to get the shot on film? I knew I couldn't get the legs of the tripod extended as quietly as I wanted so I just opened it up on the shortest setting, slowly, very slowly, unzipped the camera bag and placed the camera on the tripod. All I wanted was for it to be pointed in the right direction at this stage of the hunt. I stood and watched as the hog continued to feed where I didn't have a shot. I looked down at the camera and saw some brush was blocking the potential future shot; it needed to be higher but could I pull this off? Somehow I used one hand to unscrew the top portion of the tripod to raise the top pole up as high as I could but accidently unscrewed the adjusting nut too far and it fell on the ground. Ugh! All that work to quietly raise the tripod and I messed it up. I fumbled around quietly in the dark searching blindly for the piece while still keeping my eyes on the hog. I just knew he was going to finally turn and give me a shot when I wasn't ready.

Success! I found it and slowly put it back in and began the process of raising it all over again. The camera was as high as it was going to go and I was as ready as I was going to be...or so I thought. The boar finally moved to the right of the feeder and presented a shot. As I drew back I knew something was wrong but the hog moved and I was forced to let down. My release was too loose. I had put it on so quickly I didn't realize I hadn't tightened it to my liking. Quietly I re-adjusted my release but the hog had moved into the brush and I didn't have a shot.

As the hog slowly made his way back into view he was now on the shadowed side of the feeder and I needed to use my bow light. As I clicked it on I could tell he was nervous. I was actually surprised he had hung around for nearly 20 minutes already and knew my time and the corn on the ground was running out. As soon as I drew he backed up and closed off his shoulder with his leg; so I held my draw waiting for the perfect shot opportunity and as he finally put his front leg forward he opened up the sweet spot and I let it fly!

As my arrow hit, he turned and ran off with it still stuck in him but I heard a crash shortly after. I wasn't positive the noise was him going down rather just barreling through the brush to get away. The shot placement felt great but I was worried I hit the other shoulder on the exit and didn't get a pass through so my blood would be minimal. I texted my husband and told him we should wait at least 30 minutes to give him plenty of time to expire.

As I sat there I looked around at everything that was going on and realized what a hot mess this whole situation was. If I had waited just 2 more minutes before packing up I would have been set up better and more comfortable, but nothing ever comes easy for me and I laughed.

30 minutes later my husband came to meet me to help track and to my surprise there was good blood at the impact site and we immediately picked up a blood trail. I was pumped and within just 35 yards I saw him laying in the brush...exactly where I had heard the last bit of crashing after the shot! I couldn't contain my excitement when I saw him because I could see the bubbles and lung matter coming out of the entrance wound and he was much bigger than I was expecting! Of course he went into some pretty thick brush but we were able to drag him out.

As we hung him up to weigh him, he registered 143.4 lbs on the scale and as we cut him open we saw that my arrow had pierced both sides but it just wasn't a complete pass through. He broke my broad head off on the exit wound side and splintered my arrow into 3 pieces but the loss of an arrow and broad head couldn't stifle my excitement! The anatomy inside told the story of the shot and why he died so quickly! My arrow clipped the top part of the heart and punctured both lungs!

It was another great night in the woods with my husband and we broke the curse too, although I had to wait a bit longer than he did for my success and almost blew it by leaving too early! What a hot mess of a hunt!

Video of the hunt here:

Dirty South Hogs (May 14, 2016)

It was Saturday night, which for most of you know that's #SaturdayNightSwine! I was set up at the Dirty South feeder spot & Tina was at another spot waiting on hogs. Trail cameras had shown hogs coming in before dark and I was pumped! It's been a long time since I've had hogs show up during daylight hours...

About 8:00 pm, 4 nice hogs came out from the left of the feeder; I was hidden behind one bush, sitting in a chair, bow in hand. There were 2 black ones & 2 brown ones; one of the brown ones was pretty aggressive bumping & grunting the other hogs & I could see he had good teeth on him. However, in past experiences I have learned with hogs that trying to be picky can sometimes leave you empty handed because they spook each other & move around a lot eliminating shots. The plan now is to take a shot on a hog that is most calm or presents the best shot first. As I waited for that shot opportunity the aggressive one broke away from the bunch & went to the right & was focused on me, or what he thought was something suspicious.

I tried to stay as still as possible because without the cover of darkness I knew I could be exposed. Finally, 3 of the hogs lined up for a great shot & I took it. I watched as my arrow went through the first black hog & stuck in the shoulder of the second brown hog behind him! As they scattered I was shaking & full of excitement but 2 of the hogs were still hanging around in the brush. I waited but they finally left.

As I sat there waiting I noticed my green lighted nock in the brush to the right of the feeder where the hogs I shot had ran. I decided to go check it before it became too dark just to see the amount of blood on it. It felt like a great shot & the footage confirmed it. As I was kneeling in the brush just 10 yards to the right of the feeder looking at my arrow, another group of hogs came into the feeder with a huge group of piglets!

Feel free to laugh along with me because here I am 25 yards from my bow, hiding in the brush with an arrow in my hand trying to figure out how to get to my bow without being seen (I had my 10mm on my hip but we have all agreed there would be no gun hunting on the lease). The only way was to go back around through the brush & hope they wouldn't see me. As I crawled through brush I was just hoping maybe if they only heard me they would think I was another hog & wouldn't spook. Somehow I made it back to my spot but on the back side of it leaving me in another dilemma. The lone bush I had for cover was my only hope but my bow was in front of my chair on the ground & getting to it would expose me if I moved the chair. I reverted back to my gymnastic days & planked across the chair while hiding behind the bush & somehow managed to get my bow off the ground.

One step down; next try to move the chair forward slightly so I have a shooting lane around the bush. I did manage to stick my arm through the thorny bush & turn the camera back on but off to my left was the aggressive hog from earlier watching me again. I looked & saw foam coming out of his mouth (which I confirmed later with a picture of some nasty slobber on the ground!). I was able to inch the chair forward just enough to get a clean shot. I launched an arrow at a small sow & my arrow zipped through her. As she ran off the piglets came right back! I grabbed another arrow & said "why not" as I launched another arrow into a group of piglets. A few ran off but they kept coming back!

I didn't want to use any more arrows on piglets because they can be hard to find so I decided to see how close I could get to them under the feeder. I began stalking to them & even though they would spook they would come right back. I was within about 8 yards when they finally decided they had enough of this game and left unwillingly. I was having a blast though!

Now the tracking had to start but let me set the tone for the weather...it had rained a little earlier in the day, it was hot with 95% humidity & every known bug in the area was out to annoy me. So lets go....

Tina hadn't seen anything yet so as she continued to hunt I started tracking the first hog. I found good blood & began crawling through the brush when I heard someone coming through the gate & a vehicle driving by just 50 yards away. I bolted out of the brush, slammed my head on a branch, saw a bright light (from the head hit, not the headlights of the vehicle ha!), & kept running to go see who it was. (There shouldn't have been anyone passing through the property however, I found out later because of a lock issue on the main gate they had to come through our property to get out a secondary exit). My spirits sank a little because they had just driven right by where my first hog had ran to. Hoping they didn't bump him I went back to the blood trail.

As the brush became thicker I was crawling on my hands & knees finding small holes in the brush to stand up from time to time to give my legs a break from being crouched down. As I was crawling looking for blood face to face with the ground I saw some eyes looking back at me. It was small & camouflaged & as I shined my white light on it, the bull bat (night hawk) freaked out & started trying to fly...except he flew right into my face! It was so thick he couldn't fly up & kept hitting the brush crashing back into me, flapping his wings, & crying out...or maybe that was me letting out some random noises as I lay on the ground covering my face from getting clawed or scratched! All I could think was Are You Kidding Me! How does this happen to me? Here I am in the middle of the brush getting attacked by a night hawk! After about 30 seconds of this going on he finally found a hole to fly up & away from me. As I lay there dripping in sweat, covered in spider webs & my arms scratched up, I just laughed out loud & realized that really did just happen!

I continued searching for the first hog but ran out of blood & decided to try to find the small sow I shot second. It had to be easier than this one & less dramatic! I went back to the feeder & immediately started following blood to the left. About 40 yards in I found her! Success without a bird beating! I searched around for the piglet but was unsuccessful, so I began dragging the sow out of the brush to the road. 

I made my way back to the arrow that had hit the second hog on the pass through of the first hog. I knew I didn't get much penetration but I had to finish the job & confirm he wasn't dead or wounded. I looked for blood but didn't find anything; I followed a few paths that he could have taken looking for any signs of blood, fresh droppings or even a wounded growl. I didn't find any signs & I was satisfied I didn't do much damage because the arrow hit & fell out within 10 yards of him running off.

I had been tracking hogs for over 2 hours now & was dripping with sweat, bruised & cut up from the crawling & thick brush, oh & the night hawk attack, but I was so excited. I checked in with Tina who hadn't seen anything but figured with the vehicle driving through the property the hogs probably scattered. We loaded up & headed home...but in the back of my mind I couldn't get over the first hog not being found. It was a great shot, I had great blood & it was driving me crazy.

The next morning I headed back out to look for the hog again; it had rained even more over night & everything was wet but I had to try. I looked for another hour & found a little more blood but never recovered the hog. My clothes were soaked, my arms were bleeding again from more brush scratches & somehow a worm made its way into my boot & stung my ankle causing extreme burning pain & swelling. I wrapped a baby wipe around my ankle to soothe it & decided I had done all I could do.

Just another adventure of chasing hogs & loving every minute of it! Enjoy the video, I wish I could have filmed the night hawk attack! Maybe next time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eno3BCJfGxQ

Baby Brows ‘Bout Time Buck

 

 

*If you haven’t read my “Bittersweet Buck” blog, take a moment to go read that one before proceeding. It will help explain why Baby Brows is my ‘Bout Time Buck and add more meaning to this one. Here is the link: http://community.deergear.com/Article/BittersweetBuck I haven't updated it on my blog yet but its still currently up on the Legendary Whitetails page.

 

It was a typical weekend in the Texas Hill Country with rain forecasted which always seemed to happen when we headed there to hunt; it never failed it would rain at least one day but it was a hot Friday; Texas hot. We were hunting ground blinds in thick cedar (as much as I love being in a tree this area was not prime for tree stands, climbers, or even tripods so we had to forgo the hot boxes). It was 94 degrees and we sat in different areas; my husband, best buddy, and me, sweating, in shorts and snake boots waiting for the last possible moment to put on face masks or face paint. Rain was on the way the next 2 days so we were hoping for a successful hunt on Friday; It didn’t happen. We saw some movement but nothing legal or old enough.

 

 

Saturday morning it poured rain as we sat in our ground blinds listening to the pitter patter on the roof, watching a few drips come through, and hoping for it to let up and the deer to get moving. It didn’t happen. With a full moon and rain the odds were stacked against us but a cool front moved through with the rain and dropped the temperatures down to 59 degrees. The cloud cover from the cool front had blocked out the bright moon and Saturday afternoon looked to be the most promising for activity. We all made it to our stands early and I saw some movement about 4:00pm but nothing legal or mature. I was just happy to be in rain boots and pants instead of shorts and sweating!

 

 

A text message showed up on my phone about 6:30pm that our buddy shot a doe and he could see her laying about 20 yards from where he shot her. I texted back my congratulations and looked up to see a buck walk out of the brush. There he was standing broad side but with the antler restrictions in the county we were hunting I needed him to look at me or away to check his rack size. *The antler restrictions are for a 2 buck county where 1 buck must have one unbranched antler (a spike, 3 pt, or freak) and the other buck must have an inside spread greater than 13 inches, usually at the tips of their ears when alert. He finally turned to look in my direction and I confirmed he was big enough, a beautiful 9 pt. (The final measurement was 15 3/4 inches).  My heart began racing…

 

Trail Cam pic from the week before of Baby Brows

I was already in disbelief that this buck was even close enough to shoot. We were hunting a low fence, low deer population area with some of the most skittish deer I have ever hunted. They are definitely always on high alert compared to the deer I have hunted in South Texas and spook very easily; in 5 years of hunting this place the quantity of deer taken was low, well deer taken with a bow. The neighbors are content rifle hunting and shooting young deer or being reckless with their kills so our management of passing on young, although legal, bucks was in constant battle with those around us without the same management ideas. Regardless of what others were doing though we stayed true to our morals and ethics over the years and passed on young bucks more times than I can count hoping we would be rewarded.

 

As my heart started beating in my ears I made the decision of using my 20 yard pin. He was standing about 25 yards away because I had ranged a group of cactus in front of him at 22 yards and a group behind him at 28 yards earlier when I first got in the blind. I try to range landmarks early instead of waiting until the deer is in front of me to range distance so I can eliminate unnecessary movement. As I began to lift my bow, I caught a glimpse of another set of antlers in the brush so I pulled out my binoculars to look. He was a much younger buck but now I had another set of eyes to potentially bust me. My buck was now alternating between looking forward at the other buck and in my direction at the blind. I was completely blacked out in the blind with a long sleeve black shirt and black face mask but as I mentioned before, these deer are always on high alert.

 

I was trying to calm my breathing as I picked up my bow to draw. There wasn’t a breath of wind and the woods were dead silent so I knew I was going to have to be extremely stealthy and make small movements. I drew back but it was the slowest I had ever drawn my bow making it the most difficult. The adrenaline was pumping and as I lowered my pins onto his shoulder they went black. No longer could I see the fiber optics of my pins of green, yellow, red etc; instead my tunnel vision took over and I watched my top 20 yard pin hover over his shoulder. At this point he had turned in my direction and was looking at the blind. I watched the muscles in his shoulders for any type of twitch that would indicate he was about to run just as I released on him.

 

He didn’t jump my string and as my arrow slammed into his shoulder I heard the beautiful ‘thwack’ of the hit. He turned and I saw about 4 inches of my arrow with the lighted nock stick out. My arrow had passed through, although not a complete pass through, but I knew I had made enough penetration to drop him hopefully nearby. I could only watch him run a few yards before he was out of sight because the cedar trees are extremely thick; so I listened. I thought I heard a crash but my heart was still in my ears and I was shaking so bad I wasn’t sure what I heard. I fumbled for my phone to text that I had just shot a buck. Now the hard part…wait. I waited for about 30-45 minutes and my husband crossed the ranch to meet me to start tracking.

 

It was now dark and the ground was still wet from the rain and visions of my Bittersweet Buck danced in my head for fear of the same situation. I found blood at the impact site and both pieces of my arrow 5 yards behind there covered in blood. It resembled a lung shot because of the air bubbles so I knew the blood trail was going to be more minimal than a heart shot. We began tracking a small blood trail, marking each last spot with my lighted nock before moving forward. The positive of the wet ground was the imprints of his tracks as he ran and dug into the ground. We had only tracked about 30 yards when we saw a large pile of fresh deer droppings and a larger pool of blood. We both smiled at each other because that was a great sign! We both shined our flashlights up and there another 10 yards was my buck lying against a tree.

 

 

From where I stood I couldn’t even see his antlers but I didn’t care. I immediately burst into uncontrollable tears (yes ladies probably the ugly cry) from joy, years of hard work and never giving up, accomplishment and gratefulness. I just stood there holding my hands over my mouth as 100% pure unfiltered emotion took over. I grabbed my husband as he gave me a big hug and I cried. He walked over to him first because I was still frozen and ensured he was expired and grabbed his antlers. I finally followed and was able to see my buck as I took a huge deep breath. It is so hard to explain in words that exact moment and feeling especially after years of heartbreak and frustration; it was ‘Bout Time!!! (and if you couldn't tell the name Baby Brows came from his super small brow tines but they had character because he had green moss/tree leaves on them from rubbing - which I also found a fresh rub while tracking him!)

 

 

I filled out and attached my tag, loaded him up and then headed to pick up our buddy’s doe he had already tagged and field dressed. We headed back to camp to take a few pictures and hurry to get him cleaned and on ice. Although it was a cooler night, the temperatures still required us to get him cleaned, quartered and on ice as soon as possible. We decided on a European mount for my buck and wrapped his head up for transport. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the weekend (ok... I still am) and could barely sleep that night with such a big grin on my face! The entire hunt from start to finish was an out of body experience that I replay over and over in my mind that I will never forget.

 

I am working on a more poetic version of the feelings, emotions, sights, sounds and overwhelming joy in an attempt to explain that moment from my heart in a way that I feel will capture it to the best of my ability.

 

 

 

   Also I want to give a huge shout out to Deer Creek Cover scent who not only personalized my dirt foam soap, bar soap, after shower body spray, and scent cover field spray but kept me stealth in the field! This ground blind ninja is one happy huntress!

Preggo Porker Part 2

 

After Friday night’s hunt resulting in a 175 pound pregnant sow (See Preggo Porker Part 1 - http://camocandace.blogspot.com/2014/09/preggo-porker-part-1.html ) and Saturday night being a little quiet, I was excited to take advantage of the three day weekend and head back out for a Sunday night hunt!

I showed up a little earlier than usual and was set up and ready before the sun went down. The trail camera pictures had been showing all the pigs coming in after dark and usually after the second feeding at 10pm; but this hunt I was in my chair, under a tree, 23 yards from the feeder by 8:15pm and it's a good thing I was there early!

This feeder has a homemade red light set up we have been trying out and it has been working great; it's a motion sensor light that comes on after dark with movement. It has been pretty helpful at getting the pigs comfortable with the red lights which are the Nite Hunter bow lights we use.

 

  

As I nestled in, kicked on the Thermacell, the the sun faded and about 8:45pm I saw a big mass moving in from my left headed straight for the feeder. It looked like another pregnant sow but it was hard to tell in the dark until she made it under the feeder and turned on the motion light. There she was, under the feeder, eating corn, facing me. I didn't have a shot!

So as I sat patiently waiting, she continued to eat, and eat, and eat! This sow was already a little spooked coming in so I was keeping quiet and just watching. Nearly 20 minutes of eating either facing me or hard quartering to me she finally shifted a little bit. My pin lights were on but I also clicked on my red bow light for added brightness. Because the pigs have become accustomed to the red feeder light, another red light doesn't affect them but makes it brighter for a more clear shot for me. I had lit up the glow in the dark paint on my peep sight with my phone and I drew back, but as soon as I drew she turned back facing me. Hold or let down? Knowing this solo sow wasn't moving around quickly (usually in larger groups the pigs will push and move each other around trying to eat and are constantly moving) I decided to let down and not risk exhausting myself waiting for a shot and it's a good thing I did. 

Another 10-15 minutes passed and she would not present a shot. Not only was she quartering to me but her shoulder was partially blocked by the feeder leg. So I waited. I just knew she was going to eat up all the corn and leave before I could get a shot. I stood up to see if I could swing around and get a better angle but as I moved right, staying in my good wind pattern, I moved out from the shadows of the tree and into the moonlight. I quickly retreated! Pigs do not have the best vision but any type of shadows will spook them; standing with the moon behind me trying to draw was not a good idea especially with her facing me and already being spooked. As I sat back in my spot I was running out of hope. It was 9:30 by now and I didn't know how much longer she would stay. 

 

Finally she started moving completely under the feeder and presenting a better angle for me. I drew and realized I had left my bow light on this whole time to keep from clicking on and off making unnecessary noise and now my battery was dead. (They are rechargeable batteries but it had been quite a few hunts since I had charged it-bad move!) It wasn't going to be as bright as I preferred but I still had the feeder light. 

She finally turned but was still slightly quartering to me but I figured this was going to be the best shot and she was moving around more which probably meant she was running out of corn. I shot (again without lighted nocks) and knew it passed through her. It was a little further back than I wanted but I saw her limping so I grabbed my handheld red light and followed her. She was a lighter colored sow so I was able to see where I shot her and the blood coming out but was worried it was too far back and might need another arrow. I had already knocked one as I followed her but my bow light was dead and she wasn't under the feeder light anymore. I contemplated trying to hold the red flashlight in my mouth while trying to launch another arrow but quickly discounted that idea for my safety and to keep from making a poor shot on the sow. I set my bow down and pulled my pistol to be ready for a possible charge. You truly never know with pigs, especially a wounded pregnant porker! She made her way under a tree and buried herself under the brush and died.

I kept the light on her and watched for about 10 minutes to make sure she wouldn't get up and leave before going to get the truck. I was solo on this hunt and knew the work ahead of me. I packed up and walked back to bring the truck with the hitch hoist because this was a big girl. I backed the truck down and then my heart sank. I finally noticed the brush she had buried herself in was covered in thorns! Just my luck! I broke off a long branch to poke her with just to make sure (while holding the pistol in my hand) before I went under the tree and into the brush in a vulnerable position.

I started backing in since my legs were covered and as the brush and thorns hit my neck and got tangled in my hair I finally got to her but only her butt was accessible and both feet were tucked under herself. So I grabbed her tail and started pulling. She moved but because she was big girl I heard her tail start ripping! Dang it! So I dropped to my knees and was able to reach back and grab a foot and started pulling. It was a struggle pulling her out without any leverage of my legs until I got where I could stand up. Luckily I didn't have to go far (otherwise I would have used my game hauler strap) because I was able to back the truck up really close. 

 

There she was! Confirmed another pregnant sow with a big full belly! Now the fun part began and I took a selfie with her! I removed the hitch and put the hitch hoist together while dripping with sweat. I forgot to mention it was 90 degrees and 87% humidity at 10:00pm so breathing was difficult and I was drenched before the hard work even began! Using head lamps and flashlights was my light source which meant thousands of gnats were swarming everywhere. I ate a few, ingested some via my nostrils, killed some on the corners of my eye and at one point went to wipe the sweat off my neck and scraped off a few hundred gnats that had drowned in my sweat! This was crazy but I was already knee deep in the process and knew when I came out here what I got myself into!


I got my knife out and cut her legs to put the Ultimate Hanger leg spreader in, attached the scale and began to crank the hoist. The first few turns were easy but as she lifted off the ground I slowed down. For the next ten minutes I looked like a crazy person pushing, pulling, putting my leg on the hoist for leverage and doing anything to wench her up. Of course I parked on a small slope so gravity was pulling her away from me (once again my luck and my fault for not paying attention but in my defense I could barely see through the sweat!)


After what seemed like forever I saw her nose pull away from the ground and start swinging (just barely but it was enough!) I checked the weight and it was about 170 pounds. Now it was time for pictures, sweaty pictures, but I had to get a few other than the selfie I took earlier. I set up the tripod and the self timer on the camera and tried my best to look decent while I looked like I had just finished swimming and my pants were starting to sag from all the sweat! Yes the glamorous side of hunting! At least my 'gnat-neck' wasn't visible! 

Swivel her in the back of the truck, disassemble the hitch hoist, the camera and put everything up and after about an hour and a half head out to deliver to one of the ranch hands! What a night! Luckily I had an extra shirt to put on because I could wring mine out with sweat! I was exhausted but felt accomplished! Another preggo porker down, another group of piglets averted from populating the area and meat for a family! Now that's a Sunday night!

 

Preggo Porker Part 1

 

 

It was Friday night and I was headed out to hunt pigs which was mostly normal for me. I try to go every chance I get and I am beyond blessed to hunt a beautiful place only 25 minutes from my house. For those that follow me on twitter, you know the pigs out there have been elusive lately and it had been a while since I was able to have it all come together. But there is more meaning behind this pig than most know. 

When we learned we would be going on an elk hunt for the first time I knew I needed to make some changes to my bow; really focus on getting it fine-tuned perfectly, get sighted in out to 40-50 yards and feel comfortable shooting at that distance. With a lower draw weight of 44lbs I usually won't shoot a whitetail deer past 30-35 yards and risk them jumping my string and wounding the deer. But with a larger animal like an elk I was willing to move out. 

Anyway...I changed to a heavier arrow, bumped up to 125 grain broad heads (Slick Trick Viper Tricks) & started fine tuning. Again as you may know nothing ever comes easy for me and the journey to where I am now has been a difficult one. Fine tuning was a struggle as well not to mention Colorado does not allow any battery operated devices on a bow including lighted nocks. 

As simple as that sounds switching from my Nockturnals to plain plastic nocks coupled with the other changes was not that simple...for me anyhow. Different weight of nock, changing the D-loop a little and really getting down to true arrow flight details made for some frustrating days. I would get it right (or so I thought) and then be wrong again. 

I also was having to remove my bow light (Nite Hunter Illumination) to practice for elk and then put it on to go hunt pigs and compensate. I could never just pick up my bow and head out because I was practicing for elk but having to adjust for pigs. It doesn't seem like much but when you're struggling to get everything as perfect as possible, those little changes detract from your progress and more than anything affect your mental frame of mind too. So after a few months of heartache (because I take it to heart when I'm struggling) a lot of frustration and changes, I was finally able to make it come together and get my head right too. 

About 10:15 a pregnant sow showed up to the feeder (I had seen her on trial camera for a while and she was there the night before too) but as I sat 23 yards away in a chair under a tree she actually detoured right by me about 10 yards before heading to the feeder. I almost pulled my pistol because she got a little too close but I stopped. I wanted her with my bow. She moved in and then a big boar and two smaller pigs came in as well. As she ate corn and I waited for them to get comfortable, she began head butting the boar and ran him away from the feeder, stomped one of the smaller pigs which made it squeal (and made me smile). This fat girl didn't want anybody getting her corn. (Funny to see a pregnant sow fighting for her food! Must have been hormones haha)

 

So as time passed I sat insanely still because there wasn't an ounce of wind blowing. I watched as she kept running the pigs off to protect her corn. Finally after about 20 minutes she moved outside the feeder legs to present a shot. Here is where the hard work came into play and why I am so proud of the great shot I made (not bragging just excited!)

With my bow light on I was shooting 2 inches to the left at 20 yards (yes I had to practice that too) so I had to compensate for that and I was shooting regular plastic nocks so seeing my arrow hit her was going to be a challenge. All of this going through my mind in addition to proper shot placement, staying quiet, drawing back, watching the other pigs, and hoping this sow would stand still long enough to make it come together. 

I drew, moved 2 inches to the right and released. I kept my light on her to see my arrow hit her as best I could and she ran. The shot felt good to me and I was pretty excited but with pigs sometimes you just never know. I waited a few minutes, sent a text to my buddy that I had shot and then went off to look for blood. 

 

There wasn't any at the impact site nor did I find my arrow there. I walked about 40 yards where I saw her run and saw a branch laying over with blood smeared all on it! Yes!! I followed a great blood trail (bleeding from both sides) for about 30 yards, found a piece of my arrow she broke off, covered in blood. She had gone under a fence so I went to get my buddy to finish the tracking job and help with the recover. I was pretty sure it was a good shot but tracking a pig in the brush is never 100% safe, especially alone. 

We crossed the fence and followed the blood trail another 30-40 yards and as my buddy pointed out in front and said 'There She Is!'  I ran over and started jumping up and down! There with a perfect shot on the shoulder (which meant I compensated accurately) was my big sow! It was the greatest confirmation that all the hard work and frustration was worth it and all the changes I made were right! It was a great moment that I was glad to share with a great friend and was very thankful he was there to help get her pregnant 175 pound butt out of the brush and into the truck! 

 

Piggy Palooza

 

New video uploaded of random footage of some pig hunts I have been on in the last year. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Lady Hunter Magazine

I am super excited to announce that I have an article featured in the Jan/Feb 2014 edition of Lady Hunter Magazine! I love hunting wild pigs and my article "The Appeal of the Squeal" captures a piece of that. I also have my bio at the front of the magazine as well!

http://ladyhuntermagazine.com/mag/janfeb2014

I hope you check it out and spread the word!

80lb Boar I recently took - Spot & Stalk at night - Mathews DXT - December 21, 2013