To set the scene, here's a "before" pic:
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/arrowpoints.jpg)
And here's an "after" pic:
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/pig14.jpg)
The "who" was Ray Hammond:
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/ray1.jpg)
The "where" was thousands of acres in South Carolina along the Savannah River. Hog Nirvana. The Shangri-la of Pork.
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/ray11.jpg)
The land above the river was a mixture of pine plantations, open fields, and mixed hardwoods. It hadn't rained much lately but the hogs had plenty of impressive wallows:
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/ray8.jpg)
The low country along the river was other-worldly. Dark, cool, and quiet, it felt like a green cathedral with the giant trees buttressing an unbroken canopy.
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/pig.jpg)
We were the latest in a long string of hunters to walk these woods. Some of the other hunters left their tools behind, some unfinished, some broken.
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/ray3.jpg)
I picked up a worn out dart point, probably a Kirk Stemmed point, and Ray said it was a good omen. He was probably right, but did it mean we'd have good hog hunting or should I just look for arrowheads? Omens can be tricky things, especially for a guy who gets confused by fortune cookies.
![](http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/krf123/ray10.jpg)