Traditional Bowhunting/Archery Videos > Tarz Antics
Hard Earned Trophy - ORIGINAL!!!
Terry Green:
Had some business in Eton GA yesterday afternoon, and since Eton is at the base of the Cohuttas I took my bow and my good friend Keith Westbrook.
We went into a familiar area and we roved through some impressive hog sign to say the least. After an hour and a half of walking/stalking through some hoggy bottom I spotted a bear. Looked like a big bear but they can fool ya some times. I whistled at Keith and motioned for him to come fast as it was lightly raining and I didn't figure the bear would see us as it had moved behind some brush.
Keith scurried over to me to see his 1st bear in the woods....but he was about to see 3 more. Yep, this was a big momma bear as we soon saw 3 cubs rambling about. We watched and followed them for at least 20 minutes keeping them inside 50 yards for most of the time. They were really a site to watch, and the cubs kept cracking us up.
Well, one of them saw something they didn't like, and all 3 cubs scampered up a big pine tree, and momma stood up on her hind legs and looked us over pretty hard. She then turned her head to the tree and looked up, and that's when Keith and I ducked out of there. We'd gotten the fun out of them for sure and I didn't want to blow them out, or have her freak Keith out over her cubs, so we went looking for hogs once again.
I decided to take Keith up a small branch that lead uphill to an old logging road and show and tell him about some bear and hog experienced me and my friend Doug Johnson had in that area. After a 15 minute walk we got to the branch and saw fresh hog sign and we started upstream with anticipation. We were looking ahead scanning the terrain while listening for rocks popping in the branch bed till we reached a little glade filled with 4 foot white pines. Once we crossed the glade we started uphill to get to a curve in an old logging road that has it's share of stories.
We stopped short of the road by about 20 yards as I wanted to explain our approach to Keith, and tell him about some of the stories from past hunts, and low and behold here came 2 hogs trotting from the right on the logging road. The lead hog was a dandy for sure and they trotted right around the curve and out of site by the time I got an arrow nocked. I heard Keith whisper 'go get em Terry'....well I didn't have to be asked twice.....
Bonebuster:
If you guys down south can hunt hogs what seems like ALWAYS, how do you ever get any work done?
If there were hogs to chase where I live, I would be in trouble all the time.
Looking forward to the story. :D
Terry Green:
I took off for the logging road at an angle to the left, and being familiar with the road, I was imagining how far along they would be when I got up there to see them again. Since they were on a trott I figured they'd be 75 yards or so ahead of me and I'd just move along hoping they would stop.
All I can figure is that the lead hog heard me coming because I never got to the road. When I stepped up on a mound it was standing there looking at me and I froze of course. The hog snorted at me and turned quartering way and its vision was blocked by a 2 foot white pine so I started raising my bow. I froze again as the hog turned straight at me again and this time it snorted and shook its head violently from side to side so hard it ears were flapping audibly loud. It then turned to the right broadside and I eased my bow up and was ready to draw when it turned at me yet again and shook its head so hard I thought it was going to fly off and then it took two quick steps toward me. This hog evidently didn't like me....and I was fixin to make sure of it!
Sure enough a broadside shot was offered and the shot was off. I nipped one of the tiny white pine boughs and it went one way and the hog went the other...all in a blur, but the arrow was on a deadly course before the blur. What I 'thought' I saw was the arrow passing through the hog at the proper elevation but I never really saw the entrance, but did see my arrow ascend to a higher elevation than I shot. I had no idea the windage of the entrance wound, and that was something I wasn't happy about, but I knew I'd just blew slap thought it for sure. The hog roared as it dove off the road on the down hill side like a scene out of 'The Man from Snowy River'....
frassettor:
:campfire: This should be a great story!!
Terry Green:
I could not see anything as I was blocked by the hill, but heard plenty as the hog bottomed out and started to climb another knoll to a saddle. It was big timber we were in and I could see it now as it stopped once and started up again for only a short distance and stopped again taking 3 wobbly steps backwards. I could not believe it didn't go down as it started up again crossing another loggin road to bound over the saddle.
Bad news......basically straight down 150 yards to a mountain laurel infested dark creek bottom. This wasn't good as it was now 7:20 PM. We paused for only a moment and and went to get my arrow for inspection. No doubt I'd passed through, and no trace of a gut shot, and lots of clean blood but no bubbles. I figured a liver shot so we slipped to the saddle to look for blood by a tree it ran by.
While I was looking for blood Keith wandered over an 'looked over the side'. Keith said "Terry, I hear something down there"...I said "There's a creek down there, are you sure you hear something other than the creek"...he said "I've never heard a creek break sticks"! I hurried over and sure enough I heard the racket and then spotted the hog....and I started easing down thinking I might could get another arrow in it but it soon move off breaking stuff along the way again.
I thought it over, and normally would have backed out, but this hog was surely hurt as it didn't move far at all before stopping, and it wasn't moving fast when it did. So, I move down hill again with Keith in tow. It was wet, and I figured we might be able to slip up for a follow up shot.
As we got down the hill a ways, we bumped it again and it slowly and noisily made it's way another 20 yards before stopping again. This time we really crept along before bumping it once more as it entered the laurels. We were gaining on it, but the terrain was turning ugly for the bowhunter trying to get a clean shot off.
While I was looking ahead watching my track to try and remain as silent as possible Keith found blood, and lots off it...and then we found a large pile of blood from the last place it evidently laid down. There was some sort of open area below with a relatively clean path, so we started down again to close in on the bottom Keith later named 'Little Cambodia'.
The 'opening' below was yet another old logging road that would allow us a quiet approach and the blood was leading us right to it. As we we followed the road Keith was leading spotting the blood as I followed looking into the laurel thicket waiting to hear or see movement. I told Keith that if he heard something he needed to just drop to his knees.
There was good blood still as we tried to beat the clock with the daylight. After about 40 yards on the logging road the hog got up not 20 yards away moving slowly and busting stuff in the thicket. I could see bits and pieces, but there was no way to get a shot off. Again, it didn't go far as I saw it stop in a little hole maybe 35 yards away, but there wasn't any getting an arrow in there that's for sure.
That's when I made the call. I told Keith that if this hog wasn't hurt bad, it would not put up with us and would be in the next county by now, and we would come back in the morning and likely find him right where we saw him last. Least that was the plan.
I'm whooped guys....see you tomorrow..... :campfire:
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