I had a great adventure this week end and made another lifelong friend, compliments of Tradgang! I was lucky enough to get an invite to go chase some hogs this week end with John C. and I jumped at the opportunity! Thanks again John!
I recently acquired a set of 64" 69@28 longbow limbs and a custom signature "Tracy Dunn" string from Bill at Zipper. I also have some of Bills Grizzly broad heads I wanted to try out and this would be perfect. I loaded up all my stuff and headed out to meet John on Friday afternoon.
We hunted Saturday morning and I only had a encounter with a bobcat, I squeaked at him a couple of times and had him coming in but I guess he figured that he wasn't hungry enough to deal with that great big squirrel up in the tree so he turned and went on about his business. It is always cool to see the animals that don't normally show themselves.
Saturday afternoon was a whole different story!
Here is a little tease!
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06973.jpg)
Awesome Benjy!!
:campfire: way to go!!!!
Charlie, you are going to recognize the handle!
Saturday afternoon I was sitting in a ladder stand overlooking a feeder in the mature southern swamps of the south. Huge cypress, red oaks and chestnut oaks so big that it would take 3 people to reach around them. There were at least 10 different gray squirrels practicing there "sound like a hog" walk through all the leaves. They kept me on my toes the whole time!
Finally, I here the rustling and shuffling of the leaves as if something is rooting and searching for food. I get stood up and after about 15 minutes it still has not shown itself. Then I here the soft yelps of some turkeys, I hate to say it but what a let down! I set back down and yep, I'm sure I had a frown on my face! It was cool to here them cackle when they flew up to roost for the night.
About dark thirty I here the squeals coming through the woods, in 5 minutes I have hogs all over me! I don't know how many it really was but sounded like a whole school bus of kids just let out in my little neck of the woods!
Another tease!
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06974.jpg)
Did you notice the blood trail in the above picture? It's running from the base of the tree at 1 o'clock. This is only 10 yards from were the shot connected and is a steady line!
Thats one heck of a blood trail.
:campfire: More More
looking good!!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
68@28 ? Dang Benjy, you been spending some time in the gym?
I really been thinking about a Nitro lately . Looks like some fresh pork at the end of that rainbow. DB
Congratulations Benjy!! :coffee: :coffee: :coffee:
:wavey: looking good Benjy!
Nice Benjy :thumbsup:
My kind of blood trail! :thumbsup: :archer2:
That's a blood trail there! I guess 69# with a great broadhead helps!
I'm running a little late to work, I'll finish this up for ya'll when I get home.
Don, I have to concentrate on pulling it back so all the other "stuff" is on auto pilot, I shoot a lot better when I'm not thinking about anything!
Colin a good quality broadhead that hit's the right stuff will do the job every time!
Were you using your bamboo arrows Benjy?
:campfire:
This is getting good
:dunno: :dunno: :dunno:
A few school yard "chums"......
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1354115272.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1354115272.jpg)
Charles, I have not played with the canes for a while. It would be interesting to see if I can get one of those tonkins stiff enough to shoot.
These hogs were running everywhere except where I needed them to go. I had a sounder of 30 lb pigs come running through the woods each one trying to get in front of the first to pick up the kernels of corn we had scattered earlier. I'm thinking one of them will fit perfectly on the grill for some week end barbeque! 10 pigs jockeying for position is not an easy shot and right on by me they went, never even attempted to draw my bow. I heard some more hogs coming I could hear them crunching and could barely make out there shapes through the trees. the 2 I could see were easily 150 to 200 lbs and perfect for roast and sausage (I guess you can tell that I enjoy eating pork!)
As I waited for them to get closer I could still hear the sounder of pigs circling to get to the feeder. Then all kinds of ruckus starts a little farther down in the woods. I have never heard such squealing, grunting and growling! It must be a sow with a couple of boars down there fighting! The hair is now standing up on the back of my neck! I'm thinking "I have to shoot something so I can get down!" I now have the sounder converging to the feeder on my left, I have the 2 150 lb'ers coming in on my right and now I here the other group headed my way!
As the last group was coming in the sounder took off in high gear! The group was headed to the road and they were walking on a trail directly behind me. I was already standing, the only opening was at 11 o'clock with the tree being at 12. I turned in time to see the first hog go through the opening. It looked like another one of those 30 lb porkers. The second one made the mistake of stopping perfectly in the opening only 5 yards from the base of the tree. I pulled back hit anchor and x'ed the spot I was looking at, in the crease halfway up the body. It was easy to tell since I use the lighted nocks!
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06973.jpg)
Good stuff :thumbsup:
Bill
At the shot, the pig squealed and everything scattered! I saw the nock fly off after about 15 yards marking "the" spot to start checking for the blood trail. After about 15 seconds you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet! I quickly got my stuff together and headed to meet John. That was 1 1/2 hours of having all those hogs around me! I love pig hunting!
As I was nearing John, around 50 yards away, I hear the squealing and limbs cracking of hogs leaving from behind him. I get to him and you guessed it, I spooked them off :knothead:
After apologizing, I told him that I felt I had made a perfect shot on a 30 lb porker. We eased out to the truck to drive back in to look for my hog.
Once back to the spot I told John where it happened and John says "There's blood" and off we went. The above pictures are within 10 yards of were I shot the pig, It's looking good!
We followed the trail for about 50 yards and John says sarcastically "There's your pig! I'm glad you didn't think he weighed 150 lbs!" I look up to see this big hog laying there, boy was I pleasantly surprised! There laid a very nice boar with 2" tusk!
He was muddy and bloody! I have never seen one with so much mud, I thought it was a blond hog when I shot him. Now we had a long drag to get him out it was at least 50 yards to the dirt rd :D .
I weighed him on my scale, he was 125 lbs field dressed, I guess he was around 165 to 175 lbs live weight.
Here are the rest of the pictures.
Entrance
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06980.jpg)
Exit
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06982.jpg)
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06991.jpg)
Cleaned up and ready for pictures!
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC06999.jpg)
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC07000.jpg)
Look at the shield on this boy!!!!
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/Benjy45/TradGang/DSC07002.jpg)
Congrats Benjy! Thanks for sharing the hunt!
That's what I am talking about! :thumbsup:
Nice hog Benjy!
Benny,
Great hog, great story and good shooting. By the way that is a great looking riser!
Nice 30#er Benjy!!!
Congrats Bud.
:thumbsup: :clapper:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :archer2:
sweet sweet hog meat mmmmmm!
Top shelf Benjy!
Nice :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Nice shooting!
:thumbsup:
I got a 30 pounder for sale, nice hog there
To say we had a grand time would be an understatement. Another great TG friend that I've been blessed to meet.
Stalking pigs in the SC swamp at night isn't for the feint of heart!!
Another picture of Benjy's hog.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1354228167.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1354228167.jpg)
Msn that bow looks familiar. Congrats on the pig. Next should be buffalo.
Eric
My animals usually get smaller at the end of the blood trail not larger! Nice pig, Benjy!!
With all that mud on him he looks like two different pigs.
Nice job.
OK....finally see who 'John C' is.
Is that the Bacon Strip? I don't recognize the pole and mat....is that something new?
Congrats....nice hog. :campfire:
Congrats for this fin boar Benjy,everything is been perfect:your buddy,the bow, the BH and the shoot.It looks that those Zippers kill hogs pretty well.
Congrats on a Fine Porker! :thumbsup: .....KYArcher
Terry, that is at the Bacon Strip. The pole and mat are at my house. The hog had so much mud on him that I decided to bring him home and give him a bath before I skinned him out. It took me 45 minutes to get the mud off of him!
I'll be making sausage tomorrow! :bigsmyl:
Great job! Awesome blood trail! There is so much blood its hard to tell where the entrance and exit wound is located. Was your Grizzly sharpened with a file or stones? Just curious...
Don't let Benjy sell the shot short.....he put it on him and the blood trail was one of the easiest I've ever seen.
Another example of some of the local fauna and how dirty they were.
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1354331707.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1354331707.jpg)
Benjy getting "up close and personal"
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1354331826.jpg) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1354331826.jpg)
John, I forgot about the "Kiss a lizard" for luck picture! Ha!Ha!
Lee, You can see the end of the arrow on the entrance side if you look close. It is in the crease of the front shoulder and dead center up and down. The exit is dead center under his neck. The exit cut his jugular veins. I guess you have heard the saying "Bleeding like a stuck pig" There was less than a half pint of blood in him when I cleaned him, it was all over the ground in the 75 yards that he ran.
These are the heads that Bill is making. I put them on my Lansky sharpener. I broke my ceramic stone so I finished them with the finish stone. They would shave you without a problem.
A good quality head, very sharpe (file or honed)in the right place will work every time. The blood trail depends on the exit and what it cut when it went through. Just my thoughts.
Yea, I do see the end of the arrow. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Very nice, got me psyched for my florida hog hunt on the 4th.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper: God bless.
very nice , congrats :thumbsup:
Nice one, congrats, I hope to get in to them come Feb. in Georgia :thumbsup: :clapper: