I gotta make that shoot!
Disappointed to hear about drug dealing going on, though.
Doc, Doc, Doc ...  

That stave I got from Sticks is a beautiful piece of wood.  I did whittle it down a little bit while I was there, but the bow making area was reserved for those who had registered for the selfbow challenge.  There were so many things to do and see at the Classic that I didn't want to spend my whole weekend working on it, so I brought it home to be used as a summer project.

I've built a couple of osage bows in the past, but my plan for this one is to make a much longer bow better suited to my long arms.  It has just the right amount of character from a couple of easy knots and some snaking curves that it should make a wonderful bow.  
Thanks again Kris!

Rebecca Parker's sheaths.  I happened to have a few blades with me (surprise-surprise) that had matching Lacewood handles.  They looked so nice all covered up with her quill work.  How could I resist  :rolleyes:  

 

 

James Parker's "drug deal" knapped flint head.  I'm blown away when someone can walk off with a rock and return in an hour with perfection.  We were in the sticks at Twin Oaks so I'm sure he couldn't have gotten to Walmart in that time frame  

 

Looks like a great trip so far.

Molly & I are closing the Aiken farm for the summer and headed to Boston in the morning with three horses.  I'll have to let Whip takes us down the road to Alabama...tippit

Great post and pics    THANKS for sharing  

Thanks for sharing, great shoot, pictures and looking forward to hearing about your hunt.

Joe, sorry to hear about the loss of pictures, sounds like a bad media card.  

We're all packed and read to roll in the morning.  Sitting down with a beer in the SC heat...this Yankee errr Red Sox isn't cut out for heat this early in the year  

Back to the story:

After the TN Classic, we headed for Alabama to do a night of bowfishing with Don, Skyler, Robtattoo, and Jack Guard.  Severe thunderstorms in the area keep us grounded to the Wilson Bed & Dinner.  What a dinner it was with the great cooking from Tammy along with the help of Miss Chloe Beth!  

The next morning after breakfast with Don & Jack, we headed to our little horse farm in Aiken.  We are only an hour from the Bacon Strip on the Savannah River.  This would be our primative camp for the next 4 days.

Well I know it was my loss for not getting to meet you guys.  I was camping in the lower level and did not venture to the upper level.  Maybe next year.

James's composite bows are nothing short of amazing!  He insisted I shoot the 50 yard target instead of the 10.  The first shot hit the 2X6 supporting the tin roof over the bail!  I swear arrow didn't start dropping till just before it hit!

Jeff, you and Joe have been one of best (in a long line I might add) additions to "our camp up on the hill" at the twin oakes shoot!  Already looking forward to next year!

I really regret that we couldn't go bowfishing but the storms were bad...We had a great time anyway just hanging out and talking, watching Jack shoot all of Tippits bows. Tammy, Chloe Beth and Michael prepared a wonderful feast. We also had an awesome Knife show with Tippit blades....

I had bowfished with the Wilson's for the past couple of years and was really looking forward to this leg of our trip. First things first though, and when Tammy is cooking and Don is grilling you'd do well to be at the front of the line.  But after eating far more than I should have we checked the local weather radar and it didn't look good.    

A line of storms was bearing down with another line on the way behind it.  We didn't want to get caught on the water with lightning in the air, so there really was no question - calling off the fishing expedition was the prudent thing to do.

The flip side though was that it allowed us even more time to visit.  If we had been on the water we would have been split into two boats, so hanging back worked out just fine.

One Trad Ganger that has been on my bucket list to meet for quite some time now has been Jack Guard, and it was really a treat that he was able to be there with his son during our visit.  Jack is everything I expected, and more.  And he can really shoot a bow!  

While just hanging out and visiting might seem like it is not very exciting to those reading this thread, the reality is that evening was one of the highlights of the trip.

The next morning it was back on the road as Jeff and I headed east to his winter home in Aiken South Carolina.  This would serve as our base of operations for a few days of hog hunting on the Bacon Strip, a SC lease that Jeff is a part of.  

Jeff and his wife Molly built this home as a winter retreat where Molly works with horses.  Jeff is nearing full retirement and will be spending winters there with her full time starting next year.  Jeff isn't quite sure what he will do with all his time during retirement, so I have been retained as his hunting consultant and have promised to show him the ropes.        



This is the shop Jeff built to house the Black Bear Forge which will be producing many Tippit blades in the future.

Benjy came down to join in on the hog hunt.  As a South Carolina resident he could help show a couple of Yankees how it is done.  


Hogs are governed by their stomach, and the plan would be to play to that weakness with a mixture of corn and Benjy's "Wild Beast Attractant"

A good portion of the property had been recently logged, and that eliminated a number of previously hot stand sites.  But there were plenty more, so we had mulitiple options.  As we rode out on the ATV's to look things over the first afternoon we spotted two hogs under a feeder.  We stopped a good distance back and I was pushed up front in stalking mode.

I eased up along the side of the road using cover when I could.  The hogs were busy rooting for leftover corn, and I advanced when their backs were turned.  I was able to work my way behind a small berm just downwind of the hogs and eased to within 15 yards.  

As the bigger of the two presented a quartering away view I drew back and watched my arrow hit directly where I was looking.  Penetration was poor though, and the hog crashed off into the thick swamp with my arrow in tow.

We gave it over an hour, and returned to see what we could find.  As it turned out, we found nothing.  No blood.  No Arrow.  No hog.  Replaying it in my mind I think maybe I misjudged the quartering angle and shot a bit too far forward.  It may also have been somewhat high.  

I've often read here to shoot them low and forward, and the mid body hit combined with a quartering angle likely resulted in a non-lethal hit.

Looking forward to seeing & hearing more of this. What a great time it sounds like!

Good folks and what looks like some really good food too!!

Off to our evening stands we went.  Hog sign was everywhere, and our hopes were still high.  A stand called the Racetrack had been productive in the past, and I was happy when Jeff and Benjy suggested I try it.

I hadn't been settled for more than 10 minutes when the first visitor arrived.  But rather than the hogs I was hoping for it turned out to be the first in a long parade of racoons.  The little corn scavanging rascals were in and out all night to the point I couldn't keep track of how many I saw.  I know at one point there were eight of them below me.  Some would leave and others return, and they made for an entertaining evening.

Just as darkness was closing in I noticed the racoons below me all looking off to the north, and then they turned and left as a group.  As if on cue, a group of hogs came trotting right in to replace them.  

There were four in total, with the biggest being a sow, followed by a slightly smaller boar, and two of maybe 25 pounds.  I would be happy with either of the two larger animals, and waited for a shot to develop.  

The boar turned broadside and I started my draw, but he quickly turned away.  At the same time the bigger sow presented a quartering angle, and I quickly shifted my focus to her.  The arrow was gone and the next thing I knew the hogs erupted into flight.

Jeff had given me a couple of lighted nocks to try on my arrows, and with the near darkness that is all I could see heading off through the trees.  Before it got out of sight the little red dot slowed and then stopped.  My hog was down!



The big Silver Flame broadhead had entered high with the steep downward shot and angled down into the vitals.

awesome!!

Finally blood from a swine!  Keep the pics coming!