I recently received a text message from a fellow Professional Bowhunter Society member, wanting to know if I was interested in going south to chase some hogs. Being recently retired and having a fairly free schedule, it took about five seconds for me to make the decision to go! I was hoping for a little get away to some warmer temperatures, a little adventure and the opportunity to chase some hogs. I ended up with a great hunt with a great group of guys who represent everything P.B.S. stands for. I always look for to these membership hunts as it allows me to interact and hunt with some serious bowhunters from across the country.

We left early morning on January 28 for the long ride down South. Jeff Holchin from North Carolina had set up the hunt as a P.B.S. members hunt on some coastal islands. He has hunted that area for a couple of years and located some areas that hold hogs. He would be transporting us to the islands with his boat and we would camp on the islands and hunt for a long weekend. This was to be the first week of hunting as Jeff had also set up for another group of P.B.S. hunters to come down the following weekend. I have hunted hogs in Florida several times in the past and really enjoy the change of pace that it affords compared to sitting in a tree stand here in the mountains.

Duane and I made it to the boat dock we were supposed to meet Jeff at and after a short wait Jeff arrived in his boat. He had already had a busy day, transporting other others, their gear along with his gear to the island. Duane and I loaded Jeff's boat with gear until it looked like an overloaded cargo barge, then tied Duane's canoe on the back and left for the camping site. After an uneventful 30 minute boat ride we arrived at the selected camping site, a patch of high ground nestled beneath some tall pines. Camp was set up, dinner was prepared and we spent some time catching up with some of the other hunters around the fire.

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The next three days were filled with the kind of adventure that I have come to expect from these membership hunts... making new friends and renewing old acquaintances, a little danger, a little difficulty, lots of opportunities, a few surprises, great fellowship and food. All shared with some of the most serious bowhunters you could hope to share a camp with. We used boats and canoes to get in the area of the hogs and then waded across muddy marsh flats in hip waders hoping to get a shot.

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I managed to work my way to within 12-15 yards of two boars fighting one morning. I was able to slip an arrow into the smaller of the two and he ran off about 30 yards and folded up. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get a shot at the larger boar but he eventually lost interest with out cooperating and walked off. I was shoot a 63 pound Bear T/D and had a pass through with a 175 grain V.P.A. terminator.

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  you guys out did us second stringers!!

Back at camp I processed that boar and washed off the arrow I had used. It was still intact so I changed out a new broad head and stuck it back in my quiver.
That evening I located a boar out in the middle of a marsh and paralleled him for several hundred yards until we were within about 20 yards of each other. Light was fading fast as I shot him through the shoulders with the same arrow I had used to kill the other boar earlier in the day. He ran by me and ran a total of about 80 yards out into the marsh. I wasn't certain of the hit so I went back to camp to enlist some help in tracking the hog from some of the other guys.

We were delayed as we first had to retrieve one of our hunters who had gotten stuck in the mud. Planks were laid out to get to him and help him to solid ground. The mud was soft and sticky and you could be waist deep and stuck before you even knew it.

We assembled a hog recovery team and went back after my boar. The profuse blood trail was easy to follow and we soon had him dressed. On both of these hogs P.B.S. members offered to walk back to camp and then paddle a canoe up to meet me to transport them back to camp. This was a first for me as I have never used canoes to transport game. It was also a life saver as other wise I was facing a horrendous drag back to camp.

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The next morning I stayed in camp to process my boar. He was skinned and quartered and added to the cooler. I once again washed off the arrow I had used, replaced the broadhead and stuck it back in my quiver. the rest of the guys had opted to try a different area that morning and loaded up the boats for an assault. It wasn't long before I started to get photos and text messages.... they had gotten into hogs and several had been shot already.

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That evening I went back to this area with the rest of the guys. It didn't take long until we were in pigs again. I ended up in some really thick stuff with six mature hogs all within 10-15 yards of me. One of the boars turned broadside and offered a shot so I utilized the same arrow I had killed the earlier two boars with and shot him through the shoulders. He ended up taking an exit on the very trail that I was standing on. As he approached pretty quickly I opted to give him the right of way and ran off through the reeds! He only went about 30 yards total. Once again, that V.P.A. head had done a real job on the hog.
Getting this hog out of the muck and back to the boat was a chore and I appreciate the help offered by Julian, a fellow P.B.S.er. He blew off hunting for the remainder of the afternoon and helped drag this boar about 600 yards through the mud and canes and then loaded it on his boat for the ride back to camp.

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As is usually the case, the hunt and fellowship was over all too soon. It was a great time, the kind of adventure that you always hope for when you leave out on a hunt. Temperatures were a lot colder than I anticipated and maneuvering in the swamps was a lot harder. One thing that wasn't a surprise was the caliber of hunters that I shared this camp with. I have been on several of these membership hunts and on each one the guys I have met and hunted with have been some of the most serious and enjoyable hunters you could ever hope to spend time in the woods with. If you are a P.B.S. member and you've never made it to one of the membership hunts, you owe it to yourself to experience one. If you aren't a member, join up and maybe we will share a camp one day!

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Looks like a great hunt, nothing better than campfires and bowhunters.
 Congrats

RW

Looks like a great time was had by all.  That boat is gonna need an Extreamly deep cleaning.

That place is mud, mud, and more MUD!!!   I'm still cleaning it off my bows!!

Very nice.

Glad to see this story posted here.  Sounds like a fantastic hunt was had by all!

PBS has had a lot of very cool things happening recently!

Good shooting Randal! Thanks for sharing. I'd like to make it on that hunt sometime.

Great Recap. I would love to get in on one of these hog hunts. Congrats on your piglets   :p

We need to do it again.  I just bought another shallow running assault boat. We  share dinner duties and we eat well on these hunts, no need to rough it.

Great write up Randy! I was in for the second week.  I couldn't make it til Thursday morning.  Jeff Hulchen picked my up at the airport about 1030 am and drove me to the boat to get us to camp. We picked up Paul Ladner from an island that he was hunting. We got to camp and I met Jim and Danny Bell.  We all hit it off and at 47, I was the baby of the group!!  I quickly unpacked, strung up my bow had lunch and I was ready to go!!  

My first assault was on "Hell Island" as it came to be known, as soon as I stepped off onto the island, I sank to my crotch in mud, I was able to move a few feet before I got REALLY stuck!!  Jeff had to come to my rescue.  It seemed that I expended all my energy trying to free myself. once free, I had to lay face down in the mud to catch my wind!!