This Saturday was another first for us here at Backwoods Hog Hunters; we had three guys on this hunt that had never been on a hog hunt with dogs. We had an invite from a local, which is nothing unusual, but none of our guests had ever killed a hog Backwoods’ Style. Our main objective was to get our raffle winner Brandon Harris on his first hog. Our second goal was to remove as many hogs as possible from Adam’s deer hunting property.
With the frigid conditions and ice that came through this area of North Carolina the night before we were forced to start hunting later than usual. We confirmed with Adam that we would meet on site around 12:30. On the way Brian
and I would stop by and picked up Bud, Brandon, and the dogs. We arrived at Brandon’s around 11am and welcomed him into the truck and we hit the road. We were a little early getting to Adam’s property so we passed the time by joking around with one another and just being ourselves. We also filled Brandon in on what he could expect and assured him that this is, for lack of a better term, organized chaos. We wanted him to know that we would have everything under control and would not put him in any danger.
As promised Adam and Charles arrived right on time. We pulled the trucks
into the middle of the field and began the task of unloading the ATVs and
suiting up the dogs. We went over the lay out of the land with Adam and devised
a plan of attack. With the dogs loaded and the hunt laid out, we headed to the
pine thickets to get these boys on some swine. All of the hog signs that we
found had been there for some time, but it was pretty clear that there were hogs
on this property we just had to look for them. We made our way around the edges
of the pines and came back out into the cut bean field. We then made the
executive decision to ditch the ATVs and strike out on foot. The hogs should be
laid up trying to find a sunny place to bed down during these frigid days. We
immediately hit a small creek bottom and found a worn out trail running parallel
with the water. After 20 minutes of walking we rounded a bend in the small
branch that lead to a beaver pond and Brian told us that he could smell a hog.
I don’t know whether or not he could smell a hog or if he was just being his
usual self, but within 30 seconds of his statement Zoey had locked down on one.
This is where the organization and chaos come together. Our first priority is
to get the hog under control to protect the dogs, and then we dispatch him as
quickly and humanely as possible. We took off like a bullet and had quickly
gained control of the situation. Brandon came in shortly after and put his
first hog in the books. A nice 175lb boar had met his match this afternoon and
was headed to Brandon’s skinning shed. As we stood around catching our breath I
remember Adam saying to us that this was one of the coolest things that he had
ever done. That’s what the sport of hunting is all about and that is why we do
it our way, to give people that have hunted all of their lives the opportunity
to get up close and personal to a wild hog is something that they will never
forget.
We got this old boy field dressed and headed back to the field to get the
four wheelers. On the way back to Brandon’s hog we mistakenly took a wrong turn
and by the time we realized that we were on the wrong road we had another one on
the move. Only a couple hundred yards from his resting spot this big boy
decided that it was time to fight for it. Brandon decided that he would like to
take a shot at running the camera, and it didn’t take long for the guys to show
him how to use it. Another big boar around 225lbs had met his demise, but we
still had a couple of dogs running heading in the opposite direction.
We are now patiently watching the Garmin GPS tracking systems. At about
800 yards the dogs have got another one hemmed up and we are on the way. We get
within a couple hundred yards of them and release the rest of the pack hoping
they would have one caught by the time we arrived. Anthony followed the catch
dogs in while the rest of the gang tried to get the four wheelers closer. We
could tell as soon as the catch dogs got there that this little pig was having a
pretty bad day. Due to the laws here in North Carolina we are required to kill
every hog that we catch no matter their size, and we will never let any go. The
damage that these animals create throughout this area is tremendous and we feel
that it is our duty to kill every one that we are fortunate to get our hands on.
We loaded the dogs, grabbed all 3 hogs, and headed to the truck. We took a few
pictures, had a couple of laughs, and just relived the afternoon’s hunt.
Charles repeatedly shook our hands and told us that he had a hundred things that
he could have done this afternoon, but now that it was over there was nothing
that he had rather been involved in. We were lucky enough to get a call from a
stranger asking us to hunt his property, but fortunate enough to make 2 new
friends and get another young man his first hog. What an action packed 4 hours
we had spending time in the Backwoods.
With the frigid conditions and ice that came through this area of North Carolina the night before we were forced to start hunting later than usual. We confirmed with Adam that we would meet on site around 12:30. On the way Brian
and I would stop by and picked up Bud, Brandon, and the dogs. We arrived at Brandon’s around 11am and welcomed him into the truck and we hit the road. We were a little early getting to Adam’s property so we passed the time by joking around with one another and just being ourselves. We also filled Brandon in on what he could expect and assured him that this is, for lack of a better term, organized chaos. We wanted him to know that we would have everything under control and would not put him in any danger.
As promised Adam and Charles arrived right on time. We pulled the trucks
into the middle of the field and began the task of unloading the ATVs and
suiting up the dogs. We went over the lay out of the land with Adam and devised
a plan of attack. With the dogs loaded and the hunt laid out, we headed to the
pine thickets to get these boys on some swine. All of the hog signs that we
found had been there for some time, but it was pretty clear that there were hogs
on this property we just had to look for them. We made our way around the edges
of the pines and came back out into the cut bean field. We then made the
executive decision to ditch the ATVs and strike out on foot. The hogs should be
laid up trying to find a sunny place to bed down during these frigid days. We
immediately hit a small creek bottom and found a worn out trail running parallel
with the water. After 20 minutes of walking we rounded a bend in the small
branch that lead to a beaver pond and Brian told us that he could smell a hog.
I don’t know whether or not he could smell a hog or if he was just being his
usual self, but within 30 seconds of his statement Zoey had locked down on one.
This is where the organization and chaos come together. Our first priority is
to get the hog under control to protect the dogs, and then we dispatch him as
quickly and humanely as possible. We took off like a bullet and had quickly
gained control of the situation. Brandon came in shortly after and put his
first hog in the books. A nice 175lb boar had met his match this afternoon and
was headed to Brandon’s skinning shed. As we stood around catching our breath I
remember Adam saying to us that this was one of the coolest things that he had
ever done. That’s what the sport of hunting is all about and that is why we do
it our way, to give people that have hunted all of their lives the opportunity
to get up close and personal to a wild hog is something that they will never
forget.
We got this old boy field dressed and headed back to the field to get the
four wheelers. On the way back to Brandon’s hog we mistakenly took a wrong turn
and by the time we realized that we were on the wrong road we had another one on
the move. Only a couple hundred yards from his resting spot this big boy
decided that it was time to fight for it. Brandon decided that he would like to
take a shot at running the camera, and it didn’t take long for the guys to show
him how to use it. Another big boar around 225lbs had met his demise, but we
still had a couple of dogs running heading in the opposite direction.
We are now patiently watching the Garmin GPS tracking systems. At about
800 yards the dogs have got another one hemmed up and we are on the way. We get
within a couple hundred yards of them and release the rest of the pack hoping
they would have one caught by the time we arrived. Anthony followed the catch
dogs in while the rest of the gang tried to get the four wheelers closer. We
could tell as soon as the catch dogs got there that this little pig was having a
pretty bad day. Due to the laws here in North Carolina we are required to kill
every hog that we catch no matter their size, and we will never let any go. The
damage that these animals create throughout this area is tremendous and we feel
that it is our duty to kill every one that we are fortunate to get our hands on.
We loaded the dogs, grabbed all 3 hogs, and headed to the truck. We took a few
pictures, had a couple of laughs, and just relived the afternoon’s hunt.
Charles repeatedly shook our hands and told us that he had a hundred things that
he could have done this afternoon, but now that it was over there was nothing
that he had rather been involved in. We were lucky enough to get a call from a
stranger asking us to hunt his property, but fortunate enough to make 2 new
friends and get another young man his first hog. What an action packed 4 hours
we had spending time in the Backwoods.
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