With Friday’s successful hunt behind us we were no longer looking for the King of the Jungle, we were strictly in it for the numbers. We made contact with another individual on Friday evening that had been overrun with feral hogs during the 2013 deer season. Knowing that hogs are really mobile this time of year and without any other options that we thought were suitable we decided to take him up on his offer. The morning started pretty early as we met our hosts at the Wal Mart in Wadesboro at 7am. We made a brief introduction and hit the road to Richmond County. The drive down 109 was mixed with rain and clouds and it looked to be a miserable day to spend in the woods, but we were in it to win it. We arrived at the property around 8am and began the rigorous task of getting everybody suited up with cut collars, tracking collars, and a vest for Coach. The rain continued to come down lightly as we jumped on the 4 wheelers and hit the trail. We were headed to a big pine thicket full of deep gulleys and briars. Most of the time in our area the hogs will bed down in the nastiest, thickest place you can find, and we have a lot of success by simply getting on a trail and walking through them. Just across a small creek the ground was rooted up on both sides of the road, the sure sign that there were hogs around, now to find them and start sticking. We eased around the trial encircling the cutover looking for tracks crossing the road. We made a 360 degree circle without finding a track and once we returned to the area where we entered the block we jumped off the ATVs and struck out on foot. There was sign of hogs being in the thicket but nothing that made us believe they were still there. A lot of times we notice sign of hogs that are merely just passing through, maybe headed to a water source or a distant crop field, but it was evident that they were not living here any longer. We checked out a couple of different areas with nothing but the same results. We talked it out and decided to head back towards the house in hopes that one of our old faithful spots was holding a herd that we could find.
As we made the long drive back to Burnsville the reality set in that this was going to be really tough to do. It was already after 12noon and the weigh in was at 7pm so we had to hump it. We have a ritual as we hunt this place and we check it the same way every time we hunt it. So as usual we made a hard turn to check the red clay road for any foot traffic and right off we found a good size track headed to the crop fields. As we headed down toward the creek the dogs kept wanting to go up the hill so we made the decision to turn around and go around the top of the hill so that we would have the wind in our favor. As we rounded the field it was evident that we had made a good decision as they had one on the move. Not very far into it the race turned into a fight and we were back in the water. All of the dogs were on this one and it’s probably a good thing as he turned out to be a half white boar in the 200lb range. Bud and I made quick work of him and got the dogs back up the bank. We floated him down the creek a little ways to a good extraction point and left him, this one was not going to do us any good we needed to find a sow with 10 – 25lb pigs to really get the numbers moving.
After dumping out the Muck Boots we headed to the trusty island, when Bud and I started hunting together we would hunt this area almost every Friday after work and we had really worked on the population. It had been a few weeks since we visited this farm and the last time we were here it was without any animals. The dogs hit the thicket leading to the island and almost immediately the sounds of scared hogs cut the silence. They were on another one and she too headed towards the water. Without hesitation we jumped on the ATV’s and headed back to the creek and swimming we were going. This girl was caught under a lap pile on the opposite edge of the creek. With her nose facing us we had to pick the opportune time to make the grab. The dogs finally got her head turned around and I made the grab while Bud done the deed. We floated this one back across the creek and left her on the bank and were in hot pursuit. We rode for the next hour or so without incident and finally ran into another area where the sign had gotten fresh again and the hunt was on. We made a lap around this area and came out the other side and again found sign that told us they were close. We found a fresh set of tracks and immediately followed them to the wood line. As we waited on the dogs to check the area Luke let out a couple of barks and jokingly Bud reminded me of the morning that he had bayed a box turtle as a puppy. As the rest of the dogs put in we were on the move. They crossed the main power line and across the small stream. As we got close to the dogs we realized that there was only one catch dog and 2 bay dogs on this one. I told Corey to let them bay until the bulldog got there as we could see him coming up the creek. Corey decided that he was going to get a good close up facial and as the hog broke and headed to him Corey decided to run. As he spun to get the heck out of dodge he became really close and personal with a pine tree. He went straight to the ground throwing the camera 50 ft down the creek. I know that a lot of you will frown on us and wonder what kind of friends we are, but regardless Bud and I laughed uncontrollably and until tears were running down our faces. I eventually made my way to the hog as he only made it about 50 yards before he was captured again. Bud came up the hill still laughing and put another one in the books. Corey brought up the rear with blood streaming down the side of his face and as hard as I tried I couldn’t help but start laughing again. We checked out his wounds and decided that he had a small cut on his ear lobe, a scratch down his neck, and another scratch in the entrance to his ear canal. This was his first experience with a charging hog and he said that when he saw blood he knew that the hog had cut him. Well of course this was followed by laughter and a bit of hazing.
We loaded this one up and as we were heading back to the truck I kept an eye on him as he would cover his uninjured ear to insure that he could still hear. We decided to hit another spot for the last couple of hours before the weigh in in hopes that we may just find the sow with a litter of pigs, but it was not to be. We walked a lap around the cutover and found only one set of old tracks. We headed to the weigh in with a 200lb boar, a 125lb sow, and a 125lb boar. As we got to the weigh in the pork had been grilled and there was plenty for everyone. We hung around and enjoyed the fellowship with other hunters and relived the weekend’s events. We may not have won the award for the most hogs this year, but I will guarantee you that we would have gotten the award for most laughs in a weekend. Although we were hunting for money the true prize in enjoying a hobby with people that mean something to you. No amount of money can replace the time you spend with family and friends at home or deep in the Backwoods.
As we made the long drive back to Burnsville the reality set in that this was going to be really tough to do. It was already after 12noon and the weigh in was at 7pm so we had to hump it. We have a ritual as we hunt this place and we check it the same way every time we hunt it. So as usual we made a hard turn to check the red clay road for any foot traffic and right off we found a good size track headed to the crop fields. As we headed down toward the creek the dogs kept wanting to go up the hill so we made the decision to turn around and go around the top of the hill so that we would have the wind in our favor. As we rounded the field it was evident that we had made a good decision as they had one on the move. Not very far into it the race turned into a fight and we were back in the water. All of the dogs were on this one and it’s probably a good thing as he turned out to be a half white boar in the 200lb range. Bud and I made quick work of him and got the dogs back up the bank. We floated him down the creek a little ways to a good extraction point and left him, this one was not going to do us any good we needed to find a sow with 10 – 25lb pigs to really get the numbers moving.
After dumping out the Muck Boots we headed to the trusty island, when Bud and I started hunting together we would hunt this area almost every Friday after work and we had really worked on the population. It had been a few weeks since we visited this farm and the last time we were here it was without any animals. The dogs hit the thicket leading to the island and almost immediately the sounds of scared hogs cut the silence. They were on another one and she too headed towards the water. Without hesitation we jumped on the ATV’s and headed back to the creek and swimming we were going. This girl was caught under a lap pile on the opposite edge of the creek. With her nose facing us we had to pick the opportune time to make the grab. The dogs finally got her head turned around and I made the grab while Bud done the deed. We floated this one back across the creek and left her on the bank and were in hot pursuit. We rode for the next hour or so without incident and finally ran into another area where the sign had gotten fresh again and the hunt was on. We made a lap around this area and came out the other side and again found sign that told us they were close. We found a fresh set of tracks and immediately followed them to the wood line. As we waited on the dogs to check the area Luke let out a couple of barks and jokingly Bud reminded me of the morning that he had bayed a box turtle as a puppy. As the rest of the dogs put in we were on the move. They crossed the main power line and across the small stream. As we got close to the dogs we realized that there was only one catch dog and 2 bay dogs on this one. I told Corey to let them bay until the bulldog got there as we could see him coming up the creek. Corey decided that he was going to get a good close up facial and as the hog broke and headed to him Corey decided to run. As he spun to get the heck out of dodge he became really close and personal with a pine tree. He went straight to the ground throwing the camera 50 ft down the creek. I know that a lot of you will frown on us and wonder what kind of friends we are, but regardless Bud and I laughed uncontrollably and until tears were running down our faces. I eventually made my way to the hog as he only made it about 50 yards before he was captured again. Bud came up the hill still laughing and put another one in the books. Corey brought up the rear with blood streaming down the side of his face and as hard as I tried I couldn’t help but start laughing again. We checked out his wounds and decided that he had a small cut on his ear lobe, a scratch down his neck, and another scratch in the entrance to his ear canal. This was his first experience with a charging hog and he said that when he saw blood he knew that the hog had cut him. Well of course this was followed by laughter and a bit of hazing.
We loaded this one up and as we were heading back to the truck I kept an eye on him as he would cover his uninjured ear to insure that he could still hear. We decided to hit another spot for the last couple of hours before the weigh in in hopes that we may just find the sow with a litter of pigs, but it was not to be. We walked a lap around the cutover and found only one set of old tracks. We headed to the weigh in with a 200lb boar, a 125lb sow, and a 125lb boar. As we got to the weigh in the pork had been grilled and there was plenty for everyone. We hung around and enjoyed the fellowship with other hunters and relived the weekend’s events. We may not have won the award for the most hogs this year, but I will guarantee you that we would have gotten the award for most laughs in a weekend. Although we were hunting for money the true prize in enjoying a hobby with people that mean something to you. No amount of money can replace the time you spend with family and friends at home or deep in the Backwoods.
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