No this isn't another smoke and mirrors joke... Today marked the best day of hunting I have ever had!!! There may have been days where I squeezed off over a box of shells at dove or ducks. There might have been more points on deer or a heavier hog but nothing ever like this. Epic? For me past it... I would have put this in smokenboomathon thread but today was stand alone the best of the best...
Today marked the opening day of black powder in our local WMA, the Corbett area. Yeah I've popped out detailed threads discussing this 60,000 acres of swamp so I won't bore you with that again. It had rained hard all week so I knew my "A" spot would be too wet to hunt. I knew "B" would be too crowded and I was planning on pulling a slick trick right near the entrance to the place... where I had finished out bow season. With time to kill before light I did check the two other spots and as predicted they were slam full. It took these two pics later in the day and you can see they were still vitual parking lots.
Spot "A"...
Spot "B"...
I went back near the check station and even that lot was packed. Still I was bound and determined to set up just a couple hundred yards from it. I slid a primer in the CVA, grabbed my chair and made the short walk in. Skeeters buzzed despite being doused in deet. I was setting the chair on a path that had been freshly torn up from rooting pigs. Behind me a thick thicket of palmetto. To my right a water covered field.
As I sat I saw a buugy across the lake hit deep water and puke their engine. Lot of cussing going on over there made it tough to hear but I could plainly make out grunting and breathing right behind me. Not just in one spot but in several. I was in "Hog heaven"!!!
It was legal light when the first one came out. Short... Another three shorts including one that I'm reasonably sure was blind as it walked right into my boot. (No not that friendly one from my older thread). As that one went back in the brush I could distinctly hear larger ones in there. Light even allowed me to see which bushes they were shaking. A bit after seven, one of the bigger ones was approaching way close. I was now standing and as it cleared the brush about 4 yards away. I didn't even use the sights... Pointed and KAWHAMALAMA!
Through the cloud of smoke I watched it take a hard U- Turn and squirt back in the real thick stuff. Now, I know better than to just wander in that crap so it was a walk back to the car to... clean the gun, reload it, and get the samaurai sword for brush cutting.
I went back where the pig had tucked back in and made about two yards on my hands and knees. There was a series of trails in there heavy with fresh track and I had no idea where to look first. Pigs have a cartilage gristle plate that slams shut after shooting and it takes a while for them to start bleeding. This shit was thick and I knew it was gonna be a hard track.
I backed out and sat on a fallen tree. I was preparing to go back in when another slightly bigger pig walked out. Well, I couldn't pass up the chance as it could be I wouldn't find the other one. Tru glow on shoulder, safety off... KAWHAMALAMA!!!! The pig disappeared in the cloud of smoke. I couldn't see which way it ran and was temporarily deaf from the blast so I knew it would be another tough track.
Again, not goin in that thick without a loaded gun so another trip to the car for a clean, reload and ice cold coke. I got talking with a guy I see out there frequently and together we went off to do some gang trackin on multi pigs. As we walked in I was over the top excited. I went all bow season without even puting the bow up much less pulling the string. Now here it was opening morn at 8:30 with black powder and two oinkers laid down.
I got on hands and knees for the palmetto crawl as my bud worked the stand up trails looking for blood. Finally twenty yards out he found splatter. The trail ended and it had to be close we worked wider circles . I saw way thick splatter and went in crawling at first then almost standing up. It was super thick spray . I looked around... no pig... I was standing on it.
We swapped positions looking for the second pig. Him on his knees and me walking. I could hear him fifteen yards deep as I walked an edge. Then heard crashing comming at me a few yards in front of me. I couldn't tell if he pushed it or if it was charging but a full growed big tusked oinker popped out at five yards. KAWHAMALAMA! I just equalled my last four years and it wasn't even 9:am yet! It fell right where I popped it
My new buddy let out a "holy shit!" when I shot. The search for #2 was temporarily halted. I guess I shoulda announced "shooting" as I think he shit his pants when the stick barked thunder!. We dragged that one back(number three) and now I had a problem. Limit was one and I had two. He was good enough to cough up his limit so we could tag out.
The little one:
The big one:
A size reference for the dental goods on the big one:
Well thats a hell of a day... It wasn't done yet. We still didn't find the second pig so we enlisted another regular and went back in. This third fellow is part swamp rat. He could move through that thick shit like nobody's business. He took the crawl and came up that the pig had doubled back a different direction. My one buddy flanked right and I went left the third went down the middle... Crash crash crash! I could hear something commin... If it was a pig I wouldn't shoot unless it was self defense.....
Nope it had horns. Not massive rack but four points of legal. KAWHAMALAMA!!! Scratch one Bambi!!!
Abort the search for pig 2 and back to check out station. I wasn't the only one having a field day. There was a line of guys wanting to check pigs and deer of all shapes and sizes. Some guys even doubled up on bucks! I got the deer tagged and was too hot and tired to go back in to find pig two. The other two did go back though. Driving out, there were buzzards all over working gut piles. The most crowded but the hottest hunting I ever saw in the place.
Back at home I got to cuttin . The cell phone rang ...they found the third oinker. I had them slide to Castle Deep for cuttin and sharin the days take.
It was almost a perfect day. Unfortunately I got to the left shoulder of the littlest pig and found it in a bad way. Seems that there was a broadhead sitting in there form a couple weeks ago and infection was bad...
Still I'll give it a 9.9 ... four shots from a black powder single shot. Three pigs and a deer. Two new friends made. 5 feet of meat... Yeah it was my best hunt ever.
Paying for it today. Was so wound up that I had trouble getting to sleep. Then trouble waking up. Dragging and all that brush busting has me so stiff I can barely move.
They call palmetto "saw" palmetto for the sharp edges. Those result in a few cuts but not real bad. We have loads of vines in there. Most just wear on you and try to "hold" you. Some have thorns. I don't know what they are called but where ever those thorns get inyou get some blisters and swelling.
So I hurt a little. Well worth it. For those that follow the swamp hunts its like watching grass grow class boring most of the time. Then you get a day like this and its what keeps you comming back...
I had a good feeling going in. Felt like I was on my game going all the way back to the end of bow season. This property is huge. All that traffic heading in makes a tone of noise. Buggies are loud by them selves but getting towed in on the axle eating road on trailers its way loud. They come through the gate start at different points and always push to the farthes boundaries. With all that noise the animals often circle back right near the parking lots where its now quiet. The front gate area I worked gets a load of traffic even on non hunting days. I think the piggies get a false sense of security in there. Used to people and the ones that do come are bound and determined to go running of into the distance to look out there.
I see the same kind of stuff when fishing down here. Boats go roaring to all kinds of places. Running past the fish. Think about an inlet. Its a food pipeline. On the outgoing they sit facing it as bait pours out of the ICW . Incoming they get in position to intercept food comming in. Theyre also used to boat traffic. Fishing out front or hunting close to entrances isn't lazy. It's smart.
Bottom line is it feels great when a game plan comes together.
Kinda blows my mind. Maybe an hour total of hunting. Two or three hours of trackin downed critters. An hour or more of dragging. Five hours of skinning and quartering. Another couple hours trimming the fat, silver skin, and picking pieces of hair that blew back on the quarters.
My new buddies were polite last eve. Each didn't want much meat but I split it even as could be. They only had a couple beers each though theres an emergency twelve pack for guests in the fridge. They just called and asked if I was comming back out for the afternoon today. Windy as hell, rain threatening and basically I'm almost tagged out for the year (one more buck) so I kindly bowed out. Didn't tell em that the real reason is that I hurt too bad to move... .
I dont know if all those hunters not elevated shoting muzzle loaders with slugs is the place to be sitting on the ground and hunting. Would a tree stand be alittle safer?
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. We dragged that one back(number three) and now I had a problem. Limit was one and I had two. He was good enough to cough up his limit so we could tag out.
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