Blamathon '06 is Here!!!!

[Deep C]

Driving in this morn I had all kinds of plans of heading back to where I got the one yesterday. Plans are one thing but the body to do it with just wasn't there. The legs were not ready to do another high stepping brush whacking monster hike. They started screaming and threatening cramp by thetimeI just got to spot "a" so thats where I made camp.
The place was deserted comparatively and the wind was howling again. The power lines behind me hummed and the pines roared. Hearing anything was out of the game. I saw the same two otters as yesterday but nothing else of note moved. Even the teal were scarce...
Again I couldn't comfortable the whole morn and with that I packed it in early... even did a starbucks stop...

[Deep C]

Ok
Leg still sore but now usable. You guys that have followed my swamp hunts should have an idea of what is what where I am. I have my favorite "A" spot that in bow or black powder season is really too wet much of the time. In that case I go to my "B" spot.
Now its dried out. "B" is too dry... I have hunted "A" for the last three mornings. Two of them had pig potential.
"A" is a relatively easy quarter to a third mile walk in. Two big fields three stands of trees, a back ditch and some in tight brush to work from one standing spot. Drags are easy and snakes usually not an issue...
Now yesterday I went to the back side where "A" faces. The place was covered in tracks. Lots of buggy activity in there to blow residents out but I walked one pig up in short order yesterday.
I think there might be some one else working back in there as I saw one the first two mornings. I did not see anyone in there today. Another drawback its really close to a full hot mile drag out of there and the buggy tracks are tough to drag in.(Soft mud and big potholes that require high steps) ...

So do I stick with "A" or go work the new spot?

[Proheat]

One of my questions is.............do the buggys disturb the piggy's and keep them moving along with the others walking around back there? Can you use this to your advantage?

If so, then definately go back there. If they are used to all the commotion, then its back to a flip of the coin.

[Deep C]

Almost all the buggies on the place park, unload and head out right past my "A" spot. They "Work" the back side that I'm thinking about harder.

At the "a" spot the most piggies I see is about an hour after the buggies left. Either pushed from elsehwere or circling back in behind. I would imagine they get the same thing back in that other area. Blow out, return, or get chased in from somewhere else. There is no feeding or rut type issues right now. After the first hour they have started survival mode.

This being day four tomorrow though tosses some new stuff in the works. By now the piggies are way wound up. I have a hunch some so much so that they get like pheasants that have been worked too hard. They will sit and hold much longer may not blow out unless a buggy or dog is right on top of them. Day one they bolt at first sight or sound. As the season gets deeper they get tougher and meaner. The second weekend of quota, they start seeing a lot of torn up dogs getting taken out. The pigs stop and fight rather than run.

[WAHOONBOX]

STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW BEST....THE TERRAIN.....WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEING MORNING MOVEMENT....AND NO EVENING ACTION ....I'LL BE GLAD TO SEE THE FULLL MOON GO AWAY....


DEEP THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE....I FELT LIKE I WAS THERE.....PRETTY COOL MEETING A NEW FRIEND OUT THERE IN BLAMALAND

THAN YOU THANK YOU FOR CARRYING A CAMERA THIS TIME!!!

STANDING BY FOR DAY 4

[Deep C]

Hunt four was a weird one this morn. I got out from my driver side and the skeeters and bugs were way bad. The wind had dropped out and it was way humid.
I went to my sliding door and in the dark added my long camo and even some bug spray. I know I know... Bug Spray? Unbearable without it. I put on my boots, loaded my pockets with copper solids (blamerator day) and quietly sipped a soda.
Suddenly there was a lot of sploosing comming from the swamp and the splooshes were getting closer. There was a shade of moon to throw some light and I could see two black meat sized shapes comming at me. Dark? Who cares, this was a rare gimmie or so I thought. I dropped a slug in the ol blamerator and shouldered. I kept watching as the two animals closed in. I wanted to be sure, very sure about things before squeezing the trigger.
I held and held. They were now only thirty out but sommething didn't seem right with their cadence. At twenty yards they were now inside the circle of death. No way out. Still it just didn't feel right. Then I heard panting? Pigs don't pant... It was two pit bulls!
Somebody must have lost em yesterday and they had spent the night there. I could only cuss the luck and wondered what two pit bulls would do to the whole area with a night to work it...

I walked to the A spot and here came the buggies. Rude behavior out there by buggy people is not gender exclusive. One buggy pulled down my "A" spot land with me standing there and they just kept comming. It was three fat white haired old ladies!
They caiught up with another buggy and beat the hell out of the back side where I planned to work. No biggie, my plan was to get the circle back stuff any way.
I walked the rest of the way out as it was getting toward shooting light. I sat in a spot full of critter tracks where six game and five buggy tracks all came together. What a great spot. all those shooting lanes to work and I had it all to my self.

As it grew lighter I found a new problem. The quiet was deafening. The humid still air really was carrying sound. I'm six miles from any civilization where I was but it sounded like I was in town. Birds chirped and squawked loudly and as the morning dew formed the near by high tension electric lines started to crackle and pop. I could hear all this distant stuff that was drowning out my in tight stuff. Then the close stuff started to make noise. Birds and palmettos make for some real racket...

About seven thirty I caught a glimpse of something moving. I couldn't hear it but it was there forty yards on the left. I shouldered and waited to see what came out. There it was a buck with a really nice rack. That caught me off guard cause most of our deer have teribble racks if any and usually are spikes or fork horns...
As handsome as it was, I wasn't there for deer. I had burnt my tag (although I could probably dig up another) and it was pig I wanted... I let him walk...

About four hundred yards I could hear the old ladies' dogs really working a piece. It was getting too late to sit so I thought I might just as well sneak in there and steal one out from under them. Why not? They showed me no courtesy earlier.
As I approached the big stand that they were in I heard brush breaking. For the third time of the morning I shouldered. I heard the brush going for thirty seconds or more before it popped out. A dinky pig . They need to be 20" on the shoulder and this one wouldn't go past fifteen. They really don't enforce close ones to much but this one would have spelled trouble... I didn't want to but this one I HAD to let walk.

I got to a spot where I could see their dogs running a deer. Then I heard shots but strange sounding ones. Quiet, small caliber type stuff. What ever it was they either weren't hitting or just plain weren't working. Oh well, I had enough.
The buggy had beat me back to the parking lot And I could see the ladies all milling around. Though I was kind of pissed at them running me over (just about) I decided to say hello. Besides, I had to know what they were shooting. We got chatting about this and that when that topic came around. It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing when the one said "We was usin reloaded buckshots and Deloris didn't use enough powder."
Another turned and said "Gwen I don't think she used no powder at all"...
I tossed the blamerator in the car and gave them two boxes of store bought OO buck I had in the car. They wanted to pay me and I just said "no".
Tears streamed down my face from laughing so hard as I headed back east to castle Deep!

[Deep C]

Yesterday was lost to my meeting with NMFS and this morning was lost to a half day charter... This afternoon was bluebird gorgeous.
I arrived at my parking spot and could see that the buggies were out in force. There was only one set of tracks near the "A"spot and were several hours old. I decided to move to the back side. Tracks there were thick. Too early for a full scale sit I explored new ground and found mire tracks. Three different meat sized pigs had made them then I started finding deer tracks.
I saw two does bolting at a distance and had to stealth up my walk. I saw nothing more.
I went back for a sit at my new spot and all was quiet for about an hour. Then I heard the distinct sound of hooves on hard dirt. I strained and scanned down four different lanes but never saw a critter.
Not much to it but still an enjoyable cool day. A coon did cross up one track from me late in the day and I watched a fist sized bird spider eat a tiny lizzard. What a lizzard was doing up in that web is beyond me but it was interesting. They also call those big spiders "solk spiders" their webs are tough as nails. Almost like cast nets...
I hated to see the nice cool day get dark and eventually it was time to head back to the car.
I about jumped out of my skin when I kicked two woodcock on the way out. Got back and watched the buggies loading up for their rides home. Empty... At the check staion I looked at the tallies for the week. 10 deer and 14 pigs is not a lot considering they had 2100 hunter days in there so far. Bow and black powder had much higher kill rates. I felt good knowing that I had one each toward the tally but couldn't help but wonder where have all the animals gone... Supposedly there are 1600 deer and 2300 pigs on the property but damn they are doing a good job hiding...

[Proheat]

Deep- Very nice play by play reporting!!
Your stories make us feel lke we were with you on the trip.

Our regular deer season(rifle) starts the monday after Thanksgiving and this will be my sons first huting season. Hopefully we will have something to report back.

[Deep C]

Yesterday was another fishing day and this morning was just a quickie. Only did a one hour sit. With over a dozen buggies working my area it wasn't likely that the circle back would be happening any time soon. I walked past "A" with no new tracks and even the back side had nothing fresh. The place has been beaten hard for over a week and I think its done... I may try one other area that doesn't allow buggies but it may be too dry to hold life...

[Deep C]

Final morning of quota has come and gone with nothing new to report. The piggies and bambies have all found hiding spots that I sure can't find... With that... Piggies are closed for this area for the season and that will bring this part of Blamathon '06 to a close. Doves start soon and I may have to travel for a pig... So for now Deep Blam signing off...