BnC 04
AH elite
Well folks I figured I'd toss up a report on our "last minute" father/son adventure. My family and I have been fortunate to have been able to do a good amount of hog hunting throughout Oklahoma and Texas. They are great eating and also a perfect adventure any time of the year. OK, I also wanted to try out some Norma 550 gr Woodleigh softs out of my 458 Lott on a hog.
Having done all our prior hog hunting on unfenced propertires I was a little hessitant on making an exception for this hunt but after visiting with the owner we just couldn't pass up the offer to come out and see for ourselves what mountain hunting hogs was all about.
My son and I headed out East for a 4 hour drive from our home West of Nashville into the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Once we jumped off the main Interstate the easy, straight and fast driving changed quickly. Heading up and down into and out of the deep hollars on a one lane dirt road with one side being a rock wall and the other a sheer drop off makes a guy slow down and ensure you are paying attention.
Once we arrived at the main lodge we were greeted by the owner and guide. Both friendly and willing to answer any questions we had. The lodging was nice and clean and even though the meals were basic they were plentiful and tasted great. With a son that is a bass fishing maniac it didnt take long for him to be catching a few bass (C&R) in the pond next to our cabin. After the fishing we were ready for bed and looked forward to the next morning.
0600 came fast enough and after a quick breakfast we loaded up into the 4 seater UTV. The drive just to get to the hunting area was worth the trip in itself. We traveled down off the mountain and crossed over a clear stream that was loaded with free range hog tracks. Once we traveled back up the other side of the deep revine we arrived at the hunting property. Being used to flat land with thickets for most of our hog hunting, it was a welcome sight to see the cliffs, steep hills, thick bush and very limited open areas.
As we climbed in and out of the draws I begun to understand why so many folks enjoy mountain hog hunting. We had brought enough rations to stay as long as we needed or until daylight ran out. The first half of the day we did a lot of walking, climbing and sweating but no sightings. Once the temperature started to cool off a bit we finally found a clearing that had 2 hogs working their way back into the timber but couldn't get a look at sex or size to either one. After a little quick repositioning I could see that the lead hog was indeed a boar and a biggin' as well. I'm a firm believer that a last day shooter is just as good on first day. So I decided it was time for me to do my part to put some fresh Boston Butts on the smoker. We crawled through the grass and closed the distance to 70 yards will the boar continuing his heading for the woods. I took up a kneeling position and touched off the first shot. On impact the boar flipped over and we stood up thinking that was the end but to our surprize he regained his feet and was standing again! 2nd shot flipped him over again and this time for good.
Once we walked up to the boar I knew we had enough pork for the freezer for more then a year. He was a old mature boar with great thickness in his uppers/lowers. We had to run down some re-enforcments to get the boar loaded and even with 4 guys it was a chore.
Another bonus of the hunt was that the opperation offers complete butcher/processing. Any cut you want, sausage ect and vaccum packed/labeled and ready for your cooler. Once we had him back in the cooler area we put him on a 400lb scale but didn't get his shoulders and head off the ground before the scale bottomed out so we can only guess what he weighed.
Once we started to skin him out for a half body mount, to our surprize we found 1 of the 550 gr Woodleighs that entered behind the shoulder and stopped BEFORE entering the off shoulder fat shield. The other shot passed through behind the shoulder without hiting any shoulder or rib bones. Haven't weighed out the lead yet but will post the results and picture this afternoon.
We stayed another night to look at the other properties and also test some new lures on the bass ponds and lakes the owner had on his properties. All in all the trip had all the components to make for a great adventure. When the pork runs out the next trip should include family and an invitation to a guy from Phoenix.
Having done all our prior hog hunting on unfenced propertires I was a little hessitant on making an exception for this hunt but after visiting with the owner we just couldn't pass up the offer to come out and see for ourselves what mountain hunting hogs was all about.
My son and I headed out East for a 4 hour drive from our home West of Nashville into the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Once we jumped off the main Interstate the easy, straight and fast driving changed quickly. Heading up and down into and out of the deep hollars on a one lane dirt road with one side being a rock wall and the other a sheer drop off makes a guy slow down and ensure you are paying attention.
Once we arrived at the main lodge we were greeted by the owner and guide. Both friendly and willing to answer any questions we had. The lodging was nice and clean and even though the meals were basic they were plentiful and tasted great. With a son that is a bass fishing maniac it didnt take long for him to be catching a few bass (C&R) in the pond next to our cabin. After the fishing we were ready for bed and looked forward to the next morning.
0600 came fast enough and after a quick breakfast we loaded up into the 4 seater UTV. The drive just to get to the hunting area was worth the trip in itself. We traveled down off the mountain and crossed over a clear stream that was loaded with free range hog tracks. Once we traveled back up the other side of the deep revine we arrived at the hunting property. Being used to flat land with thickets for most of our hog hunting, it was a welcome sight to see the cliffs, steep hills, thick bush and very limited open areas.
As we climbed in and out of the draws I begun to understand why so many folks enjoy mountain hog hunting. We had brought enough rations to stay as long as we needed or until daylight ran out. The first half of the day we did a lot of walking, climbing and sweating but no sightings. Once the temperature started to cool off a bit we finally found a clearing that had 2 hogs working their way back into the timber but couldn't get a look at sex or size to either one. After a little quick repositioning I could see that the lead hog was indeed a boar and a biggin' as well. I'm a firm believer that a last day shooter is just as good on first day. So I decided it was time for me to do my part to put some fresh Boston Butts on the smoker. We crawled through the grass and closed the distance to 70 yards will the boar continuing his heading for the woods. I took up a kneeling position and touched off the first shot. On impact the boar flipped over and we stood up thinking that was the end but to our surprize he regained his feet and was standing again! 2nd shot flipped him over again and this time for good.
Once we walked up to the boar I knew we had enough pork for the freezer for more then a year. He was a old mature boar with great thickness in his uppers/lowers. We had to run down some re-enforcments to get the boar loaded and even with 4 guys it was a chore.
Another bonus of the hunt was that the opperation offers complete butcher/processing. Any cut you want, sausage ect and vaccum packed/labeled and ready for your cooler. Once we had him back in the cooler area we put him on a 400lb scale but didn't get his shoulders and head off the ground before the scale bottomed out so we can only guess what he weighed.
Once we started to skin him out for a half body mount, to our surprize we found 1 of the 550 gr Woodleighs that entered behind the shoulder and stopped BEFORE entering the off shoulder fat shield. The other shot passed through behind the shoulder without hiting any shoulder or rib bones. Haven't weighed out the lead yet but will post the results and picture this afternoon.
We stayed another night to look at the other properties and also test some new lures on the bass ponds and lakes the owner had on his properties. All in all the trip had all the components to make for a great adventure. When the pork runs out the next trip should include family and an invitation to a guy from Phoenix.
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