My buddy Dave invited me to go to his deer lease this past Monday and run some hogs, as I had that day off. Well, we didn't know we were going to have a monsoon that day!! It hasn't rained much lately, but it rained all day Monday.
I got up at 4 AM , drove 2 hours in the rain to get there. Met Dave and we discussed our plan. We unloaded the 4 wheelers and drove part of the way, then turned Monkey, my young female Scarlet and Cricket (my yard dog) out. I put Cricket on a leash as she is real catchy. We headed to the swamp ( a 3 mile x 5 mile swamp with no roads in it) and as we got close, Monkey pulled out and went off down in the swamp. Scarlet ran all over the overgrown pastures, probably smelling where all the deer had been that morning. About 15 minutes after Monkey left us, we heard him bay off down in the swamp. We headed to him on foot, Scarlet went to him, and I had Cricket on a leash. Cricket is real catchy, but I don't trust her as a catchdog on a big hog, not yet anyway.
We got close, could hear a big hog running the dogs, and both dogs baying. I stopped, as Cricket was going nuts, and Dave crept in to see what was going on. I told him to let me know whether I should turn Cricket loose or not. He comes back and says its a GOOD hog. Well, I didn't want to let Cricket go, her not catch right and get Monkey wrecked or killed, and since we have to kill the hogs here anyway, I told Dave to go ahead and shoot the hog with his .357, but to be REAL careful about the dogs.
The hog had backed up under some tree roots and both dogs were right there baying. He would run out at the dogs, then run back under the roots, and this was in knee deep water and mud. Not a real good place to try and catch a bad hog anyway. Dave sneaked in, got right in front of the hog behind a tree , raised his pistol, took careful aim and pulled the trigger.
To be continued...with pics!
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Okay, sorry about that guys, was trying to post this from work and just got too busy to finish it!
Dave pulls the trigger...and nothing happens...no shot, no dead hog, nothing! Also, no BULLETS!!
Dave had forgotten to load the pistol and the shells were in his truck. So he goes out, walks to his 4 wheeler, drives it back to the trucks, loads his pistol and gets a .22 mag rifle. This took about 20 minutes and that boar hog was running the dogs, the dogs were baying and fighting and trees as big as my arm were shaking like twigs from the hog and dogs hitting them. I heard the hog hit one of the dogs at least once.
Dave made it back, the hog was again backed into the hole under the tree roots (it was a place he could protect his family jewels...
) with both dogs baying in his face. Dave took careful aim again, this time with the .22 mag rifle and shot. I let Cricket go right after he shot as I wanted something other than Monkey caught on the hog if he didn't stay down. If you shoot a hog, Monkey is going to catch it, regardless of whether it goes down or not.
Cricket tore off and all the dogs were caught when I got to the hole. Dave had the hog by the tail, the hog was still standing up in the water and mud and his head, and the dogs, were out of sight under the tree roots. Not a good place for the dogs to be with a wounded hog! Luckily Monkey and Cricket were caught hard on him and with him being shot, he didn't do any damage. He got sick pretty quick and Dave and I got a leg and got him out of the water. We tied dogs back and Dave went out to try and get his 4 wheeler closer to us so we could try and get the hog out. It was sprinkling raina nd neither of us had a camera with us and I wanted pics. While Dave was gone I went to tie a rope around his mouth to drag him with and he was still very alive! Another shot to the head ended that though....
After much straining and cussing and Dave telling me how bad he hates dragging hogs..(.numerous times...
) we get the hog out to his 4 wheeler only to find the two of us are so give out from dragging him, we can't pick him up and put him on the 4 wheeler! We have to drag him up on a fallen tree, drive the 4 wheeler up to it and try and slide him on the front of the scooter, which we finally did. Here is a pic of Dave, his 4 wheeler and the boar hog. We didn't weigh him, but he was a sure enough good healthy boar.
Couple of pics of Monkey and me with the hog.
We get the hog out, go to the trucks, unload the hog there, take some pics and here comes the hard rain. We each get in our trucks and wait until it lets up...some. We get back out, Dave says we are alraedy there, and wet, so we may as well hunt. I had family in from out of town and couldn't stay all day but agreed to make another round with my "B" Team, Spur and Stitch, Scarlets sister. We also took Cricket again.
We loaded the dogs and went south about 1/4 mile and turned Spur and Stitch out . I kept Cricket on a lead again. I guess thats practice for if I ever get a REAL catchdog...LOL Dave was kind of worried about turning Spur out in the big swamp as he has a tendency to pull out and bay way off sometimes. We lost him in this swamp for 26 hours last year. He bays out of hearing regularly, but thats usually when I hunt him and Monkey together. By himself, he usually hunts closer.
Right after we walked down into the woods and swamp, Dave said there goes two deer...with Spur behind them. He half heartedly ran them about 50 yards, while loooking at the deer, then quit them. Not 10 minutes later, Spur opens and Dave said "that doesn't sound like a deer". It wasn't it was a bayed hog! Stitch goes to him (she has only been on one hog in the woods) and both dogs are baying. Cricket is going nuts, again I stay back as Cricket is going nuts and Dave sneaks in for a look. His .22 Mag is out on the 4 wheeler, but he does have his LOADED .357 with him. I could see the dogs but not the hog. Dave tells me its ANOTHER good hog! A few minutes later Dave shoots, which scares me and the dogs as I wasn't expecting it. The dogs ran around for a sec (they aren't used to a big gun), I cut Cricket loose and she was on the hog in a flash. When I got there all the dogs were caught on him with Cricket on the jaw. He was down but still kicking.
We drag him out to the 4 wheelers which are parked at the edge of the swamp, drop the front of Dave's scooter down in a ditch and get him loaded. We head back to the truck for some more pics and here comes the serious rain....
Here is a pic of me with Spur's boar hog.
Since I needed to get back home and it was pouring rain, we called it a day. Scarlet got two small cuts, no other dogs got a scratch, so I thought we should quit while we were ahead!
Here are some random pics.
Cricket, my yard dog and wanna be catch dog.
Pic of the muddy hole the Monkey's hog was backed into. It was big enough the hog and three dogs fit under it.
Me, Spur and both hogs.
Spur checking out Monkey's hog.
Pic of some of the woods leading down into the swamp.
