I made my way South and East toward the interstate, then it was mindless driving the rest of the day. This is my first long trip in the Maverick and it is quite comfortable. I keep a small pillow in the truck and as the day goes on I start moving it around to hotspots. This has been the case with every vehicle I've owned - more so as I've gotten older. Indicated mileage was high 20's to low 30's (actual calculated has been just barely under 30MPG) which is fantastic.
I made it to Rick's at about noon. I had the friendliest welcoming committee ever.
Lisa was still cleaning the lodge so I tried to stay out of the way for a bit until she was gone. I tried to get a nap, but wasn't able to so I let my mind wander to all the other trips I've had pig hunting over the years. There have been a lot of (mis)adventures.
Since my previous year's trip was bamboozled, I was going to hunt on my first day. Mid afternoon came soon enough and after talking for a bit, Rick and I headed out to drop me off at the church.
The church stand is now farther back from where it was and it a short tripod stand with a roof. But it is a super easy stand to stay comfortable and quiet in. I got settled in soon enough. Temperatures were cool and breezy with some gusts, but with bright sunshine, it was a beautiful afternoon.
Not much was happening until a little before 5:00 a few deer came out - the first being a basket-racked 6-point followed by an extremely long-tined 3-point. The corn pile wasn't where I thought it was so I'm glad they let me know where it was. They milled around for a while before bolting out of the area.
Shortly after the deer left it get deathly still. The wind totally stopped while the sun sank behind the trees. Movement to my right caught my eye as a mess of little pigs came in followed by at least one bigger sow. My heart beat bumped up two notches.
With where the corn pile was, there were clumps of grass intermittently in front of the pigs. Most of the time I could barely see the little ones. I put the crosshairs on the bigger one a few times, but wasn't sure about shooting through the tufts of grass. Finally she went into and openish area and I squeezed the trigger. She dropped and did the 100-yard dash on the ground while the little guys scattered, then immediately came back. I could barely see my hog with the grass so I watched what I could for a bit before texting Rick. He came to get me almost immediately and we went to get my pig to minimize impact to the area. She was a real nice sow, probably a bit under 150 pound. Head shots through the grass at 100 yards...? Usually I don't get picked up so quickly, but it was a bit weird still having adrenaline flowing as we left.
Rather than head to the lodge, we went to watch ducks fly in to Rick's duck hunting club. He settled me in on the corner of an impoundment. Immediately on sitting, I saw the oddest contrail off in the distance. It was pretty clear that it was not from a plane. Two things jettisoned off of it as the plume greatly changed. I tried to think if it was from the nearby air force base? A quick internet search later told me it was actually the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket being launched from Florida 400 miles away. Incredible.
The ducks were quite the event as well. Suffice to say South Carolina ducks are slightly more numerous than I've seen on my few Ohio duck hunting adventures.
Back at the lodge Denis and Claude were there. While cleaning my hog it was quite obvious she was pregnant. So it goes...
We all talked a bit while we ate. Denis had bought land nearby and was building a winter home there. Rick graciously shared a steak with me to supplement my noodle bowl which was a great way to end the day.
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