2016 Hog Hunt Day 3

Rob and I were put to work in the morning moving a freezer into Rick's new shed.  The freezer was probably not as heavy as all the deer meet that was in it.  After the appliance move and restocking, we headed out to feed stands.

The stand I had been on the first night had been hit, as had most of the stands.  A hog has 24 hours a day to be in the swamp, he doesn't have to choose to be out in the daylight.

Rick was originally thinking of putting me on the club land, but decided the wind wasn't optimal for it.  After feeding the hole, which was the first of Rick's stands I ever hunted on (a decade ago now), Rick said that pigs, which had been gone for a couple days, were back and there was at least one big one in the group.  Since the wind was right for this stand, it was mine for the evening.

After feeding all the other stands, we headed back to the lodge for a short time, followed by changing into camo and heading out.

Jessie and Cody were sitting in a ground blind on Will's farm.  Rob was on the same stand I was on the first night, and I ended up in the hole.

When I first got to the stand, there was already a deer on it.  I was almost in the ground blind before she got nervous enough and bolted.  The temperatures still being unusually cool by South Carolina standards, my chair had a small frozen lake in it, which was (mostly) easily removed by pulling it up from the canvas bottom.

Time passed somewhat slowly at first, until two deer came out.  They were nervous and kept looking in my general direction, but more to the right.  This made me hopeful that something else was lurking in the pine woods.  The deer huffed and ran off, only to return and leave a few more times.  

With the deer acting nervous and daylight starting to drain, I lifted my gun up to the rail, in case anything happened quickly and to minimize motion.

Around 5:30 I saw movement to the right of the corn pile.  Definitely a pigs ear flicking.  It milled around that right hand side for what seemed like forever, only briefly showing me his head and never his body.

After several minutes of this, the pig came out just far enough for his head and neck (if hogs had necks) to clear the trees.  Putting the crosshairs on his head, I steadied for a slightly awkward shot, as the rail was just higher than what I would have liked.  

At the shot, the pig dropped and kicked a few times before laying still.  With a fresh round in the gun, I kept the crosshairs on him, just in case he got up.  But, it was over.

Some hogs look very small after hitting the ground, but I knew this was a pretty decent pig.  I texted Rick and waited to get picked up.

While sitting quietly in the blind, I heard something else, probably another hog, come up the main trail to my right.  It may have made its way to the pile, but by then it was too dark.

Rick came and got me and we drove up to get my hog.  He was a 230 pound boar hog, with the bullet having taken him out cleanly just behind his skull.  We hoisted him in the bed of the truck and went to pick up the others.  The hog stunk pretty bad, so I knew he wasn't going to be a good eater, but I didn't ask at that time.

Rob had gotten a very good sized sow, and Jessie and Cody had pigs come in just a tad too late.

Back at the lodge, the two black pigs filled a large portion of Ricks truck bed.

We talked a little about whether my hog would be eating, but he smelled like skunk so I knew he wouldn't be.  This does bother me a little, but hogs are an invasive, destructive species that breeds prolifically so I don't let it bother me too much.

Rob's pig was cleaned and hung for the night - she was quite pregnant.

The skull of mine appeared to be intact.  I've always wanted to have a large boar skull so I was planning to have it boiled out.  I set mine up to have some good pictures in the morning light.  He was nearly a twin to my other large black boar, with huge shoulders and a much smaller butt.  He also had a light colored splotch on his nose.

I was happy and still hopeful for some hog meat before the end of the week.

2016 Hog Hunt Day 2

We were up early by hog hunting standards as Rick, Rob, Will and I headed to get Will's bow tuned up.  The outdoors store was a pretty nice place going through a substantial inventory reduction, unfortunately there wasn't anything there I desperately needed.
Will's bow tuned up in a much better state with a peep sight better suited to the bow.  He was putting arrows where they needed to be with regularity afterwards.

We all went and fed hog stands for a while.  There was lots of good sign.  There was also lots of water with many areas barely passable.  The water being due to heavy recent rains coupled with the overall high level of water from the past early fall's extreme rain the area saw.

Early afternoon came and we all piled into Rick's truck to hunt for the night.  Rob, Jessie and Cody were on deer hunting property that had only recently been invaded by hogs.  I was on the Chandler (Will's) farm and settled in on a low treestand looking over a destroyed sunflower field.  Temperatures were cool but tolerable in the low 40's.  The wind was howling, with some strong gusts, making it less comfortable than it otherwise would have been.
I didn't see anything until a little before 5:00 when four deer came out.  They were skittish at first, but quickly settled down to mill around the corn pile for quite some time.  They left a little before dark and I was hoping that it was a good sign, only to have them show up again a short time later.  They stayed until it was nearly too dark to see with day one ending hogless for me.
Rob and Cody had only seen a few deer and turkey's.  Jessie had shot a very large sow, the largest in a good group that had come out for her around 5:30.

Even if we all didn't get one on the first night, at least we had hogs on the ground.

2016 Hog Hunt Day 1 (Drive Day)

After a cool, rainy and almost frozen Saturday spent getting ready, I headed south early on Sunday morning, out the door at around 4:30.  I had changed the oil and messed around with the corroded, leaky rims on the Tacoma so I was glad that the tire pressure remained high on all four corners.

Once on the road I listened to the book Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz.  I had actually listened to this book in 2011 and really enjoyed it.  But with the potential for a trip to Hawaii coming up, I wanted to listen to it again.  The book is about the author learning about Captain Cook and his three voyages around the world, and Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii.  While I thoroughly enjoyed the book (again), I was somehow anxious that the trip to Hawaii might actually never happen.

Instead of taking the interstate all the way to South Carolina, I got off on US25E in Corbin, Ky.  We had taken this route on the motorcycle last year on the way to the keys, and while it adds a bit of time, it is refreshing to get off the interstate for a while, and the traffic can be unfriendly around Knoxville.  Although I wouldn't really expect this on a Sunday morning.
US25E has a tunnel at the KY/TN border, very near Virginia.  I was surprised I had to stop and wait at the tunnel for an escort to let a fuel truck through the tunnel while it was empty, before given the green light to proceed.
Unlike last year, I stopped at the Cherokee Reservoir.  However, also unlike last year's gorgeous weather, the low clouds, cold temperatures and grey winter made the scene into something other than the jaw dropping scene we had passed in late summer.

Getting back on the interstate, I continued south for more many more hours, with time passing quickly listening to the book.  After the book finished, I looked for a radio station before giving up and using the quiet time for thinking time.

Eventually I made it to Rick's, and shortly thereafter Rob, Jessie and Cody arrived.  We BS'd a bit and looked at the cool (by South Carolina Standards) weather forecast, ready to hopefully see some pigs.

2015 Deer Hunt Part III

Muzzle loader season.
I shoot my muzzle loader fairly often, but the last time I hunted with it was probably about 10 years ago.  With unseasonably warm temperatures and more vacation to burn, I got all my hunting stuff out and headed back out to Indiana.
I drove to Mike's and set up my climber in my favorite tree about half way up the back ridge.  It was warm but cloudy.  The wind was just enough for the air to feel cooler than it actually was when sitting still on the stand.  The wind was light enough for me to think I could hear well, but in reality it was just enough to make hearing anything but the closest squirrels difficult.
The afternoon past quite quickly even without any napping.  I kept an eye out for any deer, even those that would be too far away to shoot.  As it started to get dark, there were hints of a nice sunset, but the clouds quickly took over for a very long drawn out dusk.
About ten minutes before the end of shooting light, I heard something in front of me, to the left.  Looking down from my treestand, I saw a deer working its way toward me.  As it did so, I also noticed the very impressive antlers on his head.  As it got closer, I could see it had good mass too, maybe not real tall, but one of the best deer I've seen in several years.  The body on the deer was also very large; his back and neck looked almost like a horse.  I thought about shooting it for a few seconds, but no longer than that.  Indiana only allows hunters one antlered deer per year and I shot a 7-point on opening morning.
He was only a little wary of me, and at about 15 yards away, he stared at me for a couple minutes.  He must have decided I wasn't a threat, and continued walking behind the tree right next to me (when it would have been very easy to get my gun up) and behind me to my left.
He continued to walk to the south, and I waited until he was well past where we could see each other before climbing down and walking back to my truck.
While I almost would have rather have seen a big doe, seeing a big buck like that, so close was very exciting.  He probably has a decent chance of making it through the season at this point, and if he does, he'll be a brute next year.

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Friday came with me waking before my alarm.  Since sunrise is getting later and later, and my treestand was already set up, I didn't need to leave until almost 6:00.
Once back at Mike's, I was able to quickly get comfortable about 45 minutes before shooting light.  Temperatures hadn't decreased much at all overnight.  The wind had died down considerably, and continued to do so through the morning.
Right at sunrise, I heard a ruckus behind me and peered around to see two turkeys.  I'm seeing turkeys more and more which I'm really glad about.  I love seeing them, and maybe in a few more years I'll be able to rationalize hunting them at Mike's too.
The rest of the morning past slowly.  Squirrels were running around like crazy, but no deer were.  By 10:00, I was ready to call it a morning.  It was the first sit on a stand this season when I didn't see any deer.  Such is the late season.
With more time off coming up, I still have the rest of muzzle loader and the late doe only season - if I choose to.  So far, this has been one of the more enjoyable deer seasons in recent years.

2015 Deer Hunt Part II

Indiana's firearm season runs two weeks, three weekends.  As Thanksgiving approached, I saw two things on the horizon:  unbelievably nice weather and cabin fever.
Rather than sitting around the house, smelling turkey and wondering what I was going to do for the four-day weekend, I loaded all my hunting paraphernalia into the truck and headed out Thanksgiving afternoon.  This was, of course, after prepping the turkey for SO to take care of.

Pulling into Mike's property, temperatures were around 60F with light winds and moderate clouds.  It really doesn't get better than this in late November.  With rain forecast for the late weekend, hunting felt like a must.
Rather than sit in old reliable, I decided to try a new spot I had wanted to sit in but hadn't ever done it.  I'm sure old reliable had "reset" after the deer opening morning, but the new spot was a superfunnel nearer the ravine with a well worn deer trail.  The spot is a little risky since it is in the ravine, and any disruption can affect major deer travel.  Plus, I think it is not too far from where Mike's neighbor often sits.

I chose a tree, set up the climber and get settled for the afternoon.  Sitting there, I was very thankful that I can spend Thanksgiving this way:  No crazy pre-black-Friday lines, no football, and no cabin fever!

It was a fairly quiet afternoon with low to, at times, moderate wind.  Fat squirrels were running around.  There are several creeks in near the area all of which were trickling.  It is amazing how "loud" a creek can be after a while spent sitting quietly.  With the warm temperatures, it was hunting nirvana.
As it started to get dark, I heard light scrunching behind me.  It didn't quite sound like squirrels, and as I turned around, I saw an anterless deer about 20 yards behind me.  Since I already shot a buck, a doe was what I was after.  I slowly shifted to be able to get a shot as the deer continued to move, behind me toward the left.  Either she smelled or heard me, or both, and bounded away, taking a second slightly larger deer that had been in the thicker brush away.  I watched them for a while as they hadn't ran that far.
As the light faded more, about 15 minutes later I heard something run towards me and saw the same two deer running back towards me.  This time, they seemed quite unconcerned, but in the last bit of twilight, there was not enough light to be able to shoot, especially given the brush they were walking through.
I had to sit on the stand well past dark so let them meander away.  I was planning on coming back in the morning and didn't want to spook them getting out of the treestand.
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Friday morning came very early as I got up and quickly got ready.  Temperatures had only dropped into the mid 50's, but with rain forecast for the afternoon and continuing through the weekend, this would likely be my last hunt for Indiana's general firearm season.
At Mike's, I found my climber in the darkness, which wasn't guaranteed given the new location.  I was settled in the stand about 45 minutes before shooting light.  Sitting in the darkness in the woods is something non-hunters will never experience in the same way.
It sprinkled/rained a little, but the precipitation was so brief as to be inconsequential.  It was a sign of the change to come.

After light, I heard noises behind me that was definitely not coming from squirrels.  Turning around carefully, I saw two coyotes in one of the creek beds behind me.  They stayed in the area for quite a while as I saw them running in another direction some time later.

I did see one deer around mid-morning, a doe running through the edge of the grass finger that runs down the steep hill off in the distance.  The distance was moderate, but with so many trees a shot was impossible.

After a very peaceful Thanksgiving evening and Friday morning, I was ready to call it quits around 10:00.  Compared to all the shooting around opening day, late season is almost serene.
I slowly walked the property, noting my usual stand and even the remnants of where I field dressed my deer opening morning (basically just some fur left).  I was a bit surprised I didn't jump any deer, but late season usually has them holed up tight.

Deer sign around Old Reliable was quite good and I probably should have sat there.  But with a deer in the freezer, it was the right time to try the super funnel, even if it was a bit riskier.

Indiana still has the muzzle loader and late doe-only season so my hunting doesn't have to be done yet.  If we get a few more unseasonably warm days like Thanksgiving, I may have to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the woods.

2015 Deer Hunt

For the last hour or so before I had to get up to get ready for hunting, I was lying in bed looking at the clock every few minutes.  About one minute before the alarm was supposed to go off, I got up, and started to get ready.  Thankfully the dogs cooperated, and this allowed me some time to sit before heading out the door to go to Mike's.

The SO is sick.  And on Friday I was starting to feel the beginnings of illness come on - or I was just really tired; I couldn't be sure.  As I got out of my truck at Mike's house in the cold morning, my throat and head were still telling me that some virus or bacteria had invaded, and my white blood cells were likely in a heated war to keep me healthy.  This could affect my deer hunting...
The temperature was in the mid 20's as I walked down the small trail into Mike's woods.  The sky was nearly cloudless, showing lots of stars, but there was almost no moon so it was dark enough that I needed a light this year to find my way to my stand.  Looking around as I got near the "2-tree" that marks the turn to where my usual stand location is, I couldn't find my white flagging cloth I put up just before heading up to Wisconsin.  I still find it surprising that only two weeks before deer hunting I was on a motorcycle trip north.  Later in the day I found remnants of the flagging cloth, partially eaten by something.  Perhaps I should find something less tasty than cotton next year.

I had my tree stand set up and was comfortably sitting about 45 minutes before shooting light.  I was able to get up without sweating too much, but it was cold, still and, very quiet - exactly how I like early hunting mornings to be.  I had heard one deer wheeze and bolt as I was walking to my stand, but the deer here are relatively used to people walking around so I wasn't too worried about this.  As I sat there in the dark, I heard something walking west to east.  It was far too dark to see, even though it was only a couple tens of yards away.  It stopped for quite a while near the main trail and continued in front of me.  I'm completely sure this was a deer, only a few moments after I was quietly in my stand.

As it started to get light, the shooting also started.  Some was relatively close, other shooting was in the distance.  A doe came from the west and went behind me.  I didn't hear or see her until she was already to my right, and she was moving pretty fast, so I just watched her head off to the northeast.
She was followed by a really nice buck.  Probably an eight point which didn't look real wide, but his rack stretched far forward.  I tried to get the scope on him and might have been able to take an ethical shot, but he was to my right and with his speed and the painful angle, I let him walk which was the right thing to do.  He followed the doe's trail for only a little bit before heading more northward toward where Mike's neighbor usually sits.  I heard shooting a short time later, and I couldn't help wonder if that was the end of that buck.

As it got lighter and warmer, I heard and saw at least two turkeys come off their roost in the deep ravine in front of me.  I am encouraged that turkeys seem to becoming more prevalent in this area.  Maybe in a couple more years I can justify the cost of the out of state Indiana turkey license.

I saw another doe sneaking through the ravine a short time after the turkeys.  She was too far away through too much brush to even think about shooting, but the deer were moving on this opening morning.

As it got later, the squirrels started coming out and making all the crazy noise that they do.  This often means the end of consistent deer movement for the morning, but the plan was to sit in the stand all day.  On opening day, anything can happen.

At some point, my spidey sense was telling me the noise behind me was not a squirrel.  Looking behind me to my right, I saw a buck walking almost directly north.  He was not as big as the earlier buck.  But with memories of years where deer dried up shortly after opening morning and with sickness potentially closing in, 2015 was not a year to be picky (even with lots of vacation time to hunt).
The shot was awkward, to my right when I'm right handed, but I was able to get turned and get the cross hairs on him.  Pulling the trigger, he ran ahead and towards my left as I stood and reloaded my single shot Thompson Pro Hunter.  I saw a tuft of fur on his side which suggested a hit, but when he stopped, he wasn't acting like he was hit hard.  After a follow-up shot, he dropped shortly.
I got out of my treestand, and walked over to him.  He was an average sized deer with a moderate 7-point rack, with the three point side stretched out much farther than the 4 point side.  I only saw one bullet entrance and exit so one of my shots missed.  My first shot was deliberate, but from and awkward angle; my second was offhand and somewhat rushed.  I'm a little curious about which was the miss?  But there will be 2015 venison in the freezer shortly.

After shooting, the real work begins with field dressing, and dragging the animal down into and across the ravine before going up the long steep hill behind Mike's house.  By the time he was in my truck, I was sore and nearly drenched in sweat.

I got him home and let Fairbanks smell the deer.  For as much as she gets excited about deer, she doesn't seem to really care once they are dead - no chase.  Before hanging him for the day, I cut off his antlers.  Cursing myself later, I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture first.  No he isn't a whopper of a deer, but I enjoy deer hunting for deer hunting.  And regardless of antler size, or even if it has antlers, I'm happy to have the opportunity to deer hunt and put meat in the freezer.
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Sunday came with more feelings of sickness.  Hunting wasn't on the agenda though as there was a deer to be cut up and frozen - temperatures were forecast to be in the middle to upper 60's with sun, so it was best not to wait any longer.

I skinned the deer which gave me a chance to see the bullet path(s) more clearly.  I'm even more baffled as to what happened.  The entry wound(s) was huge.  There was an exit hole, BUT I recovered nearly a full slug (68% weight retention) from the deer as well.  I can't be sure what happened, if I missed one shot, or if both bullets entered near the same spot (hence the large entry), with one exiting and the other remaining inside.  The animal was down quickly - it is best not to over analyze these things.

Even with two shots, there was almost no meat ruined.  The deer was completely deboned, with the loins and backstraps frozen for steaks, and the entire rest of the deer ground into burger.  It takes a long time to grind up an entire deer, but I am very thankful for the electric meat grinder my dad gave me several years ago.  For an inexpensive grinder, it does a fantastic job.

It still remains to be seen whether I'll go out again.  I can't tell if my sickness is getting better, worse, or just lingering.  It doesn't make sense to sit in a treestand while hacking out a lung.
I have several vacation days, so I guess I have time to decide before indecision makes the decision for me.

Short Trip to WI Day 3

Cambridge, WI to Home, total trip mileage:  906.3 miles

Between the time zone difference from home to central time, and the day light savings time change, I was somewhat oblivious to what the actual time was on Sunday morning.  Regardless, after an excellent breakfast of omelets, potatoes and toast, I was on the road headed home, anticipating being home well before dark.

The initial part of the trip was slightly traffic intense, more so than I would have expected on a Sunday morning.  I'm sure it was better than if it had been a Monday morning.

Once south of the main highways headed towards Chicago, traffic thinned considerably, and it thinned even more so as I made my way onto I-74.
Temperatures started out in the mid 50's, but with bright blue skies and intense sunshine, it felt much warmer.
The sun stayed shining all day and temperatures rose to around 70, with vents opened on my motorcycle coat and a switch to lighter weight gloves at a gas stop.

I thought about getting off of the interstate to take 2-lane roads, but figuring road timing in my head, I realized that it was actually tight to be able to get home before dark.  Knowing the last hour plus was on deer-infested roads, I wanted as much light as possible.  I stayed on the interstate as the fastest route.  With low traffic and perfect weather, it was still a great day on the bike.

After many miles with lots of time to think, I arrived at home.  It was still light out, but the shadows were getting very long as I neared home.  Despite one scare of heavy gravel very near home, I made it home safely.
This time of year can be a bit dicey to try to travel by motorcycle, especially north.  But even with the wet weather on Saturday, it was a wonderful trip, if a bit short.  This was especially a great trip as likely soon, winter weather may force the bike to remain parked for a while.