I took off a few days of work to hunt public land in north Louisiana. I was hoping to kill a buck or a couple pigs to stock up on ground meat. When I got to the parking area around 1:00 there was primarily a north wind. Not great but I thought I could make it work. Before this season I use to access this area with long but fairly easily drag with a pirogue through the woods to the bayou. Hurricane Laura changed that and really tore the woods up between the road and bayou. Access now sucks.
I crossed the bayou and started walking south staying close to minimize how much scent was blowing through the woods. It almost didn’t matter. The wind was changing and blowing in every direction. Squirrels were everywhere feeding on big cow oak acorns. Multiple times I was within feet of a squirrel on the ground not concerned about my presence. The farther south I went the less acorns I saw. Another problem from the storm was that use to I could effectively hunt from the ground. While trees weren’t down as thick as previously mentioned, they really limited shot opportunity at ground level.
I sat on a log to take a break and come with with a game plan. About a quarter mile north and couple hundred yards from the bayou I knew of a slough between 2 ridges that pigs like to wallow in. That slough would put me near dropping oaks, near a big rub I found, and give me a better distance to see through the woods. With the wind now generally in my favor I was more optimistic. I quietly approached the spot. I was looking for a place to sit when off in the distance I caught a flash of black. I walked up a few more yards and steadied my gun on the side of a tree. From looking at the pigs through the woods they all looked big, but in the scope small-medium to medium size pigs. I watched them for a minute or two trying to figure which one I wanted for ground meat. They move around so much it was hard to tell. Beggars can’t be choosers and eventually out of fear of the wind swirling I decided to take the next one that gave me a good shot. The pig dropped and the rest ran.
I think 3 pigs made a horseshoe shaped run and crossed in front closer to me. I picked out a black one and fired. After the shot I watched the pigs run up the ridge. I thought I missed, but then I saw a spotted brown one go down. At first I thought it tripped and fell. But it got up and flopped down out of sight. I hung my orange hat up in a tree and walked over to a dead brown pig. I had seen it earlier and knew I didn’t aim for it. Oh well got 2 pigs. I walked to the first one and realize it was a MUCH bigger pig than I expected. This thing was built like a tank. Probably the biggest I’ve killed or trapped. I walked back to the brown pig to drag it to the bigger one and about 15 yards past it was a black sow on the ground. The brown one must have been behind the sow when I shot. Got a couple photos and texts then the work began. It was 4:30 when I started. I still had another hour of shooting light so I worked quietly and kept my gun close. At 5:15 I heard movement and looked up to see a big pig running off. He looked to be as big as the big boar I killed.
I’ve killed 3 boars that I have been impressed with their size, but this one was on a whole other level than the other two. I used one knife to skin the brown and black pigs first. Grabbed my other knife for the boar and it was almost immediately dull. The shoulder plate was so thick it seemed like a good place mat for a game of quarters. Eventually got everything cut up and made two trips out of the woods with meat. At 9:00 I was back at the truck with all the meat.
Hunted the following morning in a less piggy spot that had good buck sign a few weeks earlier. Saw a group of 3 does twice, and came home that evening. With a 90qt ice chest completely full of meat, I’ll spend the rest of my time off behind my dog in the squirrel woods.
I crossed the bayou and started walking south staying close to minimize how much scent was blowing through the woods. It almost didn’t matter. The wind was changing and blowing in every direction. Squirrels were everywhere feeding on big cow oak acorns. Multiple times I was within feet of a squirrel on the ground not concerned about my presence. The farther south I went the less acorns I saw. Another problem from the storm was that use to I could effectively hunt from the ground. While trees weren’t down as thick as previously mentioned, they really limited shot opportunity at ground level.
I sat on a log to take a break and come with with a game plan. About a quarter mile north and couple hundred yards from the bayou I knew of a slough between 2 ridges that pigs like to wallow in. That slough would put me near dropping oaks, near a big rub I found, and give me a better distance to see through the woods. With the wind now generally in my favor I was more optimistic. I quietly approached the spot. I was looking for a place to sit when off in the distance I caught a flash of black. I walked up a few more yards and steadied my gun on the side of a tree. From looking at the pigs through the woods they all looked big, but in the scope small-medium to medium size pigs. I watched them for a minute or two trying to figure which one I wanted for ground meat. They move around so much it was hard to tell. Beggars can’t be choosers and eventually out of fear of the wind swirling I decided to take the next one that gave me a good shot. The pig dropped and the rest ran.
I think 3 pigs made a horseshoe shaped run and crossed in front closer to me. I picked out a black one and fired. After the shot I watched the pigs run up the ridge. I thought I missed, but then I saw a spotted brown one go down. At first I thought it tripped and fell. But it got up and flopped down out of sight. I hung my orange hat up in a tree and walked over to a dead brown pig. I had seen it earlier and knew I didn’t aim for it. Oh well got 2 pigs. I walked to the first one and realize it was a MUCH bigger pig than I expected. This thing was built like a tank. Probably the biggest I’ve killed or trapped. I walked back to the brown pig to drag it to the bigger one and about 15 yards past it was a black sow on the ground. The brown one must have been behind the sow when I shot. Got a couple photos and texts then the work began. It was 4:30 when I started. I still had another hour of shooting light so I worked quietly and kept my gun close. At 5:15 I heard movement and looked up to see a big pig running off. He looked to be as big as the big boar I killed.
I’ve killed 3 boars that I have been impressed with their size, but this one was on a whole other level than the other two. I used one knife to skin the brown and black pigs first. Grabbed my other knife for the boar and it was almost immediately dull. The shoulder plate was so thick it seemed like a good place mat for a game of quarters. Eventually got everything cut up and made two trips out of the woods with meat. At 9:00 I was back at the truck with all the meat.
Hunted the following morning in a less piggy spot that had good buck sign a few weeks earlier. Saw a group of 3 does twice, and came home that evening. With a 90qt ice chest completely full of meat, I’ll spend the rest of my time off behind my dog in the squirrel woods.
