dirtclod Az.
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- Jan 24, 2018
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- 2,776
Still Followng...Good Job Fire Tiger,congratulations.
Vanish and FireTiger's 2019 Journal
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WildWill
Well-known member
Reminds me of hunting here at home keep it coming.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2016
- Messages
- 948
Let me know when you’re trying to cash in WY deer points...
I’ve got 5 elk, deer, and antelope.
We need to do something! Or meet in my secret place in you know what state.
I’ve got 5 elk, deer, and antelope.
We need to do something! Or meet in my secret place in you know what state.
The action tapered off for awhile. The second feeders time went off and we could hear the far feeder activate. After giving it 15 minutes, I wanted to see what things looked like through my scope with the green light on now that it was good and dark. It was hard to hear anything over what sounded like 1000 ducks on the ponds near us, and I thought there might be something under the feeder.
You see, we bought these powerful green flashlights that clip to your scope. They were pretty cheap but are very bright. The dummy that I am didn't think there would be a need to test anything except that they stayed attached properly ( and they did ). We were told that when you hear hogs, or just want to check on something, point the gun up and slowly bring it down to ground level. Supposedly, the hogs didn't spook when you did that, as opposed to pointing at them and turning the light on. So, I did that and when I got to ground level looked through the scope all I could see was the front sight of my 7mag lit up like a Christmas tree. Son of a...
I put the gun down, wondering what the heck I was going to do, and picked up the binoculars. Sure enough, 3 or 4 sets of eyes lit up. I got excited and sent out a text. As I was trying to make out body outlines, I got a response back that hog eyes don't glow like a deer's, or raccoons. Darn. Sure enough, I could finally make out a couple of deer and coons. Light back off, time to relax, listen and figure out what the heck to do if a hog did come in. I didn't have the tools to take the front sight off in the stand.
--- More to come today. I need to finish this as turkey starts tomorrow! ---
You see, we bought these powerful green flashlights that clip to your scope. They were pretty cheap but are very bright. The dummy that I am didn't think there would be a need to test anything except that they stayed attached properly ( and they did ). We were told that when you hear hogs, or just want to check on something, point the gun up and slowly bring it down to ground level. Supposedly, the hogs didn't spook when you did that, as opposed to pointing at them and turning the light on. So, I did that and when I got to ground level looked through the scope all I could see was the front sight of my 7mag lit up like a Christmas tree. Son of a...
I put the gun down, wondering what the heck I was going to do, and picked up the binoculars. Sure enough, 3 or 4 sets of eyes lit up. I got excited and sent out a text. As I was trying to make out body outlines, I got a response back that hog eyes don't glow like a deer's, or raccoons. Darn. Sure enough, I could finally make out a couple of deer and coons. Light back off, time to relax, listen and figure out what the heck to do if a hog did come in. I didn't have the tools to take the front sight off in the stand.
--- More to come today. I need to finish this as turkey starts tomorrow! ---
Not long after, as we're sitting in the dark, FireTiger perks up with a "I heard a squeal". After much straining, we heard it again. There's pigs out there somewhere!
It sounded like they were right in front of us, by the dead feeder, but we were unable to locate them. It was obvious there was more than one. FireTiger had given me her gun, but I decided that we'd try a 1,2,3 using only her light, once we finally found them. We elected to turn off our lights and wait for a more obvious indicator on their location.
About 10 minutes later, there was some splashing off to our left and I knew exactly where they were. There was a large puddle on the edge of where I had dumped some corn on the way in, and undoubtedly they were eating that and splashing in that puddle. We prepared for the shot, and found a pig for each of us. As I am looking at it, it just feels like a tiny piglet to me, not a large hog. However, there was some miscommunication and BOOM! I was shaken by FireTiger shooting next to me while fiddling with my ear plugs. I as not able to locate another pig, though we could hear them working through the brush. We could see FireTiger's hog laying next to the puddle, so we knew we had another on the ground.
We waited until around midnight but had no more encounters. In contact with the others, we decided to call it a night. S had a trailer and was going to come help us, but got stuck in the mud on the way. Then began the fun task of getting the hogs into the UTV. The larger female was about all we could do to get it into the back. We were working in about 3 inches of mud, and I there was barely a part of me that didn't have mud on it.
On our way out, we had to pull S out of the mud hole he was stuck in and helped get his hog out, too.
We got back, hosed everything off and skinned/quartered the hogs, putting them in the walk-in cooler. I think we got to bed around 2:30am.
It sounded like they were right in front of us, by the dead feeder, but we were unable to locate them. It was obvious there was more than one. FireTiger had given me her gun, but I decided that we'd try a 1,2,3 using only her light, once we finally found them. We elected to turn off our lights and wait for a more obvious indicator on their location.
About 10 minutes later, there was some splashing off to our left and I knew exactly where they were. There was a large puddle on the edge of where I had dumped some corn on the way in, and undoubtedly they were eating that and splashing in that puddle. We prepared for the shot, and found a pig for each of us. As I am looking at it, it just feels like a tiny piglet to me, not a large hog. However, there was some miscommunication and BOOM! I was shaken by FireTiger shooting next to me while fiddling with my ear plugs. I as not able to locate another pig, though we could hear them working through the brush. We could see FireTiger's hog laying next to the puddle, so we knew we had another on the ground.
We waited until around midnight but had no more encounters. In contact with the others, we decided to call it a night. S had a trailer and was going to come help us, but got stuck in the mud on the way. Then began the fun task of getting the hogs into the UTV. The larger female was about all we could do to get it into the back. We were working in about 3 inches of mud, and I there was barely a part of me that didn't have mud on it.
On our way out, we had to pull S out of the mud hole he was stuck in and helped get his hog out, too.
We got back, hosed everything off and skinned/quartered the hogs, putting them in the walk-in cooler. I think we got to bed around 2:30am.
bobbydean
Well-known member
I love your hunting style, but more impressed with writing skills. You guys do well!
Do the wild pigs taste better than farm pig? How do you cook them? Grill them? And, do you make bacon?
Enough questions. but keep it up!!!!
Do the wild pigs taste better than farm pig? How do you cook them? Grill them? And, do you make bacon?
Enough questions. but keep it up!!!!
dirtclod Az.
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2018
- Messages
- 2,776
Gtreat hunt and story,congratulations o both of you!
We slept in the next day and let the old guys cook up a ginormous breakfast. It certainly was nice to sleep in a bed and have somewhere warm to eat in the morning as opposed to our usual rollout. The plan for the day was to do a little fishing at one of the ponds, check out to see if we could fish the river for alligator gar and fix / fill up the feeders before heading out around 2pm.
It was a beautiful day but the bass were uncooperative. The weather was pretty cool so not totally unsurprising.
We ended up drawing the same blind, maybe be happenstance or maybe because it was very convenient for the pair of us. We were able to get the feeders reloaded and found that the battery for our second feeder had become conspicuously disconnected, but fixable.
There wasn't much action in the afternoon except lots of ducks flying around. The night before had been breezy and the ducks seemed loud, but this night was ridiculous. We saw a few deer but didn't have any bucks come through. First shot went to MP, but he missed. Apparently this is not unusual for him.
Things were pretty quiet until around 8:30pm. Then we started hearing hogs out there. I had first shot tonight and I wasn't going to give up that right! It was almost exactly like the night before, with a group coming in on the left. It drove us batty as we could hear them out there for half an hour before one finally hit the puddle and we knew where to aim. I dropped one and the hogs scattered in a bunch of directions. For the next 30 minutes, they were all around us, and we thought for sure we'd get another shot. We probably moved far too much and made too much noise. There was a bit of marital strife, you might say. Quiet down, stop moving, don't panic... you get the idea.
We stayed out late again as it was a very nice night, but there was no more action.
It was a beautiful day but the bass were uncooperative. The weather was pretty cool so not totally unsurprising.
We ended up drawing the same blind, maybe be happenstance or maybe because it was very convenient for the pair of us.
We were able to get the feeders reloaded and found that the battery for our second feeder had become conspicuously disconnected, but fixable.There wasn't much action in the afternoon except lots of ducks flying around. The night before had been breezy and the ducks seemed loud, but this night was ridiculous. We saw a few deer but didn't have any bucks come through. First shot went to MP, but he missed. Apparently this is not unusual for him.
Things were pretty quiet until around 8:30pm. Then we started hearing hogs out there. I had first shot tonight and I wasn't going to give up that right! It was almost exactly like the night before, with a group coming in on the left. It drove us batty as we could hear them out there for half an hour before one finally hit the puddle and we knew where to aim. I dropped one and the hogs scattered in a bunch of directions. For the next 30 minutes, they were all around us, and we thought for sure we'd get another shot. We probably moved far too much and made too much noise. There was a bit of marital strife, you might say. Quiet down, stop moving, don't panic... you get the idea.
We stayed out late again as it was a very nice night, but there was no more action.
Our last day was Saturday, as we had a 14-15 hour drive home on Sunday. FireTiger did some fishing in a different pond and caught some perch ( aka bluegills, silly Texans ) but had no luck with the catfish. The river was unfortunately far too dangerous to be fishable for Alligator gar as the access points on the property were not safe.
This night, FireTiger and I would split up and hunt some different places. I was hunting a low elevated blind and she was a half mile away in a high treed area. Hank went with her this time, and he got to watch a bunch of bucks for a couple hours before the light faded.
My view looking North.
My view looking West, along with one of the many giant plates of food I consumed on this trip. While others had eaten before heading out for the afternoon, I was so full from lunch that I packed it in with me. Steak and Shrimp Linguini. Thanks old guys!
I got a bit cramped in my blind and decided to wander in a direction where I knew there wasn't any other hunters and see some more of the property. It got more and more flooded, but I did lay my eyes I some of those incredibly noisy ducks.
Things were very quiet for everyone this night. It had warmed up about 15 degrees and the stars were out. I decided I didn't need to be in the blind, and just stood out under the stars for awhile. Eventually, I started hearing some scratching in the leaves behind me. I waited and waited until it sounded right near me before finally turning the light on. Nothing. What the deuce?
With the light back off, I decided to creep via moonlight and socked feet into a shooting position. Whatever it was, it was not impressed and left. I held my ground and could eventually hear it working its way towards me again. This time, I kept my ninja-like skills and was able to get close. Light on, prepped for the shot, I lowered my rifle...
to find the noisiest little armadillo. I had no idea something that size could make that much noise. I could hear it from over 200 yards away, but couldn't see it until I was within 8 feet. There was nothing I could do at this point to NOT here it, but I will say, creeping around in the dark under moonlight, using senses to the max, was pretty exhilarating. I would love to hunt hogs that way some time. We'd have done it this time but there was too much flooding for the number of people we had on the property.
Sunday morning we cleaned up the place and divided the meat among the group before setting our gps to home. Our share ended up being 5 quarters and 2 backstraps. The trip back was long but uneventful.
This night, FireTiger and I would split up and hunt some different places. I was hunting a low elevated blind and she was a half mile away in a high treed area. Hank went with her this time, and he got to watch a bunch of bucks for a couple hours before the light faded.
My view looking North.
My view looking West, along with one of the many giant plates of food I consumed on this trip. While others had eaten before heading out for the afternoon, I was so full from lunch that I packed it in with me. Steak and Shrimp Linguini. Thanks old guys!
I got a bit cramped in my blind and decided to wander in a direction where I knew there wasn't any other hunters and see some more of the property. It got more and more flooded, but I did lay my eyes I some of those incredibly noisy ducks.
Things were very quiet for everyone this night. It had warmed up about 15 degrees and the stars were out. I decided I didn't need to be in the blind, and just stood out under the stars for awhile. Eventually, I started hearing some scratching in the leaves behind me. I waited and waited until it sounded right near me before finally turning the light on. Nothing. What the deuce?
With the light back off, I decided to creep via moonlight and socked feet into a shooting position. Whatever it was, it was not impressed and left. I held my ground and could eventually hear it working its way towards me again. This time, I kept my ninja-like skills and was able to get close. Light on, prepped for the shot, I lowered my rifle...
to find the noisiest little armadillo. I had no idea something that size could make that much noise. I could hear it from over 200 yards away, but couldn't see it until I was within 8 feet. There was nothing I could do at this point to NOT here it, but I will say, creeping around in the dark under moonlight, using senses to the max, was pretty exhilarating. I would love to hunt hogs that way some time. We'd have done it this time but there was too much flooding for the number of people we had on the property.
Sunday morning we cleaned up the place and divided the meat among the group before setting our gps to home. Our share ended up being 5 quarters and 2 backstraps. The trip back was long but uneventful.
This is the first time we have hunted them. They taste just like any other pork so far.
Our friends make sausage, but we're using most of it for pulled recipes since we already made a bunch of sausage with our other game.
The fat is not "good" like a farm pig. Treat it more like venison fat.
We spent a week housesitting for my parents. We were supposed to fish a lake trout lake one day and hit up the Grand Mesa on the second weekend. Additionally, since it wasn't too far from Grand Junction, I wanted to go in Seek Outside and try on some packs. FireTiger gave me the go ahead to buy one for my birthday, and I finally wanted to redeem.
We were able to limit on eater lakers on the first weekend, with FireTiger getting "big" fish ( though not large by laker standards ).
The second ice fishing trip was a bust, as we got snowed out on our way. When the snow hit about 8 inches in the road, still falling, and we still had 1000ft to gain, we called it off. We did get some turkey scouting in though.
A couple weeks after we got home, a package showed up. My new SO Peregrine - For Day Hunts and Alpine Fishing Backpacking trips. Revolution frame, so I can swap out the bag when I draw that sheep tag.
We were able to limit on eater lakers on the first weekend, with FireTiger getting "big" fish ( though not large by laker standards ).
The second ice fishing trip was a bust, as we got snowed out on our way. When the snow hit about 8 inches in the road, still falling, and we still had 1000ft to gain, we called it off. We did get some turkey scouting in though.
A couple weeks after we got home, a package showed up. My new SO Peregrine - For Day Hunts and Alpine Fishing Backpacking trips. Revolution frame, so I can swap out the bag when I draw that sheep tag.
We went on a few other fishing trips and such, but nothing super interesting of note. That brings us to today, where FireTiger is packing the Forrester so we can head East to hunt our limited turkey tag. I got everything Permethrin treated earlier and my call tuned up. We've been to this area before but have never held a tag our scouted for turkey, so I'm hoping we arrive by sunset so that we can listen for roosting birds. I have a pretty solid idea where we will find them, but I have ZERO idea on how many other people are going to be there for the opener.
The weather is pretty meh right now, with possible snow in the morning, but Sunday is supposed to be sunny and 60s. We're pretty much run and gun - no blind, no decoys. I do call but I only use an box caller and some leaf raking. Hoping we can roost some and be in early in the morning as I have a pretty good idea on how the birds will travel.
The weather is pretty meh right now, with possible snow in the morning, but Sunday is supposed to be sunny and 60s. We're pretty much run and gun - no blind, no decoys. I do call but I only use an box caller and some leaf raking. Hoping we can roost some and be in early in the morning as I have a pretty good idea on how the birds will travel.
dirtclod Az.
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2018
- Messages
- 2,776
great storyline and Pics.
LCH
Well-known member
Good looking pigs! Love hog hunting.
TheBenHoyle
Well-known member
Good luck on the turkeys.
We got to the hunt area a little earlier than expected and were able to survey the situation. We started out glassing and listening for roosting gobbles about an half hour before sunset. The terrain was more open than I expected with mostly just cottonwoods and foot tall grass.
Over the next 45 minutes, we were only able to spot one small flock of birds and heard one gobble, which had me concerned. We headed to our camping location, which had to other hunters in the area. Within minutes of setting up, we heard several gobbles in multiple directions. That's more like it! However, we obviously were not the only ones who had heard them.
We hatched a plan for the morning to head toward the least likely gobbles for the other hunters to chase.
Over the next 45 minutes, we were only able to spot one small flock of birds and heard one gobble, which had me concerned. We headed to our camping location, which had to other hunters in the area. Within minutes of setting up, we heard several gobbles in multiple directions. That's more like it! However, we obviously were not the only ones who had heard them.
We hatched a plan for the morning to head toward the least likely gobbles for the other hunters to chase.
bobbydean
Well-known member
Normal people with good stories. What is not to like!
WildWill
Well-known member
Hog hunting was definitely a success can't wait to see how your turkey season goes. That's a fine looking pack sir!
OH MAN! I forgot to mention. About an hour from home, it hit me that I didn't pack any shells. That could have been a disaster, but we were able to purchase some along the way. Additionally, we realized that nobody packed the cooking bin. Woops. We'd survive, but gee!
The 4:30 wake up wasn't too bad, and we packed cold brew so that got us through having no stove. However, we took being camped right near gobbling birds for granted and were later than we should have been getting into the woods. There was still time before shooting light, but we hit a problem we hadn't anticipated. The birds were roosted on the other side of the river. Now, this river isn't exactly large, but we didn't feel like being wet. It took a bit, but we were able to build a shaky log bridge. That cost us valuable time. As we approached the roost, I could see birds in the trees and knew we weren't going to be able to get as close as I'd like.
We set up a debated distance away, somewhere between 120 and 300 yards and attempted to let things settle. Hank was doing a good job lying by my side, but would shake every time the birds would gobble. It sounded like there were at least four gobblers in front of us, one on the left and three on the right, with a more further away more towards the other hunters.
I waited for the first birds to fly down before I gave them an idea of our location. I called sparingly until we were sure the gobblers were on the ground. They were lukewarm on it. There was a hump between us and them and I figured they were about 100 yards out, but it was impossible to tell without giving ourselves away. If they came to look, they were dead. They did not come to look, and after 20 minutes or so they shut up completely, giving us no idea where they went. Dang.
We did a 3 mile loop away from the other hunters trying to strike up or glass more birds to no avail.
The 4:30 wake up wasn't too bad, and we packed cold brew so that got us through having no stove. However, we took being camped right near gobbling birds for granted and were later than we should have been getting into the woods. There was still time before shooting light, but we hit a problem we hadn't anticipated. The birds were roosted on the other side of the river. Now, this river isn't exactly large, but we didn't feel like being wet. It took a bit, but we were able to build a shaky log bridge. That cost us valuable time. As we approached the roost, I could see birds in the trees and knew we weren't going to be able to get as close as I'd like.
We set up a debated distance away, somewhere between 120 and 300 yards and attempted to let things settle. Hank was doing a good job lying by my side, but would shake every time the birds would gobble. It sounded like there were at least four gobblers in front of us, one on the left and three on the right, with a more further away more towards the other hunters.
I waited for the first birds to fly down before I gave them an idea of our location. I called sparingly until we were sure the gobblers were on the ground. They were lukewarm on it. There was a hump between us and them and I figured they were about 100 yards out, but it was impossible to tell without giving ourselves away. If they came to look, they were dead. They did not come to look, and after 20 minutes or so they shut up completely, giving us no idea where they went. Dang.
We did a 3 mile loop away from the other hunters trying to strike up or glass more birds to no avail.
We headed back to camp for refreshments around 10am. While drinking more cold brew and eating a banana, chocolate muffin and cheezits ( a natural combo, obviously ) the local warden stopped by to check our licenses and see how the morning was going. He'd seen 70 birds while doing his morning rounds ( argh ) and advised that would probably should not have left the decoy at home. Also, that if we had birds roosted, we should probably stick with them instead of looking for others.
So, we did exactly not that and went for a drive ( it was going to be half a day before they'd return to this roost). It wasn't long before we hit the end of our unit and had to turn around, whereby we spotted bird after bird after bird strutting up a storm. They knew where they were safe. On our way we spotted 3 toms that were literally 10 feet from the unit, and just had to try to set up on them. Not exactly backcountry hunting, but whatever. ( Yes I know about the road buffer )
These birds were not dumb, nor did they really have a reason to come check us out. We definitely wasted our time on that setup, but it was fun trying. We decided we could do something more interesting than waiting on the line and moved on, passing a few more "smart" birds. These were just a fraction of the birds mere yards away from the unit.
So, we did exactly not that and went for a drive ( it was going to be half a day before they'd return to this roost). It wasn't long before we hit the end of our unit and had to turn around, whereby we spotted bird after bird after bird strutting up a storm. They knew where they were safe. On our way we spotted 3 toms that were literally 10 feet from the unit, and just had to try to set up on them. Not exactly backcountry hunting, but whatever. ( Yes I know about the road buffer )
These birds were not dumb, nor did they really have a reason to come check us out. We definitely wasted our time on that setup, but it was fun trying. We decided we could do something more interesting than waiting on the line and moved on, passing a few more "smart" birds. These were just a fraction of the birds mere yards away from the unit.
