Guided hog hunt - Success
Oct 14, 2018 19:59:03 GMT -5
via Tapatalk
Woody Williams, featherduster, and 4 more like this
Post by medic22 on Oct 14, 2018 19:59:03 GMT -5
This past Thursday, my hunting buddy and I headed to Crossville, Tennessee to Loshbough Hunting Lodge for our first hog hunt.
I was hesitant with this choice because I am not a big fan of baiting, fences, or dog running (which was an option that we didn't use). I was in for quite the awakening.
The lodge was nice and clean and the staff was friendly. We had the 5 bedroom lodge to ourselves the first night.
On Friday morning our guide arrived at 7am. We had decided to stand hunt the first morning, the guide liked this idea since that allowed him to deer hunt. Not knowing what to expect, we just assumed we would go sit in a stand and within an hour be surrounded by hogs. Not the case at all, neither of us saw a thing. The couple staying in the private lodge got a decent sow on a spot and stalk gun hunt. At 3pm we went back out for a spot and stalk.
This property is 600 acres surrounded by a 4 foot farm fence, it was during this afternoon hunt that I realized despite the fence, these hogs are smart, wild, and hard to hunt. After walking for nearly two miles up amd down rocky hills, we hadn't seen anything.
While working our way down a dirt road, slowly heading back to the truck, we heard some hogs wollering on the edge of the lake. We managed to get down within 25 yards of one of them but he caught our wind and cut trail before I had a clear shot. While trying to cut him off, we encountered an even bigger hog at 25 yards. Again the wind was wrong and I only had a small opening to shoot through. I wouldn't take that shot without ranging him first but he cut out before I got the range finder out.
We attempted again to cut them off by the fooled us and laid down. We worked back around the lake and were heading to the truck, when we caught a glimpse of two hogs crossing the dam.
We slipped down the road trying to come up behind them, but they had other plans. They turned and came straight at us!! We squatted down and the big hog stopped at 20 yards and looked at us. Then the second, much smaller hog came up next to it and I hear the guide say "this is about to get real interesting guys". Deciding we weren't interesting, the hogs began walking towards us again and got to 15 yards when the guided grunted and stopped them.
So here we are, the 3 of us staring down over 600# of hogs, both sporting tusks. I didn't know it, but at this point the other 2 were doing the same thing I was, which was trying to decide where they were going to escape if this went downhill. I was also regretting leaving my pistol at the lodge.
I decided that at least I had an arrow for some protection, I drew my bow, knowing exactly what the guide would do. It played out perfectly, as soon as I anchored he began grunting. The big hog got uneasy and began to turn and offered me a quartering to shot, I decided he could do better. 12 seconds of holding my draw and he turned to run the other direction and I released, putting my arrow right behind the shoulder with a slight quartering away. It didn't pass through but It caught both lungs and stopped on the far side shoulder blade. The damage was done, he made it 30 yards and never moved again.
The smaller hog (I say smaller but he was still 275#) made the mistake of trying to figure out why his buddy wasn't moving.
There I am, riding the high and knowing I just made a perfect shot, but still shaking, and my buddy hands me the camera with the plan of taking the second hog.
Did I forget to mention the camera? Oh yeah, all of this is on film!!
So now I'm shaking and I have the camera, but I'm also refusing to set my bow down cause I have a 400# hog with an arrow in him 30 yards away and we have to walk past him. My buddy judged distance wrong on the fly and broke the hogs nearside front leg with the first shot. 2 more double lung pass throughs, a clipped heart, and a Buck 119 to the heart (3 times) and that tough SOB finally expired!
So just like that, 3 hours of walking, 2 blown stalks, a little luck, and we just doubled up on the two hogs that tricked us earlier!
So lessons learned.
1. the hogs at Loshbough hunting lodge are smart, they are wild, and they are hard to hunt.
2. Spot and stalk hog hunting with a bow is the most exciting hunting I have ever done.
3. Loshbough is awesome. You guys should all go.
4. Our guide Roger is an excellent hog hunter.
I am the one with the orange hat.
I was hesitant with this choice because I am not a big fan of baiting, fences, or dog running (which was an option that we didn't use). I was in for quite the awakening.
The lodge was nice and clean and the staff was friendly. We had the 5 bedroom lodge to ourselves the first night.
On Friday morning our guide arrived at 7am. We had decided to stand hunt the first morning, the guide liked this idea since that allowed him to deer hunt. Not knowing what to expect, we just assumed we would go sit in a stand and within an hour be surrounded by hogs. Not the case at all, neither of us saw a thing. The couple staying in the private lodge got a decent sow on a spot and stalk gun hunt. At 3pm we went back out for a spot and stalk.
This property is 600 acres surrounded by a 4 foot farm fence, it was during this afternoon hunt that I realized despite the fence, these hogs are smart, wild, and hard to hunt. After walking for nearly two miles up amd down rocky hills, we hadn't seen anything.
While working our way down a dirt road, slowly heading back to the truck, we heard some hogs wollering on the edge of the lake. We managed to get down within 25 yards of one of them but he caught our wind and cut trail before I had a clear shot. While trying to cut him off, we encountered an even bigger hog at 25 yards. Again the wind was wrong and I only had a small opening to shoot through. I wouldn't take that shot without ranging him first but he cut out before I got the range finder out.
We attempted again to cut them off by the fooled us and laid down. We worked back around the lake and were heading to the truck, when we caught a glimpse of two hogs crossing the dam.
We slipped down the road trying to come up behind them, but they had other plans. They turned and came straight at us!! We squatted down and the big hog stopped at 20 yards and looked at us. Then the second, much smaller hog came up next to it and I hear the guide say "this is about to get real interesting guys". Deciding we weren't interesting, the hogs began walking towards us again and got to 15 yards when the guided grunted and stopped them.
So here we are, the 3 of us staring down over 600# of hogs, both sporting tusks. I didn't know it, but at this point the other 2 were doing the same thing I was, which was trying to decide where they were going to escape if this went downhill. I was also regretting leaving my pistol at the lodge.
I decided that at least I had an arrow for some protection, I drew my bow, knowing exactly what the guide would do. It played out perfectly, as soon as I anchored he began grunting. The big hog got uneasy and began to turn and offered me a quartering to shot, I decided he could do better. 12 seconds of holding my draw and he turned to run the other direction and I released, putting my arrow right behind the shoulder with a slight quartering away. It didn't pass through but It caught both lungs and stopped on the far side shoulder blade. The damage was done, he made it 30 yards and never moved again.
The smaller hog (I say smaller but he was still 275#) made the mistake of trying to figure out why his buddy wasn't moving.
There I am, riding the high and knowing I just made a perfect shot, but still shaking, and my buddy hands me the camera with the plan of taking the second hog.
Did I forget to mention the camera? Oh yeah, all of this is on film!!
So now I'm shaking and I have the camera, but I'm also refusing to set my bow down cause I have a 400# hog with an arrow in him 30 yards away and we have to walk past him. My buddy judged distance wrong on the fly and broke the hogs nearside front leg with the first shot. 2 more double lung pass throughs, a clipped heart, and a Buck 119 to the heart (3 times) and that tough SOB finally expired!
So just like that, 3 hours of walking, 2 blown stalks, a little luck, and we just doubled up on the two hogs that tricked us earlier!
So lessons learned.
1. the hogs at Loshbough hunting lodge are smart, they are wild, and they are hard to hunt.
2. Spot and stalk hog hunting with a bow is the most exciting hunting I have ever done.
3. Loshbough is awesome. You guys should all go.
4. Our guide Roger is an excellent hog hunter.
I am the one with the orange hat.