Cheers!
-Eric
I've killed a number of pigs in rain pouring down so hard I could barely use my binos.
Also, when you shoot is that pretty much it for that sit or will the hogs trickle back in?
-Eric
Let's first back up To quote "my only goal for this trip is to take one with the struggle stick"
That was a logical statement, prior to to getting into the situation that you got into at Shilo. And that was multiple shot opportunities with any weapon. Having never been in that situation before, instead of being thrilled to death with accomplishing "your only goal for the trip".. faced now with multiple opportunities you wish to redefine the rules of engagements. Classic, lived it seen it so many times.
Now let's follow through with your next problem. You have made the "perfect" shot on a hog so why can't I shoot another, or put another perfect shot on #2 or three or four??
Well who is to say it's the perfect shot? You? The hunter? exactly why the rule is in place. Sometimes it is the perfect shot Sometimes not so much
My suggestion is to enjoy the hunt. Enjoy the successes, enjoy what you have never seen before. And realize the rules are in place for lots of professional reasons, respect that and have a great trip
That being said me and the fellas are gonna have a hell of a time this weekend!
Pics and stories to come.......
Cheers!
You are the reason pay to play ranches have rules
LMAO!!
If you came to hurl insults at someone you don't know kindly exit my thread, sir.
We will most definitely enjoy our hunt. Thank you!
Of course there is a reason for the rule and I'm asking what that reason is. Yet all I've received are smart ass answers, incoherent responses and insults. Thanks fellas!
Again, it's clear I'm not going to get an intelligent answer so let's just leave it at that.
We’re all super excited to come out. It’s all we’ve been talking about since we booked! See y’all Friday.
Stay tuned for pics and stories!
Just for the record, I have hunted at Shiloh. Before you go out to hunt, you will attend a meeting and the hunting rules will be shared with you by Matt & Cheryl. It is also a time for the hunter to ask questions and to get understanding/ clarification on rules.
Shiloh is a very organized, professional and successful operation. You will have a good time and a great hunt. Everyone there will work toward you success.
Best of luck. Looking forward to your hunt posting.
I’ve never given much thought to hog hunting but now that I’ve actually got a hunt booked I’m down right giddy! I’ve gotta be annoying the buddies I’m going with as much as I talk about it. Lol.
We’ll keep y’all posted and thank you to everybody that shared your personal insights and opinions on how to hunt these things.
Cheers!!!
In a nutshell Shiloh was amazing! We were the first guys in camp with Jon and Linda at the wheel and I couldn't have been more pleased with the hospitality or the experience.
On to the story.....
So the day prior to the hunt we hit the ground in OK to gorgeous weather. After making our way to Ada we grabbed some lunch and a room. They had a decent sized concrete pad and we were able to sling a few arrows to make sure things were still dialed in. Afterwards we threw back a few beers and called it a day. The next am we got up, had breakfast at Prairie Kitchen and made our way to camp after check out. When we get to camp we're greeted by Les and Jon and head over to the cabin area for orientation. After we got the paperwork squared away we suited up and made our way to the blinds. At this point is was in the mid 70's and heading to the low 80's by the afternoon. We wrapped the paperwork up around 12 and in all honesty probably should have held tight at camp until the evening. More on that in a minute....
So after looking over the map and picking our blinds we headed out. Kenny was first to be dropped off, next was Brian, then me way back at 4. After Brian and I dropped off Kenny at his blind we came up on a group of pigs bedded in the shade. There were 2 ~100lb pigs milling about. After some brief discussion we both agreed that if we were seeing pigs this early in the hunt we'd wait for something a little bigger. I dropped Brian off and made my way to 4. By the time I get set up it was around 12:45-1ish. With the feeder set to go off at 5 i had plenty of time to sit........and sweat! This is were a bit more patience would have paid off I believe. So time ticks by and a few piglets roamed through as well as one doe that apparently was in love with me. Once she laid eyes on me she never left. 5 o'clock comes and the feeder sprays. I'm expecting a mad dash of hogs at any second but get nothing. 5:15 still nothing. 5:30. Nothing. Finally around 6:30 I had a group of piglets come through and I'm scanning the background for mature pigs......zero! Around 7 i can see bigger pigs off in the distance with seemingly no intention of coming in. Bottom line is that I had stunk the place to high hell. Between the swirling wind and my skin leaking like a sieve the gig was up. By being so anxious and going out too early I think I ruined the sit by spreading so much scent. The first evening was a bust for Brian and I. Kenny however came up with a 115lb boar at 30 yards right before last light and we had pig for the fire! He put a devastating shot on his pig and it was dispatched within 40 yards of the impact. We get the boar back to camp, undress him and get some back straps on the grill. It was by far the freshest, most flavorful pig I've ever tasted!!
After some back straps, a few cold beers and a cool shower we packed it in for the night.
Before knocking off for the night we came up with a plan for the next am and set the alarms for 5. I was heading to 5a, Kenny to 1 and Brian to 6.
After getting set up in 5a the feeder spits corn right on cue at 6:45. The deer are already staged and waiting for breakfast and go to work. The air is cool and the wind is directly in my face. I have a good feeling about this sit. The pigs took a while to show up and I could immediately tell they were uneasy. I couldn't figure it out. The wind was good, I wasn't sweaty, I was wearing black and wasn't moving. It didn't make sense. I had 2 groups of good sized pigs come in only to hang up in the trees and move on. WTH! I felt like there was something super obvious that I was missing but could put my finger on it.
Then it happened!
I nice oreo colored sow bombed into the corn from the left of the blind only clearing the window by a hair. I came to full draw and sent my Carnivore though the pig. After all the reading I had done on shot placement for pigs my repetitions from deer hunting took over. The shot I put on the pig would have 12 ringed a deer but was a bit far back for swine. I had a track job on my hands.....
I called Les and off we went. We picked up blood quickly and got to it. A half mile later we lost it. I felt sick! I had done all the reading, watched all the shot placement videos, looked at numerous anatomy charts, had the pig inside 20 yards and still, for some reason, I still shot the animal as if it was a deer. Frustrating. Les got a call from Brian saying he had stuck one and wanted an assist with his track as well and took off to lend a hand. With my hat in my hand I struck out to try and walk along the path I assumed the pig had taken in hopes of getting lucky and wadda-ya-know! I found her laying 60 yards past were Les had stopped. Needless to say a wave of relief washed over me. She wasn't a monster in any sense but a cool looking pig nonetheless. Brian's track job was nothing more than a 35 yard stroll to his sow and she was much healthier! His shot had the same up and down as mine but was maybe 3 inches tighter to the shoulder and it crushed her. Placement truly is everything. Kenny was wrapped up in pigs all morning and since he already had his in the freezer he didn't see a pig that tickled his fancy and passed harvesting an animal.
We got the pigs back to camp and went to work. Brian's sow came in at 140lbs and mine tipped the scales at 96lbs. Being my first pig I was more than pleased, as was Brian. Once we broke the pigs down we kicked back for a bit to talk about the morning hunt and have a bite to eat before heading back out. It was another hot day and after seeing the pigs avoid me like the plague on day 1 I felt like I knew better than to rush back to the blind and stink the joint up again.
The evening hunt!
So like before we all picked blinds and headed back out. I decided on 4. Since I had my harvest with the compound I headed out with the recurve. Once I got to 4 I scattered a few bags of corn 12-15 yards in front of the blind and waited. About 6:45 I heard pigs and got ready. With a Gold Tip nocked I picked the bow up waiting for a pig to come into sight. My heart felt like it was taking a doing jumping jacks. Having never harvested an animal with the recurve I was ultra nervous. After what felt like days a nice sized pig cleared the window. I drew back, anchored and let the arrow loose. At 12 yards the VPA hit perfectly! The pig let out a quick sequel, ran 30-35 yards and fell stone dead!!! I was on the board with the struggle stick!! Now since that bow is so quite the pigs didn't really seem to know what had happened. They ran off briefly but quickly filtered back in. I nocked another arrow and hoped one more pig would make a mistake. Within 2-3 minutes of me shooting my first pig another one was in the window at 7 yards. The Tall Tines went off again! This arrow was the best of the 3 and the pig was down inside of 25 yards. I couldn't have been happier. 2 quick, clean harvests with my recurve! Mission Accomplished!!!
Brian also tagged a nice boar from his stand and after a quick call to Les the meat wagon was in route. We got back to camp, snapped a ton of pics, threw a few high fives, cracked a couple beers and got to work taking them apart. Our flight the next day took off at 5am so we had a quick turnaround. Once we had the meat squared away we buttoned up our stuff and got ready for the trip back east.
Overall I couldn't have been more pleased with the trip start to finish. Jon and Linda were very down to earth folks that you can talk to like you've known them forever, the cabins were super comfortable and the hunting was a blast. That being said summer time is not the time to hog hunt! I felt like I stunk the entire time I was there and that every pig in the woods knew exactly where I was.
Congrats on a great trip.
Mike those are some serious pigs you knocked down. Wow!!!! Congrats!
