Next Hunting Camp

“I HAVE A DREAM…of killing Hogs” Hunt, 2016

Who: All those that were there last year, and any that they bring along this year.

What: The celebration of the END of deer season in Georgia and the beginning of HOG SLAYING season.

When: Thursday, January 14 thru Tuesday, January 19 2016 (MLK Weekend)

Where: Stuckey Boone Lake and Campground, Wilkinson County, Georgia, and surrounding hunt areas.

Why: Because HOGS need to Die!

*Tentative plan is to start baiting certain of the local hunt areas on/about 11 January. Move Camper and Trailer and associated equipment to camp NLT Wed, 13 January. Contact me if you are planning on hunting and I can distribute information about what meals and supplies need to be farmed out to participants. It should be GOOD FUN! 

22 August

Saturday morning, Mike and the Boree's, Brian, Drake and Chase, hunted the fields at Maxey and got a 200 lb boar with the dogs. Only 53 more hogs to go as this hog makes it 147 for the year!

19 August

Thermal hunting, Mike, Doc, Andy M and two others, got 2 hogs on Wednesday night. No pictures of that hunt at this time. Annual hog total is 146.

8 August

Mike, Dave and one of Bryan's friends hunted on Saturday morning, and Bryan's friend got a nice hog. This hog brings our total to 144.

6 August

Sometimes it is almost as if the hogs know we are only free to hunt them down on the weekends, and they make themselves scarce then after folks been seeing them around all week. That makes it even nicer when a weeknight hunt can be so successful. On Thursday night, Mike, Doc, Dave and the famous Andy M went thermal hunting and got 6 nice sized hogs, including one 270 lb boar. These 6 bring the annual total to 143.

2 August

Sunday morning, Mike, Bob, Dave and three of Bryan's friends, hunted the corn fields again. The dogs got three confirmed hog kills, and two shoats were also dispatched*. These 5 hogs bring the annual total to 137. Would like to get some pictures from this hunt if any one has them.

1 August

On Saturday, Mike, Bob and his friend Chase hunted the cornfields at the farm and got the three. This was the first big game that Chase ever kilt, and he and Bob had a great time, they processed the hog together, part of Bob's continuing preparation for his guide job. These three bring the annual total to 132.

19 July

While Bill was out of most of the hunting, he was still receiving regular posts and updates from those who were out there doing the hunting. On the morning of 19 July, the follow post was sent by Mike, with the picture below. "Two this morning out off the corn with dogs.  One in the first field with NV"  Those participating in this hunt included Mike, Dave, Sonny, Doc, Chris and Blaine. These three hogs bring the annual total up to 129. 

18 July

Friday night, 17 July, Mike, Doc and Bob hunted with the thermals and night vision. They got 3 hogs. This brings the annual total to 126 hogs.

9-12 July

With Mike's cousin Bobby visiting from up north, the weather was a bit hot for hog hunting. Still, there was one hog shot on the night of 9 July, and two nice sows caught on 11 July. Hopefully, there are some pictures out there of these hogs. These three hogs bring the annual total to 123.

Got this picture in from Bob, it is his friend John from the Marine's. This is one the two sows caught on 11 July.

1 July - 4 July

The first week of July was a good week for killing hogs. On 1 July, Doc went on a shooting spree and filled up the back of his Samurai with hogs. Those six hogs brought the total to 116. On 4 July, hunting in Maxey, Georgia Mike, Bill and Bob got 4 more hogs with the dogs...a wet morning, there were plenty of hogs moving that day. Those four hogs (only three were recovered) bring the yearly total to 120.

June 27-28

Saturday morning, we started off, Mike, Bill, Bob and Christopher, at Mules club looking for the big boar that has injured a number of our dogs. No luck finding any fresh sign there, so moved to the wheatfields at Maxey. A hot morning, but got on the hogs pretty quickly. The dogs got three, bringing the total to 110. This is a pic of the first of the hogs recovered that morning.

June 19-20

19 June was a good night for hunting, so we checked out some new fields in the Maxey area. Doc, Puffy, Mike, Bill and Bob were all in on the hunt. On the third field we checked, on the way out, Doc got a nice little boar for the 101st hog of the year.
  The next morning, Mike, Bill and Bob hunted again, getting three more hogs (only two were recovered), bringing the total to 104. Additionally, while hunting, have come across three more hog carcasses in vicinity of the hogs which were shot the last week of May and the second week in June. These shot but not recovered  hogs should be counted, and will be added to the total, but it also points out the need for better shot placement and tracking once we have hogs wounded. The found hogs bring the total to 107.

June 12-13

On Friday, 12 June, Mike and Bill hunted at Maxey Georgia. Back along the banks, shot two hogs, followed the better blood trail of the two into the woods, and found hog about 200 meters in the woods, Mike shot it again and put it down. That was hog 98 for the year. On the way out of the fields, shot one more hog right before the gate. That was hog 99. On 13 June Mike and Bill went back out in the morning, it was the first time out for Rudy since he injured his jaw in Mississippi. Rudy load tested his jaw on a small hog, with a little help from the other catch dogs. Rudy's hog was the 100th hog of the year...HALFWAY THERE!

May Hunting Synopsis

After the hunting done in the first half of May, the second half was equally busy. Puffy, Doc and friends returned to the Wheat fields and shot 6 more hogs, but, with the toughness of these critters and the difficulty in tracking them wounded at night, only one hog was a confirmed kill and taken home. That brought the total to 92.
  On Wednesday, 20 May, Colonel and Bob Suter, Marine/aspiring hunting guide and a new player to this hog hunting game, made camp at Stuckey RV park in Danville. Baiting and camp set up were complete when the Colonel's relatives showed up on Thursday morning, with Mike Miracle (brother) , Rob Miracle(brother), TommeLee Miracle(nephew) and Nelson Miracle(Dad), who everyone called Pops throughout the weekend. Drake Boree and his father in law Todd showed up to join the hunt Thursday night. After working through all the thick brush on the back side of the Stuckey land, no hogs were found, and in the dry conditions, not much sign either. Friday Morning the gang, now joined by David Farmer and his dogs, headed to the Bear Alley area to seek out hogs there. While the dogs got started on quite a few, they only caught one small one that morning. With Drake heading out after lunch, he hunted the back side of Stuckey Boone Lake but didn't find any hogs. The Boss showed up on Friday night with his Dogs and it was decided to get an early start on Saturday morning hunting the Bear Alley and adjoining area. Once again, with very dry conditions, the dogs got a few of them moving, had one caught but couldn't hold it, then chased it for a long way. The group ended the day trying to find hogs in the open fields across from Wendell's. Hogs were seen, and started moving before any good shots were lined up, but shots were fired and no hogs were taken that night.
  Thankfully, Sunday was a much better day. Hunting Wendell's and Joe's fields in the morning, Mike and TommeLee shot one, then the dogs got on one and pushed it into the woods, where Jack and Bonehead caught it and TommeLee stuck it. After the morning hunt, we all broke camp and headed to Watkinsville....that evening, in the wheatfields, Doc joined up with us and we got two more in the cooler. With the Michigan gang heading home early Monday and everyone else in recovery mode, it was a good weekend hunting, but lots of missed opportunities and likely a few wounded hogs out there limping around. Total for the weekend was 5 hogs, which brings the Annual total to 97.

16 May - 8 More Hogs

Boss, Colonel and Bull (or Puffy) went hunting, bringing along the Boss's friend Billy and Bull's friend Allen Sims. The dogs that hunted were Boss's dogs Gator, Blu, Scarlett and Badger, Colonel brought Hunter and Bruiser, and Boss brought Bonehead and Karlton (and Alice, who didn't  hunt, but THAT is another story). Turning out just inside the gate at Maxey, Boss and Allen got  a big boar. When everyone got there we  hunted in the fenced pastures and got a sow and 6 piglets. These 8 pigs bring the yearly total to 91.

12 May - 4 More Hogs

On a Tuesday the day after the wheat fields were combined at Maxey, Mike, Bill, Doc and Michael went to hunt right before dark. While we came up on a large herd of hogs, and hit a lot of hogs, the dogs were only able to catch three from that herd....trying to keep it short on a work night, headed for the gate with three hogs down after only 2 hours of hunting. As we were heading out of the fields, Michael made a great head shot on a 250 pound boar with the Thermal. So, total of four for the night. That brings the yearly total to 83, only 117 to go!

2 May - Samurai hunting

On 2 May they got 4 more hogs, with Mike, Jersey Boy and Zach hunting in the wheat fields. On 6 May Doc and Mike went hunting for the first time with the Subaru Samurai hunt buggy and got a big boar. The 5 hogs from these two hunts bring the total to 79.

1 May - Hunt with Mike's Nephew

On 1 May there were 6 hogs killed when the former Marine came down from Jersey to hunt. Zach was in on the hunt as well. Those 6 hogs brought the total to 74 for the year.

5 April - Guided Hunt for Ducks Unlimited

On 5 April Brian Boree, Mike and Bill took out a Father/Son team hunting at the Wheatfields at Maxey. After competing with Jim's coon dogs for the dogs' full attention we slipped on back by the honey hole, and got a nice FAT sow, it was a good stick for the son and we processed it for them back at the farm. That hog brought our annual number up to 65, David Farmer got three hogs that week at the hunt club by Locust Grove, bringing the number up to 68.

Hog hunting Samurai style

Doc's new Samurai. Fully loaded including a three drawer dog box. I'm thinking it's going to be handy! Caught one boar.

Good Training

Drake and Brian slipped off to  work their dogs a little. This video is Riley and Cowgirl having a little fun.

Can't stop smiling

"Thanks guys! My 10 year old can't stop smiling!"

Went hunting Saturday night. It's been a WHILE, too long. It was a little chilly.

Boss, Colonel, Bull, Doc, and Mop & company hunted. We took Carl, Bonehead, Alice, Ammo. Doc took Cash, Hickory and someone else (a lil help here Doc?), Bull brought Gator and Blu.  And the Col didn't bring anyone, but it didn't matter.  The actual hunt was a massacre. We used a night vision scope with the dogs. Its nice to have toys like the thermal scopes. We had four confirmed kills. 11 total if you side with the pro-life team. Hey, Col, what does that bring the total to?

On a side note, the Georgia House of Representatives recently passed a bill regarding the hunting of feral hogs (HB 475). The bill was read to the Georgia State Senate on 27 March, and a committee reported "favorably" on the topic. We eagerly await the vote. A summation of the bill: they are trying to open up the season on hogs and allow hunting without a license. You can read an Atlanta Journal Constitution article on this subject here.

As many of you know, feral hogs are nuisance non-native wildlife. They tear up crops and natural habitat... And they make delicious smoked Kielbasa. (Hey, Dad, how about a post on making sausage? -Summer) If you are curious about recommendations from DNR on feral hog control, read here.

Danville, March 6-10

Mike, Christopher, Jim Kennon and Bill all showed up at Stuckey Boone Lake RV park in Danville GA on the afternoon of 6 March and set up camp. On Saturday, 7 March, they hunted at Bear Alley Hunt Club just up the road. In the morning, got a Sow and 4 piglets. Dogs involved were Hunter, Bruiser, Pistol, Bo, Alice and Hollie. Bill's family arrived from Michigan  (Mike, Tina, Chris) and joined the hunt that afternoon, but didn't get any hogs. On Sunday, 8 March, the whole gang returned to the same area and Chris stuck his first pig, with Christopher getting to the hog first and getting it under control. It was 200+ pound boar. Later that morning, across the road, the dogs caught another 200+ pound boar, with Bonehead and Karl making the catch and the other dogs joining in. Dogs involved were Bo, Bonehead, Sandy, Karl, Colt, Hunter, Bruiser and Sweetie. That afternoon, went over to Eric's land and hunted the swamps there with some guys down from Ohio, but didn't get anything. Sunday night, Mike and Christopher left camp. Monday morning, Jim  left camp while the rest of the crew, with 2 of the guys from Ohio, hunting Bear Alley again. Dogs were Bo, Alice, Bruiser, Hunter and Sweetie. The dogs caught a 150+ sow and got two other bigger hogs running out, after the Ohio guys stuck the pig, tried to catch up with the other pigs, but only got one more piglet, although it is likely there were a few other small ones crunched along the way. Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, hunted around camp and in Bear Alley again, but didn't get anything. Broke camp on noon, 10 March. Total for the weekend was 9, bringing the yearly total to 53 down, 147 to go! Pictures still being rounded up from this hunt.

Hogs gone Wild..Cautionary Tale

In lieu of a safety message on this BLOG, this video is provided to remind just how risky hogs can be..or just to remind yourself of the thrill of the hunt when you are cooped up inside and wishing you were hunting instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAoADOgG8tI

Hog Slaying, 26 Feb - 1 Mar

Doc and Eddie headed down to 500 Acre on Thursday, 26 February, getting 2 x 200+ hogs there, then going over to the Duckroost that day and getting three small hogs there. The next morning they turned the dogs out and got three 120-150 pounders all around the same time. Those 7 hogs are the best 24 hour take so far this year. On 1 March, Dave Johnson and Mike turned out at Jim Cabaniss's fields and caught two hogs. Those 9 for the weekend bring the yearly total to 44 down, 156 to go. There will be more pictures of these two hunts in the coming days. Bill didn't hunt this weekend, as he had a previous commitment to a Willie Nelson concert with his sister on Friday night, that picture of Willie is added also. All around, a GREAT weekend for hog hunting amidst all the cool temperatures and rainy weather.

Mississippi Hunting Trip

Bill and Doc headed to Mississippi on Thursday 19 February. First hunt was Friday morning, getting 2 small hogs and a boar on Friday, 20 February. Mike joined us early Saturday morning, to a rain filled day and no hogs to be found. On Sunday morning, before leaving, the dogs got onto 2 more small hogs, with lots of the young dogs getting in on catches. Total after these 5 is 35 down, 165 to go.

Tying up Loose Ends...Hogs killed since last post

The weekend of 14-15 February, while Mike and Bill were putting in a corral at Casa Miracle, others were hunting. Christian got one and Drake and Brian Boree got one, bringing the yearly total to 30.

More Fun at Danville

On Saturday, same crew got a nice little boar after a 900 yard chase with Karl and Bonehead leading the way. After that, got a sow and three piglets.  Sunday morning at Danville got two more small pigs with Drake and his lady joining us for the hunt.18 down, 182 to go. (Pro-choice total: 18, Pro-life total: 28).