Pig on a Stick

Bow Diddley · Apr 11, 2017

I decided to start a new thread. This one a success thread.

I've been working insane hours for way too long and for whatever reason my boss actually offered up a comp day. So Sunday afternoon I packed up the truck and headed to Gainesville, about a 1:45 trip from Jacksonville. Monday morning I was in the stand about 6:40. I wasn't even setup when the first batch of hogs arrived. I managed to secure my pack and nocked an arrow so I'd be ready. It was still dark, though, and despite having plenty of targets with the 15-ish hogs that showed up I didn't feel like I had a clean shot. I settled in and waited for first light. Surprisingly, the adrenaline wasn't kicking too bad and I felt perfectly calm.

As the sun came up, the hogs kept busy. I'd already picked out my favorite hogs. My preferred shot was slightly quartered away and the one I really wanted didn't seem inclined to oblige my desire. Option #2 did, though, and at 7:10 I released my arrow and it hit it's mark. I was very glad to have swapped out the factory nock for a Carbon Express Launchpad Lighted nock. The bright read trace was easy to follow and I knew I'd put it right where I wanted...right behind the shoulder.

I got concerned, though, when I didn't see the arrow pass through. Instead, I watched the hog run off with my brightly shining arrow. He didn't make it far, though, and my concerns were set aside. After a quick sprint of about 20 yards he entered a death spin and then the woods were quiet. I'd left my binoculars in the toolbox of my truck (something I need to fix for the next trip) so I wasn't sure what I was looking at. There was a dark spot I could see that looked off but I wasn't sure if he'd gone anywhere else after the death throes. I grabbed my rangefinder and was happy to make out what looked like an ear.

I decided to give him some time to settle down and die. I was aiming for about 30 minutes but it was closer to a hour. The hogs must have short-term memory and came back again. Rather than risking burning the stand I waited them out and didn't leave the stand until they cleared the area. It was a very short walk to find him. The blood trail could've been followed by a blind person. I was completely blown away by the carnage done by the Rage. There was a 4-5" gash in his side which sliced right through 3-4 ribs. I felt good that it was a very quick and humane kill.

After snapping a bunch of pics, I called the landowner and he drove out to pick us up. He was surprised that I'd already found him. He said he hasn't had good luck with bowhunters making good kills. He was prepared to go traipsing through the woods to recover my hog and wasn't expecting to practically drive right up to him. It was a great confidence builder for me and certainly boosted my pride.

We didn't have a scale, but estimate the weight to be about 100 pounds. That's pretty much the perfect size for a nice meat hog. I do wish the tenderloins were a little bigger but the backstraps look great as do the hams and shoulders.

Now I don't have to worry about buying a ham for Easter dinner.