Arrived at Piha hunting area on Sunday at 6:30 AM, right around first light. I was the only one there all day. Shouldered my 25 pound pack [lots of survival gear since I was hunting rough country alone] and grabbed the little Win 94 7 X 30 Waters. Frost on the ground and not a cloud in the sky.
Within 100 yards, I was swallowed up by the huge pines and koa trees. From the truck, everything is downhill, with ravines choked in banana poka vines and berry patches and logs and lava rocks hidden in the knee high green grass. Tough walking.
Lots of fresh pig sign right off the bat---poop, rooting, trails in the wet grass---so I was optimistic about getting my limit of two pigs before lunch. 8 hours later, however, I hadn't seen or heard or smelled a single hog. Might have been the warm weather that sent them into the cool shade down in the ravines where the tangling vines are so thick that it is impossible to hunt. Turkeys were everywhere, mostly up in the tall koa trees, even around noon when they should have been wandering around down on the ground. I must have jumped at least 150 of them, some really big toms. No turkey hunting there so they are safe. Also saw at least 20 pheasants, Kalij variety originally from Nepal and neighboring countries.
At 3:15, I saw a nice sized hog heading my way through the grass. It stopped about 50 yards away and locked on me. I threw up the carbine and fired instantly. The hog turned in its tracks and ran hellbent for leather down an open meadow and into the banana poka. Clean miss, it appeared.
I walked up to where the pig had been when I shot and found no blood anywhere. I followed its path down through the grassy meadow and no blood anywhere. I followed its tracks down a hillside and found two or three small drops of blood on a piece of grass. 2 feet away more small drops on a leaf.
Hmmm. Could be a flesh wound since the pig appeared unhurt when it ran through the meadow. I continued downhill and found one more drop of blood on a piece of grass but that was it. I walked down into the gulley and crawled beneath the banana poka, trying to find some tracks in the mud so I could continue following the blood trail, assuming there was any more blood to follow.
Nothing anywhere.
I looked around a moment and there was the pig about 8 feet away, dead as dead could be. It was a dry sow of about 140 pounds and really fat. I dragged it over to a log and propped up its head. I rigged the camera for a delayed shot, pressed the button, ran over to the log, tried to cross over it, got stuck on something, fell onto the dirt, and heard the shutter go off. Tried again and this time I got over the log but got tangled in a vine and the camera got a nice shot of my backside. Cut down some vines and tried again and this time I made it, although I have a surprised expression on my face in the photo. To heck with it, I figured, that's the picture you guys get.
Boned out the hams and backstraps and a bit of the good shoulder and humped my way uphill to the meadow where Evan Bouret nailed a nice boar a year ago. Found a grassy spot with a good view and took off my pack. Sat against a tree and watched for more pigs. Nada. Shadows getting longer so I hiked uphill another 400 yards to the truck.
All in all a pretty good day. Not another person and not a human footprint and not a sign anywhere of humans. No litter anywhere, just the forest and jungle as it was meant to be. The skies were bright blue up at 6000 feet and there was not a cloud all day. Temps from 9:00 AM to about 3:00 PM hovered around 70 degrees and the breeze was pleasant. Shortest day of the year, by the way.
The pork is out in the cooler now, soaking in baking soda and ice water. I'll take it out in 2 days and vacuum seal it for the freezer. Hawaiian pull pork, carnitas, BBQ pork---we should get about 10 good meals out of it, considering we'll share it with a few friends.
That's it for now. Aloha and Happy Holidays to all.
Within 100 yards, I was swallowed up by the huge pines and koa trees. From the truck, everything is downhill, with ravines choked in banana poka vines and berry patches and logs and lava rocks hidden in the knee high green grass. Tough walking.
Lots of fresh pig sign right off the bat---poop, rooting, trails in the wet grass---so I was optimistic about getting my limit of two pigs before lunch. 8 hours later, however, I hadn't seen or heard or smelled a single hog. Might have been the warm weather that sent them into the cool shade down in the ravines where the tangling vines are so thick that it is impossible to hunt. Turkeys were everywhere, mostly up in the tall koa trees, even around noon when they should have been wandering around down on the ground. I must have jumped at least 150 of them, some really big toms. No turkey hunting there so they are safe. Also saw at least 20 pheasants, Kalij variety originally from Nepal and neighboring countries.
At 3:15, I saw a nice sized hog heading my way through the grass. It stopped about 50 yards away and locked on me. I threw up the carbine and fired instantly. The hog turned in its tracks and ran hellbent for leather down an open meadow and into the banana poka. Clean miss, it appeared.
I walked up to where the pig had been when I shot and found no blood anywhere. I followed its path down through the grassy meadow and no blood anywhere. I followed its tracks down a hillside and found two or three small drops of blood on a piece of grass. 2 feet away more small drops on a leaf.
Hmmm. Could be a flesh wound since the pig appeared unhurt when it ran through the meadow. I continued downhill and found one more drop of blood on a piece of grass but that was it. I walked down into the gulley and crawled beneath the banana poka, trying to find some tracks in the mud so I could continue following the blood trail, assuming there was any more blood to follow.
Nothing anywhere.
I looked around a moment and there was the pig about 8 feet away, dead as dead could be. It was a dry sow of about 140 pounds and really fat. I dragged it over to a log and propped up its head. I rigged the camera for a delayed shot, pressed the button, ran over to the log, tried to cross over it, got stuck on something, fell onto the dirt, and heard the shutter go off. Tried again and this time I got over the log but got tangled in a vine and the camera got a nice shot of my backside. Cut down some vines and tried again and this time I made it, although I have a surprised expression on my face in the photo. To heck with it, I figured, that's the picture you guys get.
Boned out the hams and backstraps and a bit of the good shoulder and humped my way uphill to the meadow where Evan Bouret nailed a nice boar a year ago. Found a grassy spot with a good view and took off my pack. Sat against a tree and watched for more pigs. Nada. Shadows getting longer so I hiked uphill another 400 yards to the truck.
All in all a pretty good day. Not another person and not a human footprint and not a sign anywhere of humans. No litter anywhere, just the forest and jungle as it was meant to be. The skies were bright blue up at 6000 feet and there was not a cloud all day. Temps from 9:00 AM to about 3:00 PM hovered around 70 degrees and the breeze was pleasant. Shortest day of the year, by the way.
The pork is out in the cooler now, soaking in baking soda and ice water. I'll take it out in 2 days and vacuum seal it for the freezer. Hawaiian pull pork, carnitas, BBQ pork---we should get about 10 good meals out of it, considering we'll share it with a few friends.
That's it for now. Aloha and Happy Holidays to all.
