I visited Bryson Hesperia Resort for the first time in early November 2009 for my first semi guided pig hunt. I have done a good deal of archery hunting over the years but this was my first pig hunt.
I arrived on Monday afternoon and met Deedy. Now I am here to tell you she is the best!!! First we reviewed the recent game camera images around the property i would be hunting. Then we hopped in her truck and headed off to check out the hunting area. On the way she gave me some great pointers on pig hunting.
We entered one of her lease properties and Deedy showed me around, she was really thorough and covered where she expected the wind to come from and where I might best set up as well as some of the tracks the pigs might take. She reminded me that pigs don't pattern all that well so I needed to be flexible, she also reminded me how quick they can be and that they had a really keen sense of smell.
On the way out of the property we got a chance to stop and meet the owner. That was a treat in itself, his family had been in the area since the early 1800's and he was an old timer himself being in his 80's. He was out working on his tractor and I was honored to meet him.
We traveled back to the resort and I changed into my hunting gear and headed out to hunt. Deedy was spot on about the wind and so I settled into some brush near a clearing and waited. She had told me I should hear the pigs coming before I saw them and again she was right.
My first pig encounter was really exciting, after hearing them making progress towards me for a few minutes and trying to spot them, all of a sudden a grey and white boar that was about 200 Lbs. or so, broke out of the brush and headed straight towards my improvised brush blind. He was moving fast and although I could hear a lot more pigs behind him I couldn't see them. I realized he was going to bust my cover when he ran up on me so (Lacking the necessary patience) I drew and stepped out hoping he would turn and I would get off a shot. It didn't happen. As soon as I moved, he bolted past me and was gone. The rest of the pigs disappeared and everything got quiet again except for the turkeys who continued to mill about and gobble. It was already 15 minutes passed sunset so I decided to do some scouting for the morning.
Next day I started out very early and got in place in a new spot that I thought would get the pigs in the open for a better shot if they choose to come the same way again. It was a prime spot, the first visitors were a flock of turkeys that meandered near me, at times so close I could have nearly reached out and touched them. Then several deer came thru several nice does a forky and a nice buck.
About sunrise I started to hear pigs again. This time they entered a clearing in force. There were 12 to 14 of them and the grey and white one I had seen the night before was the one I picked out to shoot if he came close enough. Again they were moving pretty fast. A small sow was trotting along near me and the grey and white was trying to mount her even though she was really small. The rest of the pigs in the group were shuffling all about as they continued to move by briskly.
I drew back and sighted the grey and white at about 20 yards and readied to loose. It was a perfect sight picture, at 15 yards I loosed and as I did I also saw a smaller brown boar moving up fast inside the grey and white. The arrow hit with terrific force and I saw the grey and white and brown boars both leap forward and let out a squeal. It seemed like no more than 3 or four seconds later the clearing was empty and no pigs could be seen or pig sounds heard. It was still 15 minutes before sunrise so I collected my gear and got ready to track my pig. I knew I had hit him high and farther back than I wanted, I had not led him enough but recalling the sound of impact I was pretty sure he was not going to far. Deedy had told me these pigs were tough and don't be surprised if they were hard to bring down. Again she was right.
I searched for my pig for 30 or 40 minutes and had not spotted a blood trail so I was a bit discouraged. Deedy told me to give her a call if I got one and needed help, so I hiked out a bit to where my cell phone would work and called in the cavalry. Deedy showed up and so did a couple of her crew. I told them where I thought the pig went and we began a search. After a short time Deedy stopped us and said lets go back and start exactly where you shot him (I had left my stool there as she had told me before the hunt to mark the spot reminding me I might not remember it later).
After going back to that spot Deedy made sure we worked methodically out from there. It wasn't long till we found the arrow. It had passed completely thru the pig and there was blood all the way up the shaft and all over the fletchings. After that it was a matter of carefully following the blood trail. At first there was not that much blood and it started to look like maybe this pig would get away. After about 100 yards or so of tracking the blood trail improved but it also led into some very thick underbrush pig tunnels.
One of Deedy's crew who had a lot of experience doing this kind of tracking led the way and eventually got way back into the brush another 2 or 3 hundred yards. Then he called out that he had the pig! I was thrilled.
He worked his way back out with the pig on his back and to my surprise it was not the grey and white but the brown boar! I surmised that he caught up to the grey and white right as I loosed. I never try and watch an arrow hit its target because it ruins my aim so even though I had a sense of the location of the hit I had not really seen it.
I have field dressed a lot of game but never a pig so Deedy and her crew were patient with me and led me through it as I really wanted to do it myself. When we got back to the resort they helped me break it down and I learned a bit more. Then we put one nice meat pig in to the cooler.
I hunted again that evening and the next mourning, I didn't get another pig but I saw the grey and white again and I saw a big boar with nice tusks that we had seen on the game camera. Deedy called him a 'toad'.
I left in the afternoon on Wednesday and Deedy reminded me I had half a day of hunting I could use next time.
This was one of the finest hunting experiences I have ever had, Deedy was great, the hunting was great, the hunting areas were a real archers paradise with Turkeys, Deer, Pigs and all kinds off birds. The cabins at the resort were cozy and just right for hunting with nice kitchens and cable TV.
I can't wait to go back and see if I can score the Toad or the grey and white! So if you want to really have a great hunt with great people call Deedy, she is absolutely the best!
John Barnett
I arrived on Monday afternoon and met Deedy. Now I am here to tell you she is the best!!! First we reviewed the recent game camera images around the property i would be hunting. Then we hopped in her truck and headed off to check out the hunting area. On the way she gave me some great pointers on pig hunting.
We entered one of her lease properties and Deedy showed me around, she was really thorough and covered where she expected the wind to come from and where I might best set up as well as some of the tracks the pigs might take. She reminded me that pigs don't pattern all that well so I needed to be flexible, she also reminded me how quick they can be and that they had a really keen sense of smell.
On the way out of the property we got a chance to stop and meet the owner. That was a treat in itself, his family had been in the area since the early 1800's and he was an old timer himself being in his 80's. He was out working on his tractor and I was honored to meet him.
We traveled back to the resort and I changed into my hunting gear and headed out to hunt. Deedy was spot on about the wind and so I settled into some brush near a clearing and waited. She had told me I should hear the pigs coming before I saw them and again she was right.
My first pig encounter was really exciting, after hearing them making progress towards me for a few minutes and trying to spot them, all of a sudden a grey and white boar that was about 200 Lbs. or so, broke out of the brush and headed straight towards my improvised brush blind. He was moving fast and although I could hear a lot more pigs behind him I couldn't see them. I realized he was going to bust my cover when he ran up on me so (Lacking the necessary patience) I drew and stepped out hoping he would turn and I would get off a shot. It didn't happen. As soon as I moved, he bolted past me and was gone. The rest of the pigs disappeared and everything got quiet again except for the turkeys who continued to mill about and gobble. It was already 15 minutes passed sunset so I decided to do some scouting for the morning.
Next day I started out very early and got in place in a new spot that I thought would get the pigs in the open for a better shot if they choose to come the same way again. It was a prime spot, the first visitors were a flock of turkeys that meandered near me, at times so close I could have nearly reached out and touched them. Then several deer came thru several nice does a forky and a nice buck.
About sunrise I started to hear pigs again. This time they entered a clearing in force. There were 12 to 14 of them and the grey and white one I had seen the night before was the one I picked out to shoot if he came close enough. Again they were moving pretty fast. A small sow was trotting along near me and the grey and white was trying to mount her even though she was really small. The rest of the pigs in the group were shuffling all about as they continued to move by briskly.
I drew back and sighted the grey and white at about 20 yards and readied to loose. It was a perfect sight picture, at 15 yards I loosed and as I did I also saw a smaller brown boar moving up fast inside the grey and white. The arrow hit with terrific force and I saw the grey and white and brown boars both leap forward and let out a squeal. It seemed like no more than 3 or four seconds later the clearing was empty and no pigs could be seen or pig sounds heard. It was still 15 minutes before sunrise so I collected my gear and got ready to track my pig. I knew I had hit him high and farther back than I wanted, I had not led him enough but recalling the sound of impact I was pretty sure he was not going to far. Deedy had told me these pigs were tough and don't be surprised if they were hard to bring down. Again she was right.
I searched for my pig for 30 or 40 minutes and had not spotted a blood trail so I was a bit discouraged. Deedy told me to give her a call if I got one and needed help, so I hiked out a bit to where my cell phone would work and called in the cavalry. Deedy showed up and so did a couple of her crew. I told them where I thought the pig went and we began a search. After a short time Deedy stopped us and said lets go back and start exactly where you shot him (I had left my stool there as she had told me before the hunt to mark the spot reminding me I might not remember it later).
After going back to that spot Deedy made sure we worked methodically out from there. It wasn't long till we found the arrow. It had passed completely thru the pig and there was blood all the way up the shaft and all over the fletchings. After that it was a matter of carefully following the blood trail. At first there was not that much blood and it started to look like maybe this pig would get away. After about 100 yards or so of tracking the blood trail improved but it also led into some very thick underbrush pig tunnels.
One of Deedy's crew who had a lot of experience doing this kind of tracking led the way and eventually got way back into the brush another 2 or 3 hundred yards. Then he called out that he had the pig! I was thrilled.
He worked his way back out with the pig on his back and to my surprise it was not the grey and white but the brown boar! I surmised that he caught up to the grey and white right as I loosed. I never try and watch an arrow hit its target because it ruins my aim so even though I had a sense of the location of the hit I had not really seen it.
I have field dressed a lot of game but never a pig so Deedy and her crew were patient with me and led me through it as I really wanted to do it myself. When we got back to the resort they helped me break it down and I learned a bit more. Then we put one nice meat pig in to the cooler.
I hunted again that evening and the next mourning, I didn't get another pig but I saw the grey and white again and I saw a big boar with nice tusks that we had seen on the game camera. Deedy called him a 'toad'.
I left in the afternoon on Wednesday and Deedy reminded me I had half a day of hunting I could use next time.
This was one of the finest hunting experiences I have ever had, Deedy was great, the hunting was great, the hunting areas were a real archers paradise with Turkeys, Deer, Pigs and all kinds off birds. The cabins at the resort were cozy and just right for hunting with nice kitchens and cable TV.
I can't wait to go back and see if I can score the Toad or the grey and white! So if you want to really have a great hunt with great people call Deedy, she is absolutely the best!
John Barnett
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