Seven Pigs Down in "The Hunt of Lady Luck"

[CottonwoodHunting]

R.R. recommended I start a thread here on JHO to post the results of his hunt. I'll start it off & R.R. is welcome to chime in... This hunt has a ton of great stories!

As this hunt starts approaching I start to plan it out. I have five hunters (plus me guiding) to work with. They're checking in Friday 4/18 and checking out Sunday 4/20.

The way I guide hunts is not spot & stalk style. We hunt by "Pushing" through pig bedding areas. The idea is to wake up the nocturnal pigs from their beds and spook them out into open areas where "Blockers" are waiting. We have hunters (aka the Blockers) waiting in strategic places. The vast majority of shots are at running, spooked pigs. Hunts so far have been exciting. Lets see how this one goes...

Friday 4/18
The group checks in around 12 Noon and I give them a quick tour of their rooms & the kitchen. I leave them alone for a while to get settled in. I come back around 2:45 PM to discuss the hunt with everyone & see what they want to do. A couple of the guys ask about hunting with the sun on their backs as opposed to doing the "Push" into the direction of the sunset. Hunting away from the sun makes sense to me. That way you avoid the glare of the setting sun. We decide to hunt the side of the ranch with the thicker vegetation, with the Pushers walking (aka Pushing) away from the sunset. I leave the group alone for a bit so they can get geared up.

I come back to the house at 3:30 PM to pick up the Pushers (M.L., E.M. & E.Y.) to take them to the far end of the ranch. Everyone has radios and the Pushers are told to stay in place until the Blockers have a chance to get in position. I go back to the house and pick up the blockers, R.R. & C.R. I drive them to their Blocking spot, a hilltop. Here are the Blockers, standing hilltop:



We radio the Pushers & tell them the Blockers are in place. We try to let the Pushers know they can start their Push now but the radios are acting up. I decide to leave R.R. & C.R. on the hilltop and go back to look for the Pushers near where I dropped them off. I want to make sure the Pushers aren't still waiting for us to get into position. I find the Pushers a quarter mile from where I dropped them off. They're Pushing alright. They already saw pigs! E.M., who has his rifle sighted in at 100+ yards, had a pig fly right past him at breakneck speeds. He proclaimed he'd be better off with iron sights! The pigs quickly disappeared into the brush. E.M tells me the pigs were headed in the direction of our hilltop Blockers. Our Blockers are over a mile away from the Pushers at this point. Pigs are unpredictable. Will our Blockers get a shot opportunity? The answer is YES!

It turns out two of those pigs end up running toward our Blockers, running right into our trap. R.R. & C.R. are still standing hilltop when the two pigs run by less than 100 yards from them! R.R. takes aim at a 180+ pound running pig and lands a body shot. Despite the pig being hit, it goes from trotting to all out running! The pig runs literally full speed into the bottom wire of a barbed wire fence, snapping the fence! The pigs were planning to squeeze under the fence but once there were shots fired, the pigs plowed right through, snapping the barbed fence wire!



R.R. & C.R. retrieve the pig!



We get back to the house & throw the pig on the hunting rack. Here'e R.R. with his pig.



The pig weighed in at 183 pounds.



I stand by for "moral support" as R.R. field dresses & skins his pig. The pork makes its way into R.R.'s cooler. I let the group know I'll pick them up at 5:30 AM the next morning (Saturday morning) to start our next Push & Block hunt. Eventually, everyone retires for the evening. Saturday hunting ensues...

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

[7MMHunter]

Hi All,
First and foremost I want to thank Erik for the AWSOME hospitality!!! He informed us of all the ins and outs of hunting his ranch prior to even getting there. He is always quick to respond to emails before the hunt regarding any questions you may have. His professionalism and attitude towards his hunters is top notch. I explained to him even before we got there that three of us are new to the sport and that myself and my better half have not yet been successful in attaining a big game animal. I was so excited to get there and have this opportunity. Not only was I able to finally get a serious opportunity I was able to accomplish my first harvest it with my best friend and soulmate of 25 years next to me! Just to give you all an idea, once me and my lady got set up within minutes we hear gunshots off in the distance, and as Erik stated pigs were pushed out of their bedding areas, we must have seen 2 large boars 500 yards out crossing the field, then quickly right behind us two more hogs running past us so fast, no shot opportunity. We let things quiet down and then only 20 minutes later we see a group of hogs headed right at us! We let them get within 50 yards or so and I let the 7mm Magnum go on the biggest hog of the group. I knew I hit her for she reacted. We went to track her down and found her about 75 yards in a bush from where she got shot! I'll let Erik continue forth for the next day. Trust me the excitement is to continue!!!!

 

[mdn6464]

Very nice. Congrats on a successful hunt. Looking forward to reading the rest of the story.

 

[QEU]

That pig make you look so small. I'm surprised he's only 180lb. Congrats!

 

[REM3006]

Here is my part of the hunt. I did my part as a pusher on Friday hunt. M.L was 75 yds behind and heard he fired a shot missing a pig. I pause for awhile and started walking on the right side of the river bank (thick vegetation) and after about 5 minutes heard a noise coming towards me. It was a big boar running and when he noticed me jump into the river bed and ran towards the left bank of the river and fired a shot but missed. Continue walking in thick vegetation thinking all pigs are already spooked. About 15 minutes later, one big pig passed on my right side about 10 yds on high gear, fired another shot but hard to find him on my scope (too close) he was a lucky one. With in 30 seconds another pig passed me on my left side running like hell. No shot. I told myself, I should have brought an iron sight with this kind of hunting.
Saturday morning hunt, I was setting up for a blocker with M.L when I saw a bunch of pigs running about 247 yds (thru my range finder) from me and M.L is about 110 yds between me and the pigs. For being closer to the oinkers he fired a volley of fire and hit one of the porker. Same bunch of pigs run into R.R, C.R & E.Y, one of the big boys (boar) took a fatal Barnes TSX on the shoulder rolling down the river bank. The team head back to skin the harvest and break for lunch. Afternoon hunt I position on top of the hill but no luck. Erik the great guide, suggest I block a clearing close to the house. Stood there for almost an hour and a half and saw a pig walking thru vegetation but the oinker smells me and made a U turn. (smart pig) I know he (oinker) has no place to go because C.R, M.L & E.Y are pushing towards me. I tell my self for sure he will be back but don't know when and where ? About 20 minutes later saw him trotting in the river bed. He made a mistake playing a hide and seek and lost. I send him an E-Tip 150 gns. at 2700fps to collect my prize a 120 lbs. young boar.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

first of all i want to Erik for inviting me as an observer my man, it was an awesome pig hunt, and to watch my jho bro Ralph blast a nice porker with 7 mm cannon....Lol
Super congrats to 7 mm and his soulmate, u two love birds look like ma & pa Kettles ready to defend the south ..lol
Can't wait to see the photo with the pork in the freezer u scored of me bro, so happy for u guys, well deserved my friend!
Congrats Rem on putting a porker on the ground!
Can't wait to hear the rest of the hunt stories......tra


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[7MMHunter]

Brother Nick your freezer could not have come to my place at a better time!!! I'll post it when I get home today after work, lol. I'm gonna let Erik continue his side of the hunt and we'll go from there. I see you were right along side of us the whole time. I'm So grateful for all your advice when we met up that evening before your next adventure to Florida.


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[huntingbret]

Awesome awesome and more awesomeness.

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

I'll continue at the top of Day 2.

Saturday 4/19

On Friday we only had an afternoon hunt. Today is Saturday and we have two hunts-- a morning hunt and an afternoon hunt with a break in the middle of the day.

We're hunting fresh ground today, on the opposite side of the ranch. We will be using a similar strategy as the day before: Pushers & Blockers. I pull up to the house Saturday morning at 5:30 AM to pick up the Pushers first.

The Pushers R.R., C.R. and E.Y. get in the truck and I drive them to the end of the property. They have radios. The idea is for the Pushers to walk back toward the center of the ranch, pushing through bedding areas along the way. If the Pushers jump a group of pigs out of bed, the Pushers can radio the Blockers a heads up, letting the Blockers know to be on the lookout for pigs... At least in theory ig-laughing:. Once the Pushers are dropped off they have a few minutes to wait while I pick up the Blockers and drive the Blockers to their spot.

I pick up the Blockers M.L. and E.M. in the truck and drive them to their spot. It must be a few minutes after 6:00 AM at this point. The spot is a flood-zone clearing approximately one mile from where the Pushers are. If the Pushers spook up some pigs, hopefully the pigs will make their way into this clearing and the Blockers will get a shot opportunity.

I put E.M. on a good hill overlooking the clearing and I'm walking M.L. across to the other side of the clearing. We aren't even in place yet when E.M. yells to us "pigs!!". We look toward the dry creek and see a group of 5-6 pigs running up the bank. I cover my ears in anticipation of a rifle shot. M.L. takes the shot but I don't see where it landed. The group of pigs were trotting but with the gunfire they take off full speed toward our Pushers. Did we even tell the Pushers to start Pushing yet? Aren't the Pushers supposed to be sending pigs toward the Blockers, not vice versa!? Did these pigs not get the memo? Where's the radio R.R. gave me? Did I leave the radio in the truck? We need to warn the Pushers! Someone warn them! So many thoughts race through my mind.

One of us has a radio handy and warns the Pushers that a group of big pigs is headed their way. Moments later I hear a shot fired. The pigs made it all the way to our Pushers a mile away! The plan worked, just backwards. I guess you could say the pigs spooked us that morning.

M.L. and I go try to track his pig. We catch up to the pig and M.L. puts in the kill shot.

Its a boar!

View attachment 81199

Here's another shot of the snout/tusks.



The boar weighed in at 178 LBs!



As for the shot(s) we heard, turns out R.R. shot a boar as well. R.R's young boar still had some of his spots on his coat. R.R. made the shot from the side of the creek opposite the boar! After taking the bullet, the spotted boar rolled down the hill to his final resting place-- he saw a painless and sudden demise.

Here is R.R. with his boar. What the young boar lacked in tusks he made up in spots.



This young boar is sporting the mo-hawk look. Is this not a razorback??



We all thought the young spotted boar was light. Most of us guessed it was under 100 LBs for some reason, but he weighed in at 120 LBs.



This is a good start to a Saturday morning, but we still have several hunters who haven't taken pigs...

**TO BE CONTINUED**

 

[7MMHunter]

So as Erik stated CR,EY and myself are at the Far East side of the river from them. As we begin our turn with the push not 10 minutes into this hunt we here shots fired and then on the radio we here " group of hogs on their way to you". Wait a minute I thought we were the pushers not the blockers lol! We get set up and CR yells their they are across the river. I get a quick glimpse at them and their trotting along river about 200 yards out. We wait til their about almost parallel with us and before I know it CR sends them a round but a clean miss, now they begin full on run. I reposition with EY and get one dialed in at 150 yards or so. Send him a 150 grn Barnes TTSX. He looked like he hit a brick wall and instantaneously rolled down the hill toward the river. We mark it off and continue the push toward headquarters. Along the way I bump another loan boar but it was too quick so no shot opportunity and we reconvene with everyone.


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[QEU]

Someone trying to hoist the other pig up by its front legs? Lol

 

[QEU]

ML, looks like you broke his urine sack with that shot. Tainted meat?

 

[7MMHunter]

QEU you know your friend ML all too well. That would be both his moves.


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[Live2hunt]

Since when did all your names became RR, CR, ML, EM, and EY? Was it after each of y'all gave the shout of the wild, "I'm a rookie No More!!!"

And sounds like there could be lots of chilli wrap dances if the game have been brought along to the hunt.

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

Since when did all your names became RR, CR, ML, EM, and EY? Was it after each of y'all gave the shout of the wild, "I'm a rookie No More!!!"

And sounds like there could be lots of chilli wrap dances if the game have been brought along to the hunt.

Haha actually I didn't know everyone's JHO usernames when I started this thread and figured not everyone necessarily wants their real names put out there on the interwebs. Also, I have to give a shout out to asaxon because I saw he used initials on one of his hunting stories so I followed suit.

I still haven't posted the pictures & story for the Saturday afternoon hunt but I haven't forgotten. Stay tuned.

 

[7MMHunter]

Live2hunt you always the funniest statements. Hope to see you soon brother.


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[CottonwoodHunting]

Saturday 4/19 Part 2

I left off at the end of the Saturday morning hunt. We took a break in the middle of the day. When it was time for the Saturday afternoon hunt I picked up the gang a little after 3:30 PM. This time E.M (aka REM3006) & E.Y. are stationed on the hill ready to block any pigs that come into their large field of view. Here's a picture of our Blockers perched hilltop, E.Y. in the foreground and REM3006 in the background.



Some time passes and we get word that pigs may be headed our way. I'm standing with E.Y. when, from the hilltop, we see a group of five pigs trotting across the field toward the property line. E.Y. lines up a shot.

View attachment 81265

Luckily I had the wherewithal to snap some pictures in this moment. Here's a zoomed in picture of the pigs E.Y. is aiming at as they make their way across the field toward the property line. They're moving fast and the dust is flying.



Seconds after this picture is taken, the pigs are gone into the neighboring ranch. While on the hill we hear some shots fired. The Pushers make it to where the blockers are, and we group up on the hill to exchange stories of what went down.



Turns out our Pushers had better luck at this time. This is perhaps the craziest thing I have heard, but R.R. (7MMHunter) & C.R. were bustin' brush, pushing through the dry creek when they come upon a pig laying down. They got so close to it, thinking it must somehow be a downed pig that had been earlier injured during the hunt-- but they were mistaken. The pig was not injured or previously shot. The pig was bedded there in the open. 7MMHunter & C.R. watched it wake and stand up! It snarled at C.R. and between the both of them, 7MMHunter and C.R. took the pig down. Here is the actual spot where it was bedded-- surprisingly it was bedded in the open like this.

View attachment IMG_4409.MOV



While 7MMHunter & myself are retrieving the pigs dragging them and loading them into the truck, REM3006, E.Y., M.L. and C.R. continue with a Push to try and get REM3006 a shot opportunity. He got his shot opportunity alright. REM3006 posted what happened, so you can read his side of things there. We make it back to headquarters with the pigs and snap some pictures and throw each pig on the scale before field dressing.



In the future I might have everyone field dress their animal right away, and only bring it back in one piece to weigh it if its a trophy boar. Especially now that summer is coming and per usual it will be a hot summer.

This was the most pigs I've seen taken in one weekend! There are so many pigs I lost track of all the stories! To all who hunted with me that weekend, feel free to fill in some of the blanks. Five hunters, seven pigs, and a good time all around. I was guiding a great group of people. I only hope I showed them as much hospitality as they managed to show me during their visit.

We skipped the Sunday morning hunt because with five hunters and seven pigs, the tags and coolers were filled!

 

[REM3006]

Erick, this is a heads up, R.R and me are planning to book sometime Oct. or Nov. for our First Ladies to harvest the pig.
ig-laughing:

 

[CottonwoodHunting]

Erick, this is a heads up, R.R and me are planning to book sometime Oct. or Nov. for our First Ladies to harvest the pig.
ig-laughing:

Awesome, I'm looking forward to having you guys back! I'll get you a list of dates to choose from as soon as I can. Most likely, I'll have the dates for you early this week. Thanks again for giving my outfit a chance.

 

[7MMHunter]

Hi everyone,
Just to get things into the clear, Erik had given us the choice to go back out Sunday morning but our group decided that we had plenty of action and hogs for everyone to enjoy! I'm sure the stories we have among ourselves will last our lifetime! For those of you that are considering booking with him I'm sure he's booked solid now for quite sometime. Good luck to all future hunters that decide to go to Cottonwoodhunting LLC. Our hunt team that wants to go on our next hunt in the fall with Erik will be the same group and an additional hunter which meets his maximum of 6 hunters total. All the best to Erik and his Outfit!
Here is a hog my lady put a kill shot on the Saturday afternoon hunt
View attachment 81284

7MMhunter
and CR!