Spring Hunting for Wild Hogs and Turkeys

Once more into the breach Dear Friends as Hovey chainsaws his way into Williamson Swamp Creek for day and nighttime hunts for wild hogs and turkeys with a muzzleloading rifle, pistol and crossbow.

Hovey’s new Great Nephew-in-Law, Great Niece and Great-Great Nieces are introduced to southern wild hog hunting during a front-porch Q-A conversation that also captures the rapt attention of the family dogs. Hog baiting, night navigation, hunt strategies and a past hunt where a 200-pound hog was taken with a crossbow by the light of a blue moon are discussed.

As Georgia’s turkey season opened a few days later, the hunt changes focus when turkeys are spotted flying up to roost further down the creek. These are set up on the next morning and a sequence of calls-responses from two hens and three tom turkeys are recorded. Although one tom passes out of sight nearby, no shots are offered. New plans are made and the concept of hunting as a series of successive, progressive approximations is introduced.

The author’s muzzleloading rifle, shotgun and pistol are shown with his repaired Tree Lounge “Ground Lounge” at his set up overlooking a hog wallow at the “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog” along with photos of the wallow taken on successive days. Hunting tools shown are the CVA Optima .50-caliber pistol, CVA Electra rifle (legal for wild hogs and turkeys in Georgia), Davide Pedersoli Mortimer 12-Gage flintlock fowler and Marble’s soufanger (hog stabber) extendable knife. A photo is also provided of a Ten Point crossbow and hog taken on a previous hunt.

Options for extracting wild hogs from a swamp are explained. These include setting up a portable tripod to allow the animals to be safely butchered on site. This reduces the amount of weight that has to be hauled over a bluff and along a freshly cut trail through an area of pushed-over trees, slash and tangled vines remaining after a timber harvest.

Ads on the show are from “Honest Abe’s Political Consulting” from Springfield, Illinois, and SIN’s (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.’s) whole roasted wild hog available in traditional pink or a variety of colors.

In honor of the anniversary of his late wife’s, Thresa Babb Smith’s, death, Hovey leaves the listener with a 10-minute recording of restful outdoor music produced by some 20-odd skilled, but unschooled, musicians in an impromptu production.

Link to

“Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog” http://hoveysoutdooradventures.wordpress.com.