March came quickly; I was still helping Brent organize our hunting stuff from the close of last season.  We had booked a hog hunt for the 2004 season with Hoppy Kempher, owner of Osceola Outfitters in Melbourne, Florida.  It was going to be nice to leave Virginia and head south to warmer weather.  We had decided that we were going to bow hunt exclusively on this trip.  We were going with a group of friends that had been going every March for years.  They had told us that there was no shortage of hogs on this ranch.  So we packed up the car with high hopes of pigs running everywhere.  It was a 12 hour drive to camp.  We would arrive on Thursday evening, eat supper and ready ourselves for the next morning’s hunt! 

The first morning, we all took to tree stands over an electronic feeder.  It was programmed to dispense corn for five seconds twice a day: morning and evening.  I was dropped off well before light. As I was making my way to my stand, I had remembered what my guide had told me. He had told me that Florida had more species of snakes than any other state, and they were practically everywhere.  I didn’t  know if he was pulling my leg, but I wasn’t going to question him. I am afraid of snakes!  I was certain that I would find a snake greeting me in my stand.  So I climbed up cautiously with my Mag light scanning for any unwanted visitors.  I was relieved to find nothing but a damp seat.  I got settled into my stand without incident.  There is something eerie about darkness, particularly in unfamiliar places with animals lurking in the bushes, that raises my hair on occasion.  Once settled in though, with the sun starting to crack over the horizon, I became very comfortable in my surroundings.  I was excited for the corn to start wheeling out of that drum.  As I sat in my stand, I became very relaxed and almost drifted off - until the sound of the corn whizzing out of the barrel startled me.  I jumped and then relaxed again hoping I would hear the snorts of the grizzly pigs start to emerge. I wanted to shoot several mature females and a trophy for my wall.  Ever so cautiously, several swine started to emerge from the palmetto.  My heart started to race, this was going to be a slam dunk, or so I thought!  As they made there way to the corn, they were really jumpy.  They would nibble for a second, and then almost jump back like they were looking over their shoulders.  Just as I thought “here is my shot” they would move.  I was beginning to think, “I’ll never get my bow drawn back for a shot.”  As it was, I didn’t draw my bow that morning, I was just having fun learning their behaviors.  At that moment, I immediately gave credit to those hogs, and I was humbled.  It was not going to be as easy as I thought!

I enjoyed watching the Osceola turkeys pecking at the bait, and the raccoons, too, would come in and steal pieces of corn. They were cute. 

I was picked up two hours later. We headed back to camp for a hearty brunch, then we all swapped stories and relaxed.  Hoppy decided we would ride around in the high rack truck and turn the dogs loose to bay a boar.  That was so exciting to me.  Shortly after we started to ride the roads of his enormous ranch, Bailey,(his lead dog) got a whiff of a hog!  No sooner than we stopped the truck, she barreled off the side of the truck and headed for the swamps.  Hoppy, Brent, and I were in tow and I was in awe of what was happening.  It really happened fast; the dogs had a hog bayed and we were fast approaching.  The echoes of the barking rang true.  This was about the most exciting experience that I have ever had!  It was so green and thick I could hardly see ten yards in front of me!  As we approached the bayed hog, Hoppy got a glimpse and saw that this hog had teeth. He exclaimed, “It’s a boar”!  I got into position, drew my bow, and released.  It was about a three yard shot, and it was good!  It came to my attention that I had shot a barrow hog, which means that when it was a young male it was captured in the wild, castrated, and let loose.  The benefit of shooting this type of hog is that the meat is delicious and you still have a trophy to mount!  You get the best of both worlds!  I couldn’t have been happier!

The rest of the week was very eventful!  I stalked a large female the next day.  Brent harvested a trophy boar and two nice females.  We had plenty of pork to take home to family and friends! 

This trip was a fun hunt. It is nice to be able to hunt when all seasons are closed back home.  It is great practice in the off season, when you don’t have any pressure.  I mean if you miss, no big deal; it’s not like the Big Buck got away!  There probably will be another hog right around the corner!  It’s an all around relaxed hunt that gears you up for the upcoming season!