3/30 Sunday morning hunt

[Circle C]

Aladatrot, JML, and I  headed out for an early morning hunt.

  Got the dogs and horses unloaded, and hit the pipeline at about 5:30am. We made it about 150 yards and hit some deep water and mud. We would not see well enough to navigate around the water, so we waited until daylight so that we could see where we were going better. About 7:15 the dogs rolled out, we tracked them, and started heading that direction.  This place was WET, it has not rained in weeks, and we were in hock deep mud in places. about 8:00 the dogs bayed, we got to withing about 30 yards of the bay, then went in on foot. It was a nice sow bayed up in thicket/bedding area, it took the dogs a little while until they were able to get close enough to her to get her caught. Jason got her legged, and that's when we realized the hobbles must have been lost in the woods. Ended up sticking her.  We figure she went a conservative 175#, felt like about 600# dragging her through the mud!





While we were taking pictures, one of Jason's dogs rolled out, and found another. the rest of the dogs opened up, and he and Mandi headed to that bay.  I was trying to get a mark on the sow so we did not lose her in the thick stuff.  I gave up on my GPS getting a signal  and I started dragging her to the horses. About the time I got to the horses, Jason and Mandi made it back with a trophy boar.  He was a sure enough trophy boar in  the  65# range.
 


The mud was too deep for my horse to carry me, and drag the sow, so I dallied the sow, and led my horse out.It worked well, until I trip and fell face first into a water hole. We loaded the trophy boar on Mandi's little colt ( we did not want to mess up the hide for a full body mount ) 
 
 We finally made it to the pipeline again, and the dogs bayed another one. We ditched the hogs, marked them on the GPS, and headed to the bay. The bay kept breaking and eventually the dogs started coming back.Next thing you know the hogs have been laying for a couple hours. No use in getting them picked up after laying in the heat that long. We  made it back to the pipeline the trucks were parked on, Jason's horse got bogged down for a bit, in some belly deep mud, he had to dismount, and get the horse on higher ground.  Finally made it back to the trucks, with two dogs still out. Here are some pictures of us when we made it back to the trucks. Horses were plum wore out from the deep stuff.





After loading the horses, and dogs that were with us, we got in the truck and began tracking to the dogs. Got close enough that we could call them out.

Head count.
1 sow
1 boar
1 snake
and the biting deer flies almost claimed me!

[aladatrot]

Thanks Jason for a great time! The horses went home and were happy to be rinsed down and in their stalls, munching. Lupe and SherryDog hit the hay and didn't even talk at dinnertime. Hunter (as usual) was ready to hunt again before we left the property. Silly catch dog :O)

Thanks again!
M

[matt_aggie04]

Alright that settles it!  I gotta get a four legged ride hahaha.  That place is a sob with deep deep mud that sucks to walk in.  Horses are the way to go over there fo sho.  Good job guys and good looking horses and hogs.

Matt

[BRUTE]

That's hunting right there... no doubt about it.

[Mike]

I glad y'all had a good time and caught a couple!

That place will be just as wet and swampy in the middle of a drought.

Next time i'll bring my horse "Honda" and help get the hogs out.

[duece24]

sounds like the horse were as tired as i was, sat......ya'll got on hogs, the horses, dogs, and apparently you too also got work...lol

[Circle C]

Josh,

    We were dead tired.  On the way home, we stopped to get some lunch, then moved a backhoe to Pasadena, then went home and went to sleep.

Mike,

    Leave your Honda at the house. We will put you on a horse.  Just need to get our schedules to line up.

[aladatrot]

Mike, maybe bring the Honda Horse just in case :O) 


Matt - you know what I did notice? In the same places those horses were sunk up to their gaskins I could walk without sinking at all. I was walking on the yuck leading Cooper and he was having a very hard time sinking in the mud. My boots weren't even muddy.

I don't know what Jason's horse stepped into on the pipeline coming out, but he was just walking along and all of a sudden he was up to his belly and chest in mud. Jason stepped off (wasn't far to step thanks to the mud) and helped his horse out of the hole. He said he never found a bottom to that one. It was nasty but his horse took it well. I'm pretty sure Cooper would have flat given up in that mud hole. "Just leave me here to die!", he'd say!

M

[Critter]

Aladatrot & Circle C,
                         Sure looks like ya'll had all the makings of a great time. Only thing I see missing is Savannah. If she ever figures out we can hunt these dogs off of horses, I won't be able to contain her. She wants one now so bad she's about ready to bust. It won't be long before she breaks me down I'm afraid! --John

[aladatrot]

Message me Savannah's email address and I'll send her the photos of my horses. She said she loves Arabians and I have plenty of Arabian show horses :O)
M

[Sean]

yeah, i haven't hunted over there in sometime chris. but it sounds just as wet and nasty as i remember it!lol. glad ya'll had a good hunt and got some hogs!

[jls41]

Hey Mandy, sounds like Cooper is making you a fine hog horse!!! 

Sounds like an awesome hunt!!  Congrats to all!!!

[jml]

Chris and Mandi, I had a good time as well, Mike if your gonna bring that honda down that pipeline you better bring it some floaties, when I was younger we used to go fourwheeling down it, back then you could step out of a stuck truck on 44's and just about swim to the edge, theyre DEEP. It was a good morning, all the dogs hunted well, caught a couple hogs and I didn't get in that much trouble for being late, I needed to be home around 10 but didnt pull into the gate till 12, but im sure everyone knows how that goes.

[BRUTE]

That's the down side to horses. Lots of weight on 4-6" round circles. Lots of time a atv will skip right across it and you will never know.

As with any thing... pros and cons. Still lots of fun.