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High on the Hog
I have hogs on the brain today. I opened my email this morning to a nice message about a Women in the Outdoors hog hunt coming up next month. Then, in my endless scans of outdoor news headlines, I saw this Telegraph story about a high-speed hog chase in Australia, in which some fast-moving pig poachers were pursued across the Outback by police and angry airborne farmers. The story stated that in Australia, wild pigs (with an estimated population of 23 million) outnumber people. Learn something new every day.
Back on this side of the ocean and the right side of the law, I'm sure a number of us have hog hunting plans coming up. I for one have never been, but I've heard plenty of tales from others about horseback chases, and crazed charging swine, and one inconvenient situation in which a friend ended up with a hog
mount so big it overtook her dining room.
I also hear more than I'd like about the whole topic of Hogzilla Culture -- the killing of freakishly monster pigs resulting in celebrity hunters, scandalous headlines, pig parades, and even pig movies (yup, that's a movie poster at right).
Insanity aside, I wonder how many of us are die hard hog hunters, and what some of our best swine stories are. And if you have pictures -- send them in and I'll put them up! -K.H.
Kim: Just read your post on hogs. I recently have seen and went on a hog hunt at Rex's Christmas Place Plantation and Hunting Club in the MS Delta. Rex has Deer Camp Blog at www.bodocktimes.blogspot.com and they harvest a lot of hogs there and have hog eating feast. Anyway, Rex and I have a friend from CA who has a blog on hogs at www.californiahuntingtoday.com/hogblog. It's called the Hog Hunting Blog and is really a neat blog to check out on hogs....at least it's on this side of the ocean! :)
Posted by: Marian | January 31, 2008 at 10:57 PM
I've heard stories of how some women go after those porkers with a knife! They get that thing killed fast too! I've never gone Hog hunting, unless you count Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2. Lol OMG that Hogzilla in there is just plain nasty and I had to jump away from the computer screen more than once.
I'm definitely game to hunt hogs if I ever get a chance though.
I had to laugh at seeing that movie poster, I highly doubt it'll make a top seller.
Posted by: Laura Bell | February 01, 2008 at 07:48 AM
I may just have to check that movie out. I'm a sucker for cheesy, campy, really bad movies. lol.
Hogs are probably some of the game that I have the least exposure too, but it sure does sound like fun!
Posted by: Shannon | February 01, 2008 at 08:17 AM
We are leaving next week for a hog hunt in Texas. This is our third year in a row and have yet to harvest a hog. We have not seen a hog in shooting light to even shoot at.
I am hoping that the third time is a charm because I have heard they are a blast to hunt if you do get the chance.
Texas is supposidly over run with hogs and a nuisance to the ranches. The outfitters that we have booked hunts with told us that and yet when we arrived to hunt, there we no hogs to hunt.
I realize that they eventually go nocturnal after the pressure is put on them. It just seems like one would stick it snout out in the daylight. Heck, the first year the only hog we saw was in the headlights of the pickup when we arrived back at the ranch from hunting.
I did harvest a havelina the first year and that was exciting.
Wish me luck as I head out to shake off the "nothing to hunt, winter blues".
All I want is a big, spotted hog to hang on my basement wall and stock up the freezer with the meat.
Posted by: Judy Black | February 01, 2008 at 11:03 AM
On my way to Louisiana in 2 weeks:) We had originally tongue-in-cheek named our upcoming pig hunt The Valentines Day Massacre, but after all the headlines last year, kinda poor taste...
I think I'm almost more excited about the sense of community associated with this hunt than I am the the very real challenge of a pig hunt.
Hunting in my sister's neck of the woods (SW Louis.) is a way of life. Life is slower there; people work hard at hardly glamorous jobs. It's a very rural place and very spread out. Woods are so thick, neighborhoods are almost invisible. New modulars, moldy trailers and dream homes pepper the same county roads.
Places like Gillises become the social hub. Spending a few months in Ragley, LA, even I could feel the sense of community there.
You might see only a dive gas station were you to buzz on by. But the parking lot's hopping with folks comin' and goin' and probably hangin' around for awhile.
It's more than gas. Gillises has a fry-food counter with everything from donuts to wings to the best boudin sausage around. They have piping hot Community brand coffee (no Starbucks here!) and they'll get to know your favored cigarettes.
And it's not all grease. Every visit, I stock up on the best in-house andoullie, tasso, deer sausage and the best smoked pork sausage I've ever had!
If I should be so lucky in my Louisianna pig hunt, I'll be taking my meat to Gillises. They'll be excited for my success and spend all the time in the world chattin' me up about it- and THEN telling everyone else. (This IS the place for gossip you know!)
They process game year around and you get your own meat back. They even have have an archery shop, a shooting range- sign up for an archery lesson!
My sister, Natalie, works in a power plant and after 12 years, the "bubbas" & gents have taken this young northern woman (in a "mans" job) into their fold. Her co-worker James has taken us fishing on the Gulf and shooting at the range.He helped Natalie buy her first rifle and even cut it down for her. Now he's taking us pig hunting.
James has been hunting hard for ducks all month to celebrate my visit and our hunt- he's gonna cook us up a hot pot of wild game gumbo.
I'm spoiled living and hunting in Colorado, what with mulies, elk, grouse and trout. But my pig hunt in Louisiana is truly something I look forward to: family and friends, community and great food.
Posted by: Genevieve | February 01, 2008 at 12:59 PM