3/8/07

Taking the ‘road to nowhere’ on a quest for hogs
By Terry Madewell
Part One of Two

Terry Madewell Photo

Bruce Ayers and Josh Airey looking at fresh hog sign (rooting) to help them figure out where to put the stand to hunt.

Have you ever felt like you were on the road to nowhere?

Well, I’ve been there recently.

And I’d be glad to go back again.

Names of places can be deceiving. I’ve encountered that a number of times while hunting in South Carolina over the years. At first glance the twisting, narrow path named “The Road to Nowhere” seemed appropriate. While I slipped down that narrow, winding road into the deep, dark and dank woods of the Congaree swamp, the name seemed more than an accurate description.

It was dark, quiet and the terrain was mucky swampland.

All was quiet for a while once I climbed into the stand. But about dark-thirty, it seemed the area became alive with critters and eventually became “Wild Boar Central.”

No, I soon realized, I was not alone. In retrospect, I was never alone that evening. But I had a .44 Mag Carbine and a high-tech Burris Scope with me.

Thank the Lord. I needed them both.

Let me tell you how I got here.

Some hunters enjoy the sport of hog hunting because it offers a change of pace from deer hunting or other hunting sports. Some employ the sport as a means of staying “sharp” in terms of woodsmanship skills. A final group does it simply because it’s their personal passion.

Bruce Ayers and Josh Airey firmly fit in that final group.

“We simply love to hunt hogs,” Ayers said. “I got into the sport about 15 years ago and got hooked on hog hunting from the beginning. Granted, it does help hone hunting skills for other game. And Josh and I both love to hunt deer. But hogs are a year-round hunting opportunity and offer unlimited time in the woods,”

Airey also said that it enables him to check out various forms of equipment that will help him in other hunting sports such as deer and turkey hunting.

“Equipment and tools used by hunters are crucial to success,” Airey said. “Scopes and improvement in scopes in recent years, along with hearing enhancers, spotting scopes, night vision equipment and other hunting tools of the trade are great for testing on hogs. Then, even if deer hunting is your passion, you can take what you’ve learned while hog hunting and apply it to endeavors such as deer or turkey hunting.”

On a recent trip to the Congaree Swamp for hog hunting, that’s exactly what we did. In fact, I made some discoveries that changed my perspective on hunting optics.

All serious deer hunters know that the last few minutes of light, as well as the first few minutes in the early morning, are the most likely times to see and harvest a big buck.

The same is very true with hogs, maybe more so, I discovered while hunting with these guys recently. However, they have refined their hog hunting much more than I have my deer hunting in terms of optics, for example.

Airey is a marketing representative for a number of outdoor products, including Burris scopes. I had not used Burris scopes prior to this hunt, but had heard good reports about them. I had also seen a couple deer hunters with the lighted reticle scopes, but those were the low-end quality of scopes, not Burris. I had not been too impressed; but it was really a matter of the overall optics not being good enough. I became a staunch believer in the Burris LRS (Lighted Reticle Scope). I will have one on my deer rifle before next season.

While these guys literally stalk hunt hogs in the deep swamps (that will be another story here sometime), they hunt them from stands as well. Typically, they will find areas hogs are using and focus on finding the funnels and routes where hogs will come within range of a stand. Ayers said they will often put up climbing stands in a hot location, much as hunters do for deer hunting.

“There are a lot of similarities between deer and hog hunting from a stand,” Ayers said. “You can have a stand in an area, use bait which is legal, and hunt hogs or deer when deer are in season. You can also find such hot hog sign and ample natural food sources where you can hang a climber on a tree and get in it right then. Often I’m successful that same day.”

Airey said that optics are a key to success in this type of hunting.

“Bruce and I have found that if anything, hogs will come to bait or work through an area in the evening even later than deer. Sometimes it’s well after dark when the hogs move in. You can hear them coming from a long distance and often I’ve been counting the minutes and even seconds that I have ample light to shoot. This is where even a few minutes will spell the difference between success and failure. Plus, we’ve found that the lighted reticle Burris scope will enable a hunter to take a hog well past the time you can see the crosshair unlighted. But it will still be within the legal shooting time.”

Such was exactly the case with me down the Road to Nowhere. It was a quiet evening deep in the Congaree Swamp. It was dark in there even before the sun set. I was in a swamp bottom, under a big canopy of trees, at the base of a high hill casting a shadow on the area.

I had a feeling this hunt would be memorable. I was right.

Next week: The hunt down the Road to Nowhere continues.