It was the middle of winter in Minnesota when my cameraman, Chad, and I received an invitation from fellow PSE pro-staffer Dan Perez to hunt hogs in Florida. It was a great way to break away from the miserable temperatures that were frequently reaching well below zero.  Joining Dan on the trip was his son Danny. 

When Dan told me his boy was coming on his first hog hunt, I figured a young man about 14 years old, but much to my surprise, Danny was a 250 pound 27 year old that towered over everyone. 

After attending the 2003 SHOT show in Orlando, we headed further south to a town just outside of Orlando.  There we met the ranch foreman and our guide.   We were going to be hunting a large island, known for its abundance of wild hogs!  There were no fences here, just a whole lot of water, and a few of those gators Florida is famous for.  To travel from land to the island, we would be taking a barge large enough to fit 2 full-size trucks.  So, we pulled our vehicles upon the large barge that was powered by a single 130 horse mercury motor, and after raising the ramp, we were on our way to "pig heaven!"

The 45 minute trip to the island was very pleasant.  During this time we got the chance to admire the beautiful scenery of central Florida.  This area was abundant with wildlife as eagles were spotted soaring through the skies by the dozens, and in almost every grove of lily pads alligators could be found bathing in the warm sunlight. Fishing also seemed to be relatively popular around here, as there were scores of bass boats on just about every weed line.  The water was fairly calm with a slight breeze, which caused small ripples on the surface that glistened like gold from the sun's rays.  This was going to be a great hunt; I could feel it in my BONES! 

Arriving at the camp we were greeted by our camp cook, who would later make us some of the finest southern casseroles I have ever tasted.  The log constructed bunk house looked similar to Will Primo's deer camp, with a large covered porch adorned with wooden rocking chairs that I knew I would find myself in after a hard days hunting.  Upon entering the inside we discovered walls decorated with wild hog and rattlesnake taxidermy.  Good thing it's not snake season, because the snakes on this place are BIG!

After unpacking our gear, it was off to the archery range to make sure our equipment was still sighted in.  After a couple of shots into the BLOCK target, I started experiencing sharp pains in my shoulder.  The pain grew to such intensity that I couldn't hold my bow steady any more.  I had experienced this pain the week prior while training for a power lifting tournament, but didn't feel it was a matter that had to be dealt with.  As Dan and his son kept practicing I had to take a break to try to discover the problem.   No matter what I tried to do, the pain in my shoulder would not go away.  The only solution I could think of was to turn the poundage way down in order to make the process of pulling my bow back as painless as possible.  I turned my PSE Gorilla bow down from 104 pounds to somewhere around 80 pounds, but the pain in my shoulder was still so excruciating that it was beginning to bring tears to my eyes.  Though the pain was consuming my whole existence, I felt comfortable that I would be able to place the arrow where I was aiming. 

Our two guides decided to take us around the island to show us the lay of the land.  The island was highly vegetated offering plenty of areas to spot and stalk.  With enough time to still hunt the first evening, we excitedly went and got our equipment and started glassing for hogs.  We spotted the first group of hogs about 4:30 in the afternoon.  And since young Danny had not yet harvested a hog, we decided to let him have first crack at the hogs.  Dan and I sat back and watched the stalk from a distance as he and his guide used the wind and the vegetation in their favor to get in closer to the hogs.  Danny was able to get within range of the hogs and patiently awaited a shot opportunity at one of the larger boars. 

We watched Danny as he slowly raised his bow into position and drew back to anchor.  A large light colored boar was quickly moving into his shooting range.  He released an arrow and the thud of the arrow striking the hog was so loud it sounded like a batter being hit by a Nolan Ryan fastball!  The large boar reacted by taking off into the thick under brush.  You could see Danny raise his arms in excitement with a grin on his face from ear-to-ear.  After waiting about fifteen minutes, we walked over to where Danny and his guide were standing, to hear Danny recap on how he arrowed his first hog. 

We followed the blood trail through the thick brush which required crawling on our hands and knees to maneuver our way through it, probably not something you'd want to do when snakes are in season.  The well placed arrow did its job as the hog was recovered some 80 yards later.  In the process of retrieving Danny's hog we could hear hogs around us squealing and fighting.  So, we quickly pulled Danny's hog from the thick brush and then started glassing for another large boar. 

It did not take very long when several hogs were spotted alongside a mud hole.  One very large boar stood out among the crowd of hogs like a sore thumb.  This time it was dad's turn, so ?Big? Dan inched forward trying to get closer for a shot.  Dan was able to get within 40 yards of the mud hole filled with hogs by using the cover of the palmettos to his advantage.  The large boar stood broadside in the mud hole, but there were so many hogs in the way, that Dan couldn't get a clear shot.  After a few minutes, the hog Dan was eying stepped away from the group.  Dan sent an arrow that passed through the hog like a torpedo, burying itself in the cool Florida mud.  After retrieving Dan's hog some 40 yards later, it was getting too dark to make another stalk.  So, we headed back to the cabin for a big home cooked meal. 

Something about the fresh air of Florida and a full belly makes a man extremely tired.  After dinner, we hit the sack early looking forward to a morning of hog filled fun.   However, for me the night wouldn't be filled with sweet dreams, as several times I awoke with excruciating pains in my arm.  The pain that I once felt was so minor was now growing to be a major problem.  A few Tylenols later I finally was able to fall asleep

As the sun was coming up, we found ourselves along the wood line looking for hogs leaving the fields.  Several times that morning I found myself within shooting distance of several hogs; however, they were all sows and piglets.  I was looking for a large boar.  Moments later I spotted several groups of hogs leaving the fields and into the woods, but I wasn't able to intercept their path in time.  About 10 a.m. there seemed to be no more sign of hogs moving anywhere.  So, after talking to Dan and his son, who had experienced the same results, we headed back to camp.

On the way back to camp, we came across an armadillo feeding in the open.  Dan told us he used to catch armadillos all the time when he was younger.  So we challenged him to catch one barehanded.  Dan started to approach the armadillo from its back.  He slowly moved into position, with the armadillo about 4-5 feet in front of him. He stood still like a cat about to pounce on a mouse.  All in one fluid motion, Dan made one quick lunge, pinning the armadillo to the ground with his bare hands.  Laughing, he picked the armadillo up to show us all of his accomplishment.  We all stood amused as the cameramen got the whole thing on tape.  I gave Dan a perfect "10" on his armadillo dive.

While back at camp for lunch, I took my bow out for a couple more practice shots.  I found that I had to fight the intense pain in order to hold my bow steady enough for my arrow to hit the intended target.  I would make sure on our hunt tonight that my shot was close and hopefully that the excitement of the moment would help me forget about the pain in my arm.  Later that afternoon, a friend of the rancher asked us if we wanted to go on an airboat ride in search for large gators.  So we jumped at the opportunity and took off for the backwaters of the lake, where the swamp grass was high and the gators were plentiful. 

I couldn't believe the amount of gators that were around that island!  It seemed every weed line and mud bank had a gator on it.  And I do not mean little gators; we are talking about 10 and 11 footers.  On several occasions we saw some of the rancher's cattle around the island standing in knee high water, and we wondered if a gator might strike at any moment.  Our guide said that they lose several head of their cattle a year to the gators.  The gators were not scared of the airboat by any means; this allowed us to get extremely close to these critters.  On one occasion we got so close to this big gator that when he became startled, the whipping of his tail in retreat threw mud all over the boat getting several of us soaking wet.  Man, sure wish it were gator season! 

That evening I found myself back in stealth mode glassing for hogs.  Early on only a few stragglers could be spotted easing out of the palmettos.  You know, hogs are kind of like bears, it is hard to determine their exact size until you have the opportunity to study them for a while.  A lone hog by itself may look extremely big, but when its in the company of others, it may dramatically decrease in size.  This had to be taken into mind when watching these hogs in the early evening. 

As the evening moved on, more and more hogs started filtering out into the openings.  I found myself leaning against a tree when my camera man informed me that a large boar was coming from behind us.  The boar started circling around and made its way out in front of us.  I stood patiently behind the tree.  The large boar switched directions and headed straight for us.  I pressed myself closer to the tree awaiting the right shot opportunity.  The boar kept coming closer.  At first he was just feeding slowly toward me, now he was on a full out run ... 30 yards ... 20 yards ... 10 yards! 

It's now or never, I thought, as my heart was pounding through my ear drums.  I struggled to pull my bow back as I fought through the pulsing pain in my shoulder.   I lowered my bow down as the boar was now only about 5 yards away.  I couldn't shoot because the boar was facing me head on.  Just as the boar was about to run right into me, he took off in a flash in the opposite direction.  He had finally noticed us behind the tree.  There was no chance for a shot as he vanished amongst the palmettos.

"Oh no", I groaned. 

With the light fading, I might have blown my only chance this evening at a large hog.  Just at that very moment, we noticed a lone boar feeding in the high grass before us.  We decided to pursue him. 

As we inched within range, we could tell it was a good boar.  My cameraman told me if we do not take a shot soon we would be out of camera light.  So, we got down on hands and knees and crawled through the high grass towards the large boar.  We were now 30 yards away and the boar had no idea we were there.  I slowly came up to a kneel and then to a full stance.  The boar was quartering away, so there was no opportunity for him spotting my movement. 

I attempted to draw back my bow, again in pain, but I was able to achieve full-draw.  The boar suddenly turned from quartering to broadside.  I slowly squeezed the trigger on my WINN release and let the arrow fly.  The Easton 2419 XX75 smacked the boar right behind the shoulder, sending him in a dash for life.  His attempt ended some 50 yards later as he took his last gasp and tipped over.

Even with the pain in my shoulder, everything had worked out in the end.  I knew by being focused at the vary instance the boar presented the shot, it would allow for me to overcome the pain in my shoulder.  I had overcome a physical obstacle by mentally blocking it out, something I had learned to do throughout my years of competing in power lifting tournaments.  This experience, being physically restricted during a hunt, left me thinking how important being healthy is to bowhunting.   And that a bowhunter should never take shooting a bow or his/her health for granted, because only the slightest injury could greatly affect the outcome of his/her hunt.

Ray Howell
Phone: (507) 894-4624 
Email:  kickingbearfish@yahoo.com
or: Jason Borchardt
Franklin Family Ranch
Phone: (210) 445-3530
Web Site: www.rayhowell.com.
email: info@huntingffrtexas.com