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The Eyes Of A Young Hunter
I have had the wonderful and exhilarating experience of hunting wild
boar on two different occasions.
In 1998, I shot my first boar; it was an Arkansas Razorback, in the
beautiful hills of Tennessee. The second and most memorable time that I
had was when I went boar hunting with Team Muzzy. I was invited by John
Musacchia (CEO of Muzzy Products), Tim Mangum (Muzzy's pro-staff director)
and Ken Moody (owner of Clarkrange Hunting Lodge).
Hunting at Ken's with dogs is a rush itself, but when you put these
guys together, it is non-stop action.
I got there on a Friday night and we all stayed up swapping hunting
stories until about 1:00 am. Then bright and early, at 6:00 am the
next morning Ken had us bounce out of bed for his usual hunter's safety
meeting. At 7:00 am. we hit the woods. There were eight hunters including
me, three guides and John the cameraman.
It was a cool morning. Just minutes after we went into the woods, the
dogs hit a pack of boars. I thought, boy this was going to be easy. WRONG!
We literally ran up and down those Tennessee hills all day long. The dogs
would get on bay and as soon as we would get there, the boars would break
and run. When it is cold, boars would rather run than fight. We hunted
until about noon then went back to the lodge, grabbed something to eat
and went back out. Same thing! The dogs would strike, run, bay and when
we would get there the boars would break and run.
That night at the lodge, we sat around told jokes and discussed strategy
for the next day. So, at 7:00 am. Sunday morning, we hit the woods again.
We got on three Russian boars that were huge.
There was John with the video camera, Tim acting as guide and I was
the hunter. The dogs bayed this huge Russian boar in a brush pile. It was
hard to get a shot with my bow through the brush. If you have ever hunted
with dogs, you will understand what I am talking about. The dogs are running
in fighting with the boar, the boar is fighting the dogs and I am trying
to get a shot at the boar without hitting a dog or having the boar hit
me. After running over most of Tennessee. It finally paid off!
I got a record book Russian boar. We took some pictures and headed off
to meet up with the other hunters.
By nightfall, everyone was exhausted and telling how hard it was to
harvest or try to harvest one of those wild Tennessee boars. Ken Moody
read to everyone that night from the 1966 edition of the Hunters Bible
on wild boar, it read as follows:
"Big game hunters claim that in the heat of battle wild boar are the
most vicious of all animals that roam the American forest. They reign supreme
in their territory and even the black bear is no match for this powerful,
belligerent brute. Mother bear selecting one of these pigs to feed their
cubs have been found with their bellys ripped inside out and littered on
the battleground in the gruesome manner of the boars destruction. When
dogs first jump him, it is uncertain as to what he might do. He may stand
his ground and fight it out on the spot when he is first rattled from his
bed or it may be a vicious running fight. It may also end up as an all
out chase of many miles before he comes to bay. Short-sighted and ill tempered,
the Russian boar fights at close range and when he decides to fight he
usually springs boldly into action charging head on with a series of lighting
like thrusts of the head. The tusk blades fly into action in razor fashion
and the damage is done in a flash of a second. Wild boar take the greatest
toll of dogs of any North American big game. The hounds surviving battle
carry more scars than hunting dogs in any other part of the world."
You just can't get a rush like this, sitting in front of the TV, playing
a video game.
Randy
 Randy
Oitker, age 14, is an avid bowhunter and outdoor sports writer. Randy is
also a professional archer who hails from Plainville, IL. He competes in
the 3-D archery circuits and is a two time NABH World Champion and a three
time NABH Shooter of the Year. He holds 17 national titles.
Randy Oitker is sponsored
by:
Mathews Solo-Cam Bows, Walls
Outdoor Wear,Bushnell Sport Optics, Muzzy Products, Walker's Game Ear,
Scent-Lok Odor Eliminating Suits, Carbon Express Arrows, Realtree Camo,
Toxonics World Class Bowsights, Shrewd Archery Products, Feather Visions
Lenses, LaCrosse Footwear, Rinehart 3-D Targets,Rock-It Outdoors, Morrell
Archery range Bags,Cannon Country Game Calls, Bolle Eyewear, Carter Releases,
Outdoor Edge Knives, SKB Bowcases, BCY Bowstrings, Treelounge, Duravanes,
Knight Rifles, Ithaca Guns, Harpoles Heartland Lodge, Two Bears Custom
Archery in Springfield,IL. and local sponsors from Quincy, IL.: Gem City
Ford and McDonalds. |
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