Hunting Wild Hogs in the Florida Swamps - Pork a Plenty!
By: Joe Byers
Stalking hogs in the Florida swamp is great off-season hunting action, whether you hunt deer, elk, or waterfowl. For the third year, a group of friends and I have traveled to Cedar Key, Florida to hunt with Tiger Island Outfitters, and this time I hunted more often on the ground than from a tree stand.
My hunt began at the first hint of dawn as Billy, the owner, dropped Don Wilson and I off at a ground blind. On the way in, I noticed something laying in the leaves near the stand. Billy whispered, “There’s one sleeping in the open. Do you want to stalk it?”
Stalking hogs in Florida swamps is high adventure and requires great accuracy and stealth.
My friend didn’t seem interested, but I nodded in the affirmative, loaded my Wicked Ridge Invader crossbow, and began to sneak toward the bedded animal. It seemed to be in the 100-pound class, the size that makes the best pork, so I slowly moved toward it. Shooting any bedded animal is risky, since the vitals are greatly compressed. I had a crossbow topped with an Oracle X sight that both showed the range and gave a single red dot as an aiming point, which would certainly help.
I closed to within twenty yards, and the pig was still horizontal. There appeared to be a couple of sticks obstructing its chest. Tiptoeing in the soft marsh, I moved to my right for a clear shot, when the pig sensed something was nearby. It stood up, glanced in my direction, and turned to flee, however, aided by the magnification of the scope and the tiny aiming dot, the bow launched and caught the pig quartering away. Fifteen yards away it crashed.
Fast Action - Take Two
The combination of the Wicked Ridge 400 fps launch and Sevr Robusto broadhead dorpped this hog in its tracks.
Our hunt occurred in mid-February during a full moon, which was the reason that hogs were resting. After feeding and being active most of the night, they behaved like whitetail deer and “slept in.”
Don chose to hunt from the ground blind. Before taking me to a stand, my guide mentioned that we had passed another pig asleep near a pond on the way in. “It seemed to be about the size you want,” he said. Since the first stalk was so successful, I nodded again, and we backtracked as silently as we could. Would the animal still be there?
Using his binoculars, he pointed out a black spot under a bush on the bank of the pond. The ground was damp but not muddy, which allowed me to move along the edge of the water to less than twenty yards away. Like the previous shot, I needed the pig to stand for the optimal shot angle. After centering the scope on the hog, I side stepped and made a small splashing sound at the edge of the pond. Sure enough, the pig stood broadside looking for danger.
My arrow hit the pig through the shoulders and buried in the bank behind it. The impact was such that the animal dropped in its tracks. It kicked once or twice and lay still. I glanced back at Bill who watched me with his binos. I gave him a thumbs up, and he joined me to help recover the hog.
Don’t Get Cocky
Stalking through the swamps and palmettoes of Florida is great fun, but be warned, hogs often charge.
The “Tiger Island special” is three 100-lb hogs for $250, and it was my plan to take three. The sun hadn’t risen, and I was already 2/3 there. After loading the hog, we walked back to Don’s blind, and I suggested that he try the stalking tactic. I could read the reluctance in my friend’s eyes, but since the guide would be with him, he agreed and tucked another six-pack of arrows under his belt just-in-case.
They had been gone about 10 minutes, when a large black boar, a medium size male, and a third hog moved through the trees fifty yards ahead of me. Another buddy was in a tree stand in that general direction, and I anticipated hearing a crossbow release. Instead, the pigs doubled back and changed course.
I eased ahead of them, hoping to gently nudge the small herd back toward the tree stand. I was about seventy-five yards away, when the large boar noticed my movement and charged like a bullet. One second, it had its head down, the next this 250-pound beast had its tusks flared in an all-out charge. The boar covered the first fifty yards in seconds, and I began yelling and waving my arms. Thankfully, this commotion caused it to pass to my left and disappear in the palmettoes. Taking a deep breath, I could physically feel my heart pounding in my chest. This was my third time hunting this property, and I have been charged by at least one hog every time.
Camp Cedar Key
Cedar Key is old Florida with no fastfood chains. You will have wonderful views, great food, and easy fishing.
Tiger Island has a rustic cabin in which hunters can stay the night. Two of our party had their wives with them, so we chose to rent a house via AirBnB in Cedar Key. With a population of 700 residents, this small community scattered over numerous islands is termed “old Florida”, because there are no Golden Arches or other fast-food restaurants. Instead, you will find a dozen or more waterfront restaurants with fantastic views and great food at reasonable prices. The specialties of Cedar Key are oysters and clams, while fish and shrimp also very abundant.
Additionally, the community has a very friendly and well-built fishing dock that’s safe for youngsters and has enough space for one hundred anglers. Instead of one long pier, it has one main walkway with perpendicular piers on each side. The day before and the day after the hunt, we fished from the pier and caught more fish than we could eat. Other anglers were very friendly and shared their recommendations for catching fish, behavior that is not always common.
Cedar Key has a park with a sandy beach, kayak rentals, and boat rentals, as well as guided tours right from the heart of town. Charter fishing costs $100 and was tempting, yet we had fun and success fishing from the pier.
Hog Hunting Options
Hunters can choose from tree stands, ground blinds, or stalking... just like deer hunting.
As an outdoor writer, I specialize in crossbows and have hooked most of my friends on hunting with them. Over the last two years, I have used Sevr Robusto 150-grain broadheads with amazing success. I have killed nine hogs with nine arrows, and the longest blood trail was 30 yards. Of the three hogs I killed this year, two never took a step.
My crossbow was the Wicked Ridge Invader that shoots 400 fps. This bow with this set-up has literal knock-down power as it delivers its energy. I had to finish off a wounded hog for a friend. The animal was laying down facing almost directly away from me, so that I had to shoot through the hind quarter, through the body and into the vitals. The kill was nearly instantaneous.
I love the rangefinding Oracle X scope. With the push of a button, the scope determines the range, posts it in the optic and selects the exact aiming point as a small red dot. It even compensates for downward angles, ideal for those hunting from a tree or elevated blind.
Tiger Island is also rifle-friendly, and many clients use a variety of rifles and pistols. The evening before our hunt, two fellows hunted with night-vision optics, and reportedly took 12 hogs using this technology.
Our group of four took eight hogs in one morning of hunting and everyone had a blast. One unmentioned buddy shot nine arrows
Finally, this is not only a great way to keep your hunting skills in tune, but an excellent way to introduce a newbie to hunting. You can hunt from a tree stand, ground blind, or stalk on the ground. Wild hogs are tough creatures, and downing one takes a precise aim often in nerve-wracking circumstances. Best of all, you get to eat what you shoot, as the outfitter will butcher you animals on the property and you return home with a cooler of pork on ice.
For information on Tiger Island Outfitters call Bill at (352) 543-0851 or visit their website. He also offers deer and turkey hunts.
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