Wild Boar Hunting in Florida

We woke early to arrive at Clay Gully Outfitters near Lorida, Florida to meet our guide, Tyler, by 5:30 am.  We packed our guns and clothes in the rental car and made the 30 minute drive from Sebring. We were laughing about taking a Cadillac on a hunting trip but since it has a big cargo area and is 4 wheel drive was perfect for our needs. 

After passing through the gate to the ranch we met a guide who has us complete the waivers and other documents online. Tyler, our guide arrived and informed us that hunting would be difficult since the temperature was in the40s and there was a strong breeze.  He suggested that we try hunting from stands that are placed near known hog trails. He wanted us in the stands ready for the hogs before 6:30 since they tend to move just at daylight. Tyler said that they may stay in heavy cover and not move with the cold weather. 

The stands were well placed and about 20 feet off the ground. Steve and I were about a quarter mile apart so we could hear is one of us got a shot. While in the stands we saw lots of cattle, many birds of all type including vultures, Osceola turkeys, owls, crows and Sandhill cranes. Steve even saw a black snake on the trail. Neither of us saw any wild boar. I did witness a funny scene. Two cranes were standing in an open area and a very young bull calf went over to investigate. He apparently got too close because one of the cranes pecked him on top of the head. He jumped back in surprise but gave it another try resulting in another head peck. He even made a third attempt with an identical outcome. That is until the mother cow moseyed over to see if there was a problem and the cranes flew away. 

Tyler texted about 10:15 to see if we had seen anything or if we wanted to try another approach. By then we were very cold and willing to give something a try. He picked us up in the truck to go back to the lodge to decide our next option. Since the hogs were bedded down in the palmetto thickets, Tyler suggested that we try hunting with dogs. He told us that stalk hunting is seldom successful since the hogs can be in the brush and unseen even at close range. In addition, they have us outnumbered there. He told us that some hunters recently insisted on trying to flush hogs out of the palmettos despite his caution that it may not a great idea. The hunters were chased out of the palmettos by the angry hogs with no one having killed a hog. Fortunately, none of the hunters were seriously hurt. 

We weren’t interested in a stalk hunt but we were all for trying something else so we opted for a dog hunt. 

We piled into the 4 passenger UTV and went to the barn where Tyler picked up to small Jack Russell terrier mix dogs. These dogs were excited to get out on a hunt. Steve was in the back seat of the UTV and the dogs were between Tyler and I. They had their rear paws on the seat and their front paws on the dashboard with their noses high in the air. When they got the scent of hogs they jumped out onto the hood of the vehicle and looked in the direction of the scent. Tyler would drive the vehicle in that direction if possible in the heavy palmettos. When we were near the hogs the two small dogs would launch from the hood and go tearing through the brush at light speed barking increasingly faster as they neared the hog. 

We followed the sound of the dogs as far as we could in the Polaris then grabbed our rifles and ran toward them. The two tiny dogs had a fair sized male wild hog surrounded. The hog was snapping angrily at the dogs but they were far too quick for him. I was able to get a head shot and put the boar down with the Remington 30-06. Meanwhile, the shot caused another dozen or so hogs hiding nearby to sprint away as the dogs gave chase. 

Despite the wound, the hog required a shot to the head from my Smith and Wesson Model 66 in 357 magnum caliber to stop the twitching. We loaded the dead hog into the UTV and took off after the dogs. They had a very small young hog pinned down in the palmettos that we didn’t want to shoot so we pulled the dogs off to look for a larger hog. It wasn’t long before they had another hog at bay. This was a larger male hog that was so deep in the scrub that we had difficulty getting to it. Once we arrived we could see only a little of the black hair. Steve got a gut shot with his .308 caliber Mini 14 then we and the dogs gave chase. While the dogs distracted the hog, Tyler and I grabbed back legs and pulled it out of the brush and Steve dispatched it with a shot to the head from his .45 auto pistol. This young boar will be good eating. 

The dogs didn’t want to stop harassing the hog even after it was dead but we finally got them loaded into cages on the UTV then loaded Steve’s hog with mine in the bed. We drove back to the lodge to finish the paperwork and pay the balance of the hunt fees. We then drove to the barn where Tyler skinned and quartered the two hogs preparing them for us to take to the butcher. 

We were impressed with two dogs that were in kennels there that were “catch dogs.”  These larger mixed breed dogs are trained to catch and hold a wild hog. Both dogs were kennel to recuperate following prior fights with boar but it was obvious that these two dogs were tough customers. 

Tyler got the two hogs skinned and quartered quickly putting the sections in our large cooler that we borrowed from Rex’s scout troop. The meat appeared to be very lean as expected and wasn’t damaged much since we both got head shots. 

We thanked and tipped Tyler promising to return for a future hunt with him then we headed for the “Meat Shack”, a small local butcher shop in Okeechobee where the meat would be prepared, wrapped and frozen for our trip back home. We told them that we would be there on Tuesday to pick the meat up. The owner there was very pleasant and promised to make some good sausage and tenderloin for us to share. 

We made a quick stop at a local bait and tackle shop that is on the shore of Lake Okeechobee. We hope to come back here to bass fish on the lake at some point in the future. 

We returned to Sebring having the lunch that Marcia packed for us along the way. We crashed at Steve’s house since we were very tired from our hunt. We washed the cooler then unpacked our firearms and gear. 

To celebrate our successful hog hunt, Marcia made pork steaks for us which were very good. They were so large that each of us saved half for breakfast tomorrow. 

We watched television for a while then had a celebratory sip of John J. Bowman bourbon before going to bed. I am certain that we both will sleep well.