Some friends and I were rabbit hunting years ago. It was about 25 degrees, the wind was blowing about 49 nots but we were young , and we were hunting. Dogs run rabbits all over top of us, never heard them coming, but we were young and we were hunting. One of my friends had to go BAD!!! There was an old farm house in site so he said he was going to go get on the leaward side of the house out of the wind and he would catch up with us in a couple of hundred yards. One of my friends and I circled around the top of the hill just in time to see him take his coat off ,pull his sraps of , pull down his jumpsuit and lean back against the old farm house with no foundation, just piers. Just as he squatted an old hound came up and cold nosed him you know where. he let out the loudest blood curdling scream you ever heard, filled up his jumpsuit with you know what and we laught until we cried. I even rolled into a ditch,stopped when i hit a fresh cow pod and we both had to walk 3 mls back to the huntclub because no one would let us in their truck. WHAT A DAY. But we were young and we were hunting.

One of my most memorable hunts happened 4 years ago, it startedin mid oct bow while bowhunting. This bruiser of a9pt.buck came in and I miss judged the yardage. The arrow passed right under his chest, talking about being sick, I was. I kept looking for the buck, trying to find his trails and anything that I could learn about him. The area I was hunting was the river bottoms admist the rice, soy beans fields and sloughs that fed into the river. The last week in oct I was driving down a field road when he pop up out of a rice field, I just had to watch him run off. Then on nov 10th the opening day of the gun hunt I was sitting on the edge of a slough bordering a rice field when I heard limbs breaking in the woods across the field. These woods had been logged off a few years ago and there super thick with tree tops everywhere. All at once a big doe busted out about 500 yards away and this big buck was chasing her along with 3 other bucks. She began running towards me so I got my White mL up and ready. They vered off about a 200 yards away and headed back towards the woods. I watched them get to the edge of the woods and circle back towards me. This happend twice until the last time they closed in about 125 yards. I didnt think they would get any closer. I put the crosshairs at the front of his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. He piled up right there, the TC maxi blew through both shoulders. He turned out to be my biggest buck to date. He had a 20 inch inside spread, 23.5 and 24 inch beams,g1 and g2's were 8 and 10 inches, the only thing his brow tines were only 4 inches. This 9pt was the same buck that I had seen on the previous two occasions.

My favorite day of hunting was during a blizzard in the year 2000. My hunting buddies and I had never paid an outfitter to hunt before. We all decided to try Illinois during the December bow season. We are all NC guys who have never hunted below zero in our life.We get up there Sunday and it starts snowing and the temperature is falling quick. 4 straight days we bowhunt in 30 mph winds and its 5 to 15 below. I dont think I could of pulled the bow after 20 minutes in a stand let alone 4 hours like we were trying to do. We were all pretty frustrated with not seeing any deer and the weather. On the fifth and final day of our hunt we are hunting in a hard wind and a whiteout snow storm when all of a sudden the wind came to a complete halt. A church somewhere in the distance was pealing "silent night" on its bells. For some reason I had never felt closer to my Lord as that day. When the song finished the storm cranked right up. All 3 guys that came out of the woods all were instantly talking about the song and how the wind stopped for the length of the song. The Lord works in mysterious ways is an understatement by miles.

I had never shot a ML in my life and it looked fun so off to the pawn shop I went.
There she was,50 caliber,Hawken style with octogon barrel and percussion cap.
Don't know who made it,it had been painted camo and I figured for $45 I would take her home.Went to wally world and picked up some 245 grn powerbelts and some loose pyrodex,a few accrutraments and it was off to the range.I enjoyed (and still do) the process of cleaning and loading and maintaining my ML and thought I shot well out to about 60 yards.

In my neck of the woods we have 5 - 7 days of no hunting between Archery/Crossbow and Black Powder season.

I used the time that year to scout a little,new ML in hand and speed loaders at the ready.
It was a nice day and the scouting was very succsesful.I found a little dim road that led to a BIG BOOGER SWAMP so I followed it.I hear something moving in the woods to my left and so I took a knee on the road and waited.A little piglet walked slowly across the road paying me not much attention,then another and another and then more.I knew Momma had to be near so I stayed kneeling.Well,here she comes and she aint happy but she doesn't charge,she looks for a moment and then moves on,I stood and listened as the group moved into the swamp.After a few moments I moved on,well,Momma made a funny sound back in the swamp,I had never heard this sound,I heard another hog answer back on the other side where they all had come from,this sound was deeper than the first.Seconds later the woods to my left explode with noise,nashing of teeth and brush busting,within seconds he is on the road in front of me at about 50 yards and closing fast.He has no fear or respect for me or my new 50 cal.He is big,black,has large cutters and whetters and he is pissed.I took a knee,cocked the lock,shouldered the gun and fired,I heard no hit so I dropped the gun and up a tree I went.The hog ran right by my safe spot and followed his small family into the swamp,bitching at me the whole time.
When the smoke,sweat and fear subsided I got down and retrived my weapon which had taken a nice scar from this piney woods rooter.
I decided that was enough for the day and a change of clothes was in order.

When I got home I reinacted the story for my loving and caring family and they found my story to be quite funny and have never let me forget it,like I ever would.My youngest daughter hunts with me allot and she likes to bring it up around the fire at night while all the men are telling our stories.
She says "Daddy! Tell them about when the little piggy scared you and ran you up a tree like a little girl" Thank's honey!!!!!

I have a healthy respect for wild hog's.

Saxman; you dont know me from adams's housecat but I just went to your myspace page. i was wondering where you had been lately as you were posting a lot when I first started coming here. Sounds like you have had a rough go of it lately. Hang in there and know that I'm a praying for you. That must of been one great friend to give you a kidney. No greater act has ever been done then for one to lay down his life for another.

Howdy deer655
i have not been posting as much lately but lurking and reading and learning on here quite a bit.
Health is not good,I fell and broke my hand in a few places and it is messed up pretty good.I hope it wont need surgery,we shall see.
My anti rejection and imunosuppresive meds have given me Osteoperosis and i may need a year to heal.The meta carpel bone is broken compleetly in two,the next two bones in the hand have fractures and my little knuckle is all but gone.
All in all I feel very blessed to still have my life and be as healthy as I am,for some it is much worse and for others much better.
The man that gave me the kidney I barely knew at the time.He is a big sweethart of a guy,he's my height,about 6'8" but much bigger than me.He stepped right up and saved my life asking nothing in return.We talk several times a week and I will take him and his son hunting this coming season.
I am leaving my troubles out of my post's unless someone ask's me directly because all of us struggle in one way or another and I don't want to be pittied,but I can tell you that it feels great to get a message or e mail or PM from one of you asking about me,it warms my heart.You folks on here and MM have tought me everything I know about Muzzys and shooting,maintaining my equipment.The lessons are very valuble to me as are the friendships I have made here.
Thanks for your prayers friend,I believe in it's power.