We have all heard the biblical story of David and Goliath and how the young boy,David, relied on God’s protection to defeat Goliath with nothing more than a rope and a rock. It only took one shot right between the nine foot giant’s eyes. David’s job was to watch over the sheep and to protect them from predators. And how David accomplished defeating predators such as a lion, the king of the jungle, was by relying on his skills of accurately launching rocks at them. So lets just say he had plenty of practice.
Well, I didn’t have rock or a rope, but I did have my Elite Bow and a Muzzy MX 3. We are all creatures of habit and if we are successful doing one thing, it almost becomes a common practice. In other words, stick to what you know works. I have been hunting this particular land for about 7 years now and I am very familiar with the lay of the land. At any time during the year, I know exactly where to go to be successful.
It was about this time of year 3 years ago when a great friend of mine harvested a massive Florida ten point with kickers in this exact same spot. Prior to this season, we decided to put a ladder stand in a thick oak tree about fifty yards from the edge of the woods. Keep in mind, we have not hunted this place in a few years due to some construction nearby. Since this strand is loaded with multiple oak trees and is the only finger that separates two big plots of woods, game uses this finger to travel back and forth from bedding areas to feed.
Since the stand was fifty yards from the edge and its bow season, I decided to get aggressive. There are about thirty yards of chest high palmettos between the stand and the edge of the finger. To shorten my range of a potential shot, I took a bush axe and cleared a six by eight cubie hole just inside the palmettos. Now, I am twenty yards away from the edge and well hidden.
The conditions are perfect and I am eager to see some game, hopefully a mature buck. I spray down with Lethal Scent Elimination, grab a stool and ease into my cubie hole. Not long after getting situated, I have a group of three mature does make their way towards me feeding on the falling acorns. It’s still early in the hunt season so if I get an opportunity at one of these does, a muzzy will be in flight. Unfortunately, they were all in a line, one behind the other, and an ethical shot was never presented. However, they were only 15 yards away from me and had no clue I was there. That being said, I was very confident on my plan for success.
As the sun slowly drops below the horizon, I sat there patiently with my head on a swivel, for this is crunch time. There was a slight breeze resulting in the palmettos dancing and making noise, so I knew if something did come within range, I could get away with movement. At just about last light, I began to quietly start packing up my belongings. I put my Bohning quiver back on my bow and returned my arrow in the empty slot when all of a sudden, I heard a noise. The noise of some hogs walking the edge. I quickly knock my Easton ACC Pro Hunter arrow, attach my Scott release, and wait. Out steps Goliath, the massive hog, at twenty yards and my heart goes to pounding. If you could have only seen the expression on my face. Remember, I am on the ground and almost eye to eye with this beast. I draw my Elite as he turns broadside slightly quartering away and slowly stand up. I place my top pin on his vitals, level my bow using my Spot Hogg Sight, and squeeze the trigger on my release. He roared and squealed the deepest sounding noise and stumbled off crashing no more than forty yards from where I shot him.
I rarely get excited over hogs since we harvest a lot of them, but this one had me pumped. I knew he was by far the biggest hog I ever harvested. I gave him about twenty minutes, knocked another arrow and eased to where I heard him crash. As I approached him, I could not believe the size of his body. He had three and a half inch cutters along with two and a half inch wetters and wieghed over 500lbs. I, Davie, had defeated Goliath, the hog.- Davie “Crockett” Ferraro
Gear List
Bow: Elite “Pulse”
Arrows: Easton ACC Pro-Hunter
Broadhead: Muzzy MX3
Release: Scott Archery
Quiver: Bohning Archery
Bow Stabalizer & Silencers: X Factor
Bow Rest: Quality Archery Design (QAD)
Bow Sight: Spot Hogg 7 pin
Camo: Realtree AP
Boots: LaCrosse Snake Boots
Binoculars: Hawke Optics “Premiere”
Scent Elimination: Lethal
Pack: Game Plan Gear (Spot N’ Stalk)