Jannine the sacrifice

 I'd been having the usual problems with stinking Billy Goats and Red Skins (Deer) lately, bringing a couple of pups on has added to the problems, the Girls though had been catching the odd pig, between dogging deer into the tide and chewing on bloody Goats.

 A couple of weeks ago they even found a rear pig, a very grumpy little boar in-fact, this fella wouldn't have weighed 85lb, but he had a bad case of small mans disease and managed to rip Ming and Lu up to the point the scene was looking like a Tarantino movie, mainly maybe because it took my sad old tired ass awhile to get to the punch-up, anyway that was two weeks ago and the darlings had recovered from their wounds, so we were rearing to go friday morning, friday being the start of the Woodburne tavern PIG&deer hunt! 

 My sister Di and partner had some friends here for a break over the long weekend, they were chilling out after the wine harvest know-less and one of them Jannine had hunted with me last year, then managing to get me trespassed of some local idiots land, after the dogs had chased a boar onto their place, stopping it conveniently by one of the fools batches, these guys apart from having no sense of humor seem to think the dogs should know where the bloody boundaries are, shit maybe in the old days before GPS the dogs were that smart they new ah! But like my old mate Pork Chop says "Tell them to put a F........ fence up if they are that worried about dogs chasing pigs onto their place" Wankers! I say, and as Chop would also say anyone can be a Wanker! including me! 

 Not to be out done though I was up at 4.30, half an hour of yoga, big breakfast, then slipped out in the boat around 6am, while the old bedroom hunters still had their hands on it, dreaming about slaying the big boars of the past know-doubt.
 We tied the boat up quietly, then with all the dogs on leads, we then walked in to where I hoped a big boar would be lurking on my side of the boundary. 

 I asked Jannine to wait down below with the two pups Jude&Chi (just in-case one of the fools turned up hehe) while I took Ming, Lu and Puk the holder up and around a likely gully, only letting Ming loose to begin with, the southerly though isn't the ideal wind for this spot, but never mind the drizzle had turned to rain. 

 We climbed, Ming soon getting onto a scent, seemed we may have spooked a pig walking up so I let Lu off and the nasty sisters were away up and around the gully, they then started heading down towards where I had left Jannine, 'the sacrifice', the pig jumped the track in front of her, she later told me, with Ming&Lu up it's ass, then the pig circled around and they stopped it in the creek between me and Jannine, I dispatched the sow, a nice eater and headed down to Jannie, not wanting to hang around this spot to long I decided to leave the pig on my side of the boundary (not that we had ever crossed it) for pickup later and head back to the boat, a quick change of cloths, then we were off to another likely spot without boundaries.

 Jannine dropped me on the beach and I pissed around filling my water bottle and feeding Ming, Lu and Puk some 'Exceed' (doggy performance enhancing drugs) totally legal at the moment, but watch this space kids the fun police are never far behind. 

 I had a long walk planned in search of Mr Boar from here, so leading Lu & Puk we started climbing, deer sign everywhere, luckily Ming's not that interested in the deer, hence why she's normally out front, Lu is probably a better finder but she likes the deer a little more than her sister at the moment, so Ming gets the top dog spot for now.

 Soon we were getting close to the saddle, then around the ridge Ming could be heard barking, great I thought, I let the other two girls go and soon found them stretching out a small boar, which I quickly dispatched and started gutting for pick up later, usually the dogs stay close after a kill, prancing around puffing their chests out, but today they had there noses in the air again looking into the gully, Goats? Deer? what the hell, 'away you go girls' I said.

 I finished cleaning the pig and putting it in the fork of a tree, then marked the spot for pickup later, about then a huge scrap started behind me in the gully, in the opposite direction to the dogs had gone, I could hear Ming nutting off, snapping, snarling and barking that deep bark that normally means Mr Boar has been found, Lu with her rat a tat tat bark going as well, Puk the holder was with them, but not a squeal could be heard, I new Puk would probably be well attached to the pigs front hock (her favored spot) endeavoring to break the leg, and this pig wasn't letting out a whimper, in-fact he was on the move. 

 Up and around below some bluffs they traveled and before long the dogs were over 400m and two gullies away, I called Jannine (who was sitting in the boat) on the radio, asking her if she could hear the dogs, which she could, and asked if she could put the pups ashore, which she soon did, I set off around the hill, steep rocky country which was covered in short 12 foot high manuka, karmahi, rangiora, mingymingy, along with patches of bush Lawyer and bracken, I could hear the dogs when they came out of a deep gut, then all would go quiet in the bottom, the dogs probably finding it easier to get a hold on the pig in the creek and as it climbed out onto the next spur, I heard the pups Jude and Chi arrive, these two are more bail than hold dogs and the racket was now turned up to fever pitch, I hoped the extra pressure wouldn't have a negative effect on the situation, as too much pressure can send a man insane.

 On I struggled gaining on them now, they sounded so close but that last 100 metres or so always seems to take forever, around the face I scrambled the dogs now sensing I was close picked up the tempo some more, what a racket, the holder Puk stumble over to me as I arrived, she was spent, and could hardly stand, she'd given her all as usual, I could see Mr Boar now and he was a beauty, backed into a patch of bush lawyer under a wilding pine watching the dogs, and now me! As well!. Ming, Lu, Jude and Chi were bailing on all sides, Ming having the odd lunge at the Boars head showing off, I was trying to get into a position for a shot but with the boar looking uncomfortably straight at me, while grinding his tusks, I thought better of a head shot having had a bullet ricochet out of a boars eye socket a couple of years ago and only knocking the animal out, then having the said animal come to life again in a very bad mood as I tried to stick the knife in, I now have a 'no more head shots' policy with my 357 anyway,  I moved around a bit for a better angle, then Ming had another lunge in and out, the boar moved a little and I took a shot into it's chest, he seemed to sigh, maybe resigned to the end, but he wasn't finished yet, he looked back at me again and I was wondering then if he might charge, Ming&Lu sensed the boar was done though and launched themselves at the boar snapping at his ears and head, braver now the boar was mortally wounded, I took another shot when the dogs were clear and the boar collapsed, you bloody beauty thought one very happy hunter. 

     

 Ming and Mr Boar

 and Lu and Mr boar

I then hopped in and bleed the boar. Now to check the dogs, they hardly had a scratch, Puk the holders rip collar, which is now in the trash saved her, I sat praising the dogs feeding them the sweet meats as we all cooled down.

 A few pics and the long drag down to the shore then commenced, the pig once home weighed 167 lb.  

 And so I thought, just maybe, I had a chance of winning, on sunday at the Woodbourne Tavern weigh-in he was 164 lb, but was beaten into third by 174 lb and 185 lb pigs.

 Many thanks to Cougarline for carting the Boar into town and back for me. 

Footnote:

A couple of tips for people organizing Pig hunting competitions.

If you're going to charge a $60 entry fee put the money into prizes and please not just first second and third prizes, I couldn't see in this case where all the entry money and sponsorship went, hopefully not into someones pocket.

Have enough racks to hang all the animals up for fuck sake. Show some Respect.

Tag every animal with the owners name and the weight of the animal, plus if it's in the running for best tusks say so, if it's in the women's section say so, kid section etc.

Look after all the hunters, every entry should get a prize or spot prize, plus a women's section please.

Hey and give the winner a trophy, shit there aren't many wins in this life and it's nice to be able to brag to your mates about at-least one.

Lastly if you're going to stage a pig and deer hunt make the entries separate and the prizes proportionate to the entries.www.thebluewaterlodge.co.nz