# The Story of Kong



## jerry russell (Mar 28, 2015)

This is the story that appeared in the April issue of GON magazine. It has been about six weeks since I shot this boar but GON had thought that it might be a good idea to hold off publishing it on the forum until it was published.  
I miss hunting this hog and the story here will help you to understand why. For those of you that don't get GON magazine and care to read it, here is how it all went down. 

The Story of Kong.

The boar stood just four yards away and his massive size was nearly overwhelming.  Missing him at this range would be like missing a minivan.  But before we go any further, there is simply no way to get to the end of this crazy story without going back to the very beginning in the Fall of 2011.
I received an email from a guy that was a nuisance animal trapper.  He knew that I guided for hogs and asked if I could give him some pointers on a hog removal job that he had been contracted for. The hogs in question were reported to be true monsters and the two of them were basically terrorizing a small neighborhood.  We discussed a game plan for establishing a bait station as the hogs were solely nocturnal.  Several weeks later, he reported that he had in fact killed one of the boars and it was a monster with an estimated weight over 400 pounds.  Unfortunately, the second hog had escaped.
He hunted this hog several more times but the close call along with being shot at a second time left him with a hog that had become very wary.  After many more attempts the hunter called me back and asked if I would like to take over the hunt.  I jumped at the chance.  I have always loved hunting giant hogs. I killed my first hog in 1980 and have been hooked on chasing big hogs ever since.  Most would call it an addiction for me.
For those that don’t know me, I have been a hog hunter for nearly 40 years and I guide hog hunters (among many other things) for a living.  I have taken more hogs than I can remember and have never had a great deal of trouble taking a specific boar, given enough time. I am providing this bio to help put the rest of this story in perspective.  I am not new to the game of big hog hunting.   To be honest, I thought I would make fairly short work of this big boar. I had no way of knowing that an incredible journey was about to begin in my life. 
I am a trophy hunter by most folk’s definition of that term. What I mean by that is I like to specifically hunt mature animals. Four to five year old deer, bear and hogs are what drives me.  Now, having said that, I really couldn’t care any less about the size of the rack or the weight of the bear or boar.  It is the challenge of hunting any animal that has survived so long that it has reached a level of intelligence that makes him nearly impossible to hunt that I love.  I like matching wits and don’t mind a bit getting out matched by these awesome animals. My ability to eat regular helpings of humble pie would serve me well over the next three and a half years.
From the very beginning I knew there was something different about this hog. Sure he was a giant but I quickly came to realize that he had been pressured to such a state that he wouldn’t ever move in daylight hours.  This was no big deal for me. I had hunted this kind of hog before, but what happened over the first several months taught me that everything I had learned in nearly 40 years of hog hunting might not be enough to outwit this paranoid porker.
I began by trying to find entry points into the jungle he called home.  There were several sections in excess of 3-4 acres where even crawling in was next to impossible. This area contained the thickest mix of privet, kudzu and briars I had ever encountered. In some places, this thick growth formed a dense canopy over sections of an acre or more.   Even getting up through the canopy to place a tree stand was difficult, and when you did break through, you had to chop a hole to shoot down through it.

I began by attempting to hunt the hog on trails, but there was no way to approach his bedding areas without making noise.  Even if it were possible, most of the locations wouldn’t even allow you to stand to shoot, much less draw a recurve bow. I placed a bait or two and thought that he would certainly come in.  Wrong again.  Well-worn trails would go dormant as soon as bait was placed. It was evident that the memory of his near miss human encounters was going to make this extremely difficult. I became aware of his extreme aversion to anything human related as I walked down a sandy creek bed one morning.  I picked up his huge tracks and followed them as he approached a bait station. Thirty yards from the bait his tracks showed that he had become aware of the feeder ahead and had milled around a moment.  The tracks then climbed out of the creek bed and circled around the bait and then reentered the creek only to continue away from the bait station.  I stood looking at the tracks in disbelief knowing that this was not a normal hog and now sure that this was going to be much more difficult than I previously thought.
At this point, I had yet to even get the ghost on camera.  I just wanted to see what I was dealing with.  He seemed ghost like in his ability to detect cameras and would stop short of the camera view every time.  I had to develop a plan and I knew that cameras near bait sites would never work.  I changed my camera plan to travel routes and I blanketed the area with 10 cameras.  It took a full six months to get the first picture.  I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on that hog. It did not seem possible that a hog could be this big. I gave him the nickname Kong. It sure seemed to fit.   At first, his reaction to being caught on camera could be described as explosive.  The trailcam set in video mode captured violent reactions.  In time, the sheer number of cameras in the area made it impossible for him to travel and not be recorded, and after several months he began to ignore them. 



I quickly discovered that there was never a pattern to his movement as far as trail usage but he did travel between the hours of 11PM and 4AM.  He would enter the back yards of several families and wreak havoc in gardens and lawns.  I knew that the only way to have a possible opportunity at him would be on a food source.  I hunted apple trees in season, white oaks and others but it was impossible to pattern him.  I then came up with an idea that turned things around.  I took feeders and suspended them as high as 20 feet up into the trees so that he would not see them.  This would change the game, and about a year into hunting him, he finally started coming to a feeder.  These early hunts showed me just how unbelievably intelligent this animal was.



Kong would circle baits 100% of the time, but I had anticipated this and placed the baits where this was not possible. Using creeks and ravines, I made circling impossible and I hunted on very specific winds.  He countered this by simply coming in and refusing to get closer than 30 yards.  He would approach the bait and stop and stand for periods of more than an hour without moving a single step.  I didn’t think an animal of this size could do this, but it occurred many times.  It became apparent that if he could not use the wind for protection that he would stand and wait on it to change.  If it would not change to his advantage, he just simply walked away.  This cat and mouse game happened countless times over the next few months.  I spent many all-night hunts in those first three years.  On the occasions that he did detect me, he would emit a deafening roar of disapproval and would leave the area for up to two weeks.  He never once took a chance. Everything seemed calculated.  As the weeks turned into months and he countered every tactic I had, I realized that everything WAS calculated. This hog was thinking. 



My first time seeing him was an event I will never forget. I had established a bait in a nearly impenetrable area of privet, and I ghosted in a full hour before dark prepared for an all-nighter.  While I was looking at my phone, thirty minutes before dark I sensed something approaching from my right.  I looked  at the area and determined nothing was there.  I returned to my phone scanning and my brain reminded me that every other scan to my right did not include a massive black area just 40 yards away.  I snapped my head back up and was stunned to see Kong standing there like a ghost in the swamp.  I was absolutely amazed at his size.  I have seen hundreds of big hogs in my life and this just did not seem possible.  He moved forward a few steps and disappeared from view about 25 yards away.  He stood without moving for nearly an hour until full darkness set in and then started a slow circle.  Once down wind, he let his absolute disdain for my presence be known with a series of roars.  It would be weeks before he would return to the area.


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## jerry russell (Mar 28, 2015)

*The Story of Kong- Video added post 25*

A move of bait stations was needed to get him feeding again, and spring of 2014 found me on the edge of a steep banked creek.  I had chopped a shooting hole down through the thick canopy and waited two full weeks before returning to hunt on a rare East wind.  Kong approached at around midnight, but the unfavorable wind had him pacing back and forth for an hour before he decided to leave.  It is difficult to describe how these all-night hunts could be both so much fun and physically demanding at the same time.  There is obviously a danger associated with exhaustion so a strap system is needed to both prevent falling and keep you upright and ready for an encounter.  It is also beneficial if you are borderline crazy.  At 4am I heard the distinctive sound of his heavy breathing just 15 yards away in the inky blackness.  I could tell that he was assessing the danger.  This went on for twenty minutes or more, and then suddenly he simply started walking right to me. 


These swamps have a jungle like canopy so to tell you it is pitch black would be the understatement of the year. The only possible way to take an ethical shot is to have a lighting system on your bow.  I had experimented with countless designs over the years, but when hunting pressured hogs,  I prefer a red light with a rheostat that allows the light to be dialed up slowly enough that the animal can’t perceive the increase.  In the darkness I could tell that he stood just five or six yards away.  As I slowly turned up the light down through my shooting hole,  I was frustrated that I could only see a massive black hole but no Kong.  Months of effort had gone into this moment and I simply could not see him.  I could hear every breath and could hear him chewing… Where was he?   I dialed up the light a bit more, and suddenly I could see two small white objects on the edge of the black hole.  In amazement I suddenly realized that this “huge black hole” I was staring into was actually Kong’s back, and those white objects were his tusks.  His size at this short range was overwhelming.
It would have been impossible to miss at this short range, but it became apparent that he was facing me.  I certainly could have hit the back of a single lung but there was no way I was going to risk wounding this great animal.  Recovery in this jungle would be near impossible if he did not leave a blood trail. I did not expect a pass through shot from this near straight down angle.  I waited for him to turn for a full 6-7 minutes, but he stood like a statue without moving.  I then realized that he was waiting on a wind change.  A minute later, he got it.  I climbed down at daylight and staggered back to the truck.  Depressed and fully aware that it would be weeks if not months before he would return. 


The fall of 2014 had a good acorn crop, and as in years past, Kong took on a gypsy approach to feeding and never returned to a bait site. My sole encounter with him was a single run in under a giant white oak as I walked in to deer hunt before daylight.  Winter and early spring was going to be my next chance, and I spent a couple days preparing a site in the thickest area so as to provide him with the greatest security approach.   Several weeks later I checked a trail camera and determined that it was time to give it another shot.  I approached the bait site and was disappointed to see that the feeder and everything around the bait site had been destroyed.  It was as if someone had taken a sledge hammer to everything.  The evidence showed that Kong had developed a new and very bad habit of ripping the legs off the feeder, ripping the motor off the unit and crushing the drum.  This happened several times, and I finally resorted to using heavy wire to hold the unit in a large privet bush.  A few weeks later I was perched over the site a full hour before dark with a good wind.  Thirty minutes before dark, I heard a twig snap.  I slowly stood and with bow in hand looked down to see Kong just five yards away staring at the base of my tree.  The problem was the canopy.  It was impossible to shoot down into this tangle without fear of deflection and wounding him.  I had a perfect wind at this point but something told him this was a bad situation and with a roar he was gone.  With a broken spirit, I strapped into the tree hoping he would come back after dark. He never did.

There were countless encounters like this over the three years of this adventure.  With the exception of guiding my hunters on my hog properties, I pretty much just stopped hunting all other hogs.  I felt like a werewolf prowling around all night.  My girlfriend (being used to my crazy hunting antics after 14 years together) would just smirk at me as I crawled in defeated after each all-night defeat.  As crazy as it may sound, I loved every single minute of this game. 
I would have several encounters with him over the next few weeks and while he never knew for sure that I was there he seemed to always sense me.  Kong would stand like a statue for an hour or more, just yards away in the darkness before walking away.  Everything changed on February 8, 2015.  

I would be guiding hog hunters in another area the following day, but I decided that the SW wind would be good for another try.  I got to the stand site to find that Kong had crushed everything again, but my pack contained everything to get it back in service.  He had been coming to this site just 20 minutes after dark, and to be quite honest I fully expected a quick encounter that would be a repeat of countless other nights where this awesome hog beat me up again.  On cue, I could hear him coming in with that methodical walk that would always quiet to a ghost like approach in the darkness.  He stood for almost an hour before approaching to within 15 yards.  He stood another 20 minutes in total silence before starting his customary circle to get my wind.  This time, however; his circle would carry him much closer to the tree on the downwind arc. This would prove to be a fatal mistake on his part.
When he was at seven yards and directly down wind, he stopped and breathed deeply.  I held my breath and after a few minutes he continued his circle.  When he reached the upwind side it occurred to me that my three year wait was about to provide the long awaited shot opportunity.  All I had to do was make it count.

Even at 5 yards the full canopy and darkness of the night prevented me from seeing him.  I strained for any sign of him and suddenly he appeared in my shooting hole at four yards.  The lower limb of my Black Widow recurve bow was tucked into my boot and while my light was on it was set at its lowest setting.  He was very slightly quartered to me but at 4 yards with a sixteen foot elevation the shot was certainly doable.  I then told myself that unless he gave me a perfect broadside shot, I would let him walk away.  He had given me so much adventure over the last three years that there was simply no way I was going to let this story end with wounding him or having him suffer.  He stood without changing positions for about 7 minutes, and I took the time to just simply take in the moment.  His size was amazing and the strangest feeling began to overcome me.   I knew that there was no way I could miss him at four yards, and I wanted this moment to last.  The longer he stood there without giving me the perfect shot, the longer we would still be playing this game.  Call me crazy if you like, but I was almost sad that it was about to be over.
He finally changed his posture and I knew that he was dropping his guard.  He took a step forward and pulled his leg forward fully exposing his vitals. As I pulled the bow to full draw, I noticed a quarter sized spot of mud right where I needed to arrow to go.  A second later my lighted nock appeared on that spot.
With a huff he stormed out through that jungle with the nock lighting his every step. I also had a string tracker attached to the arrow and the whirring of the string gave additional comfort that the arrow was still with him.  As soon as the red glow disappeared, everything went silent.  A second later I heard a step or two more and felt a short tug on the line. The sound of his last roar drifted back to me.  He had traveled less than 80 yards.  
I stood motionless for a moment longer and then just sat down in silence for a long time.  It was over, and I was having great difficulty figuring out how it made me feel.  This was not the first time this feeling had come over me, but it was certainly the most intense occurrence.  
My first call was to my son Luke. He was happy and jumped at the chance to bring my Bavarian blood tracking dog (Bear) to the site.  I called another buddy and he organized a drag team.  The trail was good but could only be followed on hands and knees down hog tunnels.  



 We used the dog to follow the blood trail which turned out to be quite easy given the string tracker line had stayed with Kong all the way to his last bed.  As we approached the down giant it was a very special moment.  Yes, he was a giant, but to me it was so much more than that.  What a magnificent, awesome, intelligent animals lay before us.






The end of this story could have come right then but it actually occurred three days later.  My 17 year old son advised me upon returning to the truck that he had lost his knife during the tracking.  He was quite upset because it was a beautiful custom knife that I had given him for Christmas that Robert Foster had made.  To be honest I started to scold him but bit my lip when he said “Dad I wanted Kong to be the first animal that I skinned with that knife”.  It’s funny how a couple of words can change your perspective.
I told him that I would go back in a couple of days to look for it, but it would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack.  I would spend a couple hours crawling through those hog tunnels looking for the knife without success.  I changed gears and began to remove gear from the stand site for the haul back to the truck.  With the last load on my back I walked out the same trail that Kong had come in on.  His tracks were still there and I paused to take it all in one last time.  Sure he was just a hog but those of you that have had the rare opportunity to have that 2-3 year connection know the feeling.  I took a knee and gave thanks for the many blessings that I have in my life.  I then stood and looked up into one of the deepest blue skies that I can remember.  I shouldered my load of gear and took two steps out of that jungle to see that special knife lying on the trail covered in frost.  I smiled all the way back to the truck thinking that there simply could not have been a more perfect ending to this story.  

The particulars of this hunt:
Location: Georgia
Date: February 8, 2015
The bow I shot was a  Black Widow PSAX Recurve that was 51#@28” The arrows were GT 5575 with 100 gr inserts and topped by a scalpel sharp Magnus Stinger. 
Kong had been on this property for at least 6 years.  His weight was 507 pounds and both cutters were between 5”and 6” long. 

I most likely will never encounter a hog like this again in my life. He was a freak of nature both in size and intelligence.  But you know, that is just fine by me.  One hog like this in any mans life is more than enough.


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## AllAmerican (Mar 28, 2015)

Congrats!  Great story with a great ending.


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## whitetailfreak (Mar 28, 2015)

Great story. Thanks for sharing.


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## Hooked On Quack (Mar 28, 2015)

Wow Jerry, what a great story, feel like I was there with you !!


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## Swamperpup (Mar 28, 2015)

That's the best thread I've ever read. Congrats on a pig of a lifetime!


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## Al33 (Mar 28, 2015)

Great job Jerry in many ways! Good of GON Magazine to publish it.


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## Barry Duggan (Mar 28, 2015)

Read about this on another forum, a few weeks ago. Real good stuff. Way to hang.


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## stonecreek (Mar 28, 2015)

Very well written hunting article. As good a hog as will be taken down south. Richard


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## bowhunterdavid (Mar 28, 2015)

congrats, great story and thats a giant hog, Well done.


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## longbowdave1 (Mar 28, 2015)

What a great adventure Jerry. I really enjoyed reading that story! Congrats.


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## AnAvidArcher (Mar 28, 2015)

Awesome story, really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for publishing. Congrats!


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## SELFBOW (Mar 29, 2015)

I'd heard a few times over the yrs about this big hog you were hunting, numerous people have talked about it. This is the kind of stuff that  legends are made of and will make one great story around a campfire. Ive got one of Robert's knives as well and hope it becomes a well used item thru out the rest of my journey thru traditional archery. Good one!


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## 308-MIKE (Mar 29, 2015)

Hey Jerry.  Thanks for posting the story with more pics. That's a nice knife you bought Luke.


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## frankwright (Mar 29, 2015)

Great story. I don't know if I could have made those all night sits.

I really enjoyed the extra pictures and so glad you found that special knife.


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## Clipper (Mar 29, 2015)

An amazing story for an amazing hunting experience.  I don't know many hunters who would have persevered on this quest like you did.  Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story with us.


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## Allen Oliver (Mar 29, 2015)

What a very enjoyable read. I think that a lot of Trophy Hunters need to read this article. I sir applaud you for your persistence and respect that you had in hunting this trophy!


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## 2wheelfoster (Mar 29, 2015)

Great story Jerry! I am glad the knife turned up! What and adventure!!


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## sawtooth (Mar 29, 2015)

that's what it's all about. Congratulations, Jerry. Now what?


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## Hunting 4 Him (Mar 30, 2015)

Wow thats an adventure that will last a lifetime and beyond!! well told Sir.  Hog hunting will probably take on a different meaning for you from here on out.  Don't know if you can top that one. Simply outstanding story telling!!


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## Munkywrench (Mar 30, 2015)

Man Jerry, you had told me a little about this and I had seen pictures, but that's one heck of a story, very well written. I hope I have the time, patience and ability to suffer/enjoy an adventure like this one day. With how that hog learned to sneak around he would have been an awesome trophy at 100 lbs lol. 
Congratulations again Sir


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## pine nut (Mar 30, 2015)

WOW Jerry!  So very many superlatives have been ascribed to this hunt and story, and all are true and what a great adventure!  Thank you for this posting and as someone else has said It's the best post I've ever read on this forum!  Well done and outstanding in its entirety.  It is fitting that it was you who took this great beast.  His intelligence alone was deserving of having a great hunter and sportsman take him.  He will live on it this story for years.  Simply awesome!


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## DamonRossFoster (Mar 30, 2015)

That's awesome Jerry!


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## Clipper (Mar 30, 2015)

After reading Jerry's story on the forum I asked my wife if she had seen my April GON.  She said it was in her car, so I got it and read it again in the magazine.  I think this is one of the best stories I've read there lately.  Most of their stories are written by their writers as told by the hunter.  This one published under Jerry's name.  Maybe I'm prejudiced because it was a trad bow story, but I still think it rates up there with the best.  Congratulations again, Jerry.


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## jerry russell (Mar 31, 2015)

Thanks guys for the kind words. I hope his story does live on for a long time. That great hog deserves it.

Here is a little recovery video.  It has some pretty neat video of him captured on trail cams.


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## spydermon (Mar 31, 2015)

Never seen anyone use a sight on a recurve before.  

Do you shoot fingers or with a release?  I have seen some shoot with a release before..although it was highly frowned upon by the "traditionalists".


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## Pointpuller (Mar 31, 2015)

Awesome story from start to finish!!  Not sure which is better the trophy or the story.  Both are outstanding.  congrats.


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## jerry russell (Mar 31, 2015)

spydermon said:


> Never seen anyone use a sight on a recurve before.
> 
> Do you shoot fingers or with a release?  I have seen some shoot with a release before..although it was highly frowned upon by the "traditionalists".



It is a camera mount.


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## QuackAddict (Apr 1, 2015)

Incredible story and what determination!  You are a rare breed.


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## kingfish (Apr 2, 2015)

Just finished the story.  Excellent job.  What an adventure.


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## Knee Deep (Apr 5, 2015)

Great read. Congrats on a successful end to your journey with Kong. As sweet as the success is, I know you'll miss the chase with him.


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## bfriendly (Oct 31, 2015)

AWESOME! Congrats


And thanks for posting this in the Hog hunting section


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## Barebowyer (Nov 1, 2015)

Well done Jerry.  Amazing read, amazing accomplishment..written and done like a true sportsman with respect for the hunt and the animal.  Great job!


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## robert carter (Nov 19, 2015)

Just read this story again. Outstanding quest for in my opinion the hardest to kill critter in Georgia with a bow. a pressured Boar with age on him is a sharp critter. even more so when there is a good bit of food around and his movement is less. Outstanding !RC


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## jtexaslonestar (Nov 19, 2015)

Wow, what an experience! Definitely didn't know about this before I sent that text that I needed Bear Dog to do some work! All your advice/info was solid but this really puts it into perspective .  Thanks for sharing this!


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## Barry Duggan (Nov 22, 2015)

I have also read this story many times, and ever time I reach the same conclusion...impressive and well played.


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