# Bond Swamp NWR's opening day kills.



## hambone76 (Jan 2, 2012)

We got off to a good start this year. We had six in our group today and we saw close to 20 hogs. We killed 5 by 3:30 pm. 4 boars and 1 sow. Our 168 qt. cooler is slap full of meat. We're going back in with 9 guys and more coolers tomorrow. 
This is my first hog ever. Another guy in our group got one the same size that was travelling with mine.






We were sitting down to eat lunch and this big boy ran right up to us. One guy shot him with an AR, one with an SKS and I finally dropped him with a 12ga slug right behind his head. The slug pierced the hogs ear before hitting the body.
This one is 350-400# 3" cutters.









The three of us that shot the big boar stayed and quartered him while the others went after some more hogs. We had just finished quartering and bagging the meat from the big boar when I spotted another hog coming our way. I put a little stalk on her and piled her up with one 12ga. slug through the boiler room. She was 300# plus. 









The other half of our group killed another small boar just seconds after I shot the sow. 
This has been an awesome day and I hope the next two days are just as good.


----------



## HuntFishCook (Jan 3, 2012)

*:-(*

I wish I was there to enjoy the Bond of such great guys sharing a passion that most can't even imagine. However I know that I will be cooking some of that fine table fair soon ...Happy hunting brothers.


----------



## synack (Jan 3, 2012)

Very cool, thank you for sharing!


----------



## kinross (Jan 3, 2012)

These are the hunting stories that i like to here about. Mates having a good time and been in the thick of it. Well done


----------



## crazyjigr (Jan 3, 2012)

You just ruined a bunch of reading this today, thanks 
sounds like a great hunt


----------



## manok (Jan 3, 2012)

hambone76 

Sent you a p.m.


----------



## nockemstiff (Jan 3, 2012)

That's awesome!  Nicely done.  Might have been a chilly one today...


----------



## Curtis (Jan 3, 2012)

Oh man, sounds like a great day.  I have been to Edited To Remove ProfanityEdited To Remove Profanity several times and never had hot action like that.  Congrats on a fun day and a lot of pork.  Nice size pigs too.


----------



## wildhorse (Jan 3, 2012)

congrats,  now tell us about that shotgun.


----------



## skoaleric (Jan 3, 2012)

Is that a sawed off shotgun?..lol.


----------



## SELFBOW (Jan 3, 2012)

Where's the pics of the 350-400 lber?
or the 300#+ sow?


----------



## hambone76 (Jan 3, 2012)

skoaleric said:


> Is that a sawed off shotgun?..lol.


It isn't sawed off. It is an 18 &1/2 inch factory barrell.
It is easier to move and swing on a hog in the thick switchcane than a 28" barrell. It also groups good out to 60 yads if you know how to shoot. I popped that sow from 45 yards or so with a 2&3/4" slug and it blew right through both shoulders. Anything beyond my effective range can be handled by another member of our group with a rifle. Our average shot distance was "up close and personal", so the short barrell served me well.


----------



## SELFBOW (Jan 3, 2012)

hambone76 said:


> There is always somebody that wants to chime in with some negativity.
> Were you there????



Have you ever seen a 300-400 lb hog? Apparently not.


----------



## hambone76 (Jan 3, 2012)

Here is another picture from today. Who cares what they weighed, it was fun nonetheless. Thanks for the commentary, good or otherwise. We have been blessed with good hunting.


----------



## Kawaliga (Jan 3, 2012)

*Bond Swamp*



buckbacks said:


> Have you ever seen a 300-400 lb hog? Apparently not.



Here we go again, trying to ruin someones good time. If you can't just congratulate the guy, peddle your venom somewhere else.


----------



## manok (Jan 4, 2012)

36 hogs checked out as of 11:00 a.m. today Wednesday


----------



## jiminbogart (Jan 4, 2012)

If your draggin' they all feel like 300 pounders.

Good deal on the hogs, sounds like a great hunt.

I need to get out from behind this computer and head back to Redlands(not my first choice, but it's 20 minutes from the house) and see if I can walk one up.


----------



## hunter44a (Jan 4, 2012)

Wish I woulda went with ya Mark. This work crap always gets in the way
CONGRATS! Hopefully I can go the next time buddy.


----------



## grizzlyblake (Jan 4, 2012)

Good work hambone. I may head out there with my buddy this weekend.


----------



## southernboy2147 (Jan 4, 2012)

be there tomorrow morning look for a ext black ford ranger. hope to see yall out there


----------



## Maddogg (Jan 4, 2012)

How are the roads and is there alot water around or is it pretty dry down there?


----------



## manok (Jan 5, 2012)

Roads are good.

It's a  ' SWAMP ', there's supposed to a lot of water around.


----------



## grizzlyblake (Jan 5, 2012)

I'm sure this is a wasted question but where are y'all seeing all those pigs in the first post?


----------



## hambone76 (Jan 5, 2012)

Day two kills. Two young boars. The hunting pressure is already getting to them. 










Day 3 kills. Two more boars. 









This was also found down there. 





We saw a lot of hogs and we ended up killing nine total in three days. Every person in our group who killed a hog on this hunt had never killed one prior to this hunt. We were blessed with good weather and lots of hogs and I can't wait to go back.


----------



## techfire55 (Jan 5, 2012)

Man that must have been a lot of fun. Let me know if you ever need another West Georgia boy to go with you.


----------



## hambone76 (Jan 5, 2012)

Maddog, the sloughs close to the creek were full of water, but could be crossed easily. Most of them aways from the creek were dry for the most part. We never got our feet wet. A little bit of rain can change things in a hurry. I never drove down Bondsview, so I don't know how it looks over there.


----------



## Maddogg (Jan 6, 2012)

I was down there a few years back and it was flooded big time.
Alot of people were getting stuck on Bondviews Road, because the river was busting over the banks. You couldn't get very far on foot with out getting wet. You really needed a jon boat or a canoe. If you could use one down there a argo, would have been ideal. We couldn't get back far enough in the swamp because there was so much water and it was moving fast. I don't want to be down there when its like that ever again. That was not a fun weekend.


----------



## nockemstiff (Jan 6, 2012)

I just looked up Bonds Swamp and now I realize its pretty close to me.  Count me as a possibility as heading up in a group if one starts forming this year or next.


----------



## retiredkilla (Jan 6, 2012)

27 people went in where i did no hogs. hambone and group must have killed 9 out of 36 killed .. never saw so many people on a hunt in the middle of a swamp.........


----------



## southernboy2147 (Jan 6, 2012)

i went yesterday until about 1030 in the morning and saw 1 hog bu couldnt get a shot. went in the after noon and sat for about 3 hrs until dark and didnt see anything. done alot of walkin in the morning and it was very dry compared to what it was it last year. bonds view wasnt that bad. u could get a 2wd down there if u stayed centered and to the right while u were goin in and you knew what u were doin in the mud. I believe that the pigs are gettin presured and movin into the private land around it.


----------



## buddylee (Jan 6, 2012)

Too many city slickers and "hunters" who have no idea how to hunt a hog.


----------



## Maddogg (Jan 8, 2012)

It would be great if the county would fix up Bonds View Road. Aleats put some gravel on it and try to fix the deep holes and ruts.


----------



## buddylee (Jan 9, 2012)

The local idiots with jacked up trucks keep it messed up.


----------



## brian lee (Jan 9, 2012)

i was down there this weekend.there were three of us  with only 1 hog killed.a 200lb boar.did see alot of dead hogs that hunters shot & leftg in the woods.its very unsportsman to do this.if u put the time in to walking & u kill one atleast put the time in dragging it out.i will be back down there this weekend,so if anyone wants to join up shoot me a pm.there will be 6 of us & anyone is more than welcome to join up.bring a johnboat if u have one


----------



## Scrub Buck (Jan 9, 2012)

Brian,

Where they boned out?  Most that hunt down there including me do that.  No need in putting up with the extra weight.


----------



## brian lee (Jan 9, 2012)

No these hogs were just shot & left there. Who ever shot them just killed them & left them for the other wildlife to eat on


----------



## nockemstiff (Jan 10, 2012)

Dang, now that's just wrong.


----------



## retiredkilla (Jan 10, 2012)

hunters go there to shoot hogs like rabbits.. jump it up and shoot..no telling how many hogs were wounded and died later..i was there opening day mon. trucks and hunters every  where .. i wonder how many hundreds of hunters were there..one behind every tree. bond swamp and all public land hog hunting is over....


----------



## REDNECK1 (Jan 10, 2012)

Not only did they leave the hogs with 75% of the meat left on it but they left their blue and orange gloves and plastic bags and water bottles laying by the dead hog. We are lucky enough that the obama administration hasn't done away with public hunting on federal land but if the litter bugs keep doing a good job of leaving the trash we could one day lose the option to hunt it!!!!


----------



## nockemstiff (Jan 10, 2012)

Sounds like we need to put some Rangers in the woods and let them have a major crackdown on that kind of thing and the littering ought to be a felony - $500 fine minimum.


----------



## grizzlyblake (Jan 10, 2012)

I went last Saturday and there were a LOT of hunters packed in the easy to get to areas. As dense as the woods are down there it's very tough to see orange once folks are 75yds away or more. 

Like retiredkilla said above, everyone is just walking around trying to kick them up and shoot them on the run. Getting in a tree stand wouldn't be a bad choice with everyone shooting on the same level.


----------



## southernboy2147 (Jan 10, 2012)

nockemstiff said:


> Sounds like we need to put some Rangers in the woods and let them have a major crackdown on that kind of thing and the littering ought to be a felony - $500 fine minimum.



I agree with the fine but a felony??? no. I have alot of friends that are felonys and you dont know how bad that will mess ur life up for good. felonys aint no joke, they will keep u from getting alot of jobs, gettin ur CDL, voting, using any firearm and on top of that any little pettie crime that you commit after getting a felony you will be charged twice as hard as the next guy with 10 mistiminers. I agree totally with punishment of littering on WMA's but not gettin a felony for it


----------



## southernboy2147 (Jan 10, 2012)

grizzlyblake said:


> I went last Saturday and there were a LOT of hunters packed in the easy to get to areas. As dense as the woods are down there it's very tough to see orange once folks are 75yds away or more.
> 
> Like retiredkilla said above, everyone is just walking around trying to kick them up and shoot them on the run. Getting in a tree stand wouldn't be a bad choice with everyone shooting on the same level.



agreed. I came across a couple guys the other day that were huntin out of a stand and by about 10 p.m. one had killed 3, the other 1. The only hogs takin the whole day when I checked the check out sheet on reids station at dark.


----------



## buddylee (Jan 10, 2012)

If Tom Payne Payne catches anyone littering I guarantee you he will burn them up. He don't play.


----------



## southernboy2147 (Jan 10, 2012)

buddylee said:


> If Tom Payne Payne catches anyone littering I guarantee you he will burn them up. He don't play.



never had a run in with him or any game warden for that fact but I hear he is one of the tougher ones for sure


----------



## hambone76 (Jan 11, 2012)

REDNECK1 said:


> Not only did they leave the hogs with 75% of the meat left on it but they left their blue and orange gloves and plastic bags and water bottles laying by the dead hog. We are lucky enough that the obama administration hasn't done away with public hunting on federal land but if the litter bugs keep doing a good job of leaving the trash we could one day lose the option to hunt it!!!!



We found several hog carcasses with trash everywhere and gloves on the ground. There is no telling what would eat the gloves if they are bloody enough. Not to mention the littering part of it.
 Some of the hogs we found had the backstraps cut out and the rest was left to rot. That is a waste and is highly unethical. We left no meat to waste and packed our trash out with us. It doesn't take much effort to pick up after yourself and leave the woods like you found it.
  Bond Swamp is a public spot like no other and we all should take the initiative to ensure that our priveledge to hunt there isnt taken away from us.


----------



## REDNECK1 (Jan 11, 2012)

X2!!!!!!!


----------



## Maddogg (Jan 12, 2012)

Looks like there will be a few of us that are going to try to get down there on Saturday. I'm sure after this rain that we got over the last few days is gonna have it pretty flooded down there. We might need to bring the chest waders. Has anybody been down there this week? How is it looking?


----------



## Maddogg (Jan 13, 2012)

Well it looks like about 8 to 10 of us going to be down their on Saturday. Does anyone know how much the rain we got added to the water level on the roads and in the swamp?


----------



## Kowboy (Jan 13, 2012)

Excellent hunt bud, it doesn't matter what they weighed exactly. All that matters is you and your buddies had fun.

I will be down there tomorrow morning. Good luck to everyone going!


----------



## hambone76 (Jan 14, 2012)

Thanks and good luck to all that are going.


----------



## tournament fisher (Jan 14, 2012)

those hunts are circus hunts and i aint no CLOWN


----------



## southernboy2147 (Jan 14, 2012)

tournament fisher said:


> those hunts are circus hunts and i aint no CLOWN



huh???


----------



## Kowboy (Jan 14, 2012)

I was trying to figure that one out too... Did anybody have better luck than me down there today?


----------



## Maddogg (Jan 16, 2012)

There was 6 of us out their Saturday. We got their at about 7am and left out at about 4:30pm. We parked at the check station and walked from their through zone 3 to zone 2 all the way to zone 1 at the county line and the river. Then headed toward the railroad tracks and then turned back toward the check station. It felt like we walked something like 20 miles. We found all kinds of sign, fresh and old. But no hogs. We were unable to locate them. We tried every thicket that we walked up on and no hogs to be found. So what are the next zones to try. We went to the middle of the swamp to find hogs and came back empty handed. We want to go back down their, but not sure where else to look for hogs. Does anybody have ideas of how and where to locate the hogs down their?


----------

