Hart Family Hunting - Hunting stories and Pictures from around the World

One for the Wild Man Lyle J. Hart Jr. July 12th, 2008

I am not sure where to start this story, Saturday morning July 5th, 2008 my world ceased to exist as I knew it. My youngest son Wade took his own life at the young age of 21. This story is about a hog hunt but it is also about my son and how we are trying to deal with his death.

Wade and his older brother Lyle III were my best hunting and fishing buddies since they were little boys. When my boys were real young we made trips to Canada for walleyes and big Northern Pike and trips to the Boundary waters ice fishing. Wade and Lyle also took Elk in South Dakota when they each turned 16yrs old.

As time passed Lyle got married and was busy with his new family so it was mostly just Wade and I taking hunting trips together. In 2004 a story about Wade on one of our hog hunts was published in Boar Hunter magazine's young guns section. He sure was proud of this hunt and story. These memories I will always hold close to my heart.

After one of our trips to Texas Wade had the wild idea he wanted to spear a hog. Wade and I worked in my shop and made a thrusting spear using a 6 foot piece of hand railing and a large knife blank. We stained and stamped it "Wild Man" on the handle Wade was the Wild Man. It's not the prettiest spear around but we made it together.

After Wade was put to rest, Lyle and I decided we were going to spear a hog before he had to head back home to South Dakota. We dug out Wades spear and started making plans.

We headed down to a property in Leola, Ar that I have hunted in the past. This was such a short notice trip we didn't have time to round up any dogs so we were going to do this the hard way. On the ride down we discussed what needed to be done, we agreed Lyle couldn't hesitate when he had his opportunity he needed to be decisive with the spear. George the owner and his hired man Charlie didn't seem too crazy about our idea of sticking a hog, but we came up with a plan and headed into the woods. Charlie setup Lyle in some thick brush next to a trail. Charlie also moved some logs in an effort to funnel the hogs closer to Lyle and his thrusting spear. The problem was nobody told the hogs what they were supposed to do. Charlie started pushing the hogs towards Lyle, they got within 10 yards and smelt a trap and took a different trail, Lyle didn't have a chance. Lyle moved to another spot and the hogs were heading towards him again. This group of hogs contained some boars well over 200lbs. Lyle had never seen a wild hog so this was a close-up introduction. I think the excitement got to him. We spent aprox. 3hrs in the Arkansas heat and humidity, no stuck hog.

We huddled up and made some small changes and gave it another try, Lyle was fired up. This time there was a commotion and Lyle yelled "I stuck one!" Sure enough hogs were running every direction and bringing up the rear was a black boar with his front shoulder covered with blood. Lyle came over by me "Did he still have the spear in him?" Lyle told me he waited for the hogs with the spear in one hand and a knife in the other; he was determined to get one this time. He lunged at a running black boar, getting him in the neck. He tried to hang onto the spear but the hog knocked him off his feet. Lyle thought he was going to get trampled and cut by the rest of the hogs, but they just scattered.

We found the blood covered spear in the bush. We then tried blood trailing the hog without much luck.

We spent about an hour looking for the wounded hog when Charlie spotted him laid up; he had a wound all the way through his neck. Unfortunately it was a little high, it missed most vitals. Lyle got fairly close and finished him off with a shot to the head. The black hog went around 170lbs.

Lyle was able to stick one for his brother, Wade "The Wild Man".

I regret not making this hunt happen with both my sons. I wish I would have pushed harder to spend more time with Lyle and Wade before it was too late.

This hunt was very special for my son Lyle and I. We are trying to heal and honor Wade in our own special ways.

Losing Wade has left a big hole in my heart. I miss my hunting buddy, my friend, my youngest son.

Matthew's First Hog Lyle J. Hart Jr. February 13th, 2008

My hunting buddy Matthew has been wanting to get out and hunt the biggest, nastiest, meanest old hog in Arkansas with Grandpa. Wednesday February 13th he got his wish.

The morning of the hunt we started getting ready to head out to Leola, Ar, Matt was fired up. He had his cammo boots and his cammo hunting clothes on early. I noticed his pants pockets were bulging; Grandma asked him what he had in his pockets, "Hunting Stuff". I was afraid to ask what kind of hunting stuff.

Grandma, Matt, and I got to the hunting ranch at about 10am (it was warmed up by then). Matt was fired up; he couldn't wait to get out of the truck. George our host met us and took us to the stand we would be hunting. We got up in a low box blind looking into the hunting area over a low fence. The plan was George would try to get the hogs moving and we hoped they would come down the fence line and stop out front were some corn was tossed. Well Matt was still pretty worked up and he was having a problem sitting still, he didn't know what to expect. I was going to try and get a hog with my crossbow, the fence and some branches caused me some concern. We didn't wait too long and we could hear the hogs coming. Matt watched, the hogs stayed out in the trees about 30 yards out. I had one broadside standing still I took a shot, the bolt hit about 10ft in front of the hog. I don't know if I hit a branch or just pulled the shot. Matt yelled "You got him". No Matt I didn't.

We all tried to settle down, I told Matt we would get another chance. It was about 1/2 an hour before we heard the hogs coming again, this time they were coming along the fence. Matt was ready looking through his pirate spy scope. Grandma was ready with the camera and Grandpa had his bow ready. Here they come, they stopped up the fence line about 30yards, then they got going and didn't stop. I took a shot at the last one, missed again. This time I am sure I hit a vine hanging down. Check out the video and see what you think.

< Video

George came over and we all got down from the blind, we couldn't find any blood or the arrow. George suggested we try another blind inside the fence. I think Matts favorite part was just walking through the woods because as soon as he was down he took off following George. Of course he had to pick up every rock and stick he seen.

The next stand was a platform about 7 feet off the ground. Grandma had a good hold of the back of Matts jacket because there were no sides on the platform to keep in a 3 year old. We waited; the hogs were getting pretty jittery and cautious. Final we seen them but they weren't coming in close. Matt and Grandma were getting impatient. I decided to lay down the bow and pickup my 25/06 A-bolt. I could see the hogs about 40 yards out all grouped up behind some trees. One hog stuck his head out, that's all I needed. "Grandma cover Matts ears" Bang! Hog down. Matt couldn't wait to get down and get to the hog. He took off to find the hog. Unfortunately he was going the wrong way! "Matt this way"

Matthew wasn't afraid of the hog at all, the first thing he did was try to drag the pig by his tail. Then he had to touch the hog's eye. George said we got the smallest one, he weighed in at 100lbs. That was OK with us it was Matt's first hog.

Matt was eager to get the hog back, he wanted to get him skinned and gutted. He said he had brought his skinning knife.

Thanks go out to George Riggens for making this a memory we will never forget.

Most of all a very big thanks goes out to the best Grandma ever, for putting up with us.

Employee Stress Reduction Outing Lyle J. Hart Jr. March 8th, 2007

A couple of weeks ago it was decided we needed a team building stress reduction offsite meeting. What better way to reduce stress then to kill some hogs!

My boss Jeff, Mike another manager in my department, and I decided to take the day off work and head down to Carthage, Ar for a day of hog hunting. We had never been down to the "Wild Hog Ranch" or met the owner George Riggins. We were both excited and apprehensive on what to expect.

After getting our bearings messed up and taking the scenic route we ended up at the Wild Hog Ranch at about 9:30am. George met us at the gate and after some small talk about me being lost, George asked "Do you want to look around or get down to the killing?" Mike quickly responded "Let's get to the killing" George is a older soft spoken Arkansasan with many great stories.

Jeff and I have hunted hogs here in Arkansas and also in Texas, but Mike had never had the pleasure. We all had questions for George on how this hunt was going to proceed. After talking between ourselves it was decided Mike was going to have the first opportunity to get a hog. Mike was going to sit in a tower blind and Jeff, George and I were going to push them. Mike was using his Rem 30/06 and you could tell he was ready. Jeff, George, and I walked and talked.

I changed my mind and climbed a latter stand, I wanted to get a look at the hogs, but I decided I would let them pass by down towards Mike's stand. George and Jeff started getting up in the thick cover and sure enough out ran about 6 hogs ranging in weight from 100-160lbs. After they passed I climbed down and meet up with Jeff and George. We started talking about which way they ran when we heard Bang, pause, Bang, Bang. Mike wasn't messing around. When we got over by Mike you could tell by the look on his face, he had one down. He said this boar hog tried to run off after the first shot and he didn't want to take any chances. He hit his hog with all 3 shots form his 30/06. Mike's hog weighed in at around 150lb and sure looked like he had some Russian in him. After some pictures it was my turn.

I was going to try to knock one over with my Super Redhawk in .454. I found a good sized tree to stand behind near a well worn path. A few minutes after I settled in I heard the bark of Jeff's 30-30, I learned later he got a sow about the size of Mike's boar. After the shot I could hear the hogs coming my way. I waited, the group of 20 came down the trail, an easy 15 yards from my position. I held up my big pistol with both hands and squeezed off a shot at a nice boar, no reaction! How could I have missed? The hogs were about 30 yards off, I shot again. Nothing, no flinch, nothing. I stepped out from behind the tree and I was face to snout with one of George's famous decoys, this hog was over 200lbs and was standing 5 steps in front of me. I was tempted to shoot but I had just fired 2 shots and I couldn't believe I had missed. The decoy back tracked and I started looking for a blood trail. Not a drop of blood nothing, clean miss, both shots. Well it happens.

Jeff and Mike were going to gut their hogs back at George's house, I decided to stay in the woods and give it another try. I found a new setup even better then the first one. George was driving around on his ATV taking out the hogs that had been shot, this got the hogs up and moving again. I didn't have to wait too long and I could see movement. I lined up on my shooting lane and waited. Again it was less then a 20yard shot, no problem. When they hit the spot, I picked one out, they spotted me, my pistol roared, nothing. Same story, I shot 2 more times, not a sign. I checked for blood again, nothing. This is were everything gets hazy, how could I have missed 5 times? My eyes going? am I getting senile? Am I shooting blanks? What is happen to me?

By this time I was pretty disgusted with my self and George was being pretty quiet. I decided it was time to get my 25/06 rifle. I planted myself in a bow blind and waited. I could see the hogs coming my way and detouring into the woods behind me. I tried to twist around and get a shot, this wasn't working so I slowly and carefully stood up. The hogs seen me and spooked. I took a desperation shot at a running hog through the woods and missed. This was getting real bad.

Try this again, but this time I stood on the ground so I could cover the whole area behind me. This time a small group came through at a fast run, but I was able to get on one and shoot. When Mike, Jeff and George showed up I pointed straight back were I thought I seen them run and we started looking for blood. I was sure I had hit one this time, but we weren't seeing any blood. I was hearing comments that they would try to locate the hogs and push them again. I kept looking for blood. At this point I don't think anyone felt very confident about my shooting ability. I was sure I hit one, hard. I started making circles around the area and that is when I found a large splatter of blood, I had pointed everyone in the wrong direction. I easily found the sow I shot about 20yds away.

We had all shot hogs but the hunt wasn't over yet. Jeff had seen a blonde hog earlier and with great determination he stalked thru the woods looking for this blonde(pig). If you have ever seen Jeff on the trail of a blonde you know what I mean. The rest of us were loading my sow on the 4wheeler when we heard Jeff's rifle. We walked towards the area of the shot. Jeff was all smiles, he had shot a big hog. Not the blonde one but a big old boar that went better 200lbs. He said he came upon the blonde and this big boar down in a creek bed and made a great kill shot. The problem was it was down in the mud and it was all up hill to get him out.

Jeff, Mike and I each cooked up some wild hog and brought it in to the office for everyone to enjoy. The whole experience was a pure pleasure. It was a great quick getaway from the day-to-day business stress.

By the way if you happen to talk to George Riggins don't believe a word he says about the bearded guy with the big pistol.

Hog hunting at the Langley Ranch, Tx Lyle J. Hart Jr. January, 2006

Sara and I along with my friend Jeff and his boy Cory all made a trip to the Langley ranch in Centerville, Tx to chase the elusive Texas grizzleys. Jeff and Cory had never hunted Texas hogs, the excitement level was high for all of us.

The trip from our home in Benton, Ar was short and charged with expectation. When we arrived at the Langley we were greeted by our hosts Joe and Sue Langley. I have been to the Langley before with my son Wade. Seeing Joe and Sue was like seeing old friends.

We started off our Hunting adventure doing our rifle checks. I believe this is very importanat no matter what kind of hunt you are enjoying. Joe took us down by his stock pond and we each took our turns. Jeff was shooting a .270 while Cory had a .243. Sara and I would be sharing my Browning in 25/06. The notorous "Black Gun".

Finnishing up with our target practice Jeff and Cory noticed along the banks of the pond were some old arrow heads. Joe informed us that the Langley Ranch sat on a old settlers route and the area was full of historical artifacts. So we all joined in and poked around in the dirt for awhile.

Getting towards evening we headed to our blinds for the evening hunt. Sara and I sat in a tower blind that was on a hill overlooking a ravine with a creek running through. We didn't sit long when we heard Cory shoot the .243 and then we heard the louder report from Jeff's .270. The hogs came tearing through our setup Sara lined up and made a great shot with the 25/06, dead hog. We seen one hog that looked wounded so I put a bullet in his head. Found out it was Cory's hog, his shot got a little far back. Jeff had nailed his hog in the head dropping him on the spot. I was walking with the kids while Jeff was at the other end of the property, when all of a sudden I could hear the hogs coming, I told the kids "Watch out here they come." A small group was coming down the trail, heads down, straight towards us. Cory and Sara's eyes got as big as saucers. The pigs got within about 15 yards of us and put on the brakes and scrambled to turn around and head the other way. The first day came to a great ending, we had plenty of stories to tell around the fire.

TO BE CONTINUED

Hoggin with the Harts Lyle J. Hart Jr. Feburay 15th, 2005

My 18-year-old son Wade and I just returned from an another great hog hunting experience. On this trip we went to a fairly new hunting outfit that I had seen advertised in the Boar Hunter magazine. The Caney Creek Lodge is located in the hardwood forest and creek bottoms of east Texas.

We meet the owner of Caney Creek at his archery shop in nearby Fairfield; Justin led us through the country roads to the lodge. What a surprise! Sitting out in the hardwoods was a spectacular stone lodge built by Justin?s grandfather and recently remodeled. The lodge was full of Native American artifacts and trophy mounts from around the world.

We immediately got settled into our rooms and headed for the range to punch some holes in targets. Wade and I were able to shoot respectable groups at a 100yds, we were ready. We meet our fellow hunters when we got back to the lodge. Young Carl Parker and his father would be sharing the lodge with us for the next two days. Ten year-old Carl would be handling the shooting with Dad as backup man.

We headed out to our blind at around 2:30, Wade and I decided to share a blind for this first evening and I would attempt to videotape Wade?s hunt. We set up in a blind that was amongst the thick woods with the creek running behind us, the feeder was about 70 yards up a slight hill. The shooting lane gave us a good view of the feeder. It went off right on time at 4 and again at 5pm, spreading corn all over the ground. Shortly after five we heard the crack of Carl?s 7mm-08 and then his voice over the radio ? We got one?. It was 5:30 when Wade spotted some good meat hogs 75-100lbs moving around behind our feeder, Wade got ready. The group of 4 or 5 hogs made their way to the feeder. I put the video camera on the hogs and zoomed in. Wade was waiting for a good angle; he was going to aim for the ear for a quick kill. Wade didn?t wait long and the Ruger barked, sending the .243 bullet towards the biggest hog. Unfortunately I didn?t expect the shot so quickly and I almost dropped the video camera. The hogs ran off to the right, no dead hog. Wade couldn?t wait he wanted to check for blood. Headshots usually mean the hog drops in his tracks or you make a clean miss. This time it was a clean miss, no sign of blood. But the evening?s action wasn?t over yet.

At 5 minutes to pitch black a group of 10-15 hogs moved in with a frenzy. We could barely make out their outlines as they moved back and forth from the feeder and the creek behind us. Wade put the .243 on the group but could not get a good site picture on a single hog. After a few minutes agonizing over the lack of a clear shot Wade made the wise decision not to take a shot. Well, I was pumped up and maybe not as wise as my young son. Dad wanted to take a look through the scope. I cranked it up to 9X and had a hog with his head down feeding. I pulled the trigger; the scoped filled with the intense white and yellow light of the muzzle blast. We walked towards the feeder, I had gotten lucky. A clean head shot on a 88lb hog.

Carl Parker

When we got back to the lodge we heard that Carl killed a hog in the area they called the swamp. The hog went about 85lbs. They had seen a larger hog that moved off into the bush, they didn?t take a shot but they did get some great video. When Justin showed up to pick up the Parkers they told him about the large hog and that it was laying under some brush like it was hurt. Justin and Mr. Parker approached the downed hog, he didn?t move. Justin started throwing little sticks at this brute, after the second or third stick the Boar charged. Justin was doing some fancy foot work and tripped just as the hog veered off. Justin figured the hog went 400lb +. After I watched the video I would agree.

The next morning I sat in a blind at the swamp were Carl and his Dad seen the big boar the night before. The wind was blowing hard on my back. I stayed in the blind from before sunrise to around 9am. No hogs but I did spend a peacefully bluebird morning watching Whitetail, BlackBuck, and Axis bucks crossing the meadow behind my blind. Wade didn?t see any hogs and the Parker Team saw one small group but no shots.

After discussing the morning hunt I decided the wind was my downfall that morning. I figured I would try the swamp blind again, the wind seemed to have died out. Wade would also hunt nearby. About 10 minutes into the evening hunt the wind started up again blowing against my back to the feeder. A meat hog around 50lbs walked out towards the swamp. He stopped suddenly and threw his snout in the air, then walked on with caution. After throwing his snout in the air three times to taste the wind he bolted for the bush. I had washed my clothes in scent free detergent, washed with scent control soap, used scent control lotion, and sprayed my clothes with scent eliminator spray. To that little hog I still stunk like a pile of garbage.

I figured I needed to change something otherwise I wasn?t going to see any wildlife. I needed to get down wind. I moved quietly around the feeder to some dry ground about 60yards from the feeder. I found a spot with my back against a tree and a deadfall to my left. I had some open shooting lanes between trees to watch the feeder. I enjoyed being on the ground close to the action. Colorful Wood ducks were landing in the swamp behind me to keep me company. Also a group of Axis bucks and does came within 15 yards of me with out busting me. It was great! I heard a shot come from the direction of Wade?s blind, ?that?s my boy?. Then the radio cracked with Wades voice, ?I think I missed again. Next time I am shooting for the body?, I agreed with him. Wade checked for blood, nothing. I told him to get back in the blind, they might come back. He sounded disgusted with himself.

Within 5 minutes of Wade?s shot, I heard the hogs tearing through the woods on the other side of the tree at my back. They moved through the woods getting to the edge of the swamp on my right. They then button hooked back behind me through the water towards the feeder. They were within 15 y ards; my heart was beginning to pound. I tried to raise my rifle slowly. With my body twisted backwards it would have been a foolish shot. I waited until they got on the feeder, I had noticed a large red and white feral that stood out from the rest but I couldn?t get him in my narrow shooting lane by himself. I decided to try for a dark boar whose back height seemed to match the red and white hog. He presented a shot; I threaded the 25-06 through the trees, slamming into his head. He dropped dead in his tracks. When I walked over to the downed hog I noticed he had wide shoulders and narrow hips and looked to be a nasty boar, not very good to eat. Upon closer examination I discovered it was a thin sow. Did she just wean off her piglets?? Is that why she was so heavy in the shoulders but thin? The final clue came out later when this hog was skinned; she had a bullet through the brisket, just above the heart. It is hard to say how long this hog had lived with this wound.

While checking out my hog I heard Wade?s rifle again, this time his happy voice reported, ?He is down, but still kicking?. Wade had made a good shot at about 75 yards, through the front shoulder. His pig went about 110lbs another great eater.

The next morning was our last hunt; Wade and Carl each needed one more hog. I would be making an attempt at capturing the hunt on video. We climbed into Wade?s blind just before first light. Soon as the sun came up we spotted a group of eaters cross up the road to our right. We could see the hogs make their way through the woods and down the trail behind us. We just watched them run behind us at 20 yards, I didn?t even turn on the video camera. We only stayed in the stand for one hour and then met up with Justin and the Parkers to come up with a plan. It was decided that Wade and I would find a position behind the swamp in the brush and Carl and his dad would go to the other end of the property. Justin and another guy would go into the thick cover in the middle and push out the hogs. Everyone carried a radio; constantly reporting movement and staying in our designated areas was important for keeping everyone safe. Wade and I had a good view through the swamp area. We waited the hogs weren?t co-operating. We heard Carl reporting they spotted a couple of small groups but didn?t take any shots. Then we heard Carl?s rifle, they had one down. Wade and I got ready, there was no rifle rest in the area so I held a small log on end and Wade practiced resting his rifle on the end of the log. We were ready. Right on queue eight or nine hogs came tearing into the swamp milling around. Wade got one in his scope put him down in the middle of the swamp.

We enjoyed meeting Carl Parker and his father. Also Justin and Beth were perfect host.

There is nothing better then spending time in the outdoors with your children. Wade and I had a great time and mom was happy we brought home the pork.

Langley Ranch Hog Hunt Lyle J. Hart Jr. May 15th, 2004

I have been hearing good things about a new Hog Hunting ranch in Centerville Texas. The Langley Ranch owned and operated by Joe and Sue Langley exceeded everything I had heard.
When my son and I arrived on Friday afternoon Joe a retired high school coach and principle greeted us. Joe showed us to the old ranch house that would be our home for the next two days. While we where getting settled in Joe?s wife Sue stopped by with a fresh pear bunt cake that was still warm. What a welcome!
It was time to get ready for a much-anticipated hunt; we headed for the river bottoms to check our firearms. I was going to make another attempt at a hog with my .454 Super Redhawk revolver. Wade will be shooting our new Ruger 77 in .243. The guns checked out, I decided I needed to get within 50 yards to make a good shot with my pistol.
We decided to check out the Boar patch first. Joe hauled in some corn to draw in the hogs, it sure worked. Joe walked back out and I started loading my pistol when around 20 hogs came into the feeder. Wade and I were surprise to see hogs so quickly. Wade tried to take the picture below and they got spooked and ran off. We waited a while and decided to move our hunt to the bottoms.
In the bottoms, Wade sat in a ground blind back in a flooded marsh area that held some big hogs and unknown other critters. I sat in a wooded area in a very nice elevated blind. A good bobcat was seen here earlier in the day. We had a great evening watching and listening. No shots were taken.
Saturday morning I was determined to be ready for the hogs when they came in to the feeder in the Boar patch. Sure enough as soon as I got seated and ready a good hog came in to feed, that triggered the rest of the group. With in minutes I had a group of 20 boars feeding 30-35 yards in front of me. I tried to pick a big one and stay on him but they were in a feeding frenzy quickly moving around. In a split second I had a big hog by himself in the open. I quickly dropped the hammer on the Redhawk. The pistol roared and the hogs ran off up the hill to the left except one large boar who reversed his path and stumbled to the right down the ravine.
Joe showed up and I repeated the story. I was sure there would be a blood trail down the ravine to the right. Upon inspection of the area I couldn?t find any blood down the ravine. Joe walked back over to report a good blood trail going up the hill to the left. Sure enough blood was splattered on both sides of the trail. We followed the blood trail up and down the ravine and finally spotted the hog down in a thicket. We cautiously approached with pistol drawn. The big hog wasn?t going any further. We could see foaming bright red blood coming from the .45 caliber hole. The slug went all the way through this animal?s chest exiting on the other side. This hog had traveled over 200yards before he realized he was dead.

While we were tracking my hog we pushed the group of hogs towards Wades blind. With in minutes of finding my hog we heard the report of the .243 Wade was using. We went to Wade?s blind to find a nice 156lb hog that he had dropped in his tracks with a headshot. Wade told us that we had pushed the hogs right towards his stand but most of the big ones had went behind him and disappeared into the thick cover.
My hog went 260lbs with 3+ cutters. Wade?s hog weighed in at 156lbs. We had a great Saturday morning!

Saturday evening we decided to try the bottoms, Wade wanted to sit in the marsh again and see what was going to show. I went back to the wooded area and tried some predator calling. Around sunset Wade had a surprise guest, an 8-10 ft alligator crashed into the creek and lay there watching Wade, less then 10 yards from his blind.
Wade tried for a big hog Sunday morning, but they were too skittish.
The Langley?s were a great host. They went out of their way to make us feel at home and to make our hunt a memory that my son and I will always share.
For more info: The Langley ranch

Big Woods, TX Hunt Lyle J. Hart Jr. 2004

The pictures below are from some of our family hunts at "The Big Woods" down in the Trinty river bottoms south of Dallas. They have a whole lot of hogs and the biggest hogs I have seen to date.

Contact Hart Family
Lyle_Hart@Hotmail.com

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