Annual Hog Hunt - Florida
Arlene with her biggest hog yet!
Hunter: Arlene (MA) Cianciarulo
Cameraman: Don Tipton
Yes, it was our Annual Hog & Gator Hunt at Hoppy’s, Osceola Outfitters in Florida. This was our 7th year and also our traditional “Mom and Sons” hunt, only this year Ralph & Vicki (Mom and Dad) took their son RJ out for his hunt. They were really excited for RJ to get his hog.
So I asked a friend (Don Tipton) from Melbourne, Florida if he wouldn’t mind filming for me. He said he would be happy to do so. So after going over some camera tips with Joe (videographer), Don was ready to film me. Joe, Amy, Dani, and Adi were there and Joe was filming all of his family. The other couples and guys had not arrived, so we were limited with camera people.
The weather was very hot and humid with a lot of rain storms, dark clouds, strong winds, and a lot of heat lighting that really lit up the sky. There were also constant wind direction changes, which ruined a lot of the evening hunts, although we did have some very beautiful mornings and evenings. There were a lot of hog sightings and we were all excited and hoping for the one we would like to get.
It was now my time to go out. Don was getting ready and Hoppy’s son Sage was going to take us to a ground blind where I would be undercover in a chair with an adjustable bipod shooting stick. WOW, no spot and stalk this time. I wonder if Ralph will miss running me thru the fields???? This was a spot that I had never been to before.
Now I’m really nervous because I’m so use to Ralph (Speedy) giving me the orders while we stalk thru the jungles (as I called it). I’m wondering how Don is going to handle me, and he has to be so nervous with me, not knowing how I am!!!! Sage, Don, and I got into the buggy to go to the blind and it looked very stormy. I looked up and thought, "Oh No, please don’t rain now."
This was also another first for me because I will be shooting a TC 223. It felt so good to me, and I was very comfortable with it. Other than a raccoon and a skunk, I had never shot anything bigger than those two animals with a gun.
My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking, but I thought that it somehow would work out because Don had a lot of patience. We arrived at the blind, the site looked good, and there seemed to be a lot of hog sign everywhere. We got into the blind and started to check out my shooting windows. I had a few problems getting my correct height in which to shoot from, but Don fixed those for me. Just as we were all set, some small hogs immediately came to the site, it was very early, but they still came in due to the dark overcast skies that were making it look like it was getting darker a littler earlier. There was a small red one all alone and its curly tail kept going round and round. That sure put a smile on my face. As we were watching the small hogs, a large storm with dark black clouds began to cover us. The small hogs rushed in to feed and eventually gave the larger hogs the OK to come in.
I motioned to Don that two hogs were coming in from my right. The largest one was dark grey. Our camera light started fading very early due to the black clouds that were coming in quickly overhead.
I was aiming the TC 223 with the red dot sight at a 16-yard broadside shot that was slightly quartering towards me. Everything was right and it felt good, so I squeezed the trigger and saw the shot hit the hog. The hog took off through the palmettos. I watched as I knew it was a good shot. I then got all choked up and cried. I don’t know why, I just cried. Those are my emotions and they were really overwhelming at this time.
Just then it starts to rain. Sage, Don and I searched for the hog, but there were too many hog trails to follow, and now limited tracking light, and it was raining even harder. So we decided to return in the morning. We all watched the footage on the camera and Hoppy thought he knew exactly where it went.
The next morning we went tracking and sure enough, we found the hog. What excitement, it’s the biggest hog I’ve gotten since I’ve been going to Hoppy’s for hogs. Hoppy sure knows his hogs and gators.
All the others arrived and they were all successful in harvesting their hogs and gators. We had our fireworks that night on the 4th of July and all the kids had a great time with that. Don put on a great fireworks display for all of us.
All of these special events and memories will be with all of us for a very long time. We’re looking forward to next year and a bigger hog and maybe even a gator !!! I was feeling a little lost without Ralph and Vicki filming me, but Don did a great job and I’m hoping he’ll be there to film me next year. Thanks Hoppy, Sage, Osceola Outfitters, Ralph, Vicki, RJ, and Don for making my 2009 Hog Hunt one I will never forget.