Looking for Hogs - Florida
Chet and his Florida hog.
Hunter: Chet Barber
Cameraman: Joe Rush
It is July 1, 2009 and as my plane touches ground in Orlando Florida—the excitement is overwhelming. A bunch of friends and I are at Osceola Outfitters to hunt hogs and hopefully gators as well.
Lonnie Turnbeaugh and Joe Rush picked me up at the airport and the laughing and stories began immediately since they had already been here for several days. We arrived at the lodge with warm greetings from friends and ate a bit before we headed off to our rooms to catch some sleep.
The next morning, we headed out to look for hogs. The day was full of fun as Joe smoked a nice gator and we all got to watch and be a part of it. That evening, Lonnie and I headed to our stands with high hopes of shooting a hog, but unfortunately, the wind swirled and blew us out for the evening.
The next morning is one I will never forget, as I shot my very first alligator. Seven foot and 1 inch of pure badness and that afternoon, Lonnie and I headed back to the hog stand. We were hunting a monster that they had seen seven times. However, he never showed himself. That evening was finished off by a huge meal and stories around the table. July 4th morning starts with adrenalin pumping through our veins, as Lonnie shoots his first gator right off the bat! After we take his kill to the cooler, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed out to move some stands for the evening. On the way to the stands, we spotted some hogs in a field, "That one is a shooter" Ralph said "Get your bow Chet and try to kill him!" With Joe Rush behind the camera, we jumped out of the truck and got ready to creep down the road to get a good shot. As I looked back at the truck, the scene is pretty funny as Ralph hangs out the driver’s window, Lonnie is out of the passenger’s window and Meegan, Vicki, and Dusty are all in the bed of the truck, sitting in their lawn chairs, watching to see if I can close the deal.
Joe and I slipped down the road, checking the wind, and we slowly closed the distance. Within 25 yards, we had our opportunity! The hog turned sideways and I drew my new Alpha Max, buried my pin on the hog, and let the arrow fly!! THUMP, the spit fire hit with a perfect shot! The hog ran ten yards and fell over dead! I threw my arms in the air with excitement as I turned and give Joe Rush a high five, as he was the one filming me on my very first hog kill. Then, as I turned around, I saw all my friends in the truck cheering with me, how awesome!! The trip of a lifetime ended with all of my friends getting to see me smoke a hog! It just couldn’t get any better than that! A special thank you to Archer’s Choice staff and especially Ralph, Vicki, Lonnie, and Meegan, because with out you guys, this trip would have only been a dream.