Ossabaw Island Hogs - Jan 2024 Roll Call!

[oldfatbubba]

Weather on the January hog hunt was cold, but warmer than many other parts of GA. Lows overnight were in the upper 20s. Firewood (mostly oak) was plentiful, but I recommend bringing a chainsaw if you were drawn for the Feb hunt. Oak is tough to cut with a hand saw.

About 50 people attended. I don't know how many hogs were taken. There were ~20 hogs in the cooler on Fri PM but several hunters boned their meat out in the field.

 

[antharper]

I hope y’all had a great time and took some pictures … we like pictures , and stories

 

[Danny Leigh]

Weather on the January hog hunt was cold, but warmer than many other parts of GA. Lows overnight were in the upper 20s. Firewood (mostly oak) was plentiful, but I recommend bringing a chainsaw if you were drawn for the Feb hunt. Oak is tough to cut with a hand saw.

About 50 people attended. I don't know how many hogs were taken. There were ~20 hogs in the cooler on Fri PM but several hunters boned their meat out in the field.

How did you do?

We always bring a chainsaw even in Oct and Nov and a maul. Always nice sitting around the campfire even if you have to sit 10' from it. We usually try to mix pine and oak as the oak can hold moisture.

 

[hunter_463]

What is the best way to pack food and all the camping gear. I have seen people say the trash cans but i don't have one of those.

 

[oldfatbubba]

What is the best way to pack food and all the camping gear. I have seen people say the trash cans but i don't have one of those.

I packed all my clothing and supplies in a waterproof DeWalt rolling tool chest (link). It was stable going up and down the boat ramp and fairly easy to pull over the camp road. The rails on top of the box also allowed me to securely strap my tent, chair, cot, and gun to its top, reducing my # of trips to and from the dock.

Garbage cans are okay but they are top-heavy and their wheels on are smallish making them more difficult to pull up the boat ramp and over the grassy road. My box was only $30 more than a similar size trash can and is waterproof.

We packed our food in a giant cooler. I planned our meals so the cooler would be empty on the last day, allowing us to throw any game in it.

Regardless, be prepared to make several trips to and from the dock after being dropped off. Fortunately, camp is only a short walk from there.

Lastly, if you use Kilkenny Marina’s service to get to and from the island, they insist that all your supplies be on the dock before picking you up; no asking for a XXam pick-up on Sunday.

 

[oldfatbubba]

We always bring a chainsaw even in Oct and Nov and a maul.

We had to borrow a maul as the logs we found were way too large for burning.

 

[oldfatbubba]

I hope y’all had a great time and took some pictures … we like pictures , and stories

The best Ossabaw stories I have are from 10 years ago. On the first morning, our driver’s dog jumped out the window of the truck as he was taking us to our areas. We shined our lights into the dark woods to see his dog, an American Treeing Feist, about five feet up a tree. We were all flabbergasted but the driver brushed it off. “They do that naturally”, he said.

On the evening of the second day as we were being driven back to camp, the driver suddenly accelerated the truck throwing, almost throwing us out of our seats in the trailer. Weeeh! Weeeh! Weeeh! He had sped up to hit a pig that was crossing the road in the dark. The guy sitting next to me in the trailer stood up and shouted to the driver, “I didn’t shoot one today, so I’ll take him!”

 

[hunter_463]

Who took stands or just hunted from the ground?

 

[oldfatbubba]

Who took stands or just hunted from the ground?

Only one hunter on our truck took a stand, and that was for just 1/2 the day. Most everyone was walking. I recorded 24K steps one day. Another hunter older than me recorded 30K!

 

[Mac]

MY last trip I walked 30 miles in 2.5 days. I have never sit in a stand on the island.